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: 10/19/98
Link back to course Welcome...

Seventh class: Agenda
Tuesday October 20 / Monday October 26

  1. Announcements:
    1. On the course web site, there are supplementary materials. I have collected these under a "Supplementary materials" heading. These are not required for this course, but may help you to understand required concepts.
    2. Sign in on the course web site (every class).
    3. Other computers that you can use for the labs
      1. The Dell computers at the Adamany Undergraduate Library run WindowsNT with Office97.   They will not have the lab document files; you will need to put these on your floppy disk if that is what you want to work on. NOTE: You cannot fit ALL of these files on your floppy disk. Just the one(s) you want to work on.
      2. The NWAC lab is open much of the time.
      3. The computer labs at the other CLL Centers are set up like the NWAC computers -- WindowsNT and Office97. For a map of the CLL centers, go to the CLL web site at http://www.cll.wayne.edu/ and click on "off-campus sites". For local maps, hours and telephone numbers, click on the individual sites you are interested in.

      NOTE for Rackham: WindowsNT works almost exactly the same as Windows95. You will NOT have to switch back and forth between Mac and windows in these labs.

    4. The people listed below still need to log on to the computer conference for this class. For instructions, see Agenda 5, VII.A.
      1. Rackham (Tuesdays)
        1. Melanie Brown
        2. Nantambu Kohlbatz
        3. Pamela Shaw
        4. William Swazer
      2. NWAC (Mondays)
        1. Joyceline Blackmon
        2. Jason DeMeyer
        3. Gladys Karlin
        4. Precious Sampson
        5. Euan Singleton
        6. Jevon Woods
  2. Handouts, pass backs
  3. Some details left over:
    1. From Agenda Five, Item VI.A: (active elements).
      1. Radio button. Does not do anything right away, but stores an option for activation when a regular button is checked. Activated by clicking inside the round button space -- . Radio buttons come in sets, and only one of the set can be clicked at a time (similar to a multiple-choice question to "choose the signle best answer"). Clicking another "unclicks" the first.
      2. Check box. Stores an option for activation when a button is clicked. Activated by clicking insdie the square box space -- . Any number of checkboxes may be checked (similar to a multiple-choice question for "choose all that apply"). Is "unclicked" by clicking again.
    2. For the types of active elements (aside from the three major ones that occur in all windows), instead of saying how to activate them, say which one of the four basic mouse actions you would use to activate them.
    3. Accompanies "programmable", from text, Chapter 1A. Add to Agenda 6, topics for Quiz 5, Item 11:
      1. General-purpose. Unlike our other tools, a computer can be used for many different purposes. New uses are being developed all the time. Computers are general-purpose because they are programmable.
    4. Types of programs. Agenda 5, Item V.D.1. Subdivide into (a) Operating system programs and (b) application programs.
  4. Fonts. There is a bewildering array of fonts available, for example in Word. I counted the number of Word fonts on my home computer this morning: 85. And I am not a font collector the way some people are. What are they all? Here is a framework.
    1. "Working fonts" meant for general writing. Here there are several subgroups.
      1. Monospacing Vs proportional. In a monospacing font, all of the letters are the same width. This is useful for simple formatting into columns. The most common monospacing font is Courier.
        See how the columns
        line up with Courier?
        In a proportional font, the letters have different widths. Clearly, the i is narrower than the w. The most common proportional font is Roman or Times Roman.
        See how the columns don't
        line up with Times Roman?
        (There are now many alignment options in modern word processors, and users should not choose old-fashioned methods such as monospacing fonts to accomplish columnar alignment.)
      2. Serif Vs san serif. "Serifs" are those little feet at the bottoms of letters like l, f and h. An s also has serifs at the ends. "San" generally means "without", so a san serif font does not have serifs.
        Here is an example; the Arial font, also sometimes called Helvetica. Look ma, no serifs.
        San serif fonts are sometimes advocated as clean and modern, although some people say they are harder to read.
      3. For Windows users, True Type fonts are a recent development, in which a hard copy is guaranteed to appear as it does on the screen. In font lists there is often a double-T logo for True Type fonts, but if the particular program does not show this logo (Word97 does not), they always have "New" in the name. For example, Courier New Vs Courier, Arial New Vs Arial and Times New Roman Vs Times Roman. Windows users should always choose True Type fonts if a hard copy is important.
      4. There are proportional serif fonts, proportional san serif fonts and monospacing serif fonts, but I have not seen monospacing san serif fonts. In monospacing fonts, the serifs are used to make all of the letters the same width.
    2. Then there is a wide array of "special purpose" fonts. Some have musical notes instead of letters, other have furniture symbols, mathematical symbols, or animal heads, etc. Some, called "Dingbats", WingDings" and other whimsical names, have whimsical symbols such as balloons, hearts, smiley faces, and so forth. If you want to put a checkmark or a check box in your document, look in those fonts. Others are ornate or decorative letters that you might use in a party invitation, for example.
    3. To examine all of the characters in a particular font, and to insert the one that you want into a document, click on the Windows95 "Start" button (you do NOT have to close Word to do this), choose "Programs", then "Accessories" and finally "Character Map." To insert a particular character into a document, use the Windows clipboard; click on the character you want to select it, click on the "Select" button to pop it up into the "Characters to copy" box, and click on "Copy" to copy it to the clipboard. Then switch back to Word, make sure the insertion point is where you want the letter and choose Edit / Copy. Be careful; if you type after this without changing the font back, your new typing will also be in that special font. Make sure to change the font back to what it was before, after the special character(s).
  5. Logic Gates worksheet. Attached handout.
  6. The Internet, Part I. What is the Internet. How does it work?
    1. The story start with Local Area Networks -- LANs
      1. Computers in a lab, a large office or a building are wired together. Distances are restricted, say 1000 ft. The most popular wiring scheme and standard is Ethernet.
      2. On top of the wiring, network software runs on the computers, to communicate over the wiring. There are many proprietary schemes -- some examples are:
        1. Macintosh AppleTalk
        2. IBM TokenRing
        3. Novell Netware
      3. The computers can share resources such as files, printers, a modem, an Internet connection, or a CD-ROM player. Local email is also usually included.
      4. Each computer has a network card or board installed. The network card contains a (universal) numerical code that identifies the computer on the network -- the computer's network address. Other computers on the network can use this code to send information to that computer. Information is transported (sent) in packets. The first part of the packet is "metadata", or data about the data; the source and destination addresses, the length of the packet, and other technical information, and the last part is the data being sent. (The use of "data" here is intentional -- the netword does not know what to do with the data except to transmit it.)
      5. Most networks are Client / Server
        1. The client is also called a workstation. It requests and displays information, under the command of the user. For example, it can request a shared file. The client initiates data exchange.
        2. The server sits and waits for a request and then services the request. It might seem that the server is simpler, but this is not the case. If a client fails, the user can reset it, but the server is supposed to run unattended, without crashing. Also, a server must service several requests simultaneously, if they come in all at once. A server computer usually has the fastest microprocessor, the most RAM and the largest and fastest hard drive. It may even have extra robustness features, such as:
          1. UPS, or Uninterruptable Power Supply that stores enough energy for a short period of operation if the normal AC power is interrupted.
          2. RAID, or Redundant Array of Independent Disks, with several redundant hard drives that keep themselves up to date. If one crashes, another steps up and takes over while the first one is fixed.
      6. A few networks are Peer networks, in which all computers act as equals in sharing resources. Appletalk is the foremost example.
    2. The Internet connects LANs together and transports data
      1. Each computer on the Internet is given a numerical IP Address, which is four one-byte fields separated by dots (periods). Examples:
        1. 142.217.142.125 is my desktop computer at ISP
        2. 141.217.142.149 is the CLL web server
      2. The first fields (3 fields in the examples above) identify the LAN, and the last field identifies the computer on the LAN.
      3. A Router finds the LAN Gateway, and then the LAN Gateway finds the specific computer. Routers and Gateways are both special types of computers. Routers send information from one to another to find the LAN Gateway.
      4. The information travels in packets. The TCP/IP protocol specifies the format of a packet.
        1. TCP - Transmission Control Protocol
        2. IP - Internet Protocol
        3. Protocol - a sequence that describes how computers communicate: which one goes first, what the reply is, what are the numbers and codes that are used. Example: ACK is "Acknowledge", meaning, "I got your last transmission and it makes sense to me."
      5. Domain Name System is used to give alphabetic codes to Internet servers. The Domain name ends in the "domain": gov, com, edu, org, net
        1. There are "Domain Name Servers" that will provide the numerical address in response to the domain name. Domain Name Servers are found the same way any computer is found on the Internet, by its numerical address.
        2. Example: "www.cll.wayne.edu" is the domain name of the CLL web server. So, in http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/drbowen/casf98, that middle part just identifies the computer that has the information being requested. It would work just as well -- faster, even -- to use http://141.217.142.149/isp/drbowen/casf98
      6. The Internet is like a pipeline or a trucking company for transmitting or transporting data packets. The Internet itself does not examine or understand the content of the packets. Communicating via the Internet involves involves first, translating the domain name into the numerical IP address, and then sending the data. It is up to the computer programs on either end of the connection to understand the data. Different programs handle different types of data. The different programs are known as Internet Applications. Most of the application programs are also client / server; the server waits for requests, but must be prepared to handle many simultaneous requests, and the client makes requests and displays the results.
      7. Since there are many computers involved in transporting data from one IP address to another (client, server, gateways and routers), and the packets must go through each computer in turn, the process can be slow if any one of the computers is overloaded. Generally, it is the slowest computer in the sequence that determines how slow the transmission is.
      8. For home use, it is generally necessary to have an account with an Internet Service Provider, who will act like a Gateway for your home computer. You connect to your ISP via a modem.
    3. Internet II: applications. An Internet application is software tat runs "on top of" basic Internet data transportation software, and uses Internet transport to send data. The content of the data and how it is handled are determined by each specific Internet application.
      1. World Wide Web (the Web)
        1. The user's client is also known as a Web Browser. Specific examples are Netscape Explorer and Communicator, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The client request a document from a web server by sending a URL, or Universal Resource Locator, for example http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/drbowen/casf98/agenda_7.htm
          1. http:// -- the method. Tells what method is to be used to send the document. This stands for Hypertext Transport Protocol. In the field of computers, a protocol is an agreement about how computers will communicate. Hypertext is linked text -- text with links. Transport refers to moving information. http = an agreement about how computers (client and server in this case) will transport hypertext.
          2. www.cll.wayne.edu = domain name of the server computer
          3. agenda_7.htm = requested file name. htm = Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). In computers, a markup language is a set of codes for formatting text. So HTML is an agreed-on set of codes for formatting Hypertext.
          4. Everything between the domain name and the filename is folder information about where on the web server computer the desired file is located. The web server is configured with a "document root" directory, and the folder information in the URL is relative to that document root.
          5. If there is no filename in the URL, the web server sends a default file from the specified directory.
          6. Thus, the URL says what computer the desired information is located on, what folder it is in, and what is the name of the file. The web server sends this file back to the client.
          7. The sequence is thus client to server to client.
        2. The Web has been and is being upgraded rapidly. Currently there are enhancements for graphics, sound, video and "sriplets" to run programs on the client (Java is the prime example). Another enhancement is interactivity, in which the user submits information and gets back a customized response (for example, a report on grades).
        3. The Web is growing enormously rapidly. It is already what most people mean when they say they are "on the Internet" or that they "have the Internet". It is rapidly incorporating all of the other Internet functions, such as email. Within the next few years, it will most likely become possible for anyone that wants a web site (a server with a domain name) to host their own on their home computer. Web Sites are already offered by many ISPs and special-purpose web site hosting companies. A sizeable web site can be your for $20 per month or less. There are also free web-site hosters that add advertising and may charge your users for access.
  7. word processing Vs spreadsheets.
    1. Comparing the screens for Word and Excel
    2. A spreadsheet is a grid of cells arranged into rows and columns. While this format is unchangeable, what is in the cells is very free-form, determined by the user. The user can type the following types of information into any cell:
      1. Numerical values, which can be formatted as, for example:
        1. plain
        2. currency (dollars and cents)
        3. dates and times (the number is usually the number of seconds since some starting date, from which the data is reckoned)
        4. percent
      2. Formulae, which calculate the contents of the cell they are in as a function of the values in other cells.
      3. Text, which is usually used to label the contents of the cells containing numbers and formulae
    3. Spreadsheets were designed for budgets, but are used for many other purposes. For example, the gradebook for this course is an Excel spreadsheet, and my calendar is also an Excel spreadsheet.
    4. Spreadsheets also have extensive charting capabilities, and can draw many kinds of graphs to illustrate the information in the cells. They also have extensive sets of mathematical and statistical functions.
  8. Lab 6. Do Part 3, Lesson 1 (setting up an Excel spreadsheet).
    1. Loading the practice file. You should be aware by now that you may find the the practice files in places other than what the books says.
    2. When the book says to save your file, do not save it to the place they say, but to your floppy diskette. Save regularly. Make sure that your last save includes the changes in C below (that is, save after you make these changes, and the header will be included automatically).
    3. Print out a copy of your spreadsheet at the end of  the regular part of the lesson, on Pg 259. Print out each worksheet separately and staple the sheets together. To put your name, Lab # and class section on the printouts,
      1. Choose the "Header and Footer..." item on the "View" menu
      2. Type in the information in the header
      3. Click OK

Assignment 7

  1. Reading as assigned on the Assignment Schedule
  2. In Computers In Your Future 98, answer the following questions:
    1. Pg 6-15, Completion 1 - 10
    2. Pg 6-15, Review 1
    3. Pg 6-30, Completion 1 - 10
    4. Pg 6-31 Review 1, 4 & 5