bcmt34901 Homework - FTP

File Transfer Protocol is a secure way for users to share files contained on a server. By installing a FTP client software on your computer you can essentially use your own computer as a server, but that can pose serious security problems if your computer is targetted by hackers. The use of user names and security passwords can mitigate that danger. You can also access the stored information via an internet or http protocol.

Now, my biggest problem, living in the 80's technologically in NH, is getting any sort of access speed through my phone lines. If I had a day, I could probably use the WIN_SCP softwrae I downloaded to access my BC server account. So I tried using the work computer...... firewall!!! No amount of password protection is going to get me through to where I need to be. I need to get high speed somehow at home!!!!!

bcmt34901 Homework - SecondLife Move City

After many attempts to access SecondLife, I was finally successfull at getting in and doing my assignments! After a few minutes of running into things and people with little other interaction I did move on to Move City and figured out how to jump onto a scooter and wheel around Move City. I have to say that moving around was a bit difficult as I found the avatar moved a bit after I finished directing or moving by the buttons. But once I got the hang of multiple directions or changing the direction while still in motion things got easier. To get onto the scooter I right clicked on the scooter, accepted permission, and the avatar jumped right on. The pace was a bit faster than walking, but not much. Simply hitting the 'stand up' button helped me jump off the scooter.

So next I tried flying. Pretty cool, and I was able to move around much faster. Oh, and I did find the outer limits of the program flying over the water. Definitely reminded me of 'The Truman Show' where Jim Carrey figures out what was on the horizon! Landing was usually pretty easy, but I took a tumble once and ended up swimming another time. I guess I will have to learn.

Finally, I made my way to the marketplace and was able to buy a chainmail shirt. After strooling around and trying to figure out how to do so I follow directions a bit better and was able to get my avatar to accept the free shirt. Definitely was an involved exchange trying to figure out how to accept the permission and move my avatar, but a succcess no less.

I was finaly able to move off into another island where there were a number of people around. I didn't get into any conversations but I kind of paid attention to what was going on. Bottom line, it was just like being in an AOL chatroom with a bunch of different/separate conversations going on, but with avatar bodies representing the way that people wanted others to see them.

bcmt349 Homework - Mozilla Firefox

Open source organizations can be almost constructively or positively described as cultish in my opinion. To be able to have so many people working together and not necessarily for the ideal monetary gains, but yet have ownership and pride in the work they are doing seems alost impossible in the real world. Perhaps that is why it seems to be succeeding in the virtual world. Usually pride and money and titles get in the way of organization running smoothly. Someone in a managerial role tries their best to control and manipulate the work that is being done, and that is what is expected of them by their superiors. That alone limits the amounts of freedom that can be afforded to allow the vast majorty of the work force to think on their own and present newer ideas.

There are business models out there designed to motivate workers and empower them to make decisions that are for the betterment of the company, but from what I have seen, if the highest management is not on board with these programs they are all but doomed. Mozilla seems to be on board as an organization with this program and they are making it work. It would be nice if more organizations could notice and adopt such ideas.

bcmt349 Homework - PMR and the Hitachi TB Hard Drive

I really am not big on the latest and greatest hard dives that are available for the average person to buy, but what really grabbed my attention was the use of a different technology that has allowed hard drive manufacturers to increase the capacity of the available hard drives while drastically cutting back on the data loss associated with older high capacity drives. This technology is called Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR). Basically, the alignment of the bits of information located on the disk surface is changed to make the bonds between them stronger and more reliable while makin use of a now smaller footprint to add storage capacity.

In class we discussed how older hard drives are affected by the tremendous heat generated by the rotation of the disk of the hard drive. As the heat increases the material of the disk can distort, causing the reader head to impact or rub the disk resulting in data loss. On these disks the bits are layed horizontally, like tiles laid out on the floor. PMR essentially stands the bits on their ends and brings them together to make additional space on the disk for storage. The additional benefit is that the bits are now connected using the larger part of their surface to each other, making their bonds stronger and reducing the effects of additional heat and distortion that can chane the magnetic properties of the bits and make them more suseptible to loss. Think of two rectangular bar magnets. If you connect them end to end you can detach them fairly easily. Now connect them at their largest surfaces. Much more difficult to break apart!

For this exercise I focussed on Hitachi's Deskstar 7K1000 terabyte hard drive. Now it is not very new to the industry, but it incorporates the PMR I discussed above and it integrates a thermal sensor to deal with the heat generated by the 7200 RPM operating speed of the disk. The thermal sensor monitors the heat being generated during operations and requests additonal air flow from the cooling fans through the CPU to maintain temperatures within the accepted operating range. Hitachi also has a controller installed to maintain the reading heights of the reading arm through various operations to further control friction and resulting operating temperatures.

These technologies are still in their early stages, but already Hitachi plans on releasing a 2 TB hard drive by late 2009 utilizing these same advances.


http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/research/recording_head/pr/perpendicularAnimation.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/131417/hitachi_deskstar_7k1000.html

http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/binary/com.epicentric.contentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServlet/hgst/products/images/get_perpendicular_small.jpg

http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.8027a91c954924ae4bda9f30eac4f0a0/

http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/67A68C59B27368FC862572570080FC70/$file/Deskstar7K1000_010307_final.pdf

bcmt34901 Homework - Second Life

I think my home computer access needs a 'second life'!!!! While I was able to establish an account my home access in Cow Hampshire maxes out at 28.8K. Efforts to use my computer at work weren't too good either. The work computer was less than the minimum system requirements to run SecondLife but i was able to proceed, that is until the work server blocked the access. Good thing I asked permission first!

I am going satellite for home internet access very soon and I will try again then!

7/23/08 - Finally got on at BC! Please see 'bcmt34901 Homework - SecondLife Move City' for my experience.

bcmt349 Homework -Video Game or Reality?

In class we constantly allude to video gaming systems and the potential for additional or deeper human involvement that could blur our reality into that of virtual reality and vice versa. We also brought up the side effects that exposure to violent video games could lead to as people move back into the real world. But in the real world there are people who right now are living the reality that every flight simulation game tries to bring us into. These are the pilots of the US Air Force and the RAF who are flying missions in the Middle East from the desert in Nevada - pilots of the unmanned Predator and Reaper aircraft.

These are classically trained pilots who are stationed in 'cockpits' that are actually trailers located at Nellis Air Base in Nevada. The 'pilot' and his 'back' are positioned in front of a number of displays that relay the information collected by the electronics and cameras positioned on the aircraft. Each 'cockpit' is able to command up to four Predators within the squadron. From the information received from on-board radar systems and intelligence these planes are able to perform a number of critical missions without endangering the lives of pilots.

Initially the Predators were designed as spy planes used simply for the purpose of collecting site data for intelligence operations and targetting for manned warplane missions. Later versions added light armaments for protection and small scale aggression. The latest design is the MQ-9 Reaper, which has a full array of the latest missiles available to the Air Force as well as cargo abilities to carry bombs, including the JDAM bomb, which is a 500 pound laser guided bomb for precision attacks. Who knows what this technology will evolve into in the future, but if we have access to this much information today I am sure the designs we can't know about are even more stunning.

So, the military has created a living game, of sorts, where you and another player have control over up to four planes, with armaments of various power and capabilities, where you can take out individuals terrorists or buried bunkers and command centers. Oh, and if you use up all of your weapons you can call in air strikes and missile attacks from other local military assets by using the guidance features and laser targetting systems. Kind of makes all of those flight simulation games with advanced graphics well worth Juniors time if he becomes the next great fighter pilot, doesn't it? How long before we send robots into battle that are commanded from 8000 miles away and the 'soldier' is acting out a scene in CTD4, but in real life.

Makes you think, doesn't it.


http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=6405

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1032376/Meet-RAFs-newest-combat-group-pilotless-planes-flying-crack-missions-Afghanistan-8-000-miles-away.html

bcmt349_Homework_BluRay_v_HDDVD

When all is said and done the winner of the HD format wars will become the bridge over the gap between physical formatted media and high speed streaming media. What happens beyond that is the scramble for media providers to align their products so they can seamlessly adapt to the advances to come. So with Blu Ray pushing ahead with major studio and media provider support the players in this game have been trying to integrate the Blu Ray technology into their projects more and more. AS early as 2006 it was rumored that Apple was trying to integrate their iPod technology with Blu Ray, even though Steve Jobs boldly termed the technology passe earlier this year. He simply alluded to the streaming HD technology to come out as the real winner. One would be smart to conclude that he simply wants to build his bridge that will deliver the winning HD content to his ultra-successful iPod to take advantage of the advances of Blu Ray while the infrastructure continues to be built for greater bandwidth for the common consumer. Soon the iPod will probably become a phone/music center/TV provider/gaming system able to provide all available media to it's holder. And all of those media options will be 'on demand' so to speak..
The bandwidth providers now must surge ahead and provide that added bandwidth capability, not only through cable and fiber optic lines, but also through the air via digital signals. FiOs is the current leader in getting the 'blazing speed' that most techies need at this point, with Comcast unveiling their new high speed plans earlier this year. Of course, Verizon quickly upped the ante, saying that FiOs' capabilities as it currently exist can still outperform the maximum speed that cable can offer. And we cannot forget the advantages of the satellite companies now providing access to high speed, though they are still behind the wire guys.





http://www.ipodobserver.com/story/26468

http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-6199134-1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_high_definition_optical_disc_formats

http://news.cnet.com/FAQ-HD-DVD-vs.-Blu-ray/2100-1041_3-5886956.html

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/12611.cfm
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