Finally doing a write-up on the Computer Concepts textbook

CHAPTER 1
This book is not just about computers, but computer concepts. This broadens the scope of the subject matter significantly to include a lot of new, cool computer-ish devices like PDAs, Smartphones and other stuff. The book tells you something about everything. It also provides a societal context for all the information.
This chapter is about the basic hardware, software and fundamental concepts. Digital devices, digital data representation, processing are discussed to provide the background for the rest of the book. Additionally, security issues and how to prevent them are treated in great length. As a whole, each topic is dealt with thoroughly.


CHAPTER 2
COMPUTER HARDWARE--discusses PCs, portables, business systems; Microprocessors and memory; storage devices; input and output; again the chapter closes with security issues of hardware
The book is also like a computer history textbook, giving you the progress and story behind computers today.
And all abbreviations are explained: CISC, CRT, EEPROM, ISA, RISC, SVGA, SXGA, UXGA, VGA...

CHAPTER 3
Is all about software. Applications, utility, drivers; Different kinds of computer applications--for numbers, graphics, entertainment...etc.
Then it takes you through the buying and installation and updating processes. And of course, it ends with security software.

Course Assessment

The most important thing I learned in this class is that computing can be easy. I am not that savvy with computers and for a long time I was intimidated by the prospect of having to use Powerpoint or Excel. This class taught me that while one is not going to necessarily become a savant at those programs right away, it is possible to learn how to utilize the programs to great effectiveness over time. Once one takes initiative and uses the programs and familiarizes himself with the programs, things will start to come more easily. It is especially important to do some hands-on work with the computer if one wants to become capable. I find that this is a far more effective way of learning than using textbooks. It just seems like using textbooks to learn about computing or using programs is nonsensical. As a student, I usually learned how to use stuff by seeing others do that stuff or working it out on the computer. The redeeming factor of our course textbooks is that the tutorials are built around actually working with the programs (though sometimes it gets hard and/or tedious to follow).
If you watch TV, you’ve probably seen the Mac-guy, PC-guy commercials (I think they’re great). The impression one gets from these is that while PC’s are good for “official, formal stuff,” Macs are good for individualistic, creative stuff. I learned in this course that Office ’07 can really make some beautiful things. There are so many options available that allow someone to be original and create some cool documents, charts, presentations…
I certainly learned some things this course. The most useful I think is using all the options in Word and Excel to format and design documents, charts and tables. Computing is an ongoing process. I think that this course will put me on the path toward an upward curve in my computing abilities.
Thank you Professor Jorisch. Have a nice break.

chapters 1+2

The first two chapters of the computer concepts book gave a general overview of information that for the most part, I already knew.

Orientation Thingy

I found the textbook orientation website to be very helpful. It allows you to easily locate information and gives quick overviews of what you need to know. Granted, a lot of the information in the orientation was pretty well-known and simple, but for later on this will be helpful. The website in general allows you to do a lot of useful things.

A little bit about my family

Names are very important. The sages teach that a name contains the essence of a person. Your name is everything you are. My name is Noah Pollack. Obviously my last name I get from my father. Pollack is a Polish name, and it is true that my father’s family, both his mother’s and father’s sides, come from Poland. My first name is Noah. This name was given to me because my parent’s liked it. Many people actually say that this name suits me. Noach (the real, Hebrew version) is not only a character from the Bible, but the word itself means “pleasant.” This is something that describes my personality. My middle name is Baruch (it means “blessed”—I know, aren’t I special?). This was the name of my great (maternal) grandfather. His official Russian name was Boris, but his Jewish name was Baruch. I don’t know much about him except that he came to America from Russia in the beginning of the 20th century. He was probably a really great guy. I mean, it required great determination and devotion to come to America and make something of yourself and support a family. And with a name like Boris, he probably had vodka running through his veins and was tough as nails.

My siblings have some significant names as well. My sister (the eldest child—she is now 25 and married) is named Rachel Leah. This is after my father’s grandma Rose. Grandma Rose was a very kind woman who had a soft spot for my father. (His other grandmother, Anne, was more of a hardass I think.) My older brother, Aron, or Aharon Zvi (24 and in medical school) is named after my maternal grandmother’s father. My younger brother, Yoni/Jonathan (Yonatan Lev) is just named for himself I think. But it’s nice anyway. Family is very important, and in the Jewish tradition, perhaps nothing is more important than recognizing the importance and significance of tradition. We need to respect and revere our ancestors for continuing to uphold the faith and for giving us the opportunities we have today to live great lives.

My family comes from Eastern Europe and Russia. Like I said before, my father’s great-grandparents were from small villages in Poland. My mother’s family is from Russia (on her father’s side) and Austria-Hungary (her mother’s side). Everyone managed to come to America at the beginning of the 20th century (and thank God, was spared from the Holocaust). Both sides of my family made their way to Queens, New York, where they resided for a hell of a long time. It’s where my parents both grew up (my mother in Fresh Meadows and Jamaica Estates, and my father near Bayside). When my parents met and married, my father was a resident at St Luke’s hospital in the city, and so my parents lived in an apartment on 96th Street for a couple of years. After that, they moved out to Riverdale, where we’ve been living in the same house for 20 years.
I just want to say that I have a great relationship with my family. I am very happy about this and it is a great support for me.

Keyboard Shortcuts

We don't always realize it, but we are always using shortcuts with the keyboard. Almost all the key actions we perform when using word can be done using the keyboard in some way or another. There is no command that does not have a keyboard access key combo. Some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts are the ones that really are shortcuts--they cut out tedious mouse-work. Home and End are simple but useful keys for manuevering quickly around your document. I always liked the undo action (ctrl+z) because there are so many times when you make a mistake and need it to go away. Shift + f10 will display the shortcut menu for any given command.
Copy (ctrl+ c), cutting (ctrl x), pasting (ctrl v) save a lot of time. Ctrl G allows you to go to any different location. Inserting footnotes (alt ctrl f) and endnotes (alt ctrl d) are helpful when writing papers because you have so many notes there (also helpful are subscrpit and superscript--ctrl shift plus; ctrl shift equal) . Page break--ctrl enter. Moving through paragraphs-ctrl and up or down. Single space= ctrl 1, double space= ctrl 2. f4-repeating the last action is a great key. And if you want to sound smarter, use shift and f7 for the thesaurus.

Word 07 key changes

The changes made upon Microsoft Word 2007 distinguish it noticeably from its predecessor. For the most part, these changes are welcome and improve upon the 2003 edition.
Some of the important changes include the new ribbon interface (which replaces the old menus and toolbars--staples of word since its creation) which makes it a lot easier to find features quickly and to format your writing. Something like the office button puts important actions in one place for you; 07 uses new default styles (like double-spacing automatically); The galleries are cool--where you can see what your doc would look like in different styles--live previews ; you can use quick styles and document themes in the new word; Building blocks is part of 07's ability to make assembling a cohesive document from a lot of different places easier and consistent; the mini-toolbar allows you to quickly change parts of your doc without moving the mouse all over the place and driving yourself nuts (though its incessant popping up can be annoying--but you can disable it if you want), smart art designs and new charting options allow you to explore new ways to display your documents in a cool, professional and creative way; docx -xml format (you can convert your documents to pdf or xps), word 07 is also better equipped to compare and contrast changes made in a document.

Stuff I want to do

I want to graduate this coming spring
I want to go to law school next year and rip it up
I want to win my fantasy football league this year and make fun of all the losers
I want to travel the world
I want to write a book
I want to save someone's life
I want to learn to play an instrument
I want to complete Shas
I want to see the jets win the super bowl
I want to get a job that allows me to contribute in a very positive way to society
I want to be able to go to sleep every night feeling satisfied with what I did that day

1st Assignment

I am Noah Pollack. I'm from Riverdale, NY, though I like to tell people I'm from the Bronx because it gives me more street cred (I always postmark Bronx on my letters).
I chose YU because I wanted to inculcate the values of Torah U'Madda into my life. For real.
I plan on attending law school next year. My only problem is that I want to really contribute to society, so I'll have to work on that.

First Post

My name is Noah Pollack
My email address is nbpollac@yu.edu
I'm a senior at Yeshiva College
My major is history
The class journal is at http://inff.blogspot.com

Berko's a tool