OS Activities - Part II

I decided to speak with a "techie" and called my friend John. He works in the tech department at a Hospital in Madison. I asked him which is his largest frustration about the OS they use at the hospital. He said they use Windows XP and gets frustrated by people who do not try to think of the simple reasons their computer has an error. Usually he wouldn't need to come if the users would know some simple maintenance. He also does not enjoy how frequent problems pop up, but it keeps him in business.

The next activity I did was update and install an OS patch for my computer. This is very easy to do on the Mac because you just simply click on the apple and then select "Software Update." The update that it cam up with was an update to JAVA so that it is more compatible with the OS X operating system. It took less than 2 minutes to do and as so as it was done, my time machine automatically started to back up the update.

The final activity I did was learn about different features of my operating system. I learned about the ability to set parental controls on the Mac (OS X 10.5.8). By creating an account for the child, you can limit the amount of time they can use the computer as well as what is the computer will log them off. You can also limit the websites they visit as well as who they can chat with and email. I also learned about expose. I have accidentally clicked on the of the F3 button and the any windows I currently have open snap into a grid on the screen. You can sort them alphabetically as well as by what type of application it is. Spaces is great because you can manage all of the windows that you have on your desktop without having to move them over and minimize them. While expose just shows what you have, spaces allows you to work. The next feature I investigated was VoiceOver, this application allows individuals with visual impairments to scroll over text and hear the words. This would be great for students with disabilities as well as ELL students. File sharing is another handy feature in the Mac. This allows you to share documents with other Macs and PCs without sharing a google.doc. We have used this with out in-laws as an easy way share pictures. Another features is Spotlight. This allows you to search your Mac for documents easily with key words as well as pictorally with thumbnails of documents.

OS Activities - Part I

Just this week I watched ht video "Pirates of Silicon Valley." It was different to watch a movie entirely on YouTube, but it worked out very well. The movie was very interesting and I watched it after I finished watching Triumph of the Nerds. I found the perspective of the film interesting that you were able to follow both groups of men and see how their stories overlapped as well as the relationships between them. After watching the film I did a little research on Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to see what they have done since the movie left off. Most of us are well away of Jobs' return to Apple but I did not know about his acquisition of Pixar. As for Wozniak, it was interesting to read more about the plane crash and the amnesia that resulted from it.

Overall it just struck me how fortunate all of these men were at the time. They were in the correct places at the perfect time. If most of them wouldn't have quite college, the history of the personal computer would be very different. All of these men displayed a sense of confidence, except for Wozniak, and it was enough to convince many people to invest and believe in them.

581 Week 1

I came into this class with very little knowledge about computers and their parts. I knew enough to manipulate the features needed for my computer. The only prior experience I had to opening a computer was when I was trying to install my wireless Internet port into my PC in college. The videos that we watched inside and out of class were very interesting. The history of the computer is very mind blowing to think about. Many of time inventions occur to fit a need or made life easier, but for some of the situations they discussed in the film, just seemed to be so removed from what was going on. The inventor who created the grate to protect trains also wanted to invent a computer. The other types of first computers were also very interesting. I have felt a little overwhelmed with the amount of acronyms used to name computer parts but I know they are easier than the true names for the parts. I am excited to see how each of these pieces play a part in the little invention we could not live without now.