Final Post

This CSC 175 course has taught me a lot about computers and how they work. Whether it be the Our Digital World book or the excel and access assignments. We also had weekly blogs and other assignments like the group presentation, all of which were interesting and helpful. All of these taught me much more than any of the other computer classes I have taken, taught me and will be very beneficial to me in the future .

Over the course of this class, I have learned a great deal about both Microsoft Excel and Access. Before the class I had limited knowledge of Microsoft Excel and I had never even used  Access. All of the tutorials were really helpful and the assessments too. The tutorials, even though they were very long and time consuming, were the best way to learn about the different features and functions of excel and access. Especially for an online class. I really enjoyed the both the excel assessments, especially the assessment where we  planned a vacation. It was a great way to do something different instead of the tutorials and cases. Both of the excel assessments were creative ways to put to use our excel skills. I haven't started the access assessment yet, so I cannot comment on it. But overall, everything that we did containing to excel and access will be beneficial to me in the future. I am a finance major so I will more than likely be using a lot of excel, and I have also learned that access is becoming very popular in business and I might end up using it too. Even though I would prefer not to use Microsoft Access at all. I also enjoyed the weekly blogs. It was something different from all the excel and access assignments, especially some of the interesting topics like photo tampering and internet hoaxes. It was another outside of the box way to learn in this class. And Lastly, the Our Digital World book taught me all the ins and outs of the computer and how it works.

I honestly don't feel like anything is missing from this class. We didn't go over and Microsoft word or powerpoint material but that is what I was most common with coming into this class, so for me it wasn't needed. We learned a great deal about Microsoft excel and access, which for me was needed, and just about computers in general. I feel like this class covered everything excellently, especially for it being an online class, and I would not change anything about it for the future. 

Week 13 Blog

On April 8th, 2014, last Tuesday, Microsoft finally cutoff support to the Microsoft XP operating system. XP made its debut in October of 2001, and even though it is over 12 years old, it is still one of the most used operating systems in the world. An estimated  500 million computers still use XP, with 1 in 5 computers in America still running the system and over half the computers in China still using it. But the end of XP should come as no surprise considering Microsoft had been warning users of plans to discontinue XP support as early as 2007. Customers were giving more than long enough to adjust and setup new operating systems, but a lot have still yet to change and that is the problem.

With the XP systems open to hackers, now that Microsoft will stop any XP updates and security fixes, it poses a problem to those still using the XP system and anyone else using Microsoft operating systems. To the 500 million still using XP, a switch of operating systems is a must. The vulnerability of the XP systems to viruses puts all info on those computers at risk. Passwords, financial info and other important information will be extremely susceptible to any malware or other viruses. But also, those with other Microsoft operating systems such as 7 or 8 will also be at more of a risk. Microsoft shares much of its code with successor programs, so once hackers are able to hack into XP systems, they will be able to use those codes to easily hack into Microsoft 7 and 8. The discontinuation of Microsoft XP will leave not only XP vulnerable but also new versions of Microsoft operating systems.

Even though I am sure it cost Microsoft a lot for the upkeep of XP, I believe that they should have continued to do so. With over 500 million people still using the operating system, it seems a bit harsh for Microsoft to just cutoff support for the system. Considering all the money that Microsoft has made from its customers, and apparently some very loyal ones to still be using XP, it only seems fair that Microsoft would have offered a free upgrade. Maybe not a free upgrade to the newest system, but an upgrade to at least windows 7 would have been reasonable.  But because of Microsoft insisting that XP must go, now all of Microsoft users are vulnerable. 

News article: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/microsoft-xp-cybersecurity-problem-105451.html

Most Interesting Thing Learned While Researching

One of the most interesting and possibly best things I have found while doing my research for this project, is the correct way to use Wikipedia. I personally love Wikipedia, and I get a lot of my general knowledge from the site. So when teachers assign work and tell us not to use Wikipedia for our research, it's kind of a bummer. But, I fully understand why most teachers do not allow the site as an appropriate research tool. Wikipedia's information can be manipulated by any of its users and therefore can be unreliable. So when I was doing my research for how to research on the internet, I came across some useful tips when trying to figure out how and when to use Wikipedia. This new method of doing research on Wikipedia allows me to use the information that I find from the site, just in a different way.

To use Wikipedia correctly, one tip that I found was to use it kind of as the search engine. When reading a Wikipedia page, and you come across information that would be helpful or useful to use in your assignment, the best thing to do is to click on the footnote. By clicking on the footnote it will take you to the citation from where that piece of information was originally found. That source may be a book, magazine, or online site. So if it was an online article, you can just click on the source and it should take you to the original site of the information. This method will work almost all of the time because if the information on the Wikipedia page is not cited, then there will be caution headings at the top of the page. This method of using Wikipedia for research is really simple, and even though it has always been right in front of me, I have never thought about using it before.

From now on, when I have to do research for an assignment, which I am not allowed to use Wikipedia on, I will be able to still use Wikipedia in a sense. Sometimes, good factual information can be hard to come by, but now, most of the information that is on Wikipedia will also be available to use. Once again, this may not sound like the biggest discovery to most, considering a lot of people probably already knew about doing this, but to me, it will help a lot in my future research.

Businesses and Social Media Use

In today's world, with the massive use of the internet all over the world, businesses are using every form of social media possible, to push their business. The company that I will be using in this exercise is Tommy Hilfiger. Tommy Hilfiger is a well known clothing company, so it comes as no surprise that they use about every form of social media possible, even Youtube. Tommy Hilfiger can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and they even have some sort of email chain.

Like many other businesses, Tommy Hilfiger uses their social media accounts to promote their clothing, along with even giving out certain promotional deals. The Facebook and Twitter accounts are very similar in their layout and the purpose they serve for promoting the business. Once you "like" the Hilfiger page on Facebook and follow the Hilfiger page on Twitter, statuses and posts will start to show up on your feed. Most of these posts on both Twitter and Facebook are pictures of models wearing Hilfiger's new clothing items, along with links to the main Tommy Hilfiger online store.

Twitter

On the Tommy Hilfiger Instagram page, the business takes a similar approach to that of the Facebook and Twitter page. The only difference is the Instagram page just posts pictures of models wearing Hilfiger clothing, whereas the Twitter and Facebook page do more promoting with links to the online store with most all pictures and some interactions. Maybe the most surprising of the social media forms that Tommy Hilfiger uses, is Youtube. The Youtube channel, which isn't nearly as active as the other social medias, posts mainly commercial type videos on their site. These ads are usually anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute long, advertising a new collection of clothing. But the Youtube channel does have a few other types of videos such as behind the scenes videos. And just like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, subscribing to the Youtube channel will put Tommy Hilfiger videos on your feed.

The last tool that Tommy Hilfiger uses to promote their business is emails. To be able to purchase an item on the Hilfiger online store, you have to include an email address, which in return, will result in one or two emails a day about new clothing and promotional deals. Unlike any of the other forms of social media, the email chain is the biggest way that Tommy Hilfiger informs its customers of sales and promotional deals. Most of these sales and promotions can only be found through the email chain.

Email

Social media has just allowed businesses to expand even further and constantly be in our life. Following any type of business on any of these social medias, will result in their business constantly popping up in your life throughout the day, enticing you to buy their product. 

https://www.facebook.com/tommyhilfiger

https://twitter.com/TommyHilfiger

http://instagram.com/tommyhilfiger

https://www.youtube.com/user/tommyhilfiger/videos

Google Drive

When it comes to working collaboratively online, it is something that I have never done. I have heard of Google Drive before, and all of the neat things you could use it for, but never have I tried using it. Google Drive would have been very helpful back in high school, when group projects were assigned. We used to elect somebody to put the powerpoint together, while the rest of the group found the information and emailed it to that person. Had we used Google Drive, the whole group could have contributed to the making of the powerpoint, much like the group presentation assignment this week.

Since I was unfamiliar with Google Drive, I researched it a little and found out that it was cloud storage on Google, that also had other apps and features, such as docs, sheets, slides and many more. It seems like Google Drive basically takes away the emailing part, when it comes to collaborating. So I guess Google Drive would be useful in lots of different work environments, where two or more people were collaborating together on something. There is a quick office app, that allows you to open and edit  documents and spreadsheets, which seems like it would be useful among people in a financial or business field. Another interesting app is the forms app, which allows to create a survey, roster, or even an invite.

Other than Google Drive, there are no other sites that I know of, that allow you to collaborate with one another. Until doing research on Google Drive, I didn't even know you could collaborate on it. I had heard of it in high school, but I just thought it was cloud storage , which I had no use for. There are a few other sites on the internet, such as Dropbox, SkyDrive and SugarSync, that are used for their cloud storage. But I am not sure if these sites come with all the great apps and tools to collaborate with people.

Google Drive seems to have a lot of useful apps, but I honestly can't see myself using it much in the future, unless I am required to.  Maybe I will use it if I am collaborating with somebody, but other than that, I have no uses for Google Drive. For some reason, I just prefer emailing documents to myself instead of using a cloud storage. I guess I am a bit old school in that aspect. But who knows, in the future as things continue to change and advance, I may find myself using Google Drive. 

Photo Tampering

To my surprise, photo tampering has been around for a very long time. Most wouldn't think that the technology would have been available to alter photos until the last twenty years, but actually it dates all the way back to the 1860's. Some of the first tampered photos were ones of our president, Abraham Lincoln, and some others were from the civil war. But photo tampering back then was a lot more difficult to do and only a select few would have been able to perform such altering. In the world that we live in today, almost anyone who owns a computer is able to tamper and alter photos. Since this is available to such a large amount of people, almost any photo on the internet or in a text publication may have been altered. Even smart phones now have the ability to apply a filter to make the image more clear, get rid of red eyes and even add different color scales to photos that have been taken. In some cases altering a photo is perfectly fine, but where do we draw the line?

In my personal opinion, any alterations to a photo should cause the least amount of change possible. It is okay to make an image more clear or get rid of a random arm in a photo but that's because those changes have minimal impact to the photo and it doesn't change the viewer's opinion on the photo. For instance, the photo above of the Russian army during World War 2 raising the Russian flag has been altered. In the original photo it appeared that the Russian soldier had a watch on each of his wrists. So to make it appear to the public that he had not been looting, apparently he had a watch on one wrist and a compass on the other, it was altered out of the photo all together. I personally think that this type of photo tampering is fine. Instead of having the public assume the soldier was looting, when he was not, they simply removed the watch and compass. Now had the soldier been looting that completely changes the story and removing it from the photo should be the type of photo tampering that should not be allowed. Just like if an American media outlet had changed the Russian flag to an American flag, and tried to act as if the US soldiers had captured the city. Any type of photo tampering like this, that changes the opinion of the viewer, should not be allowed.

Photo tampering is a big problem if it is being used in the wrong way. It's frightening to know that the photo being shown on the news may have been altered to produce a different type of reactions out of the public. Who knows what we've all been lied to about. 

Photo Source: http://www.fourandsix.com/photo-tampering-history/

Excel

So far this class has taught me a great deal about excel. Coming into the class I barely knew the basics of excel, but so far this semester I have become pretty sufficient at operating excel. Excel can be used for an endless amount of different things, from planning a vacation, as we learned last week, to just simply managing a budget. Excel can be an extremely useful tool in life.

Even though at the moment I don't have the biggest need to use excel other than for completing my CSC 175 assignments, there are plenty of things I could use it for. One of the best things I could think of using excel for, would be to make myself a schedule of all my classes and also my work hours. I would be able to just check my schedule and figure out when would be the best time to do my homework and when the best time just to relax would be. And because of this class, I would also be able to add different styles and formats to make each time block on my schedule distinguishable from each other. Other reasons I might use excel for my personal use is for creating a table for my budget. I can include school expenses, expenses for gas and the  amount of money I make a week for working. Clearly as a student I wouldn't have a lot to include in the budget but I feel like making one, would be a great way for me to monitor my expenses and maybe even devise a plan to save money.

I will however be using excel a lot in the future. I am majoring in finance and whatever job I end up with, I am sure using excel will be a big part of my job. It is likely that I will be creating budget spreadsheets and using excel to input other types of financial information. There are also many different ways that excel can be used to help control financial data to help with investments. So as I progress through college and into my future field, I am sure that I will only use excel more and more. The most important part for me is to not lose my knowledge about excel in the time between this class and my future job, especially if I am not required to use it a lot in my other classes. But I have a feeling that I will be using it some journey to receiving a finance degree and hopefully it is enough to keep me sharp enough on all the ins and outs of excel for my future job. 

Operating Systems and Viruses

Computers can be very fragile pieces of equipment when it comes to their operating system and viruses. Without the appropriate anti-virus software, computers can become easily infected with viruses. Even with some anti-virus software, computers can still become infected and are a hassle to clean up. Some computers become so infected that they are impossible to clean up, except maybe by a professional, which is the case in my personal experience of computer operating systems and viruses.

When I was younger, around middle school, my family had a desktop Dell computer. My brother and I downloaded a program called Limewire, which was a file sharing program, to help fill up our ipods with music. Apparently Limewire was later sued and forced to shut down in the fall of 2010. But, after about a year or two of using the program, our computer steadily declined in speed. I'm not sure what it was that caused the decline in speed, if it was a virus or not, because we did have ant-virus software and it claimed the computer was clean. The anti-virus software that we had was Mcafee, which we had since we first got the computer but it just didn't seem to do the job. I would not recommend Mcafee to anybody that is looking for a reliable anti-virus software. With the continued decline in speed and increasing problems on our desktop computer, we finally decided to get rid of Limewire and try to clean the computer of any viruses it had. But even with the file sharing program gone, the computer would freeze often and would sometimes take upwards of 20 minutes or more just to bring up internet explorer. The final attempt to clean the computer was to re-install the operating system to an earlier time when the computer was supposedly clean of any viruses. This seemed to increase the speed a little bit, but it was only a short amount of time before our computer was back to its usual ways. Then one day I went to turn it on, but while it was at the "windows are loading" screen, an error popped up and it never would go to the home screen. I can't remember exactly what the error said but I'm pretty sure it  had something to do with the hard drive and it was damaged. Every time we tried turning it on this error popped up. I don't know how this occurred or what it was that killed our computer but I have a pretty good feeling it had to do with the file sharing program and the lackluster anti-virus software called Mcafee.

It is safe to say I've learned my lesson though when it comes to any file sharing programs. Now that I have my own laptop I am in charge of making sure my computer stays safe and virus free. The anti-virus software I have is Kaspersky and after two years it has kept my laptop running like new. 

The Future of Input and Output Devices and 3-D Printing

With the increases in technology, more and more input and output devices are becoming available. And even though some of these devices seem futuristic or just simply unbelievable, some are coming closer and closer to reality. Some of these devices include a text to brail reader, which is a device that scans the text in a book or can even be hooked up to a computer to translate the web page to brail. Another output device that is being worked on is a projector for cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices, that could project high quality video on a screen or a wall. But one of the most common new output device is the 3-D printer. The 3-D printer is a device that can be connected to a computer and print a solid object. To someone like myself, who has only ever witnessed a regular printer print writing onto a piece of paper, the idea of printing a solid object seems crazy. But it is becoming more and more common and one day it could be everywhere we turn, in schools and even in homes.

The first 3-D printer was based on a technique called stereolithography, created by Charles Hull in 1984. 3-D printing is an additive technology, where the object is built up by adding many thin layers. Since then, there has been  3 or 4 different techniques created and used in 3-D printing. Since this time, and after lots of developments, 3-D computers have become commercial  through a wide range of manufactures. The two largest companies in 3-D printing are 3-D Systems and Stratasys. 3-D printing has become a huge market and these two companies alone created a revenue of $3 billion dollars in 2012. The major problem with 3-D printers is the price. 3-D printers start out in the 10 to 20 thousand dollar range and only increase depending on the type of printer. The most high end machines that can build metal parts can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Along with the price another problem with 3-D printers is the amount of space that they can take up. Most of the printers are floor standing models  and are often very large. 

It is still unclear if 3-D printing will ever become successful enough to reach the average household, but the amount of popularity the 3-D printer has received in its short life looks very promising. Prices will have to drop drastically and the size will also have to get a lot smaller. But if we look back at the early models of televisions, and how they were also floor models , and computers, which were often as big as a room, it is a real possibility. 

Source: http://www.explainingthefuture.com/3dprinting.html

Internet Hoaxes

All over the internet are different types of hoaxes, from spam that you receive in your email inbox to fake news being spread across social media. With the accessibility of the internet to most all people and the easiness that comes with creating a website, hoaxes are all over the web. One of the most widely used websites for research can contain hoaxes at anyplace and anytime. Wikipedia is one of the most used web encyclopedias because of its wide range of information, but one thing that hinders the website is the ability for any user to edit the information. Even though I get a lot of my information from Wikipedia, it can be dangerous because of all the false and misleading information being displayed on the website. Sites like Wikipedia may seem like good places for research but in reality they could exhibit the most obscure and false information.

In my personal experience of using the internet, I haven't ran across a lot of websites that turned out to be hoaxes. The most common hoax I come across when using the internet is spam email. But thankfully, Yahoo and Google do an excellent job of collecting those emails in a separate folder marked spam. Just a quick look at my spam folder and it has collected emails titled "The Best Way to Build Bulk", "Save up to 85% off" and other spam emails that are a little less PG. Other hoaxes that I have ran across have been on twitter. Since I am a soccer and when the transfer window opens from June till September, I am always reading rumors and hoaxes about certain players being traded or sold to certain teams. This comes with any sport and sites such as twitter or facebook, where such rumors or hoaxes can spread like wildfire. Overall I try my best to stay away from any sites that I may believe to be a hoax.

After doing some research about internet hoaxes, I came across a very funny and interesting hoax. It was said to have been an advertisement claiming that the iOS 7 update included waterproofing. Considering the iOS7 was simply a system update to your already used iphone, people still believed the hoax. Some that actually believed the hoax, proceeded to test out the new upgrade by dropping their phone into water. Even though this almost sounds fake because the amount of stupidity required to believe an update would waterproof your phone, it was not, as it was reported by major news outlets such as ABC, Telegraph and Business Insider. I have included the link below.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/fake-apple-ad-claims-ios-update-waterproofs-iphones/story?id=20369832

Advertising

 Over the past few years, I have noticed more and more advertisements on the internet that are from or relate to sites that I have recently been on.  For example, the other day I was visiting the online Tommy Hilfiger store, and my following trip to Youtube produced a Tommy Hilfiger advertisement. This occurred multiple times over the next few days on Yahoo, Google and Youtube. This seems to occur quite often with other sites that I visit such as Best Buy, Amazon or Dick's Sporting Goods. For me, I have only ever had retailers pop up in the advertisements, nothing else relating to other sites I had visited. To my surprise though, I have even seen the exact item I have been looking at in the advertisements. One day I had been looking for some new shoes on Amazon and shortly after an  Amazon advertisement popped up with the exact pair of shoes I was looking at in the advertisement. This has happened on multiple occasions, so it wasn't just a coincidence.  

When I first saw these advertisements, I was shocked that these sites which were not affiliated with one another had information about my history on the internet. I read an article that Google was starting to do this, so I just figured it wasn't a big deal. If anything it may seem like a convenience to some, a direct  link back to their online store with the specific item already picked out. But the more you ponder the idea of privacy and the internet, the more you start to despise this method of advertising by Google, Yahoo and other big name sites. If anything, it can be compared to peer pressure. The constant advertising of items that you may have decided not to purchase being brought back up and constantly being thrown in your face between every Google search and before every Youtube video.

It's insane that this is even allowed by the government, you would think that they would want to be the only ones allowed to spy. But in the world that we live in, where a 30 minute TV program is only about 20 minutes long and the commercials take up the rest, it's not surprising. I am sure that it is an incredible tool to those doing the advertising and marketing. It's no longer hit and miss with advertisements, at least not most of the time, because you are simply advertising previously visited sites. In the end, I don't believe this type of advertising should be allowed, because it treads all over our privacy and freedom. It's bad enough the government is allowed to spy, but that's for our safety. Allowing these marketing businesses to spy on us is simply unconstitutional. 

Technology, For Better or Worse

Throughout the 21st century, technology has continued to grow and evolve. At the beginning of the century, the only common form of computer was the desktop computer. But here we are fourteen years later and there are all kinds of different computers such as smartphones, laptops and tablets. As technology continues to progress, more and more devices will be thrust upon us for better or worse.

In my lifetime, the improvements to computers and technology have benefited me greatly. I hear all kinds of stories from the older generations of having to write papers and only being able to use encyclopedias from the library. In the world we live in now, I still use encyclopedias to write papers, but they are available for me with the click of a button. I am also able to skip through the process of having to flip through the book, by just searching my topic in any of the well known web browsers. Not only do I have access to encyclopedias and books online, but I also have access to millions of articles and web info. My life has been made drastically better when it comes to school work, because of the internet.

With the other improvements to devices such as cell phones and now even tablets, I have the ability to access the internet from anywhere. Smartphones are especially great and almost a must need for those that are capable of affording them. Since wifi isn't necessary to use a smartphone, you can use a smartphone anywhere that you have signal, which in today's society is almost anywhere near some sort of civilization. Anything of importance can be accessed such as weather, news, email or just simply getting in touch with a family member or friend.

Which brings us to the problems that technology has caused in the world. With the growing use of smartphones and just cell phones in general, has come the issue of those that don't know when is the correct time to operate such devices. In the world we live in, almost all teenagers have a cell phone and use the texting option of communication. Texting is a great way to communicate with one another, but there is a time and place for everything, and driving is definitely not one of them. And it's not just teenagers getting caught texting while driving but some adults too. Texting and driving has taken many lives and has become a major issue in our society. Cops are starting to crack down and tickets can be given to those caught texting and driving, but it's still not enough and many more lives will be affected by texting and driving.

Technology and the internet seems to be a great gift to the world. I know it makes my life a lot easier and better. The only downside to technology is when us humans find a way to use it irresponsibly. 

Biographical

My name is Ethan Fesperman and I am a sophomore here at Lenior-Rhyne University, and I am majoring in finance. Last year as a freshman, I started out as a pre-medical science major. But after a couple biology classes and a few average grades, I switched to finance. I had previously taken a business and an accounting class, which I enjoyed, so I switched my major last spring. I am originally from Statesville, North Carolina, which is just 20 minutes away. I have lived there all my life and I attended West Iredell high school.

While in high school I did take one computer class when I was a sophomore. The class covered the basics of Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint. I have not taken a computer class since and rarely do I use Excel, but I have used Word and Powerpoint since, on a regular basis. My goal for this course, other than passing it because it is required, is becoming more familiar with and more proficient at using Microsoft Excel. Since I am in the finance field, I believe a proficient understanding of Microsoft Excel is a necessity. Also I hope to learn the other ins and outs of the computer, which I am not familiar with. Because I am sure there is a lot. 

I have not played any sports since high school, but I do currently have a job at a local golf course. Because of the cold weather, I only work on weekends, so it shouldn't have any impact on my schedule for the next month or so. But as we progress into spring, I usually start working on  Wednesday and Friday afternoons around one or two, so I would only be available during the morning hours. If anything of importance came up, I can easily change my work schedule. School is of most importance and always comes first.

Some of my hobbies and interests are baseball and golf. I played baseball throughout my life, until the 11th grade. Then I switched over to golf. I was able to get a job at River Oaks golf course, which was the golf course my high school team used and it is about 15 minutes away from campus. It's a pretty awesome job and it comes with great perks, like free golf. Even though I am done playing baseball, I am still a big fan of the sport and my favorite team is the Boston Red Sox. And no, I am not a bandwagon fan because of their recent World Series success, but I have actually been a fan since I was young, around age 7 or 8. I am also a fan of Chelsea Football Club, also known as soccer. That is pretty much all.