Tutorial Blog 4: Virtualization and Cloud Computing

Hello everybody,

Virtualization (Source: www.techwench.com)

This is my final tutorial blog post and it is going to be about virtualization. What is virtualization? Very generally speaking, it means creating something in a virtual form rather than in an actual form. For example, there are software programs that virtualize the existence of hardware. Daemon Tools for instance, is a program that can virtualize a hard drive on your computer, e.g. a DVD drive. It will make your computer think that there is another drive when in fact, there is not. There are many forms of virtualization like hardware-, storage-, or network virtualization among others. One increasingly important and very interesting concept of hardware virtualization, also called platform virtualization, is cloud computing. I have dealt with that topic before at my home university and I am going to tell you a little bit more about this in the following section.

Cloud Computing (Source: http://www.cloudup.net)

Cloud computing is a concept that most of us already deal with and we are very likely to deal with it a lot more in the future. The concept is getting ever more important and companies are constantly evaluating how they can benefit from it. In essence it encompasses any service used over the internet that extends the existing capabilities of your IT system in real time. So for example, Software as a Service (SaaS), means that someone or some company, uses a software over the internet without actually having it on the computer. A service provider stores the software on its servers and offers it for use in real time to many people for a fee. The benefit for the customer is that no investment in necessary resources is needed and for the provider it only means maintaining one application for many people. There are obviously scale economies and everybody benefits. Watch the following video to get more insights on the topic:

Dropbox logo (Source: www.dropbox.com)

Another popular example that gets increasing attention from many people and especially students is a website called www.dropbox.com. On this website, you can download a small client software, that enables you to get access to your own personal webspace, that you can use and access from anywhere with any computer, and share with other people. It appears on your computer as just another folder that looks and behaves like any other folder but actually it is on the server of the company. So, you can put files in the folder, copy them from the folder and share the whole, or parts of the folder, with other people. The benefits are obvious again, you can have a shared folder with many people that is updated in real-time. For example, you can share documents with other students that you are working on together as part of e.g. a group project. Instead of having to send each and every file around again and again via email, you can just share a dropbox together. You even get a notification on your statusbar when someone made a change. If you can think of an occasion where you could benefit from this kind of software, you should definitely try it.

Here is another very nice video about cloud computing:





So, I hope you found today's topic interesting. Of course, this is a very complex topic that needs more explanation to fully understand it but I hope I could give you a first insight and that I have motivated you to look deeper into it.

Thank you for reading!

Sources:
http://www.techwench.com/myths-legends-for-virtualization-buffs-to-break/
http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031?page=0,0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing
https://www.dropbox.com/
http://www.cloudup.net/why/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae_DKNwK_ms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJncFirhjPg

Secure Email Project

Hello everybody,

Mozilla Thunderbird user interface

Today I will talk about the Secure Email Project of my Computing in the Business Environment Course. In this project we used Mozilla Thunderbird to create an encrypted email and send it to the professor of the course. Encryption means using a specific algorithm to transform your data into secure data that can only be accessed with a certain key that can transform the data back into its original state. It is a very useful security measure and is used to protect data from theft. The actual purpose is protecting the data even if thieves get access to it because they still will not be able to use it without the key. In our project, we encypted emails and so made them safe in this way. The following screenshot of my Thunderbird interface shows those emails.

My Mozilla Thunderbird user interface containing the emails received from the professor

 In an interesting article about the hacking attack at Epsilon (http://blogs.forbes.com/ciocentral/2011/04/08/the-epsilon-hack-attack-time-for-sox-for-consumers/) the author talks about this attack as something that could have been prevented by using encryption. Epsilon is an e-mail marketing firm in possession of an enormous amount of consumer email addresses. Last week, hackers found their way past the firewalls of the company into their hard drives. On these hard drives they found all the unprotected email addresses and copied them to use them for phishing and other criminal purposes.The author argues that those firewalls protecting all the private user email addresses obviously were not enough and that they should have been protected on the hard drives. Consumer information has to be kept confidential and secure by law and people of course want companies to keep their information in safe places. This is why the author thinks encryption should be required by law to make data more safe. I agree with him because I do not want to change my email address just because some marketing company was unable to protect it.

Sources:

My Mozilla Thunderbird user interface

http://blogs.forbes.com/ciocentral/2011/04/08/the-epsilon-hack-attack-time-for-sox-for-consumers/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encryption

Tutorial Blog 3: The Social Web - The World Wide Web in the 21st Century

Hello everybody,

Picture 1: Social web (Source: www.squidoo.com)

Welcome to my third tutorial blog. Today I will talk about the world wide web in the 21st century as it has tremendously changed the way people communicate with each other. The term social web describes online tools that help people communicate nowadays and is one part of the concept of web 2.0 which sees the end user of web content not only as the user but also as a participant. So in essence, social web describes the way people interact with each other by creating a new universe of web content - the social web.

One important part of social web is social networking. Social networking sites are numerous and the most well-known and popular for personal use and to connect with friends are Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and for building business networks linkedin. There are also other networking applications like chat programs such as Skype and Windows Live Messenger. These networks build a social structure in which people are connected due to some kind of interdependency like friendship, common interests, knowledge or beliefs. Via these networks, people exchange their own created contents like commentaries, photo albums, videos, blogs and so on. The following website and video gives some more information on the topic.

Squidoo - What is Social Networking?

Another popular part of the social web is blogging. This is actually what I am doing right now. I am creating my tutorial blog 3 and you are reading it. Blogs are websites maintained by an individual or a group who post regular commentaries or descriptions of events. This blog is also interactive in a way that you can add comments to it. Blogs are also usually about a specific subject. Many people document their experiences that they have on trips or write about another topic on a regular basis. The following video will give you deeper insight into blogging.

Another interesting topic in the social web is the so-called podcasting. This word actually replaced the initial name of webcasting due to the popularity of Apple's iPod and the use of that format on this device. A podcast is a series of digital media files, audio or video, that are released episodically and then downloaded by users using a so-called podcatcher, a program that downloads podcasts and checks them for updates. ITunes for example is a popular podcatcher and I frequently use it for downloading podcasts. The lectures of my Computing in the Business Environment course and other courses at the University of Florida are also offered in the form of podcasts. It is a very useful technology and most contents are free for everyone. If you plan on learning Chinese for example, you can download free Chinese language podcasts and start today! The following video will give you some more insights into the world of podcasting.

There are numerous other parts of the social web such as forums and social bookmarking and so on. The web is more and more becoming a place that is not only created for end users, but by end users. I spend approximately half of my time on the web by creating content. I am active in a number of social networks and right now, I am blogging. I even manage some contacts to people that I almost never see in person over the web. Without this possibility I would most probably have lost these contacts eventually. As you can see, I am a fan of the social web and web 2.0. I think it is highly valuable as long as you do not let it become a replacement for your real life. Social networking via the internet can also be dangerous. A proof of that is a computer game called World of Warcraft. It is half game half social network. People there build personal avatars with which they walk through a simulated world and can interact and even talk to other people's avatars with their computer's microphone. Some people get so addicted to this game that they spend all their time in this virtual world just to eventually lose their contacts in the real world. These people are more the exception though and it should just give you an example of the dangers of social networking via the internet. 

I hope you have enjoyed my blog and will come back soon!

Best,

Funky Fred

Sources:

http://www.squidoo.com/whatissocialnetowrking

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
http://www.youtube.com

Database Project - Microsoft Access

Hello everybody,

Today I am going to tell you about my database project experience. This week I had to optimize a database for a gym. First of all I had to import the data of the gym's members from a text file into Access. 

Picture 1: Importing text in Microsoft Access

On this picture you see how it looks like when you import text. Fortunately, the text was already formatted with delimiters, characters in a text file that separate fields, for example a comma or a semicolon. So it was easy to import the text and Access already recognized the correct record and field sizes and data types. A really useful function of Access.

The next step in the project was to build a query that only returns those members of the gym with individual membership types and have left the gym within the last six months. 

Picture 2: Creating a query in Microsoft Access

 Building a query is also very intuitive and lets you easily display only desired parts of a database without having to sort it all out by yourself. Imagine the work you would have to do if it is a huge database. So again this part of the project taught me a valuable lesson.

The next two steps were creating a form and a report. Pictures 3 and 4 show how that looks like.

Picture 3: Creating a form in Microsoft Access

Picture 4: Creating a report in Microsoft Access

A form is a good way to display a database to users. It is in essence a nice user interface and lets you determine which fields can be changed and which ones are read only for example. Furthermore you can omit certain fields. Users can e.g. easily add new members to the database using a form.

The report is an illustrative tool. Using this function, one can quickly make a printout of the database, sorting it in a certain way and modifying its appearance.

One important issue with having huge databases is security. Especially in an example like this, a gym with a lot of customers, data security is extremely important. Penalties imposed on violators are potentially huge and the loss of reputation will most probably drive such a business out of the market. One solution to this is using a secure SQL server for data storage and MS Access only as the front end.

Her you'll find an article about Access as a front end to a SQL database.

In summary I can say that this project again taught me many useful things. Especially Access is a software within the Microsoft Office suite that I did not use for a long time. It is very important to have the basic skills in Access because most employers will demand that from their future employees. So, thanks Computing in the Business Environment course for teaching me something useful again!

Thanks for reading!

Best,


Funky Fred

Sources:

All images are screen captures from my computer.

Creating an Avatar

Hello everybody,

Today I'm going to tell you about my experience of creating an avatar with doppelme.com. Using this website you can create your own, very simple first avatar within only a couple of minutes. Just click on create, choose a gender and skin color and then make some modifications to the appearance of your avatar. You can choose from many looks. You can change your:

• facial expressions
• hair
• eyewear
• hats
• tops
• bottoms
• shoes
• extras
• accessories
• background of your avatar image.

In the end my avatar looked like this:

Picture: My first Avatar (created with doppelme.com)

As you can see, I was able to create a funny looking avatar that I can use as my profile picture in any social media in only just a few minutes. You should try it too. Go on doppelme.com and give it a try!

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Funky Fred

Presentation Project

Hello everybody,

Today I would like to talk to you about the presentation project of the course Computing in the Business Environment. This project was really fun and challenging at the same time because I have never done a complete presentation on my computer without speaking to an audience. The challenge about it was also to find a good topic and make it catchy and interesting. As we have learned, we have only 30-60 seconds to catch the attention of the audience. This is why I have chosen a topic especially interesting (hopefully) to Americans. In my presentation, I encourage Americans to support WWF in urging senators to pass the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act of 2010. Since Alaska will be the future center of oil production in the US, this act will help to ensure that catastrophes as the Deep Water Horizon oil spill of 2010 will not happen again. Alaska is an especially dangerous place for oil drilling because of its remoteness and its unpredictable and extreme weather conditions. The act will set appropriate and binding safety standards for oil companies. Furthermore, I encourage environmentally conscious behavior in my presentation. Here it is:

Video: My presentation

I have learned a lot while creating this presentation. To make a video with audio of my presentation, I had to use a new program called Camtasia Studio 7. Picture 1 shows a screen capture of the loading screen of Camtasia Studio 7.

 

Picture 1: Capture of Camtasia Studio 7 loading screen

This program comes with an add-in for PowerPoint that lets you record a video of your presentation with audio and/or web cam capture while presenting. Fortunately, a free 30 day trial of the software is freely available on the web. After you have recorded your presentation you can also work on it, cut parts out, add parts, include music and much more. A very useful program after you have played around with it for a while and have found out how to use it. See picture 2 for a screen capture of the working environment of Camtasia Studio 7:

 Picture 2: The working environment of Camtasia Studio 7

I can see many opportunities for its application in business settings. Distributing presentations in high quality online is no issue at all with this program. You can even let the program post the video for you on websites. It could for example be used to share presentations with peers via email or the company intranet for instance. If you are a superior traveling around a lot, it is a good way to communicate important new issues to your peers without being physically present.

Concerning my self-evaluation I have to say that I of course tried to pay attention to the points mentioned in the Presentation Evaluation Rubric. Even though I have no agenda, I think my presentation has a logical flow and is easy to follow. I actually consciously avoided using an agenda because we learned in the presentation skills week that you should jump right in. I also tried to answer any question that might arise right away like how can you support WWF and why should you try to fight global warming, if you don't believe in it. In hindsight I have to say though that after evaluating another presentation, it might have been appropriate to give some more general information about WWF. I assumed everybody is more or less familiar with it. I don't think that it is a big issue though because anyone who is interested can go on their website and inform him/herself.

A great deal of my effort went into grabbing the viewers attention in the beginning. I tried to establish an emotional connection with the audience by playing a very emotional song, Michael Jackson - Earth Song, and by showing pictures that viewers can relate to. In the course of the presentation I tried to spark curiosity to the topic by posing questions like "have you ever experienced outcomes of global warming?" and then giving examples of national and international scope. I validated my claims by putting the source under them. Overall I tried to consider all the evaluation points.

When evaluating the presentation of a peer, I recognized that he did a presentation as I would have done it in front of an audience. It was a regular PowerPoint presentation of the kind I have seen a lot in my tutorials in Maastricht. I think he did a good job. He had an agenda in the beginning and did not grab my attention in a special way but that was my only point for improvement. The other points in the evaluation form were all addressed in a good way. He had a clear structure, sparked curiosity with questions and answered my questions that arose during the presentation proactively. He used a good video in between and I thought it matched the content very well. Overall he did a very different presentation than I did. His was more fact based while I tried to do a very emotionally catchy presentation. I learned that it can also be done like this. 

In summary I can say that this project was very interesting, demanding and really taught me some new things like all the prior sessions in this course did. I hope that you liked my presentation and that I might have inspired you to support WWF and help fight global warming. Have a great weekend and I hope that you will come back to my blog soon.

Sources:

Please read my source document for information about the sources I used.


Please go to the WWF homepage to get more information about WWF and to support them.

Tutorial Blog 2: Tips for Effective Presentations

Hello everybody,

Here I am again with another topic that I found very interesting in the course Computing in the Business Environment: Presentations. It is easy to make a presentation but making an interesting one that really catches the attention of the listener, isn't that easy. In week 7 we got some interesting tips on how to improve your presentations. I will talk about some today in my second tutorial blog.

First of all we learned that you have only 30-60 seconds to grab the attention of your audience. This is why you will need a catchy intro, not a dramatically crazy intro but something maybe unexpected and interesting. The course website showed a video of an interview with Chip and Dan Heath who have written a book, "Made to Stick", in which they explain why you will remember some ideas you hear about and why you will just forget others. Picture 1 shows their book.

 

Picture 1:  Book: Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath (Source: http://heathbrothers.com)

They talked about four points that can help making the idea of your presentation stick:

1. Try to establish an emotional connection with your audience. This is a good tip for a catchy intro.
2. Tell a story. A story is much easier to remember for your audience than just telling them some facts.
3. Talk about unexpected things. Don't be predictable in what you do. This will just bore your audience.
4. Be concrete. Your story should be easy to understand and draw a concrete image of what you want to convey.

Their conclusion is that you should decide on the core message that you want to convey and then build your story as support around that core.

Here you can see the interview:

Video 1: "Made to Stick" (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zlld9TA-Vg) 

Moreover, we were taught some general rules for good presentations. Some of the most valuable, next to the ones I mentioned before and that I will mention in the next paragraph, will be mentioned subsequently. Firstly, try to counterbalance your natural tendency to include all the information. You don't want to have every single thing you want to talk about on your slides. Concentrate on those points that are most important to bring your message across and omit those things that are unnecessary to understand your message.

Secondly, don't talk about complicated issues using technical jargon. Adopt a beginner's mind. Tell your message in a way that is easy to understand for your audience even if they are inexperienced in the topic.

Finally, don't make presentations for your ego but for your audience. It is about them and if you don't put yourself in their shoes and reflect on how they will think about what you're saying, you are more likely to bore or annoy them with your presentation.

Furthermore, we were provided with a link to a very interesting website:

http://www.duarte.com/training/tools/

This website by the company Duarte offers some very nice and exceptionally well-made videos with tips on how to make your presentations more effective. One interesting topic they talk about is the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). The key takeaways from that topic are the following. Your audience should be able to process the information on any of your slides in a presentation in about three seconds. This is important because you want them to concentrate on your message, your story. If you present them a very strong visual signal in your slides, while saying something very strong which would then be a strong verbal signal, you create "noise". This "noise" is created by the conflict of the two strong signals. What you want to do instead is sending one pure signal. So, make your slides easily processable for the audience to be able to send an unambiguous message with the story you are telling. An unambiguous message is created by having only one visual signal on the slides that is easily understood. Don't put lots of graphics, charts and text on your slides. Avoid the noise.

So, I hope you liked the points that I talked about today and that you feel inspired to search for more information on how you can improve your presentations. Please leave comments and I hope you will visit my blog again for my next post!

Sources:

• Course website
• http://heathbrothers.com
• http://www.duarte.com/training/tools/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zlld9TA-Vg