cse 3 midterm

Charles Babbage (1791-1871)

- Math Professor at Cambrige
- Difference Engine (1821)
- Analytical engine (1843)

Ada Lovelace

- First computer programmer
- Wrote plan for analytical engine - Bernoulli Sequences

Difference Engine

Required 25,000 parts, weighed 15 tons
Never finished it

Analytical Engine

- Mother of all computers, conceived of by Charles Babbage
- Also, never finished
- Could (theoretically) be programmed with punched cards
- Could carry out any calculation to 20 digits of accuracy

Alan Turing

- him and team completed Colossus to break Enigma (German military cipher machine)
- Turing test - basic test for AI

Colossus

first electronic digital computer

ENIAC

- Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
- calculate trajectory tables for new guns
- John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert

Sperry and UNIVAC I

company and the first general-purpose computer

Admiral Grace Hopper

- Invented the compiler,ca 1952
- Created COBOL one of the first programming languages
- Coined the term "debug" (actual moth stuck in the Harvard Mark II computer)

Vacuum Tubes

Cylindrical glass tubes that controlled the flow of electrons, used in the first generation of computers.

Transistors

- replaced vacuum tubes (starting 1956)
- small electrical devices that could receive and amplify radio signals

Silicon chips (integrated circuits)

- replaced transistors (by mid-1960's)
- tiny electronic brains in devices, handling tasks like processing data and controlling electricity flow

Computers today

- portable, smaller, faster
- fragile and expensive to upgrade/repair
- Proprietary hardware

Operating system

system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs

VMWare Fusion. parallels, virtualbox

software that lets you run different operating systems, like Windows or Linux, on your Mac computer at the same time. It's like having multiple computers inside your Mac, all running together.

embedded computers

a special-purpose computer that functions as a component in a larger product
- controlling temp and humidity
- monitoring heart rate
- monitoring house security system

Freeware

software that is free
- can be unsophisticated
- can be sophisticated: Firefox, VLC media player, etc.

Open Source

Free software and source code
- free download, modify, improve

Project Gutenberg

Repository of 60,000+ free texts in the public domain out of copyright
- mostly english
- many translated in public domain
- mostly direct download

Byte

8 bits

Kilobyte (KB)

1 Thousand bytes

Megabytes (MB)

1 Million bytes

Gigabytes (GB)

1 Billion bytes
- storage value decreased over time

Terabytes (TB)

1 Trillion bytes

Petabytes (PB)

1 Quadrillion bytes

MHz

megahertz

GHz

Gigahertz - the unit in which the speed of the CPU is measured
- similar to clock ticks
- 1 GHz: capable 1 billion machine cycles per second
- used by intel and recently AMD

Moore's Law (Gordon Moore)
- modern trend not true physical law

The number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit doubles every two years.
- exponential growth can't continue forever. Miniaturization eventually approach atomic sizes

Moore's Law variants

transistors, processing speed, and storage capacity doubles every 18 months

RAM

Random Access Memory
- temp store program instructions and data
- unique addressed and data stored in any location
- quick info retrieval
- not remain of power goes out

ROM

Read only memory

Cache

Small block of very fast memory (512 Kb - 2 Mb)
- speeds up date transfer (holds frequently/ recently used data and instructions)

For finding instructions/ processing data
- checks RAM first and stores frequent/ repeated info in Cache for quicker access

ASCII (binary code)

American Standard Code for Information Interchange
- most widely used

Unicode

A coding scheme supporting 65,000 unique characters

ALU

Arithmetic Logic Unit
- electronic circuitry executes arithmetic and logical operations
(addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)

Dvorak Keyboard

keyboard layout to improve typing speed (hands dont have to move much)
- developed in 1936

resistive touch screen

edges emit horizontal and vertical light beams

capacitive touch screen

create electromagnetic field, blocked by the electromagnetic field of your skin and allows for multi-touch input

Touch screens

Resistive and capacitive
- input and output from same device
- convenient
- common on smartphones, tablets, and some laptops

Accelerometer

detects vertical or lateral motion, converts to a digital signal
- smartphones, nintendo wii-mote, Monome

Optical input methods

Input methods that use barcodes, QR codes, optical mark recognition, or optical character recognition

Bar codes

-Universal Product Code (UPC): pattern of vertical marks
- bar code reader reads horizontally

QR Code

Quick Response Code
- code stored horizontally and vertically ~4000 alphanumeric characters
- typically used for web addresses

OMR

Optical Mark Recognition
- machine senses mark on paper
- fill-in sheets
- scantron

OCR

optical character recognition
- that involves reading text from paper and translating the images into a form that the computer can manipulate

MICR

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
- readable by humans and machine
- typeface developed by American National Standards Institute

RFID

Radio Frequency Identification
- Commonly used in employee/Student ID badges, theft prevention systems, many others
- Briefly used in credit cards, now rare
- Potential for misuse, invasion of privacy

Laser printer

use a laser beam to create patterns of electrical charges on a rotating drum, attracting colored toner powder that is then fused onto paper
- faster and more expensive than inkjet printers, offering high-resolution print output.

Inkjet Printers

spray ink onto paper to make text and pictures. They print slower than laser printers but offer better color quality at a lower cost. The liquid ink they use makes colors more vivid and accurate compared to color laser printers, which use a mix of different colored powders.

Magnetic disks

Random data access and secondary storage

Floppy disks

Provide inexpensive, portable storage
Hold too little data for modern purposes

Hard disks

non-removable, rigid disks that spin continuously and rapidly
-provide much faster access than a floppy disk

US copyright law

- Protect ideas and creative works.
- Last for 70 years after the author's death (or up to 120 years for works created by companies).
- Originally lasted for 50 years plus the author's life until the Bono Act of 1998 extended it.

Patents

- Safeguard inventions.
- Generally last for 20 years from the date of application

Sony vs. Universal Studios

- Landmark 1984 copyright case
- The Movie industry tried to prevent the sale of video recording technology for home use.

Arguments:
- home recording of televised movies would hurt box office returns and ad revenue from future broadcasts
- claimed Sony should be liable for potential misuse by its products' owners

outcome:

sale of video recording technology for home use was legal

Jammie Thomas Case

In the Capital Records et al v. Jammie Thomas case, Jammie Thomas was sued for making songs available for download, but a retrial was ordered as it was questioned whether simply making copyrighted material available constituted infringement.

DMCA Safe Harbor provisions

let people freely share information online while still letting copyright holders remove illegal content. Websites hosting user-shared stuff aren't immediately responsible for illegal things users post. But if they don't take down illegal stuff when asked, they could get in trouble.

Aaron Swartz

-Helped develop:
RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
Reddit, Creative Commons
-Founded Demand Progress
Instrumental in halting SOPA
-Legal troubles:
PACER in 2008
JSTOR in 2010

PACER in 2008

- Stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records.
- The court system charged 8 cents per page to access public records, making about $100 million a year.

JSTOR in 2010

- Faced over 50 years in Federal Prison for Wire Fraud and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
- The person involved committed suicide in January 2013, just two days after a rejected settlement offer.

Fair Use

Fair Use exceptions allow for the limited use of copyrighted content for purposes such as criticism, commentary, parody, teaching, scholarship, or research. However, these exceptions are not absolute, and whether a particular use qualifies depends on factors such as the amount used and its effect on the market.

Abandonware

software that is no longer sold, its company has closed, and it runs on outdated systems. While this often doesn't harm anyone, it can hinder the re-release of nostalgic software, especially games. Sometimes, other companies buy the rights, such as mobile app publishers reviving old games.

Linus Torvalds

Creator of Linux, Git
- Linux distributions (Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora)
- Local Connection: SCO Litigation, 2003

Linux

an open-source version of the UNIX operating system
an opensource operating system core

Git

Used to track changes in programming files modified by multiple authors
Large repository of open source software

Natural Languages

resemble languages spoken by humans

programming language

falls between machine and natural human language
- examples: c++, JavaScript, Perl, PHP

compiler

translates programming language into machine language

Machine Language

numeric codes that represent data

Software testing

Alpha testing and beta testing.

Alpha testing

trials by internal users and very select groups

Beta testing

trials by external users, usually by volunteers

Software insiders' advice

Never buy version 1.0 of anything

Emulator Programs

can "pretend" to be another operating system or hardware device
- can run programs written for that system
- not all applications work perfectly
- can cause a drop in system performance, especially with resource/graphics intensive applications
- older systems are easier to emulate

Licensing

commercial software is copyrighted so it cant be legally duplicated for distributions for others
- software license
- volume license

Distribution: software is distributed via..

- direct sale
- retail stores
- websites

EULA

End User License Agreement

Device Drivers

Small programs that allow input/output devices to communicate with the computer.
- included with the operating system or bundled with peripherals (mouse, keyboards)
- some devices work without specific drivers, but others require them for functionality
- troublesome drivers often include video and printer drivers
New PC's prioritize compatibility with the latest windows versions over older ones intentionally, not accidentally

Hard Drive Reliability

Hard drives can fail unexpectedly

Automated Backup Systems

- Recommended for forgetful or procrastinating individuals.
- Can back up data every night while sleeping.
- Can remind to back up periodically, like every two weeks.

Multiple Backup Locations

- Relying on a single backup is risky.
- Crucial data should be backed up in multiple locations.(E.g., one at home and another at work, family house, or a storage unit.)

Cloud Backup Services

- Services like Dropbox and Google Drive offer secure backup options.
- Not suitable for storing large files like movies, music, or programs.

Differentiating Data

It's crucial to differentiate between replaceable and irreplaceable data.
- Replaceable: movies, music, ebooks.
- Irreplaceable: personal photos, videos, written documents.

Hard Drive Failure Statistics

Every year, a hard drive has approximately a 12% chance of sudden failure

External vs. Internal Hard Drives

External hard drives are generally less mechanically reliable than internal ones

Laptop Hard Drive Vulnerabilities

Laptop hard drives are more susceptible to damage from spills, theft, and accidents

External Hard Drives

- These are like portable storage units you can connect to your computer.
- They're good for extra space or for moving files between computers.
- However, they can be less sturdy than the ones built right into your computer.

Internal Hard Drives

- These are the ones already inside your computer.
- They're usually more reliable because they're not moved around as much.
- Since they're inside your computer, they're safer from accidents like drops or spills.

Database program

a software tool for organizing the storage and retrieval of information

Database

a collection of organized data that allows access, retrieval, and use of data
- typically composed of one or more tables
-> A collection of related information
-> A collection of records

Record (in a database)

the information relating to one person, product, or event

Field (in a database)

each discrete piece of information in a record

Field Type Determination

- The type of information a field can hold is determined by its field type.
- Also referred to as Data type or Field Data type.

Data Types

- Data types can be categorized into text or numeric.
- Numeric data types include date, GPA, and account balance.
- Text data types include name, major, and outstanding arrest warrants

Form Views (database)

- Form views display one record at a time.
- They are useful for focusing on individual entries.

List Views (database)

- List views show several records in lists, similar to how a spreadsheet displays data.
- They allow for a broader view of data, making it easier to compare multiple entries at once.

SQL (Structured Query Language)

- A standardized language for programming complex queries in database management systems.
- Supported by most modern database management systems.
- Allows programmers and sophisticated users to work across different systems without learning new languages.
- Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) enable point-and-click query execution, insulating users from the complexities of SQL.

Special-Purpose Database Programs

---Specialized database software
---Geographical information systems (GIS)

Specialized database software

preprogrammed for specific data storage and retrieval purposes

Geographical information systems (GIS)

include geographic and demographic data in map form