Tutorial Blog 4

For my final blog post for my Spring semester ISM3004 class, I chose to discuss a topic that is growing in importance in today’s business world: NET Communications. With that being said, beginning with networks. By definition, “networks” are the collection of devices connected together via communication devices and transmission media.

("Network of People" Photograph. THE RAINMAKER BLOG. The Rainmaker Institute. Web. <http://www.therainmakerblog.com/uploads/image/network%20of%20people.jpg>.)

There are four types of networks:

• PAN: Personal Area Network
• LAN: Local Area Network
• MAN: Metropolitan Area Network
• WAN: Wide Area Network

Why use a network you may ask? Well the benefits of networking are plenty. First, networking allows the facilitating of communications. This is probably the greatest benefit as it allows for greater productivity and synergy.

Synergy – when the performance of 2 or more components working together exceeds the total performance of the components working separately.

Going back to benefits, through networking you can share software, hardware, and data and information – as well as transfer funds.

• While you have to beware of licensing issues, networks can facilitate software distribution and maintenance.
• Sharing hardware increases productivity because resources are then available online. Also, you can share your disk more efficiently than when used in a local disk.
• Sharing data and information increases employee productivity as well as enabling entire new categories of application. It gives your company also a competitive advantage and it is beneficial for the safety and security applied to your data

While there are plenty of benefits of networking, there are also some disadvantages as well. Not only is cost an issue, but security threats, loss of user autonomy, and lack of privacy are also dilemmas.

·     By security threats, I mean network based attacks against enterprise resources. Critical data on servers can be complied/divulged. You need to keep in mind that any system online is at risk. However, on a brighter note, there are proactive strategies to protect network resources.

·     By loss of user autonomy, I mean there are restrictions on software installation.

Attached here I have provided a YouTube showing a Mac commercial about networking:

YouTube

All in all, due to the accessibility and increased productivity that networking provides, it proves to become more and more integrated into today's business world. Attached you will find a few more links I provided about networking:

Types of Networks

Advantages & Disadvantages of Networking

Network vs. Stand Alone Computer

My first Digitally-Signed and Encripted E-mails

In my ISM3004 class, one of our projects as we draw closer to the end of the class, was to acquire a personal e-mail certificate and then send both a digitally signed and encrypted e-mail message. To do this, I first had to download Thunderbird (a e-mail system linked with Firefox) to access my UFL e-mail and send it. I have never used nor heard of Thunderbird prior to the project, and from it, have LOVED the program and will now use it as my primary e-mail carrier.

Upon downloading Thunderbird, I also had to download Firefox. This turned into an issue as the current version of Firefox is too new for my version of OS X on my MacBook. I then had to find an earlier version (Version 3.6) to download which was accessible with my computer.

Once that was completed, I was able to install a security certificate from Comodo (www.comodo.com/home/email-security/free-email-certificate.php). From that, I could export my certificate through Firefox and therefore configure Thunderbird to use my e-mail certificate to entail send my digitally-signed e-mail which then I received another e-mail with a certificate I could use to encrypt my next e-mail. Below is a screen capture I took showing my success on sending both e-mails:

From this project, I also looked into how using security is becoming more enforced (for protection purposes) in the business setting. In the article I found, entitled "Tampa Company Using Biometrics to Secure Computer Systems" on Tampa Bay Online (http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/07/071031/tampa-company-using-biometrics-secure-computer-sys/), it explains how the company, "Realtime North America is using biometric technology to help businesses and government agencies tighten their computer security." 

From the article I learned that with the use of biometric technology, that with a press or a swipe, it can recognize the user's unique fingerprint and then enable computers to restrict or allow the user access. The system to do this costs Realtime about $100,000. From this, "the benefit is that the computer administrator can assign by terminal who has access to the information and they have a recorded database - which shows who has access to data, when they access it and for how long and for what purpose," - stated Kenneth D. "Pete" Gunn (former director of safety and security of Space Florida) in the article. 

Realtime North America recommends a special mouse and keyboard that scans in the user's fingerprint to obtain a match - the technology is then used to restrict the log-on or level of security for various users. The system can also keep track of each user's activities, this could be helpful when looking at the productivity of the employee.

Finally, it states that Realtime North America believes that biometrics is the final frontier in protecting personal and corporate data - which therefore can save the company millions in fraud losses.

All in all, from this article, it showed me how important security is becoming in the business world and how it can save companies from both fraud and the expense fraud carries along with it.

Avatar

In my ISM3004 class, my latest project I completed involved my creativity, and so far has been one of my favorite assignments. My task was to create an Avatar. Before I started, I was already worried thinking that it would be difficult. However, it turned out to be rather simple.

I began my assignment by accessing www.doppelme.com. It was there I got to pick the sex of my Avatar, and work my way from there. As I went along in my creation, I was able to choose my Avatar's eye color, hair color, outfit and accessories. I admit, my creativity did take the best of me as I began to have fun as I made it. Shown before is my Avatar, hope you enjoy it!

Database Project

My latest task I completed in my ISM3004 class is my first ever attempt at creating a database. Like the previous Excel project I completed, I again was working for a local gym. The name I created for this gym was "Kristi's 24 Hour Fitness." My task for the project was to create a database storing information about the gym's members. More specifically, I had to take existing member data from a spreadsheet and transform it for greater data management and reporting power of a DBMS. I was able to transform this information from the spreadsheet into a database as the spreadsheet was exported to a CSV file.

(http://www.tech-faq.com/what-is-a-database.html)

My next step was creating the database. Because I own a Mac, I could not use Access which is the common database program used for Windows, so instead downloaded a trial of FileMaker Pro database software.

(http://www.thewwwblog.com/filemaker-pro-application-for-mac.html)

On FileMaker Pro, I began by importing the data in a FileMaker table and changed the data to a Field Type of Date. I then, created my own custom layout to make my database more user friendly. From creating my database, I learned how helpful they are for businesses are you select your own criteria for your records and organize everything. I never noticed how much of a difference it makes from an Excel spreadsheet through organizing large quantities of data and having everything easy to find all in one location. I was able to create a form which allowed me to display the data in a more user-friendly format. I also, through FileMaker "Find", was able to select a specific criteria (in my case Individual Membership types) from the whole database - therefore allowing me easier management of my DBMS.  Over all, through creating my database on FileMaker, I became absolutely amazed on how you can automate tasks through one quick command. 

With this being said, while in the project I had to make a "Departed Member Report" to allow the fitness center (Kristi's 24 Hour Fitness) owner follow-up with people who have recently left the gym to see why they left the gym and try to entice them to return. Personally, I think looking at registration dates to see if there is a trend on when most people join the gym could potentially help with knowing the best time to advertise and run promotions to entice even more gym registrations. I think focusing on people leaving is a weak tactic and instead, I would dedicate on trying to gathering more memberships rather than applying a focus on earning them back.

All in all, thanks to the database project, I was introduced to a whole new method of organizing and maintaining large volumes of data and enabling myself to organize it much easier than I could have with a spread sheet and seeing how helpful it can be for a business.

Tutorial Blog 3

As I begin to make my way towards the end of my Spring semester ISM3004 class, I figured it would be important for my third blog posting to discuss one of the fastest growing mediums, the Internet. By definition, the Internet is a world-wide network of networks, connecting businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and individuals. While most people call the Internet the Web interchangeably, the Web is actually just one of the sources available to the Internet.

(http://www.designswan.com/archives/9-popular-internet-browser-icons.html)

Before ISM, I had absolutely no idea how the Internet is actually accessed, or how it was run. There are actually two types of computers connected to the Internet, there is "the client" which asks for data and "the server" who receives requests from the client and finds the data and serves it up to the client computer on a browser. Shown here is a quick YouTube clip about the history of Internet and how it has progressed:

YouTube

Then, to access the Internet there are two ways to do so: Dial-Up and High Speed (Broadband). Dial-Up, which has recently become close to extinct, is a modem connected to a standard phone line which is infamous for being slow as well as requiring a new connection each time it is used. The most common method is High Speed (also known as Broadband), which incorporates DSL, Cable, Wireless and Satellite - providing users with faster connections as well as always being accessible as long as the computer is on.

Even more recent to Broadband, there is Wi-Fi - a wireless technology brand created by InterBrand and owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance (mistakenly short for Wireless Fidelity). Wi-Fi uses radio waves to transmit signals.

Going back to the Web, the Web is most commonly used for searching for, sharing and using information, as well as viewing and sharing media and chat services. With this being said, Search Engines are encompassed in the Web and there are three parts to them. The first is "the Spider" which seeks out data, second being "the Index" which organizes data and finally the search engine software the user reacts with and how the results are given.

Next to navigating the Web, the web runs off of IP and Web addresses. An IP address is an internet protocol address with a number that uniquely identifies each computer/device to the Internet. It consists of four groups of numbers separated by periods. Web Addresses, which sound a little more complex, consist of a protocol, domain name, TLD, path and file name. They run with a Domain Name System (DNS) which translate domain names to IP addresses so that computers and devices can find each other and data can be routed from one computer to another.

The Web site link we are all most commonly used to seeing is known as a URL. By definition, a URL is a uniform resource locator, or in other words a unique address for a web page leaving a web server to deliver the content to your computer. A URL has four parts: (1) a Protocol (which is the http), (2) a Domain Name/TLD (which would be for example www.ufl.edu), (3) Path (which are subdirectories), and finally (4) the File Name (which would be the index.html).

We then, view the Internet through Browsers, which are programs used to view web pages. A few examples of browsers are Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, Safari and Opera.

All in all, the Internet is a fast-growing device which is becoming more popular and accessible each day. Close to every household owns Internet and the amount of time people spend on the Internet is becoming longer and longer.

For more information on the Internet, you can also go to: History of the Internet and More.

GFW2011.

For my Presentation project for my ISM class, I chose to write about my current internship I have had for the past two years with Gainesville Fashion Week. Gainesville Fashion Week is a four-day long series of events focusing on fashion, art, music and culture. Gainesville Fashion Week shows both local and national designers and was lucky enough this year to receive recognition from Southern Living magazine as "one of the best fashion shows of the south."

While I chose Gainesville Fashion Week due to my accessibility to media for it, I did not receive the extent of work in creating a Presentation. I had to begin by first establishing the event as well as finding what I thought was most important of all the information I have gathered about the event to describe. I chose to focus the attention on this years' event as it is most recent.

The next difficulty I came across was incorporating my voice to the presentation as this is something I have never done. To do this, I created a powerpoint presentation which I then focused on each slide, grabbed as a JPEG image on my MacBook and had to transform them into an iMovie on my MacBook which I could then process with my voice and upload to a YouTube.

I incorporated bright colors and tried not to make my presentation too long or to ramble to not bore the viewer, as well as tried to use the brightness to draw attention. I also included multiple pictures so it was not all just wording.

Here is the YouTube link to my Presentation, hope you enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWo2OqDrOYo

Also, if you would like to see each slide (without the voiceover), I also created a slide presentation which you can view here:

http://www.slide.com/s/DLAtieXK6T-GQMSdZt9jFwXZJ7mHqH52

Tutorial Blog 2

In my ISM class, we learn a whole plethora about various applications and software. For my next tutorial blog, I felt it only appropriate to explain an aspect of software that appeals to my blog’s readers, specifically how software is used in the home, personal and educational setting.

Types of Software for Home, Personal & Education Use:

• Personal Finance: Using this software, users can fulfill various tasks such as balancing their checkbooks, paying bills and tracking their income and expenses.
• Here are two YouTube links about Personal Finance Software:
• Personal Finance Software for 2010 Quicken Windows
• Personal Finance Software for MAC (iBank)
• Legal Software: This software is especially useful for those who work in the legal department. It can help with the preparation of legal documents and provides legal information.
• Tax Preparation Software: This kind of software is extra helpful to families as it can help guide families through filing their federal taxes.
• Desktop Publishing Software: Working at home? This software is PERFECT for you. It helps home business users create newsletters, brochures and fliers.
• Paint/Imaging Software: Many people have had experience with this software as it is a more simplified version of the professional one.
• Photo Editing and Management Software: These programs allow users to edit digital photos by removing red eye, blemishes, enhancing and restoring.
• Clip Art/Image Gallery: Software in this category allows its users a collection of clip art and photos.
• Video and Audio Editing: As most software is for its users, it a simpler version to the Professional software.
• Travel and Mapping Software: This software is enabling users to view maps, determine directions and locating points of interests and construction reports, mileage, and finally, time and expenses
• Reference and Educational Software: This type of software can be brought into three categories:
• Reference: Provides valuable and thorough information to its’ users
• Educational: This software reaches particular skills about any subject to its users
• Computer-Based Training: Students learn by using and competing exercises with instructional software.
• Entertainment Software: This software can be used on personal computers, interactive games, videos and programs

For more information, you can also check out this Chapter about Application Software:

Application Software

Excel Project

As I make my way through ISM3004 this Spring semester, my next challenge was to tackle the Excel project. For the Excel project, we were to take the role of working for a large fitness center. More specifically, the fitness center's owner was researching the effectiveness of a particular workout. Raw data was collected from a large group of subjects (500) and, therefore, I was in charge of using Excel to do a variety of analyses on the derived data.

Through my Excel project, I gained experience in manipulating and formating raw data as well as analyzing it through the use of pivot tables. While I gained experience in many facets during this project, one main struggle I overcame was also completing the project using a MacBook. From using the MacBook, the Excel format was different so my method of completing tasks had to be altered such as freezing panes as the MacBook would only freeze one row at a time, so I had to alter it to two using the Print Preview option.

Furthermore, the project allowed me to realize the ability you have with Excel to complete formulas that can calculate data in seconds. From just a simple "PCTIncrease" formula (Highest Heart Rate - Subject Heart Rate at 0 then divided by Highest Heart Rate), I was able to determine what percentage each subject's heart rate increased from the start of the exercise program until the highest rate was reached. Even more so, I also gained experience using Pivot Tables. Using the Pivot Tables, I was instantly able to analyze how effective the new exercise regimen was as well as which demographic groups got the most benefit from the exercise regimen. This helped me to realize how companies can use Pivot Tables and Excel to show how effective new approaches they are attempting with their company are.

Speaking of Pivot Tables, attached is a "screen capture" of the "AvgIncrease" meaning Average Increase Pivot Table I derived in my project.

With this pivot table, I am showing which demographic groups got the most benefit from the exercise regimen. I specifically determined the average percent increase in heart rate for the subjects, grouped by each decade and by gender.

All in all, the Excel project showed me how truly effective and helpful Excel can be to a workplace.

Netiquette: The Do's and Don'ts

Netiquette: “The Golden Rule of the Internet”

By definition, netiquette means the set of online social skills that enable us to work together on the Internet in a pleasant, civil matter.

If you think about it, if it is good for you to always apply good etiquette in life – specifically towards other people, why wouldn’t you always apply it to the Internet as well when you are digitally interacting with people?

4 Basic Rules of Netiquette:

• Help the newbies. (Newbies are newcomers, those who are just getting used to social media websites, e-mail, etc.)
• Research before asking. (Sometimes what you are going to ask may be right in front of you in the e-mail or on the Web site you are accessing)
• Remember emotion. (Do not use all CAPS, to the reader it may come off as you yelling and offend them.)
• People aren’t organizations. (Keep in mind what you are saying and remember to not just send an e-mail to a person treating them as if they were a robot. They are real people.)

Make sure to not fall victim to “trolling.” Trolling simply means the act of posting of a message highly off-topic or otherwise used to start controversy online.

Also, as harmful as it can be to state something especially rude to say something outrageously insulting to somebody in person, the same applies to the internet. This is known as “Flaming.”

Be sure to check out the YouTube clip on Netiquette for more information! Netiquette YouTube

For more information on Netiquette you can also go to:

Netiquette Core Rules

Code of Conduct for Netiquette