Section 1.4- Section 1.9 and Section 2.1

In the last two days I've completed 3 hours of the tutorial video. Section 1.4 went over Windows Services-programs that run in the background of your computer- not needing user intervention. These programs include tunneling services (to make network connections) and security software to give some examples. Section 1.6 focused on configuring the Network Adapter for your computer and establishing network connections. I learned how to regulate network traffic through the adapter settings on your computer. For example, you can regulate the amount of data a program uses in the network by using the "Quality of Service" tool in the policies tab of the network adapter properties. 1.6 also went over the different types of network connections and their abilities. Section 1.7 was about caring for the digital integrity of your computer. To keep a computer running smoothly without crashes or viruses, one should always schedule backups, disk checks, defragmentation of the hard drive, download patches and updates, download driver updates, and keep their anti-virus up to date. If a computer does begin show signs of quick deterioration, tools such as the chkdsk (check-disk) command, system restore, or windows backup are available. Section 1.9 was about client-side virtualization, or setting up multiple operating systems on one user interface. It talked about hypervisors, which make these setups possible, and how the security of a hypervisor is extremely important. Section 2.1 was about computer security- both physically and digitally. Many people ignore their computer's security until it gets infected with viruses or spyware- so it is essential to take basic precautions when it comes to system security. After getting through 1.1, I've become a little bit more comfortable with computer functions and commands, giving me a sense of personal advancement. Now that that I've watched these tutorials and took notes on them, I now have 10 hours out of 25 done for my Capstone project.

Section 1.3

I finished section 1.2 today, which went over the installation process of Windows Vista and Windows 7. The processes were much more simplified than Windows Xp, since the installation is guided by a more user friendly prompt. Any differences existed in the new abilities in Windows 7 and Vista- mostly having to do with internet and network set-ups. After 1.2, I started 1.3- which detailed using the command line (cmd in Windows computers) to complete functions that you would normally do with the Windows interface. These functions include navigating directories (file folders) and copying, removing, and making directories. For example, to move to "my documents" in the command line, I would have to type "dir" to show all of the available directories, and then type in "cd 'my documents'" to move to it. I also learned how to partition any available drives with the "diskpart" command variations and format them with the "format" command. I then learned the ways to list and kill tasks that are operating on a computer through the command line. The next subsection began discussing the different commands used to diagnose network problems. The first and most useful command is "ipconfig," which lists all Internet Protocol ID's and your computer's gateways for the internet. I also learned the commands "ping" and "tracert" which help diagnose connections to local networks and different DNS servers (DNS servers being the different computers or networks you can connect to- like google or youtube). All of this is especially useful if you only have access to the command prompt- which can often happen with computer crashes. I spent two hours taking notes on all of these subjects, giving me 7 total hours out of 25 for my Capstone Project.

Section 1.2

I've taken notes for about 2 more hours on section 1.2 of our tutorial video. This section focused on installing operating systems (OS's), what requirements must be met for operating systems to function, and what is done during an operating system installation. I learned different ways of installing OS's- through a CD-ROM, or through a formatted USB drive. I learned how to create a hard drive partition, which is a separated "section" of your storage device. The OS can be downloaded on a hard drive partition if an OS is already present (you can have a Mac OS on one partition and Windows 8 on another for example), or you can overwrite the partition. I learned how to do each of these steps in greater detail. Once the OS installation is taking place, you can choose the file systems type (how data is stored and read on the piece of hardware). I learned about the different types of file systems- FAT, FAT 32, NTFS, and CDFS- and what the differences are between them. The tutorial then went into the actual installation process, using Windows XP as the first example. Again, this entire section was very informative and I have a feeling that the content I learned about here will remain significant not only throughout the tutorial video, but throughout my work with computers in general. In total, I now have 5 hours done out of 25 for my Capstone project.

Section 1.1

I finished taking notes on section 1.1 of the tutorial videos today. This took an additional hour and a half to complete. So far, I've learned about the different versions of the Windows Operating System (Windows XP, Vista, and 7) and what services they offer. I also learned about the different requirements a computer must meet in order to run the different operating system. Since the topic is discussed so thoroughly, I have to look up many terms like "Active Directory," "partitioning," or "New Technology File System." Despite these complicated terms, the lesson mainly serves as a background for later lessons. The videos go up to section 4.9, so it will take me a while to go through the entire lesson. The content is very interesting so far, and I'm actually enjoying going through these tutorials. I have a feeling that I will encounter these concepts later on when I take computer science courses in college. I now have 2 1/2 hours finished out of 25.

Mistake in Video Length!

It turns out that my partner had made a mistake in running the CD's our mentor gave us- the CD is divided into many files with a video in each. I received the CD's today, and we have nearly 3 hours of video on the CD's. Each video is from a licensed partner for the IT trade association- CompTIA. I took notes on the first two videos (about 10 minutes of total video) but since there is a lot of information (and items/topics I had to look up to understand), I ended up taking notes for about an hour total. Therefore, I have 1/25 hours for my Capstone Project!

Finally Meeting my Mentor

Throughout the month of November me and my partner Enrique Gonzalez searched for professionals in the video game industry, but we either got ignored or rejected by every person we contacted. During the last week we were able to get credit for a mentor agreement signature, we contacted everything from the International Gaming Network in San Francisco, to Computer Science teachers at the College of San Mateo (we attempted to branch out from the video game industry in an act of desperation). We continued looking for possible mentors into late January, when we were able to contact Neil Prasad- a professional computer repairer from Bay Area Computer Repairs in San Bruno. We asked if we could meet him in person to get the mentor agreement page signed, and he agreed. On February 28th we had our parents drive us to his office to get the paper signed, but once we arrived he explained that he had left to fix a computer. We waited for his return for two and half hours, but he told us that he still wouldn't be back soon, and that he could scan the mentor agreement to us. We were able to turn in the mentor agreement through this method the day of the agreement deadline. Since then, we've attempted twice to meet with Neil to get lessons on fixing computers, and to receive a training video on computer repair. The first time was on Tuesday, February 18th, when we waited about an hour for him to return to his office, but he explained that it would be difficult for us to meet that day, so we agreed to meet later. The second time was on Thursday, February 20th. He again told us that he was away from his office fixing a computer, but that he'd be at his office at 6. We waited two hours until about 5, and then walked from SSFHS to his office near the Bay Hill shopping center, only to find out that he wasn't at his office- but at another house fixing a computer. We had our parents pick us up and drive us down El Camino to meet Neil outside of his client's house. He told us that he could give us the training video so we could have some content to work on while he went out of state (he left on February 21st and will be returning in March). We finally picked up the training CD's at about 7 p.m., and met Neil for the first time. He apologized for not being able to meet with us before hand, and explained how busy he was with his current job. Today we checked the length of the CD's to make sure we have enough content for a few weeks, but the total length of the tutorials ads up to only about 10 minutes. So far we have 0 hours of content, but have spent a large amount of time trying to get content. I would have posted an update earlier, but we have no official hours yet. We will continue to advance on our Capstone Project, however.

Starting the Senior Capstone Project

So far, I'm considering advancing on the topic of Computer Science. I don't know what I want to specifically research, however.