Tuesday 9/28/10

I never paid much attention to how much software changes.. Especially now that Tuggle was explaining in class how microsoft has changed from vista to XP to the current windows7. Its funny because I've actually owned all of those softwares on my PC throughout the years and never really cared. I didnt make much of a difference to me until now that I notice the differences on windows7 and its performance. I also found it amusing when I went home tuesday used my computer and when I was shutting it down, it began to update everything right before it powered off. Quite interesting.. Tuggle wasnt kidding about that.

Thursday 9/23/10

I enjoy getting the results back from an exam back, whether it is positive or negative, just because I anticipate it so much. The results from this first exam were pretty good for me. I'm glad I got the score given because I felt it was well-deserved due to excessive amount of studying I did this past weekend. So far so good. The material covered today is easier for me to comprehend, in comparison to everything covered in the previous chapters ending in "systems". It was a bit overwhelming, but it seems to be falling into place now. I actually recognized a lot of the terms covered and familiarized them with a computer class I took in junior high, so that's good. I can finally see the use of this class in everyday life.

Thur Sep 16 Lecture

Alex Bernstein versus the IBM 704... That IBM 704 totally had Mr. Bernstein sweating up a storm in that game of chess. Watching that video was definitely a blast from the past. It's amazing to see how far computers have come along since then. A computer literally went from a room filled with refrigerator sized machines to a handheld device in a few decades. Who ever would have guessed that a computer would be able to communicate with a human being in a game of chess and be able to point out when the player makes an illegal move! Today it really isn't that big of a deal because I am sure we all have chess on our phones or computers and have a visual on there as well. The only thing I wasn't sure about was how they punched in the positions of all the chess pieces into the computer. Quite astonishing to be honest...

Tues Sep 14 Lecture

Today I was lucky enough too go up and present my article on a pressure sensitive device developed to imitate human skin. I thought it was definitely a breakthrough in technology, especially for people with prosthetic limbs. It creates the potential for someone who utilizes these prosthetic parts to have the advantage of being able to feel with it as well. It isn't for sure, but it is a step closer towards this new innovation.

We also watched some Canadian video with a pretty sweet theme song in the background. It focused on the relationship between the management of knowledge and technology. It used this Canadian company as an example to prove the success of great management between these two factors. It never really occurred to me the difference between data and information, or at least I had never had the chance to distinguish the both. Data is raw, and information is processed. This is what makes the data useful for managers to collaborate with their knowledge and make business decisions.

Thursday Sept 9 Lecture

Today was the first time I present one of the technews articles and it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. It was a little nerve-wracking waiting to see if I got called up but it was all downhill once I was up there. My best strategy would probably to get up there as often as I can, just to get into the habit of it and get those participation points up!
As much as the idea of information systems and information technology may seem dry and insiginificant at first, it really does serve as an efficient tool for managers. I'm a business major with an emphasis in entrepreneur ship and now that I am looking at the BIG picture of a business, I know that IS and IT will make my job a lot easier. Especially having a CIO around to handle that messy part of the business. I am pretty sure I will stick to management.

Tuesday Sept. 7 Lecture

Going into this Info Systems class, I thought I knew what a system was but as I learn more and more throughout the lectures, the more I realize that I hardly know anything at all in this class. I always had an idea or at least a picture in my mind of what a system was, but could never pinpoint the definition and tell someone else what it was. Now, I am struggling to grasp the idea of a system because of the complexity of it. Although I do struggle to understand some concepts, I find it very interesting how there are differentiating subsystems within systems. It is remarkable how a cybernetic system has broken down roles within itself to be able to function on its own and provide feedback and control (room temperature example). These types of systems makes our daily lives a lot easier and we don't even realize that. At least I never did.

Thursday's Lecture (9/2/10)

Today's lecture was quite enlightening in the sense of learning what tools are used in the business environment. It never really occurred to me that managers/entrepreneurs based their decisions on information that had been processed by systems. Information systems are kind of like the back shop. All the information is sent there, where it is processed, organized, and made available to people who have to make these business decisions. I also found it interesting how often technology is advancing. With the technology daily news reports, it made me aware how quick technology is growing in the business world and in our everyday lives.