January 31st, 2013

Today I learned about IRQs, DMA Channels and I/O Addresses. An IRQ (interrupt request line) is a hardware line which devices can send interrupt signals to the microprocessor, DMA (direct memory access) channels are used for transferring data from main memory to a device without passing it through the CPU, and an I/O channel is a 3 digit hexadecimal number used to identify and signal a peripheral device. There's a lot of values and codes related to these things. We also learned a bit about cooling systems, which I definitely want to learn more about. My last laptop came with a very poor fan, and I believe the many problems it had were due to overheating.

January 30th, 2013

We learned about a lot of things today, and it was mostly themed around electronic communication and collaboration. I learned the official rules of Netiquette, so that will be useful in a professional environment. I also learned how to add comments and track changes in Word, and we had a lecture about power supplies.

The subject of Uninterpretable Power Supply's (UPS's) reminds me of a really entertaining animation. I think I might share that with the class if I get the chance.

January 29th, 2013

Today I learned about motherboards and the various components related to them. I’ve always found it interesting how as technology increases, it also happens to decrease in size. In 1980 AT’s apparently had a form factor of 12 x 13 inches. And more recently something like the Pico ITX had a 3.8 by 3.8 inch form factor.

January 28th, 2013

Today I learned about online content! I created my Google+ account and created a blog about my journey as an Information Technology Technician. I also finally got a LinkedIn account, and I did a presentation on teleconferencing and in my research for it I came across a bit of history on the subject. It was actually invented in the 1960s with the advent of the picturephone but at the time there was no demand for the expensive technology.

January 25th, 2013

Today we learned A LOT about hard drives. I learned the difference between Platter and Solid state drives, as well as many terms such as S.M.A.R.T. and RAID. I also learned from the Internet Scavenger hunt that Greg expects us to learn how to adapt to change, so I better get used to that.

After class Joe, Mark, and I went to Mark’s house for a study session so we went over a bunch of the terms with each other, and we exchanged notes, so we should be able to handle this information.

January 24th, 2013

Today we learned about Tables in Word, Presentation Skills, and a bit about Powerpoint. I’m really glad we learned how to do everything with tables because as far as I’m aware Table’s are used A LOT in word. The Delayed email didn’t work from yesterday though, so that was a disappointment.

I got Page Numbers figured out at the beginning of class, but It was through a REALLY roundabout way. There has to be an easier way of working with Headers, Footers, and Page Numbers.

January 23rd, 2013

Today I learned a lot of awesome stuff about Email and Word Processing. I cleaned out my Gmail, and learned how to apply filters to sort incoming messages. And In word we learned about the different types of formatting, styles, and we ended the class learning how to do headers and footers. Never could figure out how to get the page numbers right though.

There is something specific that I want to look into today. During the Email portion of the Class Greg mentioned "Delaying" an Email. Since I have to send him my Personal Profile Project tomorrow, this would be an interesting opportunity to figure out how to do this. And if I figure it out, I'll show everybody tomorrow.