Week 8

Week 8 has gone by really quickly! We had quizzes on Monday and Wednesday, and to my surprise I scored 100% on them both! =D I've definitely become a lot more comfortable with using Excel, because prior to this class I've never used it before. I think it's safe to say that I've really grasped the concept of relative and absolute references, something I wish I could say about stoichiometry and the mole of chemistry... =P

Anyways, in the news today, I found something that said that there's actually a type of skin disorder that comes from playing video games! When someone grips the controller really tightly, and also sweats due to the tension of the game, they can get really painful sores all over their hands. I do that a lot...haha, not really something to tell my mom about. ;-)
PlayStation palmar hidradenitis

Week 7

This week we did a lot in Excel. I've never really used Excel before, so this is basically all new to me. I've been enjoying it, and I finally understand the concept of relative and absolute references.

I also got a Gmail account, and I love the chat! I've been able to talk with my friends a lot, and it's like having a phone conversation, only you type instead of speak.

In the news world, there has been a delay in the domain name change that ICANN was going to have. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers say that they're going to let people purchase their own domain names (instead of the usual .com, .net, etc.). They're having to figure out some issues regarding that, so the date has been pushed to possibly the end of this year.
Domain name

Week 6

Well Week 6 and the midterms are done. I was really nervous and studied like crazy for them. There were two parts to it, the first half was a quiz, which had review questions from the textbook and questions from our pop quizzes, and the second half was formatting a document (paragraphs, indents, images, etc.). I got a hundred percent on the quiz portion (yay!), and hopefully I did well on the document part. I got stuck a couple of times during it, mainly because I haven't spent a lot of time in Word (since I don't have the program on my computer; I'm only able to do my homework by having my mom drop me off at the computer labs at the college).

It looks like Windows 7 is getting close to its release, and it may be coming out in 2009. It sounds like a lot of people are liking it more than Vista, but I found it interesting how they had had people use the Vista software (calling it something else) and then got the feedback, and it was all positive! I personally like the format of Windows XP Home Edition, which is what we have on our computer, but I will use anything that's faster!
Windows 7 update

Week 5

Well this week in class wasn't as fun because I've been fighting a cold all week and felt pretty bad in class, headaches and stuff. Other than that it was good as usual, I'm always learning so much, and found some really cool sites like Google Maps that our instructor showed us. It was actually kind of scary knowing that technology like that exists out there! I could actually go along a street and see houses!
We also had a pop quiz, and I didn't score as well as I would have liked, and midterms are next week, so I've been really studying hard and trying to fully understand the relationship between the CPU, Hard drive, and RAM. I think I've got it after looking at my notes and some PowerPoint drawings our instructor did.
It sounds like Windows 7 is coming out pretty soon, either this year or next. It's supposed to be an upgrade from Windows Vista (which a lot of people are not pleased with). It looks like it's got some really cool, new features!
Windows 7

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!