Week 3: Clear

For a year and a half, I studied mechanical engineering at UF. There was a particular software package called SolidWorks that would not run unless a gatorlink username and password was used to verify my status as a student. This program was essential to several classes as it allowed me to complete design, 3D solid modeling, and motion study projects and homework. Because I live off campus, it was essential for me to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) client to verify my identity in order to access the student version of this software available to students.

UF VPN Authentication Screen

VPNs are typically used to keep sensitive data encrypted. In this manner, employees working away from company offices can send, receive, and access private company information without compromising the security of this information. Another application is to allow access to software that can only be used when connected to a particular network. As mentioned above, I used UF's VPN many times in this manner to access SolidWorks, a program essential to several of my engineering classes. When a person's identity is authenticated through a username and password, access to the network is confirmed. 

The importance of VPNs is growing as companies continue to expand across the country and even worldwide. Employees based in Miami can go to meetings and conferences in Los Angeles or Tokyo and have secure access to company files. A company in Ohio can hire a person in Florida to work at home. VPNs make this a more viable option.

This video from "elithecomputerguy" on youtube clearly illustrates how VPNs work. This video is over 27 minutes long, but there is a lot of good information included. 

 

Week 2: Muddy

Binary has always fascinated me, but not in the sense of how it relates to computers. I was originally introduced to binary numbers in my sophomore year of high school. At this point, my Stanford educated computer engineering cousin was attempting to teach my how to program computers. This sounded fun at the time, but was overwhelming for me at that age. One of the first lessons he gave me during this time was how binary numbers are read by computers. This was very brief, but I understood the simple concept of how computers interpret these strains of ones and zeros. When I came across this topic in class, I understood the basics of binary, but I still had trouble understanding why binary had to be used. I understood how it was interpreted, but I still had trouble understanding why it was necessary.

"ISM 3004 Week 2 Muddy Binary" in Binary

After doing a little bit more research and focusing on this concept more intently than just watching a lecture, I finally began to understand what these binary numbers are all about. A computer stores information in a series of circuits. There are billions and billions of these circuits in any given computer. Because the circuits used in computers can only be turned on or off, they can only be represented by the numbers "0" and "1". Depending on the sequence of zeros and ones, the circuits are storing various information. This website gives good insight into why computers use binary instead of decimal: http://nookkin.com/content/why-computers-use-binary.php

While there is still a great deal that I do not know about the programming of computers, I am able to understand what a byte of binary represents. For my choice in career, I don't think I will make much use of this information. But, it is an interesting hobby to learn binary, as it is essentially a language.

Photo Copyright Matthew Baranyk, 2012

Week 1: Clear

Netiquette is a set of guidelines and standards on how to interact with others over the internet. Many of these guidelines are common sense, but others can be very useful for users new to various online communities. Netiquette changes from various environments. How a person behaves on twitter and facebook is different from the way a person should conduct themselves while sending intra office emails.

Some general netiquette guidelines include:

• Be respectful of those you are interacting with. 
• Check information for accuracy before sending an email or posting to a website. 
• Be helpful and add to the community. 
• Don't self promote too much. Interact and promote the work of other deserving people.  

In the business environment, netiquette is becoming more and more important. Companies are increasingly computerized. Social networks are being incorporated into nearly all businesses. Twitter and facebook are becoming more important for the publicity of many companies, while customer support emails continue to greatly affect the public image of these companies. No matter the online medium, netiquette can make or break a company's image. 

Recently, the company Ocean Marketing committed many significant blunders in customer service by ignoring nearly all standards of netiquette. Through a single strain of emails to a customer, Paul Christoforo, the owner and single employee of the company, destroyed his company's image and will likely not get any work for a long time in the marketing industry. The series of emails can be seen here: http://venturebeat.com/2011/12/27/ocean-marketing-how-to-self-destruct-your-company-with-just-a-few-measly-emails/