CEdu 581 Computer Architecture Closing

On Value: It is difficult to comment on the value of anything until an adequate amount of time has passed to let us assess our experience objectively. I say this because I fully intend to discover some great use for a seemingly useless bit of knowledge from every class in the coming years.
That said if I had to nail down a piece of value from CEdu 581 I am quite certain that it is the information on the "how". I like computers and technology and I am often consdered to be pretty geeky but I had no real concept of what was going on in that processor or how a computer started itself up. The fact that I have little to no use for this information at the present does not deter me from the belief that this is useful information. Part of owning a Mac is the realization that I might not ever have to tinker around with my hardware and thus I accept a little be too much on what I'm being told. I now know better.
Also, watching the Cringley and Pirates videos were interesting because the drama that went with the personal computing revolution adds to the story and gives us a greater understanding of these companies that we have seemingly handed our wallets.

Devaluing: Honestly, I'd have to say that the Build Your Own PC ativity was lost on me simply because, as a Mac user, I'm pretty railroaded in. Also, as a Mac fanboy of sorts, I have spent free time idlely building a Mac Pro that I could never afford for fun. There was value to the excercise in that I was able to conceive a bit better why I was buying what because of the class, but at the same time I've done that before too.

And that as they say is that.

This is Quinn Loucks signing off. Thanks for all the fish.

Computer Architecture CEdu581 Week 5

What were the most valuable pieces of information that you learned from
presentations in class tonight.

Let's face it, Ron had the most obscure subject of all of the presentations in class. The holiday ads don't have Bios at low low prices and there won't ever be a Superbowl commercial extolling the latest big thing in BIOS flashing. On that level then BIOS held the most new information available. Unfortunately, there is little to take away that I can apply in the rest of my life. BIOS is so obscure that it usually does its job without making any waves, causing any problems, or even letting the user know it is there.
The one thing of value that I will take away above all others though is the following realization: there is a reason we wait fifteen seconds before restarting a malfunctioning computer. I have done this on everything from my laptop to my DVR box and never really understood why those ten to fifteen seconds made a difference. From Ron's presentation I surmised that the wait time will trigger the BIOS to do a full POST on the system components whereas there are items it might skip on a straight restart. It is always a good day when I can remove some of the voodoo surrounding the computer. Now if I can only figure out why I need to cluck like a chicken in order to get my printer to work... ... ...
As a runner up, the fact that flash drives have a limited number of read writes was a new bit of information that I have already passed onto a friend. I liken this to the unpublicized fact that Batteries have limited numbers of cycles. No one told me. (My laptop battery is at 270 cycles and 47% health. That isn't good and might explain a few abrupt shutdowns. Looks like I'll be needing to use AppleCare. Wait, does AppleCare even cover that?

Computer Architecture CEdu581 Week 4

Describe what actions a computer takes from power-on to Log-in screen.

Source: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc3.htm

As soon as power is fed to the computer with the On button being pushed the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is started. On older model computers the BIOS information is displayed on the screen in text. New computers have sped up the process and eliminated the text. The BIOS will check the viability of various components of the computer in what is called the power-on self test (POST) This starts at the the video card.

The BIOS will also check if the computer is restarting or cold booting. If it is a restart the BIOS will skip many of the next processes. If it is a cold startup the computer will check the RAM, to ensure viability. It will also check the mouse, keyboard and any other peripherals that may be connected.

The next step is the hard drive. The BIOS will look for the boot drive where the operating system is located. The boot drive loads the OS and operations are handed over to the OS.

What are the essential "big picture" hardware pieces a computer must have to be a computer. Explain why each piece is essential.

A computer needs:

Central Process Unit: Makes all the decisions for the computer using arithmetic/logic decisions. Instructions are brought to the CPU from the memory, interpreted and executed.

Memory: There are two kinds of memory in the computer. RAM or Random Access Memory and Hard Drive Memory. The RAM is used to store short term information for the CPU. The more RAM that is available the quicker the CPU can work. The HD Memory stores programs and the operating system. These are collections of instructions that the CPU executes to perform the functions of the computer. Without HD memory when the computer is shut off the RAM is wiped clean and everything will be forgotten.

Input: Inputs are ways of getting instruction and data into the computer. This includes but is not limited to keyboards, mice and disk drives.

Output: The computer will perform actions based on instructions executed. The output displays the results. Outputs most notably include monitors that display a graphical user interface but outputs are also speakers and other devices.

Computer Architecture CEdu581 Week 3

DONE.

I just burned a compact disk (CD) with my portfolio for the completion of my Masters degree. After a little less than two years I have accumulated quite the folder full of documents and it took a good bit of wading, several text messages to Kristine, emails to Paul and watching Louis' video on the file structure six times to get it all done.

There is now only a month between myself and the degree. I have a few projects to wrap up for Computer Architecture class but compared to the Action Research and the Portfolio any in-class straightforward assignment is a picnic.

Don't worry about me though. I'll still keep myself stressed out in the spring even without having graduate classes. I still have to transition my lacrosse club from Junior Varsity to Varsity, recruit ten to fifteen players, play on Madcow lacrosse, get MARRIED, and grade some six to seven hundred papers before the end of the school year. Oh and did I mention we're going to Los Angeles for a cousin's wedding in April. Sigh, and you thought I'd relax... ... ... ...

Computer Architecture CEdu581 Week 2

1pt Install an OS

I've installed an OS... maybe two dozen times. Unfortunately there isn't much of a story to it. With the exception of the transition from MacOS 9 to X they've all been much the same. I suppose there was a bit of a difference between System 7 and 8 but anymore it is extremely easy on the latest Apple Computers.

1pt Upgrade or install a OS patch, Service Pack or Upgrade for your OS

As for patches, those come out so frequently I couldn't even tell you how many I've "installed". Of course by install I mean, click the button that says download.

1pt Use an alternative OS for regular daily tasks (stretch your comfort zone)

I have been a Mac Evangelist since Pre-Web era so I consider the use of an alternative OS as a pretty regular occurrence. I've never worked in a Mac environment and I've never had a roommate that owned a Mac so I've been in their world the whole of my adult life. My reflections on using Windows is and always has been that the the user experience is always slightly clumsy. It is almost trite to say it but I always say that Windows is fine as long as the user has an IT department. Unfortunately, the average user lacks this. For most computer companies tech support is a money drain so users are left to help each other.

2pts Watch "Pirates of the Silicon Valley"

I NetFlixed Pirates of Silicon Valley when this assignment was mentioned in class. I had wanted to see it but never gotten around to it for some reason. After I watched it I knew why. The movie is ok. I Like the story but it certainly could have been done better. For instance I would have liked for the movie to have explained Woz's memory loss more. Also while Jobs is clearly the more interesting story of the two because of his estranged daughter and explosive temperment, Balmer mentions that Gates yelled at everyone but Jobs. I'd like to have seen maybe more of the culture of his office. The movie never even mentioned Redmond Washington. Anyway. I'd like to have seen more of this. I read an interesting novel in college titled Microserfs by Douglas Coupland and while fictional it was extremely interesting.

Computer Architecture CEdu581 Week 1

Describe your previous knowledge of the concepts presented in class 1.
Our first Computer Architecture CEdu 581 class dealt with material that I have knowledge but no expertise of. I would say that I have very little first hand knowledge of it but I was in college during a time where there was talk of the inner workings of computers and I have thus been exposed to countless conversation with two of my best friends on these topics. Looking back it is actually very interesting to note that I had no intentions of pursuing technology at a younger age but the influence of friends who are geeks like me has helped push me forward. Also I listen to a variety of San Francisco technology podcasts that often delve into the more geeky end of computer technology. In fact, I was just getting into that right before I becamse aware of this CSU program and I attribute much of my interest in the field to these podcasts.

What did you learn through the activities (including links and resources) in class 1?
It is hard to quantify what I've learned from just the first class because I feel as if I knew a lot of it on a casual level. In effect, the first class was a fleshing out of those concepts that I already felt able to discuss somewhat ineptly even though I am far from experienced in the field.

I felt the activity of the simple computer was the most interesting since I have never considered the computer at that basic of a level. In fact it made me think about how I had a friend who dropped out of computer programming in college and now I know why it might have frustrated him.

What questions do you have about the material from class 1?
So far as yet there are no questions.

What I'll take with me

CEdu 534 as a class almost encourages ADD. There are just too many great services, sites, and tools out there. Prior to the class I was aware of most all of these in a general sense. That doesn't mean that I didn't take anything from this class. Far from it. I actually am taking a bit of frustration and angst that my place of business has a technology structure in transition to put it nicely. In order to implement around this barrier I have to think about what is viable.

For me that is screencasting in the immediate future and podcasting of a sort in the next year. As for screencasting, I can immediately see the uses for implementation and I can start to develop a library for the my coming semester. I can embed these casts into my class moodles as well as into my class website. For podcasting, I am holding off on my implementation because I am hesitant to add to my work load but also because I do not relish the task of explaining and implementing some new system of information dissemination in the middle of a school year. This is the sort of mid stream jump that jeopardizes my ultimate goal of creating a comfortable work environment that is about learning communication skills rather than learning new technologies every week.

That then is what I am setting my sites on in the coming months.