This movie is useful to my project because it marks a point in history as the first mostly-fictional movie relating to computers and technology to get just about everything technically correct. Many hundreds of films both great and terrible have been produced in the same vein over the last fifty years with varying levels of stomach-churning technical inaccuracy. The Social Network breaks that trend with spot-on accuracy that would bore the hell out of mainstream audiences if the scene weren't disguised by moving progressive music, rapid scene cuts and enough technical language to fill a TI Calculator instruction booklet. I'm not hesitant to say that this is likely the first time this has happened, certainly on a scale as large as the audience this movie targeted and hit.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Film Post - The Social Network
The Social Network is a movie about the creation of Facebook - a heavily dramatized story about an in-house college campus connection service that became a full-fledged cultural phenomenon and a multi-billion dollar enterprise company. In the movie, Mark Zuckerberg is a savant Harvard student with socialization issues and lofty goals. Contacted by a pair of rich twin brothers to develop a website, conflict ensues when he builds an adaptation on their idea without their input and launches it with the aid of his friend Eduardo. The brothers move to sue, but the site has already taken off and they can do nothing to stop it or reclaim what they consider to be their IP. They reach a settlement (pennies in comparison to the value of the site) and Zuckerberg walks off as a rich genius.
This movie is useful to my project because it marks a point in history as the first mostly-fictional movie relating to computers and technology to get just about everything technically correct. Many hundreds of films both great and terrible have been produced in the same vein over the last fifty years with varying levels of stomach-churning technical inaccuracy. The Social Network breaks that trend with spot-on accuracy that would bore the hell out of mainstream audiences if the scene weren't disguised by moving progressive music, rapid scene cuts and enough technical language to fill a TI Calculator instruction booklet. I'm not hesitant to say that this is likely the first time this has happened, certainly on a scale as large as the audience this movie targeted and hit.
< Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake. Columbia Pictures, 2010. DVD.>
This movie is useful to my project because it marks a point in history as the first mostly-fictional movie relating to computers and technology to get just about everything technically correct. Many hundreds of films both great and terrible have been produced in the same vein over the last fifty years with varying levels of stomach-churning technical inaccuracy. The Social Network breaks that trend with spot-on accuracy that would bore the hell out of mainstream audiences if the scene weren't disguised by moving progressive music, rapid scene cuts and enough technical language to fill a TI Calculator instruction booklet. I'm not hesitant to say that this is likely the first time this has happened, certainly on a scale as large as the audience this movie targeted and hit.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Video #3 - Shaping The Future in Computer Science
"Shaping The Future in Computer Science." YouTube. YouTube, 01 Dec. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3dR4n-197I
This video talks about how research into computer science improves and improves upon the methods used to research in all higher fields. Rapid and efficient processing of scientific data and increased ease of information access and sharing improve the speed at which scientific progress can move by magnitudes of speed, which is important to my project in a meta sort of way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3dR4n-197I
This video talks about how research into computer science improves and improves upon the methods used to research in all higher fields. Rapid and efficient processing of scientific data and increased ease of information access and sharing improve the speed at which scientific progress can move by magnitudes of speed, which is important to my project in a meta sort of way.
Video #2 - Fight Cambridge University, I Dare You
CambridgeUniversity. "Computer Science." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7hV86PC4hc
This video, a promotional ad for Cambridge University's computer science program, shows how technology is a rapidly evolving field that is always in need of new players. Every university wants to be one that top companies like Google and Microsoft look to the best graduates to scrape from, and the quality of their ads and promotional materials reflect that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7hV86PC4hc
This video, a promotional ad for Cambridge University's computer science program, shows how technology is a rapidly evolving field that is always in need of new players. Every university wants to be one that top companies like Google and Microsoft look to the best graduates to scrape from, and the quality of their ads and promotional materials reflect that.
Video #1 - Defining Quantum Computer
UNSW. "Defining Quantum Computing." YouTube. YouTube, 09 July 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. .
This video contains many useful explanations and details relating to quantum computing and processing, described by a woman who has a degree in the field and works with it every day. It's also recent and is on a YouTube channel belonging to an accredited university.
This video contains many useful explanations and details relating to quantum computing and processing, described by a woman who has a degree in the field and works with it every day. It's also recent and is on a YouTube channel belonging to an accredited university.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Source #1 - SwiftKey 3 Beta: The Best Android Keyboard I've Seen
Cabebe, Jaymar. "SwiftKey 3 Beta: The Best Android Keyboard I've Seen." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 06 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
This article is useful because it's an example of how computer science isn't just a corporate tool, but can be contributed to by private parties and anyone interested in it. Swiftkey is one of the many companies that was started by hobbyists and exploded in the mobile application space.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410691-94/swiftkey-3-beta-the-best-android-keyboard-ive-seen/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410691-94/swiftkey-3-beta-the-best-android-keyboard-ive-seen/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver
Source #2 - Intel SSD to Boost Windows 8 Boot, Wake times.
Crothers, Brooke. "Intel SSD to Boost Windows 8 Boot, Wake times." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 06 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
This article is useful because it's recent and describes how recently developed and improved technology will be made more useful in the near future with the release of the next iteration of Windows.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57410643-64/intel-ssd-to-boost-windows-8-boot-wake-times/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57410643-64/intel-ssd-to-boost-windows-8-boot-wake-times/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver
Source #3 - Quantum Computer Built Inside a Diamond
"Quantum Computer Built Inside a Diamond." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 04 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
This article is a good choice because it represents the unusual and powerful solutions that can be found in the future of computer science. There's always room for innovation, improvement, invention and expansion and it can only get better.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120404161943.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120404161943.htm
Source #4 - Before Move to AMD, Intel Engineer Stole Documents
Crothers, Brooke. "Before Move to AMD, Intel Engineer Stole Documents." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 08 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
Computer science is a competitive field of industry, and this is a good article for illustrating that. Documents containing processor information that could potentially be used to improve the speed of a product could be worth billions.
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Source #5 - Facebook vs. Groupon: The Tale of Two IPOs
Parr, Ben. "Facebook vs. Groupon: The Tale of Two IPOs." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 08 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
Adding on to the industrial competitiveness mentioned before, similar products have to fight to stay afloat in a field as fast-changing as computer science.
Source #6 - 7 Myths about Quad-core Phones
Dolcourt, Jessica. "7 Myths about Quad-core Phones (Smartphones Unlocked)." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 08 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
This article demonstrates how when taking into account the marketing for computers and technology, people tend to latch onto buzzwords without doing any research. This is why people buy Apple products - not because they're any good, but because they market well.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410518-94/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones-smartphones-unlocked/?tag=mncol;editorPicks
This article demonstrates how when taking into account the marketing for computers and technology, people tend to latch onto buzzwords without doing any research. This is why people buy Apple products - not because they're any good, but because they market well.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57410518-94/7-myths-about-quad-core-phones-smartphones-unlocked/?tag=mncol;editorPicks
Source #7 - AOL to Make...
Reisinger, Don. "AOL to Make over $1 Billion in Patent Sale to Microsoft." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 09 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
ThisThis article is good because it represents what can happen when a software company fails to innovate and keep up with the rest - it becomes so entrenched in failure that they have to sell off a significant portion of their company just to keep themselves afloat in the short term. This emphasizes the importance of keeping up in the software industry.
Source #8 - Police Blotter: Detecting Computer-generated Porn?
McCullagh, Declan. "Police Blotter: Detecting Computer-generated Porn? - CNET News."CNET News. CBS Interactive. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. .
This article demonstrates the applications of computers in preventing and solving crimes in a unique way. It also shows how some technologies make crime detection significantly harder, with the advent of freely available photo manipulation software.
Source #9 - Programming Computers to Help Computer Programmers
"Programming Computers to Help Computer Programmers." Science News, Technology, Physics, Nanotechnology, Space Science, Earth Science, Medicine. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. .
The software industry is constantly finding ways to improve its methods and build better tools with which to make software, and programs that make programs would be a gigantic step forward. To either a better future or a Matrix-like one.
http://phys.org/news/2012-04-programmers.html
The software industry is constantly finding ways to improve its methods and build better tools with which to make software, and programs that make programs would be a gigantic step forward. To either a better future or a Matrix-like one.
http://phys.org/news/2012-04-programmers.html
Source #10 - Classic Nintendo Games are NP-Hard
Aloupis, Greg, Erik Demaine, and Alan Guo. "Classic Nintendo Games Are NP-Hard." Web.
This source works well for my purposes because it shows how techniques applied using advanced computer science can be used to analyze generic datasets. This demonstrates how computer science pervades all aspects of modern culture.
This source works well for my purposes because it shows how techniques applied using advanced computer science can be used to analyze generic datasets. This demonstrates how computer science pervades all aspects of modern culture.
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