Monday, March 15, 2010

RRJ5

Reference: STONE B (2009, May 3) looking to big screen E-reader to help save the Daily pressNew York Times Retrieved 2010, Mar 1


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/technology/companies/04reader.html?scp=3&sq=screen&st=Search

Summary:


This article talks about the new device used to read the newspaper or magazine instead of the paper one. At the beginning of the article, the author introduces the idea that this device isn’t like other e-reader devices. It has a big screen and the size almost like a standard sheet of paper. And many periodicals appear in generally the same format. Amazon appears to be first to try the electronic devices. They have introduced a lot of tailored wireless devices on its Kindle, and many other organizations want to join in. They thought this method could help them save much money to print and distribute. Many publishers thought they were not ready to deal with the rapid change because of the decline of printing, and they may sell subscriptions to support the article with ads. The subscribers can be updated once a day by network. But the new device could solve the problems like battery, color, and slowly update and develop a relationship with the subscriber. Many people are worried about how newspapers are going to survive in the future.

Reaction:

E-readers is a useful device; it can be used as newspaper and magazines, and we don’t need to worry about how to deal with a lot of waste newspaper. The new devices can be easy to use too. Newspaper will be replaced by the E- readers. I thought it is the tendency of the century. While we were reading newspaper and magazines, no one paid attention on to the fact that these papers caused the pollution of the environment. The new device will help us to protect the environment, but the most important thing is that it saves the cost of the newspaper.

The biggest issue for newspapers and publishers is newspapers were the cost of the large amount of the paper and ink. Sometimes the newspaper has been printed in color. And distributing cost the extra money too. After the E-reader becomes popular; a publisher just needs to put its news online and they don’t need to send the postman to deliver it. People can get the news they want whenever they want. Therefore this new device saves lots of trees. To cut down and made into newspapers will become their destiny no longer.

However, the E-reader may cause some problems; if this new device is used instead of the newspaper or magazine. Many people will lose their jobs, like the editor of the newspaper, and the worker who worked in the printing factory. Especially after the economic crisis, many people could not find the jobs and the government would not allow the numbers to improve. Furthermore, teenagers may use the digital device probably easily, but may be hard for an old person to use. This group of people prefers to use the traditional way to read the news. And as the author said, the new devices still have problems like color, battery, speed and some other issues.

Obviously the E-reader will lead the way of the public’s reading. But in a short time I think it will be hard to promote. The new reading system could be hard to accept by the public, and it is not perfect itself. We can expect that in the future, we don’t have to read the yellow and dirty newspaper, just click the screen; we can get the information we want.

Monday, March 1, 2010

RRJ4

Reference:
Markoff, J(2010, February 22) Computers Turn Flat Photos Into 3-D Buildings New York Times Retrieved February 24, 2010


Summary:

The article talks about a new system which has been created by the computer science researcher at the University of Washington and Cornell University that could combine the others works and create three-dimensional renderings. This system was named PhotoCity; the creator named Noah Snavely, a computer scientist. He set up algorithms that generated three-dimensional models from two-dimensional photos which were unstructured. The original project came from the Microsoft’s Photosynth service, but the Photosynth was limited to hundreds photos mostly. This technology is able to process many digital photos of one object quickly, and render it in three dimensions. In order to get highly quality, the researcher tries to use the ways like integrating the system to the games, and the game quickly attracted lots of loyal players. The volunteers created a web site to collect photos. Their goal is to create a no boundaries game that can expand to fill the world.

Reaction:

Flash is a kind of famous image processing software. The fundamental idea is that the software collects many pictures which describe the same object in different ways and then makes it look like the object is moving. The PhotoCity has the same theory, but it used the two-dimensional photos to create three-dimensional renderings with some difficult algorithms. But in the three dimensional we need to consider about the different view degrees for the object, and it requires lots of pictures. The author mentioned that it can be collected online, here I have some questions; I think it is too hard to take pictures of one object in a steady space, and even though we can get lots of pictures from the website, it should be only a few photos that focus on the same object.

When we take pictures, we need to consider about a lot of elements around it: light, degree, color, focal length and environment factors like wind and background. If we want to make a three-dimensional rendering for an object, it will be hard to take many pictures unless we have a functional camera. Maybe we need a camera that can take high quality pictures in one second. It will be difficult for the fresh man who just learned how to take pictures. And another problem is lack of the pictures that have similar object and background inside. For example, if we take pictures of a flower, maybe we take it in the garden, or in the park, or the flower has different shape, bigger or smaller, brightness or darkness. So I thought it could not support much help for the three-dimensional creating by downloading the pictures from the website.

In another view, if we really can exploit the system completely, that could be such big technology for human. Like when we want to salvage the sinking boat, we need to consider the landform or the broken degree of the boat. With the help of this system we can easily know the environment of the sinking boat. Actually we can create a three-dimensional view of an object currently, but if we need to consider the environmental elements, we still need to take pictures from the original objects in different degrees. So I thought, no matter what kind of three-dimensional rendering we want to make, a high quality, functional and multipurpose camera is necessary.

When I was little I had never thought about whether we could observe a bird from up and down. Three-dimensional technology can help us to reach the dream. Science is developing rapidly. I hope we can find another way besides the camera to make three dimensionals, even if we don’t take photos directly from the object but still can observe it in different degrees, like the machine in some science fiction movies.

Monday, February 22, 2010

RRJ3

Reference: Mac,R (2010, February 11) The Temptation to Cheat in Computer Science Classes at Stanford New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2010 http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/heading-off-the-temptation-to-cheat-in-computer-science-classes-at-stanford/?scp=2&sq=computer%20science&st=cse
Summary:


The article talks about there a lot of computer science students in Stanford University who had cheated in some courses in the exam. Before the exam the professor always tried to warn the students not to cheat. A student who has been caught twice said he had never thought he could be caught. The university’s judicial panel reported that almost 22% computer science cases had occurred of the total honor-code violations, and there are only 75% students passing through a course before they graduated. The professor Roberts thought computer sciences courses cheating could be detected hardly. Stanford employs a new system called watchdog to detect the cheating but it can’t find all of them. Professor Roberts created a new system called “collective incentive” that is if one person cheats the whole class will face more pressure on the final exam. But still some students thought cheating is not worth doing, and some students thought the other major students also had cheating; in CS the cheating usually happened in lower-level courses.

Reaction:

Stanford University is the most famous university in the world. The students who studied in Stanford should have enough personal abilities. Computer science courses are really difficult to detect the cheating in. In my opinion the cheating cases that exist not only are the students’ responsibilities, but also show that the management system has problems. If one person cheats in the exam the whole class will be influenced, also should be doubted.

First, the most important thing we should figure out is why so many students choose to cheat in the exam and how to do it. Their purpose should be passing the courses. If the university makes the rules like if the student cheats or helps other cheaters, and he or she will not pass the exam, this will be more efficient. The students can use copy, cut or paste others work as their own. Generally, it is easier to cheat than in other majors, but different computer programs couldn’t be the same with another one. Even a part could be the same, but without another code the program couldn’t be operated. If the professor checks the students’ exam or homework carefully, I thought it can easily find the problems; We can change the exam styles too. For example the professor doesn’t ask the students to write a program instead they need to check the wrong sentences and make it able to be run; it maintains academic standards and makes the cheating more difficult.

Stanford uses the method in which one student cheats and the whole class will be influenced. I thought it is unfair. Other students didn’t do anything wrong so they should not be punished, and it can’t solve the problems. Actually some methods can be instead of it like the students supervise each other or make the rules that helping cheating and cheating are equal to stop them.

Students should be trusted; the goal of the university is try to make the students as good as possible, not only require the score, also the morality. Using the correct way to avoid cheating and helping the students to know what things they can do is the university’s’ responsibility. Students also need to know, trust ourselves, and do as much as we can; that is enough.

Monday, February 8, 2010

RRJ2

Reference: J. D. BIERSDORFER(2010, Jan 20) Screen Language, Deciphered New York Times. . Retrieved 2010, Feb3


,http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/technology/personaltech/21askk.html

Summary:

This article talks about two questions; the first one is what the difference is between the C.C.F.L. laptop screen and the LED laptop screen. C.C.F.L. which is named cold cathode fluorescent lamp, is older and is a cheaper method, but it has some drawbacks, like it includes mercury and it is bad for the environment. The next one is the LED screen. It uses less power and is friendly to the environment, but it is more expensive. Some people prefer vibrant colors or may choose glossy displays. Matte display has less color depth and contrast. The second question is how to protect confidential information. The author suggests making a password archive. Different operating systems have different tools to keep security. Or we can make some copies, install a firewall or unplug the drive. At last the author introduces a tip for icons in Windows 7.

Reaction:

This article is a personal tech who invites questions and answers; he taught many useful experiences to the reader. From his article, he talks about the C.C.F.L. and LED, and how to keep the confidential information in the computer, I just want to share my experience with others.

When I was in high school, my parents had already bought a secondhand laptop for me. During that time, the laptop was much more expensive than it is today, but the quality and function were less. My computer is a C.C.F.L. laptop screen. One day I just put my laptop on the desk and typed. Suddenly the screen went dark and nothing appeared any more. I had tried to find the issues but it did not work. So at last I had given up and prepared to send it to the factory to repair. Afterward I packed the laptop. I found something like water, but it had a the silver color, on the desk. My parents were very nervous and we thought it could be mercury. And we cleaned it very carefully. After that we never chose the cheaper laptop again. And I prefer to pay more money to buy a safe computer. Actually nowdays the C.C.F.L. has almost disappeared. The famous brands of computer manufacturers choose the LED much more even though it is a little expensive.

I have never put my important information or documents on the desktop, but if the computer gets a virus, no matter where I put them, I will still lose them. So I would like to put my important documents in another device like a flash device. Even though the computer has been hacked, but I still keep them. And I don’t agree with the author’s statement that we should set a password archive. it is too easy to decipher the program, and it is inconvenient to open them. So installing security software should be a good idea.

I like the facts that they can share skills. I can learn a lot of information from these answers. So I really hope there will be more articles like this.

Monday, February 1, 2010

RRJ1

Reference: ASHLEE VANCE (2010,January 20) If Your Password Is 123456, Just Make It HackMe New York Times. Retrieved Jan 27, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/technology/21password.html
Summary:


This article is talking about how a hacker stole the password and why people set their password too easily. Many people prefer to set an easy password. And hackers could try the most common password and break accounts. Some web sites try to lock the account if too many incorrect passwords are typed but it is still not safe. And now, some web sites use mixed letters but social networking and entertainment Web sites still try to make life simpler for users. The experts suggest people remember at least two kinds of password.

Reaction:

After I read the article I remembered there is another kind of password could be safer. It is a card that has been separated into several rows and column; there are different that numbers in every coordinate. If you want to enter your account you need to type the number in different coordinates by random. And some bank use digital security as a one time password. It also can make our account safer.

The only problem is that people still want to remember fewer passwords in their brain. Sometimes it prevents them from forgetting the password and sometimes they are too lazy to remember the password; also typing a lot of letters is a waste of time when they enter the account. In the world today, people have lots of accounts; it is not pratical to make different passwords for each account.

In my own opinion, I suggest people choose a few passwords that are easy to remember. The important accounts use the complex password and the simple password for the less important account. Even though sometimes it is troubling, but it relates to the privacy security, so we couldn’t ignore it. And also it is better that web sites upgrade their firewall to protect from the attack from the hackers. They must Ensure the customer’s accounts safety.