Extra Credit: Avatar

For my avatar creation, I used the "Face Your Manga" to create an avatar that I felt was as close in resemblance as possible. The web tool was very easy to use and understand. The steps included simply clicking the create option on the website and you are immediately started on creating a new avatar. There are many details that could be altered to your pleasing. These included fatial features, hair style, clothing options, and background. I have never created an avatar before, so this was fun for me. Although it may not be totally accurate (of course), it shows what people think of themselves. I'm sure if you were to tell someone else to design an avatar based on another person, that avatar would be quite different from the original avatar. It was an enjoyable extra extra credit opportunity.

Week 11: Clear

This week talked about the Information Systems and those who utilize this (System Analysts). What exactly is a system? It is a collection of interrelated components that interact with each other to a achieve a certain goal. A good correlation to this is the Ecosystem. In comparison, an information system deals with a collection of hardware, software, data, people and processes that work together to produce quality information. The System Development Cycle involves planning, analysis, design, implementation, operation, support and security. This cycle repeats over and over again, however, humans' intelligence are still needed to keep its functionality. System Analysts, often called Program Managers, put projects together and help to keep everything moving along smoothly. They enable other people to do work efficiently and effectively. They create road maps to get things done. The key to this is *communicaiton*.

A system analyst must derive the benefits and risks associated with a certain system. A well designed system is effective, easy to use and meets objectives. Poorly designed systems cost more than their value. They are hard to understand or use and are not dependable. The SDC (System Development Cycle) was develped to improve quality and create an overal better system. A great system analyst must accept certain leader responsibilities. This includes setting goals, objectives, expectations, estimating time constraints, estimating cost, defining order of activities and deciding the relationship of those activities. In conclusion, there are a plethora of reasons why there should be effective information systems and system analysts.

Database Project

Watching the lectures and taking notes on Microsoft Access is one thing, but actually following guidelines to complete an Access project and putting what I learned in the lectures to use was quite a challenge. I learned how to create tables and the how to edit those tables to fit a certain criteria. In addition, I gained the knowlegde of importing and exporting data. There are two methods of importing data so that it can be merged with the current table. The first method involves appending where you make your table structure *identical* to the structure of the file being imported. Fields must be in the same order, with everything alike, including names. The other is the Copy/Paste method, where you import the external data to a new table and format the order of the fields in the original file so that it is the same as the exported file. Then all that is left to do is copy and ammend. I also learned how to create Queries, Forms and Reports. These are all specific ways of viewing a condensed form of the information that stems from an original data source. I also learned how to use functions and formulas, similar to Excel, in order to derive a range of data that was being asked for.

In terms of how Access can enhance its functionality, I would have to say that it can be more user friendly when it comes to the average user. In my case, I had opened up Access for the first time during Week 10 of this class. At that point in time, I was bewildered as to how to go about using the software. Without the lectures and having to do this project, I would probably still be clueless as to the majority of Access's functionalities. This can be anywhere from how one is to import or export a file, form queries/forms/reports and how to edit these as well. Simply reading a lot of text in Microsoft's help pane may not seem all that palpable to the average computer user. Instead, there should be example videos. The person shouldn't be forced to go searching online as to how to use this function or feature of Access. It is an extrememly great organizational tool however, one that most people do not utilize. This should not be the case. Now that I have some basic knowledge, I will spread the word on the usefullness of Microsoft Access.

Week 10: Clear

This week dealt with Database Management. Everyone works with data and information. Data itself is unorganized and differentiates itself from information in that the latter is organized and can be of some use to people. However, *Databases* help to organize data so that it can become that useful information. One important tool that lets one do this is the rational database, Microsoft Access. In all honesty, before this week I had never even attemped to open the program. It is somewhat different than Microsoft Excel in that it has some key functionalites that seperate it.

Like Excel, Access utilizes tables to display its information. It supports a wide range of data types, including Text, Memo, Hyperlink, Number, Currency, Date/Time, Object, and Autonumber. Access has the ability to import or export data. Data can be appended(created) to an existing table or imported into a new table. Many different import sources are supported. The most common transitional file however, are text files. These text files can be either delimited or fixed width. Delimited deals with characters that seperate fields in a text file; for example, semi-colons, commas, or pipes (|). Fixed width is where fields are alligned in columns, defined as specific character regions. For example: chars 1-10=user ID, chars 11-41=username. Excel also has the ability to create Queries, Forms, and Reports. These all stem off of each other with the table being the sort of origin. All in all, Access is a great organizational tool that more people should know how to use.

Week 9: Clear

I have been using the Internet for as long as I can remember. However, it is only with this week's lesson did I gain a true grasp on the basics of web browsing and  navigating the web. The most straight-forward lesson was Naviating the Web. I had never took into consideration the aspects of the link that displays itself in the search bar of every browser.
IP (Internet Protocal) address is a number that uniquely identifies each computer or device conncected to the Internet. It consists of four groups of numbers seperated by periods, 216.239.99. There is even a website (http//whatismyipaddress.com) that one can use to find his or her own IP address. Web addresses consist of protocol, domain name, top level domain, path, and file name. Ex.http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/21-proven-motivation-tactics/     "http://" represents the protocol, "http://www.pickthebrain/" is the url, ".com" is the TLD, "blog/21-proven-motivation-tactics/" is the path, and there is no file name. Browsers are off course what allows you to view web pages, like Mozilla, Safari, and Internet Explorer.

Week 7: Clear

It is unfortunately true that I have been on the receiving end of one of those presentations that leaves you dying for a nap. However, it is even more unfortunate to say that I have given a few of those presentations myself. This week's topic taught me how to effectively create a well designed and meaningful presentaion. From layout principles to readability to color/theme, there are a multitude of aspects that make a presentation stand out from the rest.
One of the most important points absorbed was to avoid clutter. Utilize open space. One must keep in mind that not all empty space should be filled in. Sometimes, there is just too much going on in a slide. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) stresses to avoid "noisy" graphics or charts. This refers to giving the audience the most important information as opposed to unimportant information. Do not overcomplicate or use vague graphics because your audience will focus on trying to understand the slides instead of paying attention to what is being said.
Another crucial aspect of a good presention is its readability. Make the text big enough for people in the back to read. Slides are not reading material however. If there is alot of text, provide a handout. Provide the most important points or concepts in a slide and use formatting to highlight points. In addtion, using visuals and harmonious colors can keep an audience's attention; as opposed to boring them with same colored/themed slides.

Week 6: Clear

This week's topic on Multimedia (images, audio & video) was extremely informative. The area of images caught my attention the most however. It was a relatively simple lesson but now I will be able to tell the difference between Rasper vs. Vector graphics. I've always wondered why some images became pixelated and others did not...now I know. In addition, I learned about lossless vs. lossy compression and the practical uses of each.
First off, a Rasper image is represented by an array of colored dots. The problem with rasper graphics is that when it is zoomed or magnified, you are able to see the jaggedness or blocky aspects of the photograph. They do not scale well to larger sizes. As opposed to Vector Graphics which uses "primitives" (geometrical objects, points, lines, curves, and polygons that are all expressed mathematically. This results in the ability to zoom in or out almost infinitely with no loss of quality.
Lossless compression does not throw away any data but it eliminates redundancy in the image to save space. This is good for archiving and editing images. Lossy compression discards some data that is not usually discerned-- by the majority of people. It looks just as good/crisp and is widely used. The jpg image format uses this type of compression.