Weekly Tasks: Essay on Computing Topics.

Week 1

There are ten (10) tasks, one for each week: the tasks are detailed below. There is a table to complete for each task. Please fill in the information required.

The text discusses the elements of modern computing architecture however is largely silent on the individuals who played a role in its development. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE such individual. The individual should have had a significant influence on the development of computers and/or components of modern computing architecture.

The text discusses the components and activities of operating systems however is largely silent on the individuals who played a role in their development. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE such individual. The individual should have had a significant influence on the writing or development of operating systems.

The Internet didn’t just appear – it was an evolution from earlier networks. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE of the networks that led to the development of the modern Internet.

Ethernet is an example of a Layer Two (L2) data link protocol that is discussed in the text. Find and summarise a resource that describes the features and uses of ONE other L2 protocol that is not discussed in the text (i.e. NOT Ethernet).

The text mentions the role of hackers in attacks on networked infrastructure. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE famous or well-known hacker.

Society is increasingly reliant on networks and network technologies but they are evolving at a rapid pace. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE example of a future networking technology or trend that will impact society.

The text mentions social business and the impact of the use of social networking platforms. Find and summarise a resource that describes the history of the development of ONE such social media platform.

With the advent of mass data collection and storage has come data mining. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE example where data mining has been used successfully by a business. You should not use any examples covered in the textbook.

One of the greatest success stories in application development in recent times has been the popularity of mobile apps. Find and summarise a resource that describes the story of ONE successful mobile app developer.

While information systems and technology deliver many benefits to society, they can also result in (sometimes inadvertent) negative effects and outcomes. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE example of where the use of an information system or technology has led to negative consequences for humans.

Week 1

There are ten (10) tasks, one for each week: the tasks are detailed below. There is a table to complete for each task. Please fill in the information required.

This article describes Alan Turing who is significant to the development of the modern computer architecture. I chose this article for it examines the elements of the computing architecture and Alan’s contribution. He is well known of his inventions in the field of computer science which are remarkable up to date. One of the main contributions by Alan Turing is the Artificial Intelligence. The central question was whether the computer could think. The machines here were able to imitate the human character in decision-making, recognizing speeches, solving problems and even visual perception. Up to date, artificial intelligence is what enables the computers to perform complex tasks.

Turing during his inventions came up with the Universal Turing Machine which was able to decode and perform instructions given to it. It also defined the early days computing and the current day programming, the first invention of the artificial intelligence adding up to the modern development in the field of computers. Through this, the electronic computer was invented to run any program, which is the general purpose computer.

During the 2nd World War, he also came up with the system of encrypting and decrypting any telephone conversations. During this time, he developed The Bomb device. It was intended to replicate Enigma machines’ motions. This read several messages of German Navy that were encrypted and helped the British government to be powerful in 2nd world war.

Turing played a major role in the first digital computer called the Automatic Computing Engine which the National Physical Laboratory approved in 1946. This computer was the first to store programs in its memory and the fastest by that time. Through the Automatic Computing Engine, computers like DEUCE, Bendix G15, and the MOSAIC were derived from the design of Turing’s ACE.

This article is essential because it focuses on all the inventions Alan Turing came up with as well as explaining further how they contributed to the modern computers development. It also compares his inventions with those he competed with and his exemplary efforts to come up with his research.

Week 2

This blog examines the OS system in its entirety from the perspectives of its components and activities and the sole contributor; Linus Torvalds who was born in Finland and migrated later to The United States, hence the reason why I chose it. He is well known for his development of the first open-source operating system kernel called the Linux. It started developing in 1991, and just as the name suggests, being an open source operating system, has continued to grow up to date due to contribution from other programmers. Before coming up with this project, Linus was trying to fix the MINIX operating system dislikes. He posted his work to be viewed by people to get feedback from them. That very year, he came up with the Linux .011.

His idea of developing an open source operating system to allow other developers free access made the Linux kernel advance more. They were able to make necessary modifications to improve on the one available. As a result, it developed to be better to users hence user-friendly, and this was a big blow to Windows operating system which was so common in most personal computers, for it was is the most major competitor. From the main Linux kernel, many other versions have been developed from it. Red Hat made it much easier for Linus to perform best the same inventions and he thus gained more fame and promoting his operating system.

Apart from the Linux Operating system, Linus came up with Gif software which helps developers to control and manage versions as well as stable and best versions to the end users. It also helps developers to merge various versions of their software.

This blog was of great use. Apart from explaining more on Linus’ development of the Linux Operating System, it also identified the other software called Gif which is essential in the field of computers more so to those developing programs.

The Internet didn’t just appear – it was an evolution from earlier networks. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE of the networks that led to the development of the modern Internet.

Week 3

This article examines the contribution of the invention of the first network in the world to the modern internet. I preferred this article because it describes the invention of a significant network that is attributed to almost everything that concerns the development of the modern internet. Also, it examines the man behind the invention; Tim Berners, a British Computer Scientist.

The author first recognizes the mind behind the invention that has made the world a global village. In the 1980s while working at CERN, Berners noticed how difficult it was to try to track all the employees’ projects and computer systems that were spread worldwide. Also, he had to access specific information on specific computers. Nine years later, Berners Lee proposed the management of CERN which was intended to use the hypertext to connect files in different computers to the internet. But the administration discredited only to later accept the proposal in 1990.

In the same year, Berners-Lee came up with significant technologies such as the Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and the Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for creation of web pages, for guidelines on the data transfer across the web and for locating a page on the web respectively. The prime time came when Berners-Lee officially published the first ever website in 1991 alongside the detail descriptions of the web and guidelines on how to use it.

The most memorable event in the modern internet is the reason why we have free access to the Web technology. Mr. Berners-Lee intended to connect the whole world. Thus he declined the offer by his employer to patent the Web technology because his desire was the web to be freely accessible so that it can spread as fast as possible, which indeed it has. Thanks to his intentions!

This post was crucial because it takes us back to the foundations of the current internet and the selfless mind behind it. Maybe such selfless innovative minds are needed today for future advancement of the internet.

This article describes the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) as an example of the L2 Data Link Protocol, its features, and use. This article was my choice of preference because it describes the FDDI, its features, usage, and developers.

Week 4

The FDDI is a collection of ANSI and ISO principles for the transmission of data through the fiber optic lines in the platform of the local area network (LAN) which can be conveyed over a range of 200 kilometers. It works on the principle of the token ring protocol and can be used by thousands. Additionally, it is mostly used in setups of the wide area network (WAN).

The interesting feature is that the FDDI network has double token rings with a capacity of the primary ring being 100Mbps, and the extra one is for backup in the event of failure of the main ring. Furthermore, the secondary ring can still hold up to 200Mbps in case it’s not required for backup. Doubling rings can cover up to 100km whereas the single ring can cover the maximum distance.

The American National Standards Committee X3-T9 is the right producer of the FDDI, and it adheres to the strict standards of the Open Systems Interconnection Model of operational layering. Additionally, it’s the new version of Fiber Distributed Data Interface 1 that is the FDDI-II has the characteristic feature of handling the voice signals thanks to its circuit-switched service.

This article was of high significance to me because it highlights the FDDI as the perfect example of the L2 data link protocol, its standard features, and uses. Moreover, it describes its current capabilities and the possible room for expansion in the future. For instance, the likelihood of creating connections between the FDDI networks and the SONET (Synchronous Optical Network)

The text mentions the role of hackers in attacks on networked infrastructure. Find and summarise a resource that describes ONE famous or well-known hacker.

This article describes how Adrian Lamo attacked The New York Times, Yahoo, and Google in addition to how he managed to hack these developed network structures and the tipping off of the FBI on Manning, the Army Intelligence officer. I preferred this article because it examines how the world developed network structures were hacked by a 29-year-old Adrian Lamo just for curiosity and further offering them advice on the vulnerability of their security systems.

In this article, the author highlights how Lamo became the most famous hacker by hacking Google, New York Times and the MCI Worldcom and his reasons for the hacking. Lamo first came into the limelight in 2001 when he hacked the Exite@Home most secured network. Furthermore, he also breached the Yahoo, Google and MCI WorldCom networks.

Week 5

A fascinating bit is that after hacking these most secured networks, he went ahead and informed the organizations’ security systems of their vulnerabilities and assisted them to amend the loopholes without pay. As if this did not make him famous enough, the hacking of the New York Times was a time bomb.

The author further explains how he was able to accomplish the hacking without being notified over a long period. Lamo is commonly referred to as the “homeless hacker” because he used to conduct his hacking in coffee houses, bus stations, squatting in an abandoned structures to hack the security systems of the companies such as The New York Times. He then accessed the profiles of over 3000 contributors of the site plus the former president Jimmy Carter. He was charged with fraud and agreed with the prosecutors and received twenty-four weeks of house arrest.

This article was useful because it described how Lamo attacked the networked infrastructures and his reasons for hacking and how he was able to pass by the security systems without being noticed.

This article is about the trend of the wireless technology and how the future 5G network is likely to affect the society. I chose this article because it explains the probable future of the small networks and 5G based on pure research and how it is expected to affect the society.

The author describes how Dr. Lan was able to foresee the future of data networks based on the current trend. With the increasing of network devices which are likely to supersede the human population, data networks are likely to crash if they continue to remain in the same state. By 2020 the capability of wireless networks will be 20 gigabits per second or individuals will be consuming 20 Exabytes each month.

Perhaps the interesting thing in the article is that it is the consumer needs that are determining the demand in developing countries, but in developed countries, it is the modern internet that is pushing for the data demand. The author further asserts that advancement in communications improves the workability of machines and thus the manufacturers are in the wake of staying competitive. Thus the society is slowly being shifted from making connections between humans to making the connection between machines.

Week 6

However, the setback for this huge demand of data is that people are no longer patient and thus will not withstand something that doesn’t keep up with their emotions. For instance, in gaming where there are trends of developing virtual games that respond much faster than human beings to keep up with the intolerance spirit of users. Also, the introduction of humanoid robots which can be used in healthcare to address sick patients without having the human doctors attaching themselves with the sick thus avoiding contamination from contagious diseases.

I found this post useful because it describes the increasing trends of the usage and dependence on the network technology even in professions. This excited me on how the future will be when we do not need traffic light because of autonomous cars. It is unbelievable!

This article explains the evolution of Facebook in advertising. This post was my preference because it highlights the humble beginnings of Facebook use at the college level to a time when over one billion users in different countries.

The author describes how Facebook was initially used for basic promotion of college events and the respective years of its growth in the world of business advertising. The first experiments of Facebook advertising were in 2004 with flyers and flyers pro in which they promoted the social activities within the colleges, and the students could decide the much they could pay for giving ads. One year later, it got sponsors who improved its revenue and offset the costs. Then by 2006, Facebook expanded its limit and was out of campuses, and the inclusion of Microsoft as the only provider of links such as news feed and share features further boosted its revenue. Within the next three consecutive years, Facebook made tremendous improvements in the advertisement world. For example, it launched its platform for Facebook ads, went mobile and introduced pages in which individuals and organizations could create Facebook pages.

By the year 2009, it advanced its targeting by improvising ways of using particular data and methods to target specific audiences. In 2010, Facebook further introduced the like feature which was accessible to external sites and thus drew more focus on customers to specific products or images. The release of a bonafide mobile app made Facebook a worldwide platform because most of the people could at least access cell phones and internet even in developing countries. By 2013, the platform was able to add sponsored stories, Facebook exchange and even customers audiences and additional ad types leading to over one billion users of Facebook.

Week 7

This article was useful because it does not only provide detailed development of Facebook platform in the advertisement but also amazed me how it could group the target customers by geographical location, sex, age, etc., a feature fundamental in advertising.

This post by Kashmir Hill describes how Target employed the use of data mining by the use of the shopping trend of the customers to predict whether they were pregnant or not and thus send them advertising emails on items related to expectant women. I preferred this article because it does not only explain how supermarkets make use of data mining but also gives a practical scenario of how Pole, Target’s statistician was able to predict the pregnancy of a teenager girl before the father knew of it.

In this article, Kashmir explains how the supermarkets can track the consumption patterns of their customers to figure out their preferences, needs and then use the gathered data to determine the best coupons for each customer based on the shopping. An example is how Target can figure out that a customer is expectant and the approximate delivery day and thus send promotional messages of items such as diapers.

Every Customer of Target is assigned a specific ID number, which is linked to their credit card, email, and all other profile details. This stores all the purchase history and demographic data of the customers. A case in study is when Pole gathered the purchase history of all ladies who had registered for the Target baby, and he analyzed the data and noted a consistent shift in the pattern of shopped items such as the purchase of large quantities of unscented lotion instead of the scented one. Thus Target was able to identify specific products and assigned every customer that bought them a pregnancy prediction.

This article was of significance to me because it did highlight not only the importance of data mining in business success but also gave a practical example of how Target was able to predict an expectant teenager and sent her advertisement emails of nappies. The agitated father on seeing the adverts complained only to apologize later when he found that his daughter was indeed expectant

Week 8

This blog is about Tasnim Ahmed and how we began from being jobless to earning over $100,000 with making apps. I chose this blog because it pinpoints one successful app developer right from scratch in addition to his advice on how one can become an esteemed app developer.

The blog summarizes the background of Tasnim Ahmed right from the year 2012 when he resigned as an iOS developer because he was determined to start his own business and with the right encouragement from his older brothers. He began by researching how to promote apps and the information he got changed his thinking and within the first six months after resignation he published one app.

In addition to the publication, Ahmed developed his first app known as Smash Santa which also sold out very well. But still not satisfied with results, he focused on market research, and after learning reskinning, he improved his skills on designing the app icon, screenshots, and keywords. This decision was a milestone in his app development experience for out of it he came up with the Christmas Photo Booth, Numerous and Flappy Bird which paid him off very well. By the year 2014, Ahmed had made over $100,000.

The most interesting part of his story of web development is that he appreciates and remembers that he depended on the support of other people and experts to ascend the ladder. Furthermore, he suggests six ways of climbing the ladder web developer success to those interested or who are not confident.

This article was useful to me because of how it highlights the whole story of Ahmed; a renowned successful app developer in addition to his suggestions on how one can easily make apps without having to invest a lot of money or pay for the training. He also lists websites that can assist like-minded people to make apps through personal research, just like him.

This article describes how the internet is changing the brain from the perspective of dependence upon the internet to carry out the brain functions. I chose this article because it specifically investigates one aspect of information technology: the internet.

In the article, the author describes how the internet has affected the standard or traditional brain functionality. The reliance upon the internet on almost everything including simple tasks has shortened the attention span and memory thus generally affecting learning and education. People use internet technology when they think that it is much superior to the capability of their brains. The author argues based on research that reading online is more of skimming and the desire for quick information thus end up missing the in-depth message as opposed to reading paper materials.

The author gives an illustration of a researcher who sampled a group of students and issued out trivia questions and was both allowed to use their phones to Google answers. In the second attempt, both groups of students were served with simple problems and same accessibility to the internet. The group that was first to reach for their gadgets and Google for the answers were not able to answer even simple questions without searching the internet. While those that depended on their memory were quick to answer even the difficult questions.

Additionally, cognitive offloading is affected by the dependence of internet usage.

For me, this article was significant because it did not only address the increasing harm of the internet on the brain about its functions but also made think how the school curriculum will be in the future with the growing dependence on the internet and revision of the curriculum to align it with technology advancement.

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