Connor's Blog

Issue:  Internet Security

As internet continues to become more prevalent in the transfer of sensitive information such as credit card numbers and personal identification information, the need to protect this information becomes more pressing.

IT element: This takes place on the internet, and has to do with communication of critical information.

Solutions:

1. 500 million transistors fit between 100 microns squared

2. Speck of dust destroys circuits

3. totally clean environment

4. Dress in Bunny suits- over 40 steps to equip a suit.

5. Architect decides what features the chip will have

6. Logic designers decide how it can be accomplished

7. Mask designers create the final layout of transistors

8. the wafer factory/FAB fabrication facility is a 1000x cleaner than a surgical room.

9. Silicon ingot is derived from sand

10. Bunny suits are worn in the “clean room” in the FAB

11. Mask contains images of circuits

12. when mask is exposed to spec. light- it reacts with photosensitive layer- which then carves into the silicon.

13. Nowadays FABS are 10~15mX cleaner than a surgical room

14. Supersaturated solutions are used to create Silicon Ingots

15. The ingot is cut into wafers using a diamond-tipped saw.

16. 3-4 weeks in Best case scenario to create a wafer from design; usually 3~4 months.

17. Silicon exposed to oxygen forms glass: SiO2

18. 45 nm refers to how wide the gate of the transistor is.

19. ~20masks for a modern microprocessor

20. Success rates must be in the high 90′s in order for the chip to go into production.

21. The processors are separated from the wafer by cleaving them with pressure after scratching the edges.

Aperture: controls how much light enters the lens.

Shutter speed: controls how long the exposure occurs

Exposure: The relationship between light and time.

1 Stop: 1/2 shutter speed or 2x Shutter speed.

ISO: organization setting standards of film sensitivity.

Depth of Field: Distance behind and in front of subject that is in focus.

Focal length- distance from lens to focusing point while then lens is focused at infinity.

Macro= <35mm Normal= 35-65mm Telephoto=<65mm

Field of View: Wide/Normal/Telephoto= size of subject

I had not previously realized that Steve Jobs used drugs, though I am not surprised- Berkely was a real “party” school.  Displaced aggression is the status quo, especially on the apple-side.  Bill Gates seems very reckless in any other area besides that of computing.  He’s very focused, whereas Jobs seems driven not by his own interest in the area so much as a need to spread his message/belief in an almost religious way.  It’s interesting that such successful business-people can have such rediculously chaotic personal lives, yet retain their success.  This retention of success is unheard of in other prestigious occupations, such as politics.  Apple seems like a cult.

2/16/10 – Today I successfully created the schedule which I follow to completion for this project.  It was not particularly difficult to make the deadlines for this schedule, I simply spaced each critical aspect a few days apart to allow for a bit of flexibility.

2/17/10 – Today I went to spscc.ctc.edu and used the search function on the site to find information on the Running Start program.  I used the keywords “running start” and quickly found several pages worth of information on the program, much of which was very repetitive and dull.

2/18/10 – Today I searched Chs.osd.wednet.edu for information on the Running Start program.  The Capital High School site had much less information on the program than the SPSCC site, and it was more difficult to encounter what little data I found because the Capital website does not have a properly functioning searching resource.

2/20/10 – I began learning how to use photoshop today.  I briefly searched for a photoshop tutorial site that contained tutorials for beginning users of photoshop such as myself.  The site I found most interesting was http://www.photoshopstar.com.  I will continue using this and other tutorial sites for a few more days, familiarizing myself with the basic tools available to me through Adobe Photoshop

2/22/10 -  I was successful in discovering the utility by which Microsoft Word 2007 can be made to create a brochure today.  I will explore the various templates over the next few days in an attempt to find inspiration.

2/24/10 -  Today I found the template which I will use to create my brochure, and I have added some basic information.

2/26/10 – I added some pictures today, which I had previously prepared using Adobe PhotoShop.  I have printed out this preliminary brochure and will show it to my first tester; a running start student, later today.

2/27/10 -  I have revised my brochure based upon recommendations from my first tester, and have again printed the brochure and plan to show it to my friend who is interested in the program, my second tester.

3/1/10 – Revision again, final print, I will poll a random bored looking student during lunch tomorrow and find out what he/she thinks of the brochure.

3/3/10 -  With the final tester’s insight, I have now completed the brochure.  I need only to finish this sentence in order for this project to be complete.

I was unsuccessful in uploading the brochure, however I will have printed copies available.

Observed Social Impact:  The final tester of my brochure made an appointment to see his counselor and learn more about the Running Start program.  He was enlightened by the information in the brochure, and wants to enroll in the program. He will likely be able to take advantage of this resource, saving himself money and furthering his education.

Projected Social Impact: I expect that as students access the brochure I have made, some of them will enroll in the Running Start program.   This will lead to greater utilization of the Program, enhancing efficiency and providing cost-effective learning opportunities for the additional students who take advantage of the program because of the knowledge gained by exposure to the brochure I have created.

The first student who evaluated my product was a current running start student himself.  he is a qualified tester because he is a running start student, and therefore is familiar with the program.  He recommended that I add additional information about the process by which a student can become enrolled in the program, which I did on the second page of the brochure.

The second student who evaluated my brochure was a friend of mine who I knew was interested in the Running Start program.  He was a qualified tester because he is an example of one of the intended end-users of the brochure.  The second tester recommended that I add a description of the campus of SPSCC, which i did on the third page.

The third and final tester of my brochure was a student at Capital High School who had no previous knowledge of the Running Start program.  He was a qualified tester because he is an example of the other end-user for which the brochure was made.  The final tester felt that the brochure was informative enough, but recommended that I add a map of the campus, which I did in the center of the second and third page.

Today I familiarized myself with some basic photoshop tools and found several sites hosting tutorials.