CSCI 101 Flashcards
Hardware?
-computers are the physical embodiment of computation
Software?
- embodies the programs that instruct computers in the steps needed to implement applications
- unrestricted by the physical world, can direct a computer to do almost anything
“The experience?”
- -together, hardware and software present a virtual world that doesn’t exist, but which we experience
- these experiences, dictated by the interaction of the virtual and physical worlds, are new and important
What is social media?
Cheap-anyone with access to the internet
Accessible- the tools are easy to use
Enabling- allows almost anyone to do things that previously were only the preserve of well-resourced organizations
Problems with social media from the old era to the new reality?
- no control
- fewer gatekeepers
- fragmentation (people don’t just get info from a few centralized channels)
- new web landscape(now pull communications vs push)
- new journalism
Software?
- is a collective term for programs
- programs are the instructions computers perform to implement apps
- it “instructs” the comp by providing the steps needed to perform task
- the comp follows the program and carries out the instructions
The software stack?
- concept used to structure and organize the software in contemp comp systems
- series of layers of programs that implement user apps
- each software layer implements operations used to build the layers above
Recorded tech?
- oldest form of info tech is recording a scene, performance, event, etc.
- digital copies are approx. of reality
- w/ todays tech, in most cases the approx, is extremely accurate
New problems with artificial worlds?
- new privacy concerns
- spam
- scams
- online bullying/stalking
Sourced content?
- is content produced for commercial purposes or to fulfill an info dissemination obligation
- content entirely controlled by the source organization or person
- the general public can’t add new info to sourced content
Social content?
- refers to info created by visitors to the site
- users generate or contribute to the content of these sites
Algorithm?
- is a precise, systematic method for producing a specified result
- programmers make algorithms perfectly precise for comps by writing them in a programming language
What is a program?
-algorithms that have been specialized to a specific set of conditions and assumptions, and (usually) written in a specific programming language
Abstract?
- many, but not all the details, of the story are irrelevant to the concept
- the abstraction has meaning beyond the story
Operationally attuned?
-the ability to apply what we know about how a device or system works to simplify its use
mnemonic?
-an aid for remembering something
AAH -Aubrie Ann Hagen
Feedback?
an indication that either the comp is still working or is done
“clicking around”
to explore the app to see what features are available
“blazing away”
trying the app in a way you haven’t done so before
Perfect reproduction?
- comps enode info as a sequence of binary digits, 0’s and 1’s
- because of the use of 2 digits, we call it digital info
- using only 0’s and 1’s means that digital info can be perfectly reproduced or replicated
Exact duplicate?
- a second copy is made simply by duplicating the sequence of 0’s and 1’s
- this is one way digital improves an analog info
- analog info comes from or is store on a continuously variable medium
- a copy of an image, for example, could come out too dark or too light when compared to the original
The perfect reproduction property of digital info?
it doesn’t matter where the copy came from
- both the original and the copy are the same sequence of 1’s and 0’s
- every copy can be made from the last copy, and still be identical to the original
Metaphor?
an icon or image used as representative or symbolic of a computation
Why is touch a metaphor?
it changes how humans interact with the comp.
-hands “on” with the content
Synchronous Communication?
both the sender and the receiver are active at the same time (talking on the phone)
Asynchronous communication?
the sending and receiving occur at different times (email)
Broadcast communication?
single sender and many receivers
multicast?
many receivers, but usually a specific group (specialized topics)
Point-to-point communication?
one specific sender and one specific receiver (telephone)
What is the internet’s communications properties?
- internet supports point-to-point asynchronous communication
- internet provides a general communication “fabric” linking all comps connected to it
- comps and the network become a single medium
Client/server structure?
Your comp is the client comp and the comp with the web page is the server. the relationship is a very brief relationship, lasting from the moment the request is sent to the moment the service is received
Getting more connected with the internet?
- client software “slices up” the signals coming from the comps microphone and video camera into packet-size blocks
- content is transferred to the other party, whose client reassembles the sound and image for display
- process relies on a fast and reliable transmission to make it seem like a direct connection
IP address?
- each comp connected to the internet is given this unique address
- a series of four numbers separated by dots
- range of each of these numbers (0-255)