*Sighs in Relief*

     So that's it. My presentation is finished! I'll be the first to say that I give a massive sigh of relief after I present something. I am seriously looking forward to sitting back, relaxing, and watching other people present their fantastic work. Based on what I've seen so far, I'm quite excited for what's coming next!

     Anyway, on to the point of this blog post. We've been assigned to grade ourselves. I've always been baffled by the effectiveness of this system. When I heard about it in elementary school, I always thought "So I can just give myself 100%?! Awesome!" But I quickly realized that there were underlying conundrums such as etiquette and honesty. On the TED Talk requirement sheet, there are 5 categories, so I will assign each of them 6 out of the 30 total points. So here I go. I'll attempt to do my best here.

      The first thing on the list of requirements for the TED Talk is "Four to Five Minutes". I believe that this one is fairly self-explanatory. The presentation should have been between 4 and 5 minutes. In all of my practice runs, I was between 4-and-a-half minutes and 5 minutes. I obviously didn't have the opportunity to time myself on stage, but I think I can safely give myself the benefit of the doubt that I either spoke slightly faster than normal, or was spot-on. I'll give myself a full 6/6 on that one.

     The next object on the list is "Visual Component". Now, this is broken up into two subcategories which, for the sake of fairness, I'll break into 3 points each. The first of these is "PPT, Prezi, Other?" I had a PowerPoint-like presentation for mine (I say "-like" because Linux comes with its own Office software called Libre Office, but I think you get the point). Now, I worked on this presentation all throughout Spring break, and during the weekend I got back. I made sure that it was tailored so that the titles, pictures, transitions, and everything else matched up with what I was saying during the presentation itself. I made quite a large effort to use as little text as possible because that is what we've been taught is good throughout our experience with PowerPoint presentations. I confidently grant myself a 2.5/3 in that aspect, granted that it certainly was not a perfect presentation, and should not be treated as such. The next subcategory is "Creative and Supplemental: You drive the presentation, not the visual." Now I think that I could have done a bit better in this aspect. I think that my visual did drive the presentation. Sure, I didn't have any real text-queues on the screen, but the pictures were the things telling me what to say. Does that not entail the visual "driving the presentation"? Thus, I'd say a 2/3 is an applicable grade.

     Moving on, the next category is "Content". Now, as this is broken into 4 parts, I don't think I'd be doing any justice by trying to break it up, so I'll just bring all of the subcategories together into one grade. The first subcategory is "Inspire through passion". As not many people are interested in computers, I find it to be quite difficult to do this. I tried to find a way to hook the audience and make the presentation apply to everyone by saying "everyone uses computers" in my first slide. However, I still doubt that I actually inspired anyone. However (again), I did hear quite a few "ooh"s and "aah"s as I set up my computer to present, so I will take that into consideration while grading. The next aspect of "Content" is "Show your product". I immodestly grant myself full credit on this category because... well... I built a computer. I showed my product by presenting from it. I find that to be quite an impressive accomplishment. Next up is "Explain your process". Now, granted that there was only a 5-minute time slot into which we had to try to cram everything, I still think I could have done a better job explaining my process. I probably wouldn't have been able to even get into a little bit of what I did, but I get the feeling I could have done a little more. Finally is "What is your purpose? What should the audience take away from your project?" I think I addressed this pretty well. Near the end of my presentation, I stated that my purpose was to explain that "You need to know what you want/need and how to get it. That way, you'll always have a chance to get it." Judging by the explicit nature of my statement, I think that I got the message across. I'd give myself a 5/6 on the "Content" section because, although I think I got a lot of content in, I certainly could have polished and altered it a little so that I could fit in some more.

     Next is "Organization". This entails the presentation having a logical order, from beginning to middle to end. My parents and I spent quite a lot of time editing my presentation so that it actually had a logical story-like order. I started with a (what I hope was a) hook, then I proceeded to talk about my life experience with computers, then on to my experience with the project itself, then on to the application of the project to my life and to others, then finally on to the message that I wanted the audience to take away from it. Then, at the very end, I displayed my final product. I believe that that is a relatively logical order, so I feel confident that a 5/6 is a reasonable grade in this category.

     The final category is "Delivery". This entails the presenter being "refined, poised, and enthusiastic". Was I refined? Ehhh... Maybe not so much. I heard the nervous cracks in my voice a couple of times, and I stumbled on my words a little. Next, was I poised? I think that this fits hand-in-hand with the refinement aspect of this category. So, yes and no. I was a bit nervous, so that got in the way of poise a few times. Finally, was I enthusiastic. As many know, I absolutely love computers. I research them day and night on my own time. I don't think of the research as work. It's just fun to me. I think that that love and enthusiasm did carry over into the presentation, even over my monotone voice! Overall, I did know my content from top to bottom, I knew how I wanted to present it, and I tried my best to do so. Nerves just got in the way a little. Thus, I give myself a 4.5/6 in this category.

Summary

"Four to Five Minutes":                         6/6

"Visual Component":                           4.5/6

"Content":                                               5/6

"Organization":                                       5/6

"Delivery":                                           4.5/6

                                                                       

Total Self-Assessment:                        25/30                                     

The End is Near!

So it is the end of spring break, and presentation week is upon us! I believe I'm presenting this Tuesday, and I'm confident that I'll be able to present well. Also, I managed to build my computer! I'm so excited that I could finally get it built, AND IT WORKS! As it turns out, none of the parts came damaged, broken, or non-functional. I got up this morning at around 11:00 and went straight to work on it. By about 12:30, it was finished. I hooked it up to my TV in the basement, and it just... worked.So I'm quite thankful for this lucky turn of events! The only real disappointment regarding the build is the fact that the wireless adapter is not functioning. It seems that it is not compatible with Linux (which I'm running because a copy of Windows 7 costs like $90) but it's not that big of a deal because there's really nothing that I need on this computer that I can't just copy onto a flash drive from another computer and drag onto it. So, all in all, everything's great! I have a new, tiny computer that works and has my presentation on it! Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

P.S. - Good luck to everyone on finalizing their own projects, and also good luck to everyone on their presentations! I'm sincerely excited to see what everyone came up with! :)

Parts Are Ordered!

So this post should be quite a bit less "history lesson"-ish than the others. I have officially ordered the parts for my little computer from both Newegg and Amazon. I'm a little nervous, though, because the order confirmations said that the shipping might take between 5 and 8 days. Hopefully they get here by next Saturday! I will be sure to take lots of pictures so that everyone can see the progress being made. Have a great Spring break, everyone!

Vlog Thingie!

Gifted Vlog! from Bob Bobbington on Vimeo.

Here is my fantabulous vlog! Oh, video recording, thou art a funny thing.

Blogs I've followed this week... Again!

Max Benowitz
Ian Wilenzik
Chris Annunziato

RAM. That's it, just RAM...

     So this week, I'm moving on to the next major part of my little computer build. As it turns out, my parents and I have been discussing the likelihood of actually building this system. It's still leaning towards the "likely" side, but I think I'll have to keep using my virtually non-existent powers of persuasion to keep them on my side. Anyway, on to the long, tedious post! Yay!

This week's part is RAM. RAM generally looks like this:





However, most modern models have heat-spreaders like this:



 

 

 

 

 

Now for the wonderful history lesson: The original way to store information in computers was vacuum tubes. These tubes stored information for use at a later time. In 1945, the ENIAC, the first commercially used computer, used thousands of vacuum tubes to store its information. Later, in 1952, Jay Forrester from MIT invented "Core Memory". This is what you are hearing when you hear things like "dual-core processor". Finally, in 1969, Intel released their first product, the 3101 Schottky. This was also the first step in the direction of modern RAM.

Intel 3101 Schottky

 

     Like all other computer components, RAM runs on a "clock", or a certain rate at which it processes information. In RAM, the clock has two pulses that happen every cycle. There is a positive pulse of electricity, and a negative pulse of electricity. The first type of RAM that utilized this capability was SDR (Single Data Rate) RAM. It was only capable of sending data during the positive pulse of each cycle. However, it was quickly replaced by DDR (Double Data Rate) RAM, which was able to send data during both pulses of the cycle, which made it twice as fast. After this major step, RAM began to evolve. DDR2 RAM, the evolution of DDR RAM, had larger bandwidth, faster clock rates, and allowed for higher voltages. These improvements made DDR2 much faster than its predecessor. Today, we are at the third step in the evolution of RAM, DDR3. Finalized in 2007, the architecture and specifications for DDR3 RAM increased clock rates while, at the same time, reducing voltage. This allowed for faster speeds that took less power to reach, therefore creating a more eco-friendly computer.

     Finally, on to the concept of "clock speeds". As I stated earlier, RAM runs on a constant clock, which allows it to run at a certain speed. However, different RAM modules are designed to handle faster speeds. These data rates for RAM are measured in mega-transfers (or megahertz) per second. For example, the lowest common RAM standard is DDR3-1066. That means that it makes 1066 mega-transfers every second. The fastest, which was just introduced by Corsair last week, is clocked at 3000mHz.

As for my project build, I have chosen Mushkin's Silverline 4gb kit. It consists of two 2gb sticks that run at DDR3-1333 speeds (as my motherboard can't handle anything higher. Surely this RAM will be able to do anything I could possibly need it to. I feel that it's a great cheap, effective solution for my system!

So, toodles to all, and have a wonderful time doing whatever it is you do. :) 

Works Cited: http://wccftech.com/history-ram-trip-memory-lane/
                        http://www.cpu-zone.com/RAM_History.htm

Blogs I've Followed... The Second Time!

21cmr.blogspot.com/ - Michael Collins
allraveledup.blogspot.com - Jess Sweeney
http://igotthemagicdansmoi.blogspot.com/ - Noah Dworetsky

The Motherboard: The Thing that Keeps Everything Together... Yeah!

     This post will likely be shorter than the others. The reason for this is that motherboards themselves don't really have much of a history. Before the introduction of the motherboard, computers would use circuit boards called "backplanes".

Backplane

Motherboard

These boards were essentially just hubs for the rest of the components in the computer. Each individual component had its own circuit board, which would then be plugged into the backplane so that it could communicate with the other components. To get rid of the problems of inconvenience, space consumption, and high prices, the computer industry began to think that they should try to consolidate some of the parts of the computer onto one piece. The first company to take the challenge was IBM. With their 1981 IBM Personal Computer, they integrated a motherboard that had expansion slots for peripherals such as video cards and sound cards, as well as an already-integrated sound processor.
     Today, motherboards are almost exactly the same as in 1981. They serve as a means for the rest of the components in the system to communicate with each other. The only major differences are that motherboards today are much faster, they have many more ports on them (such as USB ports, SATA ports for hard drives, etc., etc.) and that some come stock with all the components you need for a functioning computer.

Foxconn H61S

For example, the motherboard you see on the left has 8 USB ports, 8 SATA ports, 4 slots for RAM, a CPU socket, 7 expansion slots, and numerous different electrical headers that connect to less important parts of a computer. Now, keeping in mind that the computer I plan to build must be kept on a very low budget, I have selected a motherboard that I think will provide a great bang for the buck. The motherboard I chose to include in my system is the Foxconn H61S. This is a Mini-ITX form factor motherboard, as my build is based on the Mini-ITX size. I chose this board for three reasons. The first reason is that it is incredibly low-priced. It comes in as the least expensive ITX motherboard on the market at just $50. The second reason is that it has received high ratings, even though it is so inexpensive. Most of the time, in the computer world, "cheap" means "low-quality", and that is certainly not the case here. Reviewers are unanimous that this board handles high-end processors like the Intel Core i5 and i7 perfectly, and hasn't broken yet. The third, and most important reason I chose this motherboard is that it comes with so many great features. It has 2 RAM slots, capable of handling 8gb of RAM. It also has built-in video processing, with a VGA port right at the back, therefore eliminating the need to buy an expensive video card. It also has an extra fan header so that the fan in my case can be plugged in. Overall, I think that this board is fantastic for the price, and it should do everything I need it to for this project just fine. Once again, I am excited to see where this project goes in the future, and how the build will look at the end!

Works Cited:

• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-computer-motherboards.html
• http://www.ehow.com/info_12172410_invention-first-motherboard.html 

Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3I02

Blogs I've Followed This Cycle

http://benowitzianblog.blogspot.com/ Max Benowitz/Owen Reilly
http://kuroy22.blogspot.com/ Chris Annunziato
http://ianhebrew.blogspot.com/ Ian Wilenzik

The Heart of the Beast!

     This week was the first week of actual work of this project. And I'll say, I really don't think that it's much work at all. In talking with other people, I've found that they have the same idea too. This week, I began researching the first component of my proposed build: the CPU, or processor. In my historical research, I found many interesting facts about the lineage of the Central Processing Unit. As it turns out, the first method of processing information in computers was to use vacuum tubes. After this, a little, unknown company called Intel began developing the first microprocessor. This processor was called the Intel 4004, and it was released in November of 1971. After the 4004 came the 8008, which is actually the long-lost ancestor of the modern Intel Core i7 processor.
     Once these microprocessors became popular, people began developing ways to make them more powerful. The first of these methods was multi-threading. By doing this, the processor could better handle multitasking, such as running multiple programs at one time, on top of each other. Along with multi-threading came multi-core processors. These types of processors are the only type made today, besides the Intel Atom. Surely, most of you have heard of the Intel Core 2 Duo. This processor has 2 processing cores, hence "Core 2 Duo". Processors today usually have 2, 4, 6 or 6 cores. AMD, another microprocessor manufacturing company, has even developed a series of 8-core processors. by adding multiple cores to a processor, the processor can tell itself how to optimize its own performance and make the computer it is in run faster.
     Since processors  were becoming faster an processing more information at one time, they were also developing more heat. To keep the CPUs from goint too fast and overheating, Intel developed the concept of a "clock speed" this factory-set maximum processing speed made it so that processors could only allow themselves to compute a certain amount of data at one time. This solved the problem of overheating. However, now Intel develops "unlocked processors" that allow the user to overclock them as much as they want, so long as they have an adequate cooling solution.
     As for the future of computing, it looks promising. Based on Moore's law, which states that the amount of transistors placed on a circuitboard doubles every two years. However, in the distant future, it appears that quantum computing is not out of our reach. Advanced science institutions such as MIT are developing computers that utilize quantum processing units that, in short, can process data as both a 0 and a 1 at the same time. Today, information sent in binary can only be processed as a 0 or 1 (on or off), allowing for a very large, but still finite, amount of information. By utilizing quantum processors, the amount of information that could be stored, accessed, and used would increase almost infinitely.
     Now, onto the actual application of this week's reserch. To reiterate my goal, I want to create a computer for the final product of this project. Each week, I'm researching one major aspect of a computer system, and choosing an adequate part to put into my actual build. The link to my conceptual build can be found here. I will update it every week. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1GSd
     This week, as you know, I focused on the processor. As AMD and Intel are the two main competitors in the processor market, I looked at processors from those two companies. Each company has a pretty concrete set of pros and cons for their products. From Intel, you get exceptional processing effiency, consistent processing rates, and legendary reliability. However, the monetary price you pay for a processor equivalent to one from AMD is pretty uneven. Also, Intel processors are notorious for having very high power-consumption, which means that your system will push your electric bill up quite a bit. If you were to choose an AMD processor, you'll get an awesome price-to-performance ratio, low power consumption, and a reliable product. However, their processors only support dual-channel RAM. The two contenders in my build were the Intel Celeron G530, and the AMD A4-3400. Both processors are incredibly cheap, as my build needs to be as cheap as possible. However, they both have very good price-to-performance ratios. The processor that I chose to go with is the Celeron G530. I chose this processor due to the incredible amount of customer reviews and vendor reviews that said its processing was very fluid and consistent. As I will be presenting in front of a lot of people on the computer I propose to  build, I definitely do not want a processor that fluctuates between working and not working. Another thing that was good to hear about this processor was that it is good enough to handle light gaming (a surpising qualification for such a low-end processor, trust me), and that it is perfect for a workstation PC for surfing the web and doing Word documents/PowerPoint presentations.
     Overall, I learned much more than I thought I would about the heart of a computer this week. I chose a great part for my build, and I'm very excited to pick out the next part! Next week, I'll be researching and choosing a motherboard. Stay tuned! :)

Pictures:

Sources:
      -      http://library.thinkquest.org/26532/inside/history/index.html

-          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_general_purpose_CPUs

-          http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/proving-quantum-computers-feasible-1127.html

 



Blog Post 1

This first post should be about goals and how I’ll measure goals and achievements. To begin, my goal for the end of the project is to build a small computer. This will require tons of research and a constant monitoring of the “small things”. Specifically, I think that my time will be parsed out in a piece-by-piece fashion. For example, one week, I’ll research the aspects of the processor. Another week, I may research the aspects of the motherboard, and so on and so forth. The specific aspects that will occupy my time are probably going to be things like “how to pick the parts so that they work with each other”, and then “how to optimize the parts, in relation to each other”. This will allow me to learn much more about the parts themselves and how they work together in a system. It will also gradually teach me how I can apply those concepts of electronic cooperation to my later computer-related endeavors.

In the first day of each cycle, I will begin researching the history and evolution of each product. For example, in researching the processor, I would research what the first processor was, how they were applied to old computers, and how they have evolved since then. By doing this research for each specific component of the system, I will be able to more effectively choose the parts for my build and truly make sure that each one is optimized for all of the others.

In the second to fourth days of the cycle, I will do my research on the component I have chosen to focus on that week. This research will include watching YouTube videos, reading customer reviews of products, and reading specification outlines of various products in each component category made by the manufacturers themselves. This process takes the longest because many of these reviews and outlines are either videos that last up to 45 minutes, or papers that can be up to 5 pages long. By reading the product outline, I will gain insight into the inner workings of the component, and learn about what it’s actually doing while in a computer system. On the other hand, by reading customer reviews, I will be able to see what the customers think, and how their personal experience went after they purchased the product. This knowledge, although not very consistent, will aid me in choosing the parts for my final product, as optimization and durability are key. In the middle are the professional reviews. These reviews are done by people working for internet companies, such as Newegg.com and NCIX.com, as well as each of their YouTube channels. The people that review the products have knowledge of the inner workings that far exceeds that of the average consumer, but not so much that they know everything the manufacturer does. Often times, the reviewer will give advice on why you should/shouldn’t buy a specific product, as well as which scenarios it would be best suited for. This category of research will probably be my most valuable source because all of the information is there, with a bit of advice thrown in.

During the fifth day of each cycle, I will apply the knowledge that I have acquired through research to my actual build. Using a handy website called Pcpartpicker.com, I will gradually add one part after another to the build. For example, in cycle 1, I will add a processor. In cycle 2, I will add a corresponding motherboard, etc., etc. Eventually, this process will lead me to have a complete list of parts by the last week of the project. After this, I will order the parts, and build the machine. Seeing as I already know a good deal about computers, I will not be heavily researching the components that stay the same when building a smaller machine than normal, such as hard drives, optical drives, and things of that nature. These parts will be pre-configured on Pcpartpicker.com, as they are universally compatible. Also during the fifth day of the cycle, I plan to outline my blog post, so that I do not have to rush to get it done on day 6.

On the sixth day of the cycle, I will complete my blog post, outlining my experience for the week. I plan to include important historical findings, applicable/fascinating facts that I learned, as well as a link and/or picture of the progress of my configuration.

My primary goal for the project is to have everything flow smoothly. I do not want to be backed up on research or any other aspect of the project during any one cycle. Another goal that I have is to simply learn more about computers and their parts. Seeing as this is a passion of mine, I am very excited to find out as much as possible about how I can make the computers I configure better.