Week 4

Week 4 has come and gone really quickly! We learned about IP addresses, and how they're converted from text (like what we type in) into an IP address that the computer reads and understands and uses to find the webpage you're looking for. I'm so thankful we don't have to remember the IP addresses, which are a bunch of numbers! I think I'd memorize Google's IP address and use it to find everything else.
Speaking of Google, apparently they've made it so that people can access their Gmail accounts offline, for those times when the Internet just doesn't work and you just have to read your emails; I've certainly had plenty of those moments! You can view your messages, but can't send them; they get placed in the Outbox and are sent as soon as an Internet connection is detected by the device, whether phone or computer. It's definitely a feature I'll use in the future.
Here's the link to an article about it: Gmail

Week 3

Well, week 3 went by pretty quickly! We didn't have any class on Monday due to MLK day, and Wednesday was powerpacked! We learned about the Hard drive, CPU, and RAM, and how those work together in a computer. I have to admit that it was somewhat confusing, but I think I understand the concept now: the CPU is what makes the whole computer work. It gets its instructions from the Hard drive, which is for memory. The RAM is also for memory, but it's only temporary storage, and thus works much faster. When the CPU boots up, it needs instructions from the HD to be able to function. However, it can't read the HD instructions because it doesn't "know" how. Something called a BIOS instructs the CPU in how to read the instructions, and then it can start working. At least that's what I think. I'll check all of my notes again to make sure I understand it.

President Obama has kept his Blackberry, which is pretty cool! He's using it to email and text people; which is something I don't even know how to do! I didn't realize how dangerous it could be, though; hackers can pinpoint his location through the device, although how they'd do that I have no idea.
President's BlackBerry

Second Life

Second Life is a place where people can live virtual lives and interact through avatars. There are two different sites, one for teens and one for adults, and unfortunately the chances of me being allowed to join the teen one are very small. Anyways, they've got their own type of currency called the Linden dollar that they can use to buy different items virtually. They can explore and create their own land, and it's basically just a virtual world that you can control. I find it amazing that places like Second Life can be created!

Week 2

This week went well, we learned a lot about bits and bytes in class on Monday, I learned so much! We also worked with virtual calendars, and I found out that Google has a calendar that I can access, even though I use my Yahoo email account. In the textbook we're using I learned a lot about the processor and how that operates, and what exactly a Hard Drive Disk is, I've always wondered.

I also learned a lot about MP3, I didn't know that they were actually compressed music files! Apparently, they remove sounds that the human ear can't hear, thus compacting the size, so the sound quality isn't as good as it is on a CD. Fascinating!

I found something about video games (yes, I do get obsessed with them), apparently the Wii system is the most popular this year, along with the Nintendo DS. We have a Wii, along with several games for it, including Wii Play, which was mentioned in the article. PlayStation 3 wasn't quite as popular, and there's no mention of the PSP (PlayStation Portable), which is what I got for Christmas. The PSP isn't as popular as I expected and sadly I haven't found another PSP owner with whom I can play games with through an Internet connection.
Oops, I somehow made the tech part about me...hehe, well here's a link to the article:
Video games

Week 1

First week of my computer class, it's gone well so far! This blog has been so much fun! I work on my homework for class and type up the documents at the college's computer labs, because I don't have Microsoft Office 2007 on my Windows computer. It'll be interesting to see if this way will work well.
As a side note, BendBroadband and KFXO came to an agreement. It seemed to be resolved fairly quickly. Here's a link concerning it (and granted, it is biased): BendBroadband agreement

Introduction

My name is Kat and I'm taking this computer class as part of my G.E. requirement. However, I'm also hoping to learn more computer terminology, and to understand how the computer works, as well as how to use it to its fullest potential. One of the aspects I'm most looking forward to is PowerPoint, because I've always wanted to know how to do that.