Cycle 2 Blog Entry

Throughout this cycle i was able to make a lot of advances in both the Caissa web page and the technology showcase flyer. As a matter of fact, i finished the technology showcase flyer entirely during this cycle. I was able to do these things due to 3 factors; technology, the internet, and computers. The human race's use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in traveling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons. The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available servers and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory. The same connection allows that computer to send information to servers on the network; that information is in turn accessed and potentially modified by a variety of other interconnected computers. A majority of widely accessible information on the Internet consists of inter-linked hypertext documents and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW). Computer users typically manage sent and received information with web browsers; other software for users' interface with computer networks includes specialized programs for electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and file sharing. A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century (1940–1945), although the computer concept and various machines similar to computers existed earlier. Early electronic computers were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PC). Modern computers are based on tiny integrated circuits and are millions to billions of times more capable while occupying a fraction of the space. Today, simple computers may be made small enough to fit into a wristwatch and be powered from a watch battery. Personal computers, in various forms, are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "a computer"; however, the most common form of computer in use today is the embedded computer. Embedded computers are small, simple devices that are used to control other devices—for example, they may be found in machines ranging from fighter aircraft to industrial robot design, digital cameras, and children's toys. It was because of these three key tools, that i was able to accomplish all my work. The technology showcase flyer proved to be quite challenging, not because what i had to do on it was difficult, but because i needed to work solely on my creativity, in other words, i had to start from scratch... It was very entertaining however, being able to think up of things on my own and having that much creative freedom. I did find some of the work tedious however because since it was mostly using photoshop, sometimes i had to flatten an image in order to get it approved, and so if something wanted to be changed later on, i did not have the individual layers of the image, but one whole one instead, which meant that i needed to do about ten times the work, given the fact that i had to cut the image and then paste things, well basically do many many things... Aside from that, i needed to make the entire flyer look good, not just the logo, which is why i had to invent a creative way to arrange the text... in the end i came up with the idea of having a shark, which is the school mascot telling the main information, and then a banner for the types and kinds of technology that were going to be around during the showcase. In the end i think i did a great job at doing the technology shocase flyer, it came out great. Aside from that, i also had another project this cycle, and although it was not the main one, given the fact that most of the time was spent on the technology showcase flyer. The other project was working on the Caissa web page... all i did on this however was run a general spell check on all the pages, organize it, gather up all the pictures of each of the team players, and edit the Info on the DR page... I believe that the web page should be finished during cycle 3 given the fact that i am almost done. My only concern is how we are going to gather all the informations and get the pictures on the other teams that are not the CMS Sharks... that will be figured out later however...

this was a very productive and interesting cycle in which i was able to overcome many challenges and learn many new things... i was also able to fully recover my previous knowledge in both dreamweaver and photoshop. I am really looking forward to this new cycle, cycle 3, given the fact that i hope we finish the Caissa web page and have it up and running. I know on my part i will do everything possible to have the page up and running. I will continue working hard as always...