Fall 1998 Computers and Society
Tuesdays 6 - 9:40 PM in 113 Rackham: GST 2710, Section 990 and AGS 3360, Section 983
Mondays 5:30 - 9:10 PM at NWAC: GST 2710, Section 984

Last updated: 9/28/98
Link back to course Welcome...

Third class: Agenda
Tuesday September 22 / Monday September 28

  1. Quiz 2
  2. Announcements:
    1. How to call me during Monday office hours (3:30 to 5:30 PM): (248) 417-5794
      Do not call during class hours. Class hours are listed at the top of each Agenda and the Syllabus. Calls unfairly disrupt the class. I do not answer the telephone during classes.
    2. On-line math tutor, an aid in preparing for the Math Proficiency Exam:
      http://www.cll.wayne.edu/olmt/
    3. Please put the following information on each assignment for this course:
      1. First and last names
      2. Assignment description -- what assignment is this?
      3. Time or place that your class meets (e.g. Tuesday PM or Rackham)
      4. Clearly identify each question (e.g. "1.") and part. You do not need to copy the questions over from the book.
    4. Please Note: If you put down your Social Security Number for your Student ID, this is no longer your Student ID at Wayne State University.
    5. Will the following students please fill in the course information form on the course web site. To do this, start Netscape, go to the course web site at http://www.cll.wayne.edu.isp/drbowen/casf98/ and pick the "Course information form" link. Fill in the form on the screen. BE SURE TO CLICK THE "Done - Send it in" button at the bottom to actually send in your information. See me if you have questions about the on-line grade reports.
      1. Frazier Kimpson (Rackham)
      2. Pamela Shaw (Rackham)
      3. William Swazer (Rackham)
      4. Donna Jones (NWAC)
    6. The on-line grade reports are available now. Go to the course web site and choose the link to "get an on-line grade report." You will need the password that you gave yourself on the course information form.
  3. Handouts, sign-in sheet, pass backs
  4. Review of Quiz 1
    1. Good average!
    2. Grading: On homework, quizzes and exams, for multipart questions I first grade each part. Then I calculate the grade for the question as the average of the grades for each of its parts. For the overall grade, each question gets averaged equally, whether or not it has multiple parts. Questions with more parts do not count more.
    3. "Show your work for partial credit." A wrong answer with no work shown gets a very low grade.
    4. A lot of carelessness in not using the powers of two chart, or in not using it carefully.
    5. "after the following binary numbers" -- this means to add one in binary, or to count to the next number. It does not mean to convert to decimal.
    6. There was strong evidence of some copying. For this assignment only, it was given half credit. Copying will normally be treated as if the work was not turned in.
  5. Introduction to computers
    1. More Windows basics
      1. Hierarchical file system -- Rackham, go to Windows
        1. Open Windows Explorer (Start / Programs) and change its options to show all information
          1. Choose menu item View / Options and then the "View" tab at the top of the Options dialog
          2. Above the list box, make sure that "Show all files" is clicked
          3. Below the list box, make sure that "Display the full MS-DOS path in the title bar" is checked. This refers to the title bar on the right pane of Windows Explorer. If this is unchecked, Explorer shows only the final (lowest) folder name
          4. Make sure that "Hide MS_DOS file extensions for file types that are registered" is unchecked. Otherwise, Explorer does not show the file extension for most file names.
          5. Make sure that "Include description bar for right and left panes" is checked. Otherwise, Explorer does not show you what drives and folders you are looking at.
          6. Click OK. This puts your choices into effect.
        2. Make a new directory, C:\myname, where myname is your first name or nickname
          1. Make sure that the root folder or directory c:\ is selected - this path should appear on top of the right pane.
          2. Choose the menu item File / New, and then Folder. A new folder appears at the bottom of the right pane. Note that its name is highlighted (shown in reverse video).

            NOTE: In Windows, whenever an object or group of objects is highlighted, you can take an action on it, such as drag, delete, copy. Also be aware -- the Windows default is "typing replaces selection." This can be very convenient, but can also blow your hard work away. So BEWARE: do not leave objects selected for longer than is necessary.
          3. Type in myname and tap <Enter>/<Return>. Notice that your typing replaces what was there.
        3. Use selection and Drag 'N Drop' to copy and delete files
          1. Put the test diskette in the floppy drive
          2. In Explorer, click on the a: drive icon
          3. In the right pane, click on the file "copy1.txt". Notice that it is selected (highlighted)
          4. While holding down <Shift>, click on "copy5.txt". Which files are selected now?
          5. While holding down <Ctrl>, click on "globwarm.txt". How did that change the selection?
          6. Experiment with selection with no keys down, with <Shift> down, and with <Ctrl> down. Then go back to iii-v above to select all of the "copy" files and "globwarm.txt". Add "globwarm.doc" to the selection.
          7. Hold down <Ctrl> and click on "globwarm.txt"  to remove it from the selection. Experiment with removing and adding other files from the selection. End up with all of the "copy" files and "globwarm.doc" selected.
          8. Read this step all the way through before executing it. Click anywhere on the selected files, hold the mouse button down, and drag the selected files to the new directory you just made on the c: drive. Notice the "+" sign on the mouse icon as you move the files over. The "+" sign tells you that you are copying the files, leaving the original files as is, ending up with the original and new copies of the files. Without the + sign, you would be moving the files, and removing the original copies. When copying from one drive to another, "copying" is the default. (Default = option you get with no further action.) When copying from one folder to another, on the same drive, "moving" is the default. You can select the other option by holding down the <Alt> key as you act.
          9. In the new folder, select all of the "copy" files. Tap the "del" key. (Rackham: The PowerMac keyboard has two keys labeled as "Delete". One is the key at the upper right of the main keyboard group. The other is the lower left key in the group of six keys to the top right of the main keyboard group. The first of these is called "Backspace" on the normal PC keyboard. It deletes the character to the left of the insertion point. The second is called "Delete" on the normal PC keyboard and deletes the character to the right of the insertion point. In class, I will refer to these keys by their PC keyboard names.) Hit the "Delete" key. What happens to the selected files? Why should you be careful if a large amount of work is selected?
          10. In the new folder, double-click on "globwarm.doc" to open it in Word. Drag over some text to select it. Click on the selection, hold the mouse down, and drag the selection to a new location within the file. Don't like the new location? Choose the menu item Edit / Undo.
          11. Make a new selection of text. Type a single letter. What happened? (Typing replaces selection.) Choose the menu item Edit / Undo. Notice the difference between the mouse cursor and the insertion point (I-beam). Type a letter or two. Where does the typing appear -- at the mouse cursor or the insertion point? Click the mouse somewhere away from the insertion point. What happens to the insertion point? Experiment with moving the insertion point with the arrow keys.
          12. Make a new text selection. Tap <Delete>. How can you reverse this deletion?
    2. The value of 2n compared to the minimum and maximum values of n bits
      1. The minimum value of n bits is zero
      2. The maximum value of n bits is 2n - 1
      3. A byte is 8 bits. Can hold a number from zero to 255 decimal.
      4. 210 is approximately equal to 103 = 1000
    3. How many characters on a page of text?
      1. One character = 1 byte. ASCII code. Pg 2-4 in Computers in Your Future 98.
      2. Pages on a floppy diskette
      3. Pages on a 500 MB hard drive
    4. How many bytes for a page of graphics?
      1. Pixels, Pixels per Inch (resolution), Bytes per Pixel (color depth)
      2. Pages on a floppy diskette
      3. Pages on a 4 GB hard drive
      4. Pixels in a 3" x 2" graphic @ 300 Pixels per Inch, 3 Bytes per Pixel, 3:1 compression
        1. Color is made up of mix red, green and blue
        2. formula (will be given on tests):
          File size in bytes = Height (in) × Width (in) × (Pixels per inch)2 × (Bytes per Pixel) /
          (Compression factor)
        3. Black and white: one bit per pixel, so 1/8 byte
        4. Greyscale: 1 byte per pixel
        5. 8-bit color: 1 byte per pixel. 256 different colors.
        6. 16-bit color (sometimes called High Color): 2 bytes per pixel. 65536 colors.
        7. 24-bit color (True Color): 3 bytes per pixel. 16,777,216 colors.
      5. Compression
      6. Animation
    5. Examples of computers
  6. Counting and adding in decimal and binary (and beyond)
    1. Decimal & Binary review
    2. Multiplying binary numbers
  7. Computer systems and software
    1. Course Web site
      1. Turn on the computer if it is off, open Netscape (Rackham, Netscape is in Mac OS)
      2. Double-click on Netscape to start it.
      3. In the box at the top, click in the box, and notice that the text is highlighted. This indicates that it is "selected". If you change selected text, by making it bold, for example, you will change all of the selected text. Here notice, that "typing replaces selection."
      4. Type in the URL for the course Web Site,
        http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/drbowen/casf98
        NOTE: type all of it, exactly.
    2. Files
      1. What is a file? Review of filenames and directories or folders
        1. Collection of related information
        2. Exists in permanent storage
        3. Has a name - filename and extension: filename.ext
        4. Wildcards -- ? stands for any one character. * stands for any number of characters (including zero characters). As examples, *.exe stands for a file with any name and an extension of exe, while *.* stands for any file (any name, any extension). In Microsoft Works, there are several file types, whose extensions start with w. This can be indicated by *.w*
      2. Types of files
        1. Program, e.g. Word
        2. Data, e.g. a Word word processing file *.doc is a data file for Word.
      3. Compare Windows Explorer display to Windows File Open display
        1. File Open only shows the path listed in the upper right. To see other directories, must double-click at the directory just higher than the level desired.
    3. Windows basics
      1. Managing windows
        1. Open an icon into a window - double-click the icon
        2. Moving - drag on title bar
        3. Resizing - drag on border -- dragging on a corner can change height and width at once
        4. Closing
        5. Maximizing / minimizing
        6. Bring to front, same as activating -- single click on a window anywhere to do this
  8. Windows basics
    1. Active elements -- these are common elements that appear in all Windows applications.
      1. Icon - a small picture indicating a file that can be started or run with a double-click
      2. Button - a rectangular picture that looks like a button, often with a label, that takes an action when it is clicked.
        1. On the Startup dialog, click on the Cancel button in the upper right corner of the dialog.
      3. Menu - a list of options that drops down when you click on the text on the menu bar. Click on the option you you want to choose it.
        1. Click on the File menu item, release the mouse button, and then click on Open.
          (In the future, we will call this the File / Open menu item.)
          This opens up the Open dialog. Take a close look. You will be using it many times. In order, check to make sure you get the file you want:
          1. Drive (A:, C: or other)
          2. Directory on that drive
          3. File in that directory
      4. Pull-down list - a line of text with a down-pointing arrowhead to the right. When you click the arrowhead, a list of options drop down. Click on the option you want to choose it.
        1. On the Open dialog, use the pull-down drive list to choose drive a:
      5. List box - a list of choices inside a box, with the chosen item shown above the list.
        1. On the Open dialog, make sure that the root directory (a:\) is selected.
        2. On the Open dialog, make sure that the file "globwarm.doc" is selected. Click on this file name to select it; the selected filename shows in the small box above the list box.
      6. Dialog: a collection of active elements to accomplish a multipart task. Dialogs are windows, so they have title bars. We will identify dialogs by their title -- the text on the title bar. When you start Works, the first thing you see is the Startup dialog.
      7. Scroll bars - bars at the right side and/or bottom of the screen with up and down arrowheads and an "elevator box." These are for moving ("scrolling") through a long text or graphics file. The elevator box shows your location within the file. Click on the arrowheads for small movements. Click on the bar near the arrowhead to move one full screen at a time. Drag the elevator box for large movements.Try all three.
  9. Lab 1. Read the following steps all the way through before starting.
    1. In Microsoft Office Professional Step by Step, do Part 2, Lesson 1, from Pg 127 up to "One Step Further" on Pg 143.
    2. At the top of your document, put a line with:
      1. Your name
      2. This Assignment (Lab 1)
      3. Your location (Rackham or NWAC)
      4. The full path (drive, any folders, and filename) that you saved the file with.
    3. Skip a line (tap <Enter> or <Return>) after this information
    4. Save the file to your floppy diskette. DO NOT SAVE TO THE My Documents FOLDER AS DESCRIBED ON PG 143.
    5. Print out and turn in a copy of your file. This should include the top line with your name on it. You can print using either:
      1. The printer icon on the toolbar
      2. The menu item File / Print, then click OK on the "Print" dialog.

Assignment 3

  1. Reading as assigned on the Assignment Schedule
  2. Convert the following decimal numbers to binary
    1. 3
    2. 11
    3. 37
    4. 197
    5. 28
  3. Carry out the following binary multiplications:
    1. 11 × 10
    2. 110 × 10
    3. 1100 × 10
    4. 1101 × 11
    5. 1101 × 101
  4. Describe the difference between the Windows Explorer view of the directory structure, and the File Open view. Also, if File Open is displaying the contents of C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM, explain in detail how to display the contents of C:\STUDENTS
  5. A typical graphic file format for the World Wide web (*.gif) has 75 pixels per inch and a color depth of one byte per pixel. Find the file size for a 1" x 2" graphic in this format, with a compression ratio of 10 to 1.
  6. In Computers In Your Future 98, answer the following questions:
    1. Pp 2-18 through 2-20: Matching (all), Completion (all)
    2. Pp 2-29 through 2-41: Matching (all), Critical Thinking (1 and 2)
    3. Pg 2-60: Matching (all)
    4. Pg 2-79: Review (5), Critical Thinking (5)

Quiz 3

Quiz 3 at the start of class next week will cover: