Monday, December 9, 2013

Science Computing: Symbolic Computation

First of all, I love mathematics (algebra, geometry, and calculus) because I love to solve numerical problems in my head. Since attending San Jose State University, I have been studying computer science and doing scientific computation. One of the most interesting types of scientific computation is symbolic computation, or computer algebra, Symbolic computation is a subcategory of scientific computation that develops the manipulation and solution of expressions in symbolic form. I remember taking a linear algebra class (Math 129a) two years ago. In that class, I used this handy-dandy application called GNU Octave to do MATLAB math exercises. MATLAB, “a high-level language and interactive environment for numerical computation”, performs symbolic computation from the command line on the computer. Using MATLAB lets everyone define symbolic math expressions and operate them for mathematical purposes. According to MathWorks, there is a list of mathematical areas that use MATLAB and its performances:

“1) Calculus: Performs differentiation and definite/indefinite integration, calculates limits, and computes summation/product series.

 2) Linear Algebra: Performs matrix analysis on symbolic matrices, executes matrix operations and transformations with functions, and gets symbolic expressions for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors. 

 3) Formula Manipulation and Simplification: Simplifies long expressions into shorter forms, transforms expressions to particular forms, and replaces parts of expressions with specified symbolic or numeric values.”

I think symbolic computation is fun because you get to study the algorithms with the implementation and applications to computer science and engineering. For example, here is how it is done:

                        In[1]: 5x - 2x + 3
                         Out[1]: 3 + 3x


                                                                         References

1) “Symbolic Computations in MATLAB.” The MathWorks, Inc. 1994-2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://www.mathworks.com/products/symbolic/description4.html>

2) “MATLAB - The Language of Technical Computing.” The MathWorks, Inc. 1994-2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab/>

3) “Matrices.” Vanderbilt University School of Engineering. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/ge/es140/Otherlinks/MatlabTutorial/Matrices.php>

4) "Lab and Classroom Software." Claremont McKenna College. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/its/sts/labs/acad-software.php>

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Computer Graphics: World of CGI

Computer graphics is basically a different category of graphics which represents the image data from a computer. When I think of computer graphics, I immediately think of computer animation, which is the art of creating moving images on a computer screen. Computer animation is well-known for various images on films, computer games, television programs, commercials, and so on. One of the most interesting applications in the field of computer graphics, CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), has been used to draw 3D computer graphics to scenes and special effects in movies. Many animation studios, such as Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, use CGI to make their films more lively and animated. As you read along, you can see how CGI is put together in animated films.

Beauty and the Beast (1991) 

This Disney animated film has a combination of traditional animation and the selected computer-animated scenes to give a better visual grandeur to the audience. The most highlighted scene from the film was the ballroom scene with the dimensions of “72-foot high ceilings, 184 feet from door-to-door with a width of 126 feet, 28 wall window sections, [and] a 86 x 126 foot dome with a hand-painted mural applied as a texture map.” Jim Hillin, Beauty and the Beast’s CGI Artistic Supervisor, states that "the ballroom sequence features the first computer-generated color background to be both animated and fully dimensional". By having computer artists and technicians work on the layout, art direction, and background of the film, the results for that scene are achieved. 

The Lion King (1994)

The Lion King has presented few of the computer-animated sequences by CGI. For example, the “wildebeest stampede” was a three-dimensional sequence, with hundreds of wildebeest to run and hop simultaneously down the gorge. First, the animators draw a hand-drawn model of the wildebeest and give it to the CGI team to make it look evolved as a computer-generated one. Next, they take the model and multiplied it into hundreds of wildebeest in order to make an extensive stampede. According to CGI artistic supervisor Scott F. Johnston, he built a “follow-the-leader” simulation, a visual simulation “where animators can control the behavior of the wildebeests as leaders and followers.” Johnston explains the simulation’s process that “followers have to follow their leader, but avoid one another because they do not want the wildebeest to bump into each other.” Then, they build a pre-dimensional background grid that matches the perspective and the look of the background that is similar to the screen. On that grid, they placed one of the simulations where each of the bugs gets replaced by the running, hopping wildebeests. Finally, the team add the entire sequence in final color. Before that, they wanted to give each wildebeest randomized colors for testing, so the directors could say that the scene is likable, but they want to point out a few flaws like take the pink eyes out of the yellow face or make one of the them run faster. Once the testing is done, they add different shades of pale colors (gray, black, and brown) to make various wildebeest look realistic.


Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story is the first feature-length animated films with 3D computer graphics. First, Pixar director John Lasseter and the teams from Pixar and Disney “animated storyboards to develop the characters and created models out of clay before creating more than 400 computer models” prior to the computer animation process. Next, they coded motion controls in the parts of the models (mouth, eyes, eyebrows, etc.). After that, they created storyboards with computer-animated characters and implemented the shading, light, and visual effects. It took Lasseter and the two teams “800,000 machine hours, had 114,420 frames, and 77 minutes in computer animation over 1,561 shots, rendered at 1536x922 pixels!” Wow! That’s a huge amount of shots to finalize the film!

With CGI, everyone can enjoy watching animated movies and experiencing the real life images drawn on the screen. Disney’s latest animated movie is Frozen. Over the holidays, check out this movie and pay close attention to the beautiful art work (CGI).


References

1) “The Ballroom.” Disney Wiki. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_Ballroom>

2) Fine, Kelly. “This Week in History: Toy Story and CGI.” Spiceworks. Spiceworks Inc., 2006 - 2013. 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/412181-this-week-in-history-toy-story-and-cgi>

3) jamaldisney. "Lion King Computer Animation CGI and traditional hand drawn." Youtube. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLmAT6t5kL0>

4) Terrill, Brian. “Brian Terrill’s 100 Film Favorites - #17: “Toy Story 2””. Earn This.  WordPress. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://earnthis.net/brian-terrills-100-film-favorites-17-toy-story-2/>

5) Tracy, Joe. “An Inside Look at the Original Beauty and the Beast.” Digital Media FX Magazine. Digital Media FX, 2001. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Beauty/Features/originalbeauty.html>

Friday, November 29, 2013

Communication and Security: Protect Yourself!

Securing your computer is like protecting your house. Imagine if someone breaks into your property and steals your belongings. In computer world, you could be hacked into. That is where cyber security comes to your rescue and protects your property. Cyber security (or computer security) is the protection of computing systems and networks for individuals, families, governments, businesses, and educational institutions. Similar to my hacking post, “Hacking: Hackers and Crackers,” your computer would be hacked if cyber security does not exist. In this post, I will enlist the risks that you need to take precaution against and realize that cyber security is important to you. For more information on this topic, you can also go to “Cybersecurity: Everyone’s Responsibility” on www.cisco.com.

Every individual who owns a computer needs to recognize the risks that exist in the cyber world. Taking care of our personal information responsibly is the key to computer security. Below, I will be listing some risks that exist in the cyber world and some actions that we as computer users must take.

Phishing: Fraudsters gain access to our personal and financial information by one wrong click made on our side. Those malicious soliciting emails that we get, which seem to be from reputable sources are actually baits. When we click and open those emails, if we provide our emails, these fraudsters will gain access to our accounts. How should we prevent it? The answer would be to never open messages or attachments from people or sources you do not know.

Spyware: Two key elements one must know about spyware as: 1) They download themselves themselves without permission and 2) they take control of your computer.

Dell provides the following steps for us to protect ourselves from spyware:
    1. “Adjust your browser security settings for your Internet zone”
    2. “Practice your safe web-surfing habits and download cautiously”
    3. “Install and use anti-spyware software”
    4. “Install a firewall with outbound pattern”

Password protection: Create difficult multi-letter, multi-number, and multi-character passwords. Change your passwords regularly and don’t make them easy to guess, such as your name or date of birth.

Social media: Do not compromise your identity or safety by spilling your information on a social media website.

Plan Ahead: Store all of your records on an external hard drive. This will assure safety for your credit and school records, family photos, and business information.

The five steps mentioned above are like a lock to your house or car. As for your computer, you have to either log off or change your password to keep your data safe. Cyber security is always there to keep you from danger in your computer system! Use it!


References

1) “Cybersecurity: Everyone’s Responsibility.” Cisco. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/C45-626825-00_Cyber_Security_Responsibility_AAG.pdf>

2) “Cyber Security.” Zen Internet. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://www.zen.co.uk/blog/cyber-security/>

3) “Prevent Spyware.” Dell. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. <http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/security/security_spyware_help?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~mode=popup&DoNotRedirect=y#WhatCanIDotoPreventMyComputerfromGettingInfectedwithSpyware?>

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Artificial Intelligence: The Next Generation Brain

John McCarthy, an American computer scientist, defines artificial intelligence (aka AI) as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” I think what McCarthy really means that it is the goal of building machines that perform normal tasks with the requirement of human intelligence. I must agree with him that we will need to set long-term goals to simulate machines with human intelligence for future generations. Let’s talk about technological machines that were developed by artificial intelligence.

Self-driving cars: Self-driving cars are autonomous vehicles that are designed to drive without a human operator. In the latest generation of automobiles, AI has been developed and used to help the driver in steering the wheel and hitting the brakes to avoid accidents and collisions. For example, in the photo down below illustrates a Google self-driving car. Another feature would be setting your destination in the software and never using your hands on the wheel. Nowadays, AI helps drivers with parallel parking. Set the car on full control and it will calculate the distances between two cars and parallel park itself. This is how AI helps in self-driving cars.


Supercomputers: Supercomputers are highly expensive and powerful for scientific computations. For example, IBM Watson is a room-sized supercomputer which answered all of the questions on “Jeopardy.” This was a stunning revelation for the future of technology.






iPhone Siri: Siri was invented as the artificially intelligent voice control system for iPhone 4S, 5S, etc. For example, when one asks Siri for directions to restaurants/cafes in San Francisco, it immediately provides directions and options for the command it has received. Siri is one of this generation’s AI.

With AI, our world will become more advanced where machines own human intelligence and make our lives easier in the future.


References

 1) Best, Jo. “IBM Watson: How the Jeopardy-Winning Supercomputer was Born, and What It Wants to Do Next." 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.techrepublic.com/article/ibm-watson-the-inside-story-of-how-the-jeopardy-winning-supercomputer-was-born-and-what-it-wants-to-do-next/>

 2) Epstein, Zach. “Google Self-Driving Cars.” BGR. 2013 Aug. 23. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://bgr.com/2013/08/23/google-self-driving-cars/>

3) Gillen, Paul. "IBM's Watson Jeopardy Challenge is the Greatest B2B Campaign Ever." Social Media B2B. 2011 Feb. 23. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://socialmediab2b.com/2011/02/greatest-b2b-campaign-ever-ibm-watson-jeopardy/>

4) Ritchie, Rene. “Apple Announces SIRI artificial intelligence voice control for iPhone 4S.” Imore.com. 2011 Oct. 4. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.imore.com/apple-announces-siri-artificial-intelligence-voice-control-iphone-4s>

5) “What is Driverless Car?” WhatIs.com. Sept. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/driverless-car>

Friday, November 15, 2013

History of Computer Science: Programming Paradigms

There are many historical topics that we are aware of: Julius Caesar, American Revolution, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, etc. However, there is one kind of history that we have never heard of before, and that is Computer Science History. It was not easy to come up with an excellent idea for this subject...but then it hit me! When I think of computer science history, I immediately think of programming paradigms.

According to Wikipedia, programming paradigms are “fundamental styles of computer programming and a method of building structures and elements of computer programs." In my programming paradigms class (CS 152), we are learning about various programming languages before Java. Let me describe the four main paradigms and give you examples of programming languages on each paradigm.

1) Imperative Programming: A programming paradigm that “describes computation as statements that change a program state”. Examples: FORTRAN, Pascal, C, etc.



2) Functional Programming: A programming paradigm that “treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions and avoids state and mutable data.” Examples: Common Lisp, Scheme, etc.

Lisp                                                                              Scheme






3) Object-Oriented Programming: A programming paradigm that “represents concepts as “objects” that have data fields and methods.” Examples: C++, Smalltalk, etc.

C++                                                                                                          Smalltalk











4) Logic Programming: A programming paradigm that is based on symbolic logic. Examples: Prolog (My favorite programming language) and Datalog.
                 
Prolog                                                                                                        Datalog
There are two strong reasons as to why I prefer Prolog. First, it is simply expressible and the logic clicks in my mind. Second, I have a knack in writing Prolog rules and queries.



If you want to study programming paradigms, take a copy of the book called Programming Languages: Principles and Practice by Kenneth C. Louden and Kenneth A. Lambert. It takes a lot to learn programming paradigms, but it’s a learning process of understanding the concepts and the logic within them.  

Works Cited

1) “15 Useful Mac OS X Text Editors.” Dreamcss. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://blog.dreamcss.com/wysiwyg-editor/mac-os-x-text-editors/>

2) “Classification of the Principal Programming Languages.” Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL). Web. 12 Nov. 2013. <http://www.info.ucl.ac.be/~pvr/paradigms.html>

3) Collingbourne, Huw. “Is Ruby the New Smalltalk?” SapphireSteel Software. 23 Apr. 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Blog/Is-Ruby-The-New-Smalltalk>

4) “Datalog Educational System.” SourceForge.net. 2013 Nov. 14. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://www.fdi.ucm.es/profesor/fernan/des/>

5) Kabbaj, Adil. “Prolog+CG GUI.” Jan. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://amine-platform.sourceforge.net/component/Guis/PrologPlusCGGUI.htm>

6) Ott, Alex. “Support for the Scheme Programming Language.” 2011. Web. 15 Nov 2013. <http://alexott.net/en/writings/emacs-devenv/EmacsScheme.html>

7) “Programming Paradigms.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_paradigm>

8) “What is high-level language?” Webopedia: Everything You Need to Know is Right Here. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/high_level_language.html>

9) Wikimedia Commons. 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Devcpp5110.png>

Friday, November 8, 2013

File Sharing: Dropbox

File sharing is easy and convenient for everyone through the Internet. File sharing, based on the Internet use, can be done through Google Drive, SkyDrive, DropBox, and etc. First, I love file sharing because I can sync my information to a cloud environment, which is digitally stored into my Mac OSX laptop, iPhone, and iPad. My most favorite file-sharing service of all time is DropBox, an easy functional cloud service for storing non-personal data through the internet. Let me explain to you why DropBox is easy to synchronize your files for personal and business use.


On a daily basis, I use DropBox to upload my photographs from my iPhone and download my files on my Mac. One advantage of DropBox is that users no longer need to attach files to the content of the email. By simply downloading information/files into your DropBox account, your are giving your friends, colleagues, and family the opportunity to access them as they please. According to the blog, “Why I Love DropBox: The Top Benefits of Using DropBox (File Storage & Sharing),” it has the ability to share a Dropbox folder to the user’s contacts for both personal and business world. Another impressive element in DropBox is that when you create a folder with DropBox in the Internet, you can sync your files in there and it will automatically be saved online.The next advantage with DropBox is that if you have access to the Internet, no matter where in the world you are, you can retrieve and read your saved documents. This means you do not have to carry along a personal computer with files stored on it. Your handy-dandy smartphone will give you the comfort of retrieving your data.


With DropBox and its accessibility, I have the advantage of saving my files, uploading my photos, and creating folders into my Finder window. As I see it, this is the next generation of file sharing.

Works Cited
  1. Cabrera, Pauline. “Why I Love DropBox: The Top Benefits of Using DropBox (File Storage & Sharing).” TwelveSkip. 24 Mar. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.twelveskip.com/resources/tools/247/why-i-love-dropbox-the-top-benefits-of-using-it-file-storage-sharing>
  2. Beach, Stormy. “A New DropBox Beta App is Available, Adds Photo Improvements and a Opt in for Direct Beta Builds.” AndroidSpin. 21 Dec. 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://androidspin.com/tag/dropbox/>
  3. chrisbowler. “Extend the Web with DropBox.” AppStorm. 21 Sept. 2009. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://web.appstorm.net/reviews/file-management/extend-the-web-with-dropbox/>

Friday, November 1, 2013

Data Structures: Binary Search Trees (BSTs)


Who doesn’t like binary search trees, or BSTs? They are my favorite data structures. According to Wikipedia, a binary search tree is “a binary tree data structure which has the following properties:
  • The left subtree of a node contains only nodes with keys less than the node's key.
  • The right subtree of a node contains only nodes with keys greater than the node's key.
  • The left and right subtree each must also be a binary search tree.
  • There must be no duplicate nodes” (1).

The reason that I like binary search trees is that you can search a binary search tree for a specific key with a recursive algorithm. There are many examples of operations that are used for binary search trees, but here is one from Wikipedia that shows the search operation (1):

function Find(key, root):
    current-node := root
    while current-node is not Null do
        if current-node.key = key then
            return current-node
        else if key < current-node.key then
            current-node := current-node.left
        else
            current-node := current-node.right


Of course, there are other algorithms that are based in the BSTs, such as insertion, deletion, traversal, and sort.

These algorithms are used to form an abstract of sets, multisets, and associative arrays in the binary search tree.

There is no need to tell that we computer science/computer engineering/software engineering majors in San Jose State University understand the knowledge of binary search trees in various programming languages, especially Java.

To wrap it up, my main reason for liking binary search trees is that I understand the algorithms very well and enjoy the practices of depth-first traversal: in-order, preorder, and postorder.


Works Cited

1) “Binary search tree.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
          19 October 2013. Web. 1 November 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_search_tree>

Friday, October 25, 2013

Hacking: Hackers and Crackers

When I read and heard the word “hacking,” I think of hackers breaking into your email account or your social media profile and stealing your personal information. Hacking could be considered a major threat to us. My dear friend, Urban Dictionary, defines hacking, in computer terminology, as “the gaining of access (wanted or unwanted) to a computer and viewing, copying, or creating data without the intention of destroying data or maliciously harming the computer.” There are good hackers (such as Homeland Security personnel) who try to protect the citizens of the United States against internal terrorism. On the other hand, there are “crackers” who can gain unauthorized access to your personal accounts. I, for one, believe that “crackers” can cause chaos in one’s life, stealing their social security, bank account numbers, personal emails, etc. Sometimes the damage done is so great that is irretrievable.


In an ABC News article titled “15-Year-Old Admits Hacking NASA Computers,” a 15-year-old boy “caused a 21-day shutdown of NASA computers that support the international space station, and invaded a Pentagon weapons computer system to intercept 3,300 emails, steal passwords and cruise around like an employee.” This boy, using the pseudo-name of “c0mrade,” has been identified as the first and youngest hacker imprisoned for computer crimes. He is currently serving six months of imprisonment in a state detention facility. Two different things might have been going through his head while committing the crime. First, he might have been thinking that he is the smartest teenager in the United States and would be recognized for his intelligence. However, this backfired on him. Second, he might have been under the impression what he was doing would be harmless. Whereas now, we know the extend of damages he has caused.

If you have the prominent programming skills, why not put them in greater use?

Thursday, October 10, 2013

OpenSource: OpenProj vs. Microsoft Project


 

I would like to discuss the gist and the similarities and differences between OpenProj and Microsoft Project. OpenProj is an alternative Window-based tool to Microsoft project, but has “a similar user interface (UI) and a similar approach to construction of a project plan” (Wikipedia). You could say that OpenProj and Microsoft Project were mostly related to each other. This application has accessibility to operate project management in a disciplined way, such as tracking your work, establishing accurate project plans, and so on. It even creates visual schedules for keeping track of your project tasks such as Gantt charts (like the one from above). 

Now that we know the description of OpenProj, I will show you the similarities and differences. According to the article from Bright Hub PM, “Microsoft Project vs. OpenProj,” there are few similarities, but many differences. However, for the scope of this blog, I will enlist the most significant and important differences for the users.

Similarities
  • Resource management
  • Scheduling
  • Custom features (i.e. validation rules, workflow rules, and custom actions) 

Differences
  • OpenProj is free, but $849 for Microsoft Project
  • OpenProj has a Java platform, not Microsoft Project
  • OpenProj has no project portfolio management, but Microsoft Project does
  • OpenProj has blogging capability

In my opinion, OpenProj may be ineffective for project management users based on its accessibility and accountability. Sometimes it can be helpful for your project schedules, but it may not be easy to work with on a weekly basis. I finally come to a conclusion that for me, it would be difficult to work with OpenProj.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Agile: The Process of Software Development Methodology

What is Agile Software Development and what does it do? Agile Software Development is a collection of iterative and incremental software development methodologies, which “promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery, a time-boxed iterative approach, and encourages rapid and flexible response to change”(Wikipedia). If you take a glance at the image on to your left, this shows you an Agile development cycle and how its process can create better results through technical thinking and improvement. Every time a software development team has to build a project for customers/clients, they need to put their minds together to make innovative ideas and test their results.

One example of Agile from the article, "How Agile Thinking Leads to Better Branding", is an approach that can lead to better branding. Simon Ward, chief executive of brand consultancy Holmes & Merchant, states the importance of Agile as:
  • Providing customers' needs
  • Lowering risks in marketing and design
  • Continuing brand enhancement
  • Allocating budget to enhance Agile thinking based on consumers
  • Increasing Agile thinkers in the marketing department of companies

With the rapid growth of technology and the high demand of consumers, Agile marketers are needed in every corporation. This can be achieved by being innovative and collaborative in developing and providing the customers' needs and demands.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Wiki: The Educational Era

When you heard the term “Wiki”, you think of Wikipedia, Wikimedia, and WikiHow, which are your well-known search engines that are used for research for our every day life. In fact, Wiki is a very useful web application for text management (such as editing paragraphs and adding content). Wiki is used not only for researching and editing information, but also providing resources for educational purposes. 

The most interesting success story about Wiki is Heiko Przyhodnik, a biology teacher in Berlin, teamed up with an online school textbook company in Germany called “Schulbuch-O-Mat” in creating free Wiki-style biology e-textbooks. Przyhodnik was very unhappy for the results and outcome of his students’ work. What was even more upsetting was that the textbooks were expensive and the students did not even bother looking over the important content on so many of the pages. This lead to the creation of a Wiki-style biology textbook by Przyhodnik and Schulbuch-O-Mat. This creation helped save money and time for both the students and the teacher. The fact that students could now access the text by using technology excited them to the point that they would actually look it up and read it. It helped the teachers because the students came to class more prepared. The integration of these two has extended the educational level of the students from K through 12. This online biology textbook can be found in Wiki format. Users are free to access and edit it online any way they choose to. These days, Wiki is the first search engine students refer to in order to find information or close to any area they are looking for. If every school from around the world has these free Wiki-style textbooks, students will not waste their time skipping through pages of a real textbook and focus on their subject.

As an Internet researcher, I think Wiki is helpful to future users because it gives them an enormous amount of resources on their subjects. The future of education is very bright. These search engines will also help us in preserving nature.

Friday, September 20, 2013

LinkedIn and Branding: “LinkedIn” a Professional Network

Did you know that in the last decade, 238 million members made LinkedIn the world’s largest social, professional network? In this decade, LinkedIn developed the process of searching for a job position and building strong and professional relationships far easier than any other search engine. LinkedIn can provide answers to your professional questions, develop resumes, and research job positions.  One of the most recent forms of networking takes place on LinkedIn, where professionals connect on this website in order to expand their network and job search. By connecting through LinkedIn, it expands both your network and opportunity to get your future career. Not only that, but also allows recruiters easy access to your cover letter and resume.

LinkedIn requires its users to be professional for the purpose of networking and job searching. Everyone has to have a professional LinkedIn profile and treat it as an online resume, which should not look similar to a Facebook profile. For example, if you add a picture of yourself in an inappropriate fashion, you may lose job opportunities. In a LinkedIn profile, you add your areas of expertise (i.e. web development, product management, etc.), your past job experiences, and your job description. You must always straighten yourself up and keep your profile concise.

I think LinkedIn has provided a different world and concept of staying professionally connected. It has also helped users to maintain an up-to-date resume and cover letter. This in the process and hope of finding a new job is vital. 

Friday, September 13, 2013

QR Codes: Our Future Resources

What are QR codes? As defined, they are “two-dimensional bar codes that can contain any alphanumeric text and often feature URLs that direct users to sites where they can learn about an object or place [aka “mobile tagging”]” (“7 Things You Should Know About QR Codes,” Educause Learning Initiative). These QR codes have become popular worldwide in various industries: manufacturing, healthcare, life sciences, logistics, and academics (“QR Code® Essentials,” Denso: Inventor of the QR Code®). They can be found in other places, such as business cards, billboards, social networking sites, and blogs (“QR Code® Essentials,” Denso: Inventor of the QR Code®). QR codes could be downloaded on every mobile phone to enable the users to decode the information.

Millions of mobile phone users worldwide can access QR codes through 3G networks by utilizing their phone cameras to decipher these codes (“7 Things You Should Know About QR Codes,” Educause Learning Initiative). Once the user scans it, he/she could target the information for industrial or personal purposes. For instance, contact information from a business card (“7 Things You Should Know About QR Codes,” Educause Learning Initiative). They can use QR code-scanning applications from their mobile phone, such as iPhone QR Reader and RedLaser. This leads us to an example; I for one have the QR code-reading app on my phone, and I use it to look at the map and directions of the Accessible Education Center (AEC). With the usage of QR code-reading apps, anyone can receive an abundant amount of information by scanning the code.
 
As a student, I see five advantages of the QR code, which I benefit from on a daily basis. The first advantage of the QR code is that there is no need to take my computer/laptop out and search on a browser. The code has the complete data of a given URL link. The second advantage is saving plenty of time to receive my target link directly into my phone despite having slow internet access. The third advantage is saving excessive amounts of paper without picking up a brochure or map from a site and wasting it. The fourth advantage is somehow related to the previous advantage. Here, I do not need to print and carry actual store coupons when I am out and about shopping. Finally, it is easily accessible to make appointments with any institution within our community. These advantages take us to new levels of comfort in the future. I hope to see QR codes imprinted worldwide for the convenience of travelers and students.

References

      “QR Code® Essentials.” Denso: Inventor of the QR Code®. DENSO ADC. 2011. 
                  Web. 8 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nacs.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=D1FpVAvvJuo%3D&tabid=1426&mid=4802>

      “7 Things You Should Know About QR Codes.” Educause Learning Initiative. Educause. 

                   n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2013. <http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELi7046.pdf>
          

Friday, September 6, 2013

Social Networking Security or Lack of When Promoting Your Brand

Social media has provided many interactions among people who create and exchange information/ideas in various networks. Over the years, cases of security bridge have been reported to the media, which have been proven to be quite controversial. The lack of proper safety measure has stirred up a media frenzy. As we all know, the media loves a good controversial topic, which the social networking sites have provided for them. As an independent person, I believe it is fair to say that every network in the social media area should protect their users with the most advanced security settings to manage and shield the account holders private postings.

The scary thing is if these multi-million-dollar social media companies do not protect their users, an array of unfortunate outcomes might occur. We have seen accounts hacked in, identities stolen, and also pictures and videos of account holders spread throughout the entire site. These cases have had some severe consequences for the account holders, such as teenagers being rejected from applied colleges due to the pictures they had posted. Not only teenagers, but also employees have been turned down for a potential position within a corporation. However, the worst case is when the account holder’s identity/home address has been stolen. There have been cases where thieves have been able to access the main page of the account holder and find out their whereabouts in order to burglarize their property.

Social networking security should be on the top of any social media platform’s list. Great measures should be taken, great law firms should be consulted with, and advanced protective software should be developed, no matter how much it costs the company.

Friday, August 30, 2013

The Road to My Success


Hello to CS 100W/200W peers and Debra.

My name is Mari Kaneshima and I am a fifth-year student at San Jose State University. 

My technical expertise are in acknowledging HTML and CSS, building and designing websites, having good usage of Microsoft Office and iWork, and debugging image errors on websites. By having these expertise, I believe I am seasoned in website designing (AKA The WebMaster). My passion for the language of computers started before attending San Jose State University. These languages helped me understand how to write and design websites, which leads to my goal as a future website designer.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
                        -- Steve Jobs

This quote by Steve Jobs motivates and excites me in my field of computer science, where I hoped to be a leader in website designing. This road to success will be filled with ups and downs, but I am ready and excited for the challenges I will encounter.

There are many challenges for me to tackle when it comes to being appointed as a computer scientist. I need to develop my communication/interpersonal skills and take what I have learned from my computer science classes into consideration when I face the many challenges which I am sure I will stumble across in my career.

I am looking forward for your comments and feedback here in my blog.