Distance conveys a degree of anonymity, and as a result, many people feel less inhibited in online situations than in their everyday lives. This lessening of inhibitions sometimes leads people to drop their normal standards of decorum when communicating online. In response, good cybercitizens have developed, over the years, an informal set of guidelines for online behavior called netiquette .
Netiquette can be summarized by three simple precepts: Remember that there is a human being on the other end of your communication, treat that human being with respect, and do not transmit any message that you wouldn’t be willing to communicate face to face. Some specific guidelines include: x Be careful what you write about others. Assume that anyone about whom you are writing will read your comments or receive them by some circuitous route. x Be truthful. Do not pretend to be someone or something that you are not. x Be brief. Receiving and reading messages costs time and money. x Use titles that accurately and concisely describe the contents of email and other postings. x Consider your audience, and use language that is appropriate. Excessive use of jargon in a nontechnical chat room, for example, can be bad manners, and remember that children sometimes join chat rooms. x Avoid offensive language, especially comments that might be construed as racist or sexist. x Remember that the law still applies in cyberspace. Do not commit illegal acts online, such as libeling or slandering others, and do not joke about committing illegal acts. x Be careful with humor and sarcasm. One person’s humorous comment can be another person’s boorish or degrading remark. x Do not post a message more than once. x Generally speaking, avoid putting words into full capitals. Online, all-caps is considered
SHOUTING. x If you are following up a previous message or posting, summarize that message or posting. x Do not post irrelevant messages, referred to in hacker’s jargon as spam. x Do not post messages whose sole purpose is to sucker others into an irrelevant or unimportant discussion. Such messages are known as trolls. x Read existing follow-up postings and don’t repeat what has already been said. x Respect other people’s intellectual property. Don’t post, display, or otherwise provide access to materials belonging to others, and cite references as appropriate. x Temper online expressions of hostility; in hacker’s jargon, avoid excessive flaming of others. x Never send online chain letters. x Some email programs allow one to place a signature containing text and graphics at the end of a mailing. Remember that elaborate materials take up valuable transmission time, and do not overdo these signatures. x Limit the length of typed lines to less than 78 characters, and avoid unusual formatting. x Identify any financial interests related to an email message or posting. If you are selling something, make that fact clear. x Do not send email to people who might have no interest in it. In particular, avoid automatically copying email to large numbers of people. x Online messages can be quite informal, but try, nevertheless, to express yourself using proper spelling, capitalization, grammar, usage, and punctuation. x Avoid chastising others for their online typos. To err is human. To forgive is good cybercitizenship.
Cover Page
WL1-C4-P2-Netiquette.docx
2012
Student Name
Drake Computing
1/1/2012
WL1-C4-P3-CompDevices.docx
Engineers have been especially creative in designing new ways to get information into computers.
Some input methods are highly specialized and unusual, while common devices often undergo redesign to improve their capabilities or their ergonomics, the ways in which they affect people physically. Some common input devices include keyboards, mice, trackballs, and touchpads.
K EYBOARD
A keyboard can be an external device that is attached by means of a cable, or it can be attached to the CPU case itself as it is for laptop computers. Most keyboards today are QWERTY keyboards, which take their name from the first six keys at the left of the first row of letters. An alternative, the
DVORAK keyboard, places the most commonly used keys close to the user’s fingertips and speeds typing.
Many keyboards have a separate numeric keypad, like that of a calculator, containing numbers and mathematical operators. All keyboards have modifier keys that enable the user to change the symbol or character that is entered when a given key is pressed. The Shift key, for example, makes a letter uppercase. Keyboards also have special cursor keys that enable the user to change the position on the screen of the cursor, a symbol that appears on the monitor to show where in a document the next change will appear. Most keyboards also have function keys, labeled F1, F2, F3, and so on. These keys allow the user to issue commands by pressing a single key.
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M
OUSE
Graphical operating systems contain many elements that a user can choose by pointing at them.
Such elements include buttons, tools, pull-down menus, and icons for file folders, programs, and document files. Often pointing to and clicking on one of these elements is more convenient than using the cursor or arrow keys on the keyboard. This pointing and clicking can be done by using a mouse. The mouse is the second most common input device, after the keyboard. A mouse operates by moving the cursor on the computer screen to correspond to movements made with the mouse.
T
RACKBALL
A trackball is like an upside-down mouse. A mouse is moved over a pad. A trackball remains stationary, and the user moves the ball with his or her fingers or palm. One or more buttons for choosing options are incorporated into the design of the trackball.
T OUCHPAD AND T OUCHSCREEN
A touchpad feels less mechanical than a mouse or trackball because the user simply moves a finger on the pad. A touchpad has two parts. One part acts as a button, while the other emulates a mouse pad on which the user traces the location of the cursor with a finger. People with carpal tunnel syndrome find touchpads and trackballs easier to use than mice. Many portable computers have built-in trackballs or touchpads as input devices.
A touchscreen allows the user to choose options by pressing the appropriate part of the screen.
Touchscreens are widely used in bank ATMs and in kiosks at retail outlets and in tourist areas.
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To get information into a computer, a person uses an input device. To get information out, a person
M
ONITOR
The most common monitors use either a thin film transistor (TFT) active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) or a plasma display. Plasma displays have a very true level of color reproduction compared with LCDs. Emerging display technologies include surface-conduction electron-emitter displays (SED) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED).
P
RINTER
After monitors, printers are the most important output devices. The print quality produced by these devices is measured in dpi, or dots per inch. As with screen resolution, the greater the number of dots per inch, the better the quality. The earliest printers for personal computers were dot matrix printers that used perforated computer paper. These impact printers worked something like typewriters, transferring the image of a character by using pins to strike a ribbon.
A laser printer uses a laser beam to create points of electrical charge on a cylindrical drum. Toner, composed of particles of ink with a negative electrical charge, sticks to the charged points on the
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Page 4 collaborate and share huge amounts of complex scientific information at amazing speeds. Led by over 170 universities working in partnership with industry and government, the Internet2 consortium is developing and deploying advanced network technologies and applications.
Internet2 is a testing ground for universities to work together and develop advanced Internet technologies such as telemedicine, digital libraries, and virtual laboratories. Internet2 universities will be connected to an ultrahigh-speed network called the Abilene backbone. Each university will use state-of-the-art equipment to take advantage of transfer speeds provided by the network.
2
INTERNET SERVICES FOR A FEE
Industry observers predict that large portals such as AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! will soon determine effective structures and marketing strategies to get consumers to pay for Internet services. This new market, called bring-your-own-access (BYOA), will combine essential content , for example, news and weather, with services , such as search, directory, email, IM, and online shopping, into a new product with monthly access charges. But to entice current and potential customers into the BYOA market,
ISP and telecom companies must offer improvements in the area of security, privacy, and ease of use. Additionally, they are expected to develop new ways to personalize content and add value to the current range of Internet services.
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The Internet is having trouble keeping up with the rapid increase in users and the increased workload created by the popularity of bandwidth-intensive applications such as music and video files. The broadband connections needed to enjoy these new applications are not evenly distributed. Several ongoing projects promise to provide solutions for these problems in the future. Once these connectivity problems are dealt with, people around the world will be able to enjoy the new web services that are only a few short years away.
SATELLITE INTERNET CONNECTIONS
Many people living in remote or sparsely populated areas are not served by broadband Internet connections. Cable or optical fiber networks are very expensive to install and maintain, and ISPs are not interested in providing service to areas or individuals unless they think it will be profitable. One hope for people without broadband connections is provided by satellite TV networks. Remote ISPs connect to the satellite network using antennae attached to their servers. Data is relayed to and from ISP servers to satellites, which are in turn connected to an Internet backbone access point. While the connection speeds might not be as fast as those offered by regular land-based broadband access, they are faster than the service twisted-pair cable can offer and much better than no access at all.
SECOND INTERNET
A remedy for the traffic clogging the information highway is Internet2 , a revolutionary new type of Internet currently under development. When fully operational, Internet2 will enable large research universities in the United States to
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WL1-C4-P4-InternetFuture.docx
INTERNET IN 2030
Ray Kurzweil, a computer futurist, has looked ahead to the year 2030 and visualized a Web that offers no clear distinctions between real and simulated environments and people. Among the applications he sees as very possible are computerized displays in eyeglasses that could offer simultaneous translations of foreign language conversations, nanobots (microscopic robots) that would work with our brains to extend our mental capabilities, and sophisticated avatars (simulated onscreen persons) that people will interact with online. Technologies that allow people to project their feelings as well as their images and voices may usher in a period when people could “be” with another person even though they are physically hundreds or even thousands of miles apart.
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Robotic factories are increasingly commonplace, especially in heavy manufacturing, where tolerance of repetitive movements, great strength, and untiring precision are more important than flexibility. Robots are especially useful in hazardous work, such as defusing bombs or handling radioactive materials. They also excel in constructing tiny components like those found inside notebook computers, which are often too small for humans to assemble.
Most people think of robots in science fiction terms, which generally depict them as androids, or simulated humans. Real robots today do not look human at all and, judged by human standards, they are not very intelligent. The task of creating a humanlike body has proven incredibly difficult. Many technological advances in visual perception, audio perception, touch, dexterity, locomotion, and navigation need to occur before robots that look and act like human beings will live and work among us.
V
ISUAL
P
ERCEPTION
Visual perception is an area of great complexity. A large percentage of the human brain is dedicated to processing data coming from the eyes. As our most powerful sense, sight is the primary means through which we understand the world around us. A single camera is not good enough to simulate the eye. Two cameras are needed to give stereoscopic vision, which allows depth and movement perception. Even with two cameras, visual perception is incomplete because the cameras cannot understand or translate what they see. Processing the image is the difficult part. In order for a robot to move through a room full of furniture it must build a mental map of that room, complete with obstacles. The robot must judge the distance and size of objects before it can figure out how to move around them.
A
UDIO
P
ERCEPTION
Audio perception is less complex than visual perception, but no less important. People respond to audible cues about their surroundings and the people they are with without even thinking about it. Listeners can determine someone’s emotional state just by hearing the person’s voice. A car starting up when someone crosses the street prompts the walker to glance in that direction to check for danger. Identifying a single voice and interpreting what is being said amid accompanying background noise is a task that is among the most important for human beings—and the most difficult.
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T ACTILE P ERCEPTION
Tactile perception, or touch, is another critical sense. Robots can be built with any level of strength, since they are made of steel and motors. How does a robot capable of lifting a car pick up an egg in the dark without dropping or crushing it? The answer is through a sense of touch. The robot must not only be able to feel an object, but also be able to sense how much pressure it is applying to that object. With this feedback it can properly judge how hard it should squeeze. This is a very difficult area, and it may prove that simulating the human hand is even more difficult than simulating the human mind.
Related to touch is the skill of dexterity, or hand-eye coordination. The challenge is to create a robot that can perform small actions, such as soldering tiny joints or placing a chip at a precise spot in a circuit board within half a millimeter.
L
OCOMOTION
Locomotion includes broad movements such as walking. Getting a robot to move around is not easy. This area of robotics is challenging, as it requires balance within an endlessly changing set of variables. How does the program adjust for walking up a hill, or down a set of stairs? What if the wind is blowing hard or a foot slips? Currently most mobile robots work with wheels or treads, which limits their mobility in some circumstances but makes them much easier to control.
N
AVIGATION
Related to perception, navigation deals with the science of moving a mobile robot through an environment. Navigation is not an isolated area of artificial intelligence, as it must work closely with a visual system or some other kind of perception system. Sonar, radar, mechanical “feelers,” and other systems have been subjects of experimentation.
A robot can plot a course to a location using an internal “map” built up by a navigational perception system. If the course is blocked or too difficult, the robot must be smart enough to backtrack so it can try another plan.
THIS RENT AGREEMENT (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) is made and entered into this ____ day of ________________, 2012, by and between Tracy Hartford and Michael Iwami.
Tracy Hartford rents to Michael Iwami and Michael Iwami rents from Tracy Hartford the described premises together with any and all appurtenances thereto, for a term of _____ year(s), such term beginning on __________________, and ending at 12 o’clock midnight on ____________________.
The total rent for the term hereof is the sum of _________________ DOLLARS ($_________) payable on the
______ day of each month of the term. All such payments shall be made to Tracy Hartford at Tracy
Hartford’s address on or before the due date and without demand.
Upon the due execution of this Agreement, Michael Iwami shall deposit with Tracy Hartford the sum of _____________ DOLLARS ($_________), receipt of which is hereby acknowledged by Tracy
Hartford, as security for any damage caused to the Premises during the renting term hereof. Such deposit shall be returned to Michael Iwami, without interest, and minus any set off for damages to the Premises upon the termination of this renting Agreement.
The Premises shall be used and occupied by Michael Iwami and Michael Iwami’s immediately family, exclusively, as a private single family dwelling, and no part of the Premises shall be used at any time during the term of this Agreement by Michael Iwami for the purpose of carrying on any business, profession, or trade of any kind, or for any purpose other than as a private single family dwelling. Michael Iwami shall not allow any other person, other than Michael Iwami’s immediate family or transient relatives and friends who are guests of Michael Iwami, to use or occupy the
Premises without first obtaining Tracy Hartford’s written consent to such use.
Michael Iwami stipulates, represents, and warrants that Michael Iwami has examined the Premises, and that they are at the time of this Agreement in good order, repair, and in a safe, clean, and tenantable condition.
Michael Iwami shall make no alterations to the buildings or improvements on the Premises without the prior written consent of Tracy Hartford. Any and all alterations, changes, and/or improvements
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Page 2 built, constructed, or placed on the Premises by Michael Iwami shall, unminus otherwise provided by written agreement between Tracy Hartford and Michael Iwami, be and become the property of
Tracy Hartford and remain on the Premises at the expiration or earlier termination of this
Agreement.
In the event Premises are destroyed or rendered wholly unlivable, by fire, storm, earthquake, or other casualty not caused by the negligence of Michael Iwami, this Agreement shall terminate from such time except for the purpose of enforcing rights that may have then accrued hereunder.