ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 14

PURPOSE:

This chapter describes system administration responsibilities and tasks. It explains the process of acquiring computer hardware and system software.

ITE 221 – Chapter 14 – Blog

 

Types of Biometric Security

 

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Technology-Article.asp?ArtNum=12

 

There are various types of biometric security in use today.  Some of these are listed below:

 

·         Fingerprint Identification – this type of biometric security is based on the ridges on a person’s finger.  These ridges are created in the womb and the actual fingerprints are created by the fourth month of fetal development. As people get older the fingers do get larger but the relationship between the ridges stays the same.

·         Hand Geometry – this is the measurement and comparison of the different physical characteristics of the hand. This type is still in use today.

·         Palm Vein Authentication – this system uses an infrared beam to penetrate the person’s hand as it is waved over the system; the veins in the palm are returned as black lines. This sytem has a high level of authentication accuracy.  It’s pretty hard to fake.  Is used in public places.

·         Retina Scan – this method provides an analysis of the capillary blood vessels in the back of the eye. This pattern remains the same throughout life.

·         Iris Scan – this provides an analysis of the rings, furrows and freckles in the colored ring that surrounds the eye. There are more than 200 points used for comparison.

 

Some of the other types of biometric security is use today include: facial recognition, signature and voice analysis.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 13

PURPOSE:

The chapter describes client-server and multi-user application architecture and discusses their advantages compared to centralized applications. It explains how operating systems and network protocol stacks cooperate so users and programs can access remote resources.

ITE 221 – Chapter 13 – Blog

 

Difference between LDAP and Active Directory

 

http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-ldap-and-acitve-directory/

 

LDAP is a protocol for accessing information from directory services.  Active Directory is Microsoft’s propritery directory service. LDAP can be conformed to so that Active Directory can understand and respond to its requests.

 

LDAP was created as a product of cooperation between telecom companies to create a protocol that could be used to pull data from a server across TCP/IP.  Active Directory was created by Microsoft that is based on LDAP. Originally it was meant to provide data via LDAP but has gone on to include other services.

 

In conclusion, here are some of the differences between LDAP and Active Directory:

 

·         LDAP is a protocol for retrieving information from directory services like Active Directory.

·         LDAP is older than Active Directory.

·         LDAP is an industry wide creation while Active Directory is a proprietary Microsoft product.

·         Active Directory is primarily a Windows based program.

·         Active Directory also provides services outside of the scope of LDAP.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 12

PURPOSE:

The chapter describes the components and functions of a file management system. It compares the logical and physical organization of files and directories. It explains how secondary storage locations are allocated to files and describes the data structures used to record those allocations. Security, backup, recovery and fault tolerance methods and procedures are covered.

ITE 221 – Chapter 12 Blog – Gabor

 

The Difference between Linux and Windows Files

 

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-linux-files-the-differences-between-linux-and-windows-files/5033390

 

Both Windows and Linux have file management systems.  They differentiate in how they deal with files.

 

One area they differentiate is with they way they handle hidden files.  In Linux, hidden files are always preceeded by a period.  i.e. “.home”. In Windows, in order to give hidden attributes to a file, a user will right-click on the file name and select the Hidden check box. When a user refreshes the directory listings the file will not appear.  How do you get it back?

 

File extensions is another area of differentation.  In Windows, file extensions are what tells the OS which program to use to open the file.  Linux does not use file extensions. With Linux, a user can create a text file named try.doc file and a text file named try and both will open in a word processing program and their will be no differences between the context of both files.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 11

PURPOSE:

The chapter describes the functions and layers of an operating system, lists the resources allocated by the operating system and describes how the operating system manages memory. It describes how an operating system manages programs, processes and threads and how signals and pipes are used to coordinate threads and processes. The alternate CPU scheduling methods are compared and contrasted.

ITE 221 – Chapter 11 Blog – Gabor

8 Great Windows 8 Features for Business

http://blog.laptopmag.com/8-great-windows-8-features-for-business

 

Microsoft’s latest release of Windows, Windows 8 has arrived.  I have purchased a copy of Windows 8 myself and have wondered what improvements it has for me and the company I work at.

One of the areas I am concerned about is security.  With Windows 8, Microsoft has upgraded Defender, its spyware program.  The previous versions lacked protection against trojans, worms and bot-net attempts.  The version that comes with Windows 8 fixes that.  Because Defender comes with a basic anti-virus defense, IT managers will be able to save money by not having to install third-party anti-virus programs.  Combined with the new SmartScreen technology which is used to verify downloads against a list of reputable files, it will make it harder for viruses, worms and the like to get in.

Microsoft finally added BitLocker to the Windows 8 professional version.  BitLocker is an encryption program for files, etc.  I personally have been waiting for this to happen! And they enhanced it too!

Other Windows 8 features for business include improved performance and better backups, more efficient wireless connection management and better support for virtualized systems and remote desktop support.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 10

PURPOSE:

The chapter describes the application development process and the role of methodologies, models and tools. It compares and contrasts programming language generations and explains the function and operation of program translation software and integrated application development software.

Copyrighting Source Code

 

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ61.pdf

 

 

Many programmers and software developers wonder what the requirements for copyrighting their programs are and does the government get to see the whole source code for the program. Source code is the instructions or statements in a high level programming language that form the basis of the particular program that is being developed. 

 

For entirely new programs the U.S. Copyright Office requires the following: 

 

            First 25 and last 25 pages of source code with portions

            containing trade secrets blocked out, or

 

            • First 10 and last 10 pages of source code alone, with no

            blocked out portions, or

 

            • First 25 and last 25 pages of object code plus any 10 or

            more consecutive pages of source code, with no blockedout

            portions, or

 

            • For programs 50 pages or less in length, entire source

            code with trade secret portions blocked out

 

For revised programs the U.S. Copyright Office requires the following: 

 

            If the revisions are present in the first 25 and last 25 pages,

            any one of the four options above, as appropriate, or if the

            revisions are not present in the first 25 and the last 25 pages:

 

            • 20 pages of source code containing the revisions with no

            blocked out portions, or

 

            • any 50 pages of source code containing the revisions with

            some portions blocked out

 

            note: Whenever portions of code are blocked out, the following

                requirements must be met:

 

                1. the blocked out portions must be proportionately less than the

                material remaining; and

 

                2. the visible portion must represent an appreciable amount of

                original computer code.

 

So what does the Copyright Office say about copyrighting websites?

Here’s their answer:

 

            note: Registration of html or other formatting code for a

                website does not automatically cover any visible or audible

                copyrightable elements that are generated by the code. To

                register those portions of an online work, the entire copyrightable

                content must be deposited. It is possible to register the

                computer program together with the online work, but the

                deposit requirements for both the program and the online

                work must be fulfilled. See Circular 66, Copyright Registration

                for Online Works, for important information on the required

                deposit and how to complete the application when registering

                online works.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 9

PURPOSE:

The chapter compares and contrasts the bus, ring and star network topologies. It describes packet routing across local and wide area networks. The methods of data passing are described. Nework hardware devices are described and the OSI Network model is covered.

Megaco/H.248: Media Gateway Control Protocol

 

http://www.javvin.com/protocolMegaco.html

 

 

Megaco/H.248, the Media Gateway Control Protocol is used for the control of elements in a physically decomposed multimedia gateway. 

 

This protocol describes the relationship between the Media Gateway (MG) and the Media Gateway Controller (MGC and also known as the call agent). The Media Gateway converts circuit-switched voice to packet-based traffic.

 

Terminations and contexts are the two vital components of the protocol.  Streams of data entering or leaving the Media Gateway are terminations while contexts are when two or more termination streams are mixed and combined together.  Under command from the MGC, the MG creates and releases the contexts.  More than one stream can appear in a termination and contexts can be considered to be multistreamed contexts.  Audio, video and data streams may exist in a context made up of multiple terminations. 

 

Messages are sent in the ASN.1 format.  These are text messages.  These are the commands used in the protocol:  Add, Modify, Subtract, Move, AuditValue, AuditCapabilities, Notify and ServiceChange.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 8

PURPOSE:

The chapter describes the signals and media used to transmit digital signals and the methods of encoding and transmitting data using analog and digital signals. It describes the methods for detecting and correcting data transmission errors and the methods for efficiency using communication channels.

How ML-IP Can Increase Bandwith

 

http://www.ml-ip.com/html/solutions/providers-bandwidth.html

 

 

One of the major issues facing Internet Service Providers today is how to increase bandwith with the technology we have today.  With more people connecting to the Internet and with many different types of devices (tablets, smartphones, laptops, etc.) that have the capability to connect to the internet, ISPs are finding their systems bandwith availability reaching its capacity.

 

ML-IP is one way in which ISPs can increase their bandwith.  ML-IP (MultiLink-IP) is multilinking of IP data streams. What ML-IP does is allow traffic traveling across different network paths between two ML-IP gateways to be aggregated so that it increases the bandwidth. Since the aggregation is achieved end-to-end between the gateways the ISPs do not need to support the ML-IP technology because ML-IP can aggregate at the network layer and not at the physical layer. This allows the ISP to increase bandwith and increase the networks reliability.  It also is a very cost effective way to increase bandwith because not much if any new infrastructure is needed.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 7

PURPOSE:

The chapter describes the basics of text and image representation and display including digital representation of grayscale and color, bitmaps, and image description language; describes the characteristics and implementation technology of video display devices; understands printer characteristics and technology; describes main manual input technologies; describes various types of optical input devices, identifies the characteristics of audio I/O devices, and explains how they operate.

Tapping out: The future of keyboards

http://www.kidela.com/technology/tapping-out-the-future-of-keyboards/

 

What is the future of keyboards?  It seems like they have been around forever! I’ve used so many over the years, even the ergonomic ones!  But are they on there way out?  This article looks into that question.

 

Most people still use keyboards in their every day lives.  Mobile touch screens are becoming more popular with the use of smartphones and tablets.  One of the defining features of the iPhone when it was first released was the lack of a physical keyboard. It seems as if Blackberry is the only cellphone manufacture who makes QWERTY physical keyboards and they seem to be cutting back on them too.

 

Tablets like the iPad have also had a role in the decline of the physical keyboard.  Tablets are designed without physical keyboards.  A common complaint about tablet keyboards is the lack of a touch-based feedback, commonly known as a “haptic” response.   Manufactures have tried to deal with this by adding sounds when keys are pressed.

 

One company, Tactus Technology has developed a technology that allows for the creation of on-demand buttons on the surface of a touch-screen that raise when they are needed and fade away when they are not. 

 

Other companies have developed projection keyboards for cellphones and computers that allow the user to enter alphanumeric data much as they would if they were on a full-sized keyboard.

 

I prefer a physical keyboard.  The keyboards on smartphones and tablets are too small for people who have big hands and/or fingers like me.  I hope keyboards don’t go away anytime soon!

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 6

PURPOSE:

The chapter describes the implementation of the system bus and bus protocol; describes how the CPU and bus interact with peripheral devices; describes the purpose and function of device controllers; describes how interrupts coordinate actions of the CPU with secondary storage and I/O devices and describes how buffers and caches improve computer system performance; compare parallel processing architectures and describe compression technologies and its performance implications.

MPEG DASH: The File Format of the Future?

 

http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/MPEG-DASH-The-File-Format-of-the-Future-78835.aspx

A common file format for HTTP video delivery will make it much easier to deliever web videos more securely.  Apple has led the way with their proprietary HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) but it is not perfect.

Microsoft is leading the charge with an alternative to HLS called MPEG-DASH. (MPEG-backed Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP). With more than 50 companies and 90 experts contributing to MPEG-DASH, it stands a chance.  What is needed is an adaptive-optimized common format that can be delivered via standard web servers, using common encryption.

The Common File Format (CFF) being refered to be based on the Ultraviolet CFF that the DECE (Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem) ublished along with a Common Encryption (CENC) scheme that uses five distinct digital rights management (DRM) schemes in an interoperable manner.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 5

PURPOSE:

The chapter the distinguishing characteristics of primary and secondary storage; describes the devices used to implement primary storage; compares secondary storage alternatives; describe factors that affect storage devices and explains how to choose appropriate secondary storage technologies and devices.

The Future of Data Storage Technology

 

http://gizmodo.com/5953682/the-future-of-data-storage-is-cassette-tape

 

 

Is the future of data storage technology an oldie but goodie? This article suggests so.

This article suggests that the cassette tape is making a comeback as far as a data technology is concerned.

A new wave of ultra-dense tape drives developed by Fuji Film in Japan and IBM in Zurich, Switzerland is going to be used in massive data farms owned by the likes of Facebook and others.

The first prototypes are four inches square and under an inch thick.  Each can store up to 35 terabytes of data.  This density is achieved by using magnetic tape coated in barium ferrite. The imputus for this change is the Square Kilometre Array telescope. Once running, this telescope is predicted to generate about 1 million gigabytes of data per day.

Both IBM and Fuji are working on ways to shrink the internals of these tapes in order to store as much as 100 terabytes per tape cartridge.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 4

PURPOSE:
The chapter describes CPU instruction and execution cycles; explains how primitive CPU instructions are combined to from complex processing operations; describes the key CPU design features, including instruction format, word size, and clock rate; describes the function of general-purpose and special-purpose registers; explains the methods of enhancing processor performance; and describes the principles and limitations of semiconductor based microprocessors. The chapter also summarizes future trends.   

Wright’s Law Edges Out Moore’s Law in Predicting Technology Development

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/at-work/test-and-measurement/wrights-law-edges-out-moores-law-in-predicting-technology-development

In 1936, Theodore P. Wright wrote a paper entitled: “Factors Affecting the Cost of Airplanes”. The summation of Mr. Wright’s paper can be stated as “We learn by doing”.  This translates into the cost of a unit decreases as a function of the cumulative production. 

Wright’s Law, Moore’s Law and a few others were compared in a Santa Fe Institute (SFI) working paper (Statistical Basis for Predicting Technological Progress,) recently. What was compared was the performance of Wright’s Law, Moore’s Law and four other technology-forecasting models with constant-dollar historical cost data for 62 different technologies. This analysis focused on cost that is the inflation-adjusted price of one “unit”.

What this working paper found was that Moore’s Law and Wright’s Law were the most accurate of these technology models with regards to production increasing exponentially. Wright’s Law did edge out Moore’s Law ever so slightly because of the strength of its performance over longer time spans.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 3

The chapter describes numbering systems and their use in data representation; compares and contrasts various data representation methods; describes how nonnumeric data is represented and describes common data structures and their uses.

http://www.bobbemer.com/ASCII.HTM

Bob Bemer was a man ahead of his time.  He was working for IBM in the early 1960’s and realized that computers would eventually get involved in communications.  He foresaw the need that machines would eventually need to “talk” to machines. He was a major force in the creation of ASCII.  He pushed for things like making major proposals for content and form; writing many articles about ASCII; forcing the U.S. standard code to be identical to the international code and creating the program of work for the standards group evaluating it.

He also realized that what he was working on was just of subset of the world’s alphabets and symbols.  He also developed the universal switching concept, which is the basis for computer networking today.  He did this by placing the Escape key in ASCII and its alternatives. 

It can be said that Mr. Bemer is the founder of the Internet, not Al Gore, because of the switching concept he developed.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 2

The chapter begins by discussing the development of automated computing. It describes the general capabilities of a computer, their functions and capabilities, It lists the computer system classes and their distinguishing characteristics. The chapter defines the roles, functions, and economics of application and system software and describes the components and functions of computer networks.

http://www.qubit.org/

This website is the home for The Centre of Quantum Computation. The Centre conducts various types of research in the field of quantum information processing.

This website was founded by members of the Clarendon Laboratory of the University of Oxford. This website is designed to provide valuable information to individuals, universities and corporations in the field of quantum computing and information processing.

The Centre also accepts arXiv submissions.  arXiv stands for “archive” which is an archive for electronic preprints of scientific articles in many disciplines.

The Centre offers courses in Physics, Computer Science and Mathematics. They also offer tutorials on Quantum Computing, Quantum Cryptography, Quantum Cryptoanalysis as well as many others.

This website also offers links to other research groups such as Comlab Quantum Group, Department of Computer Science, Quantum Computation and Cryptography, Department of Mathematics and the Philosophy of Physics, Department of Philosophy.  All of these research groups are located at the University of Oxford.

ITE 221 - Fall 2012 - Chapter 1

  The purpose is to describe the activities of information systems professionals; describe the technical knowledge of computer hardware and systems software needed to develop and manage information systems; and identify additional sources of information for continuing education in computer hardware and systems software.

http://www.aitp.org/

 

The Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP) is an association with information for information business technology professionals. They offer educational services as well as scholarships for individuals. They have many different types of chapters such as a professional chapter, student chapter and high school chapters.

AITP links to Kahn Academy, an educational service that offers free classes to anyone. AITP also sponsors the National Collegiate Conference (NCC), a conference for collegiate IT students.

They offer scholarships to FITE (Foundation for Information Technology Education). FITE is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs and services to a variety of people including information technology professionals.

AITP also offer RHT (Robert Howard Taft) scholarships. These scholarships are valued at $2,500 and are awarded to two AITP Student members who are studying in the information technology field.  These scholarships are awarded every year at the AITP National Collegiate Conference. The 2012 AITP National Collegiate Conference is going to be held in San Antonio, Texas.