Meaningful Topics I Learned in CISB 11
Norbert Vuong
April 10, 2010
CISB 11
Linux
I always wondered what Linux was, and now I have a pretty good basic concept of what this and other OS are supposed to be. The idea that it is freeware still surprises me, especially since I grew up with the internet since I was in junior high. But I guess that the internet business has a way of working itself out, and now I know what my friends mean when they talk about RedHat and other major software available to enterprises.
I have a website that was hosted on a Linux server, which didn’t use to mean much to me because I had no idea what it was. Now, I have an idea of what a server computed is supposed to do and some of its advantages when running Linux, such as customization, flexibility, and lower costs.
I don’t think that Linux nor servers will have a direct effect on my career going into Air Traffic Control, but I feel that it’s important to be aware of it. After all, if something goes wrong with the computers (which would be direly bad in an air traffic system), I need to know have a basic idea of the problem and the steps the IT staff are undertaking to fix it.
Network Security
Before the class, I wasn’t too aware of network security features, such as firewalls and ports. It’s good to get basic understanding of what these concepts are, especially as security threats become more sophisticated and more important information is becoming digitalized. More and more of our lives can now be lived online, which is both a more convenient and riskier effect we all face.
I think an important thing I never realized was accessing unsecured WiFi networks. I thought people were maybe just stupid and forgot secure the network, but the thought of people using it to gather my information while I accessed it never crossed my mind. These little nuances that I used to be careless about are things I must be more careful about in the future.
Cloud computing
This is a completely new concept that I have never been aware of in the past. I used to think that all data was held on servers in some cold warehouse in New Mexico, but who knew that we weren’t just exporting American debt dollars overseas, but also our data! It’s amazing the coordination that technology has, that Google can have servers in Brazil and China and Portugal and requisition all that data on demand! What’s more, the scale of their operations has allowed them to do it for free, just by basing it off their advertising revenue.
I know what Amazon also features storage via cloud computer, and I know they offer it at a very, very cheap price. One of my friends buys gigs and gigs of space for cents every month and uses it to store his pictures. Pretty great idea isn’t it? I think with the advent of a society becoming more and more used to online technology, it’s important to keep up to pace, as my friend is, and make the most of what technology has to offer. Slowly but surely, cloud computing is becoming the next generation of file cabinets. Why have file drawers when you can access information from anywhere in the world? All within safe means, of course.
Hard drive storage
I think this class has taught me a lot of the basic that I’ve never known before. I’ve heard in the past that everything was coded in 0 or 1, but I didn’t know the documentary really meant it! It’s amazing how 1’s and 0’s have come from MS Dos and games like Space Invaders to Windows 7 and digitally rendered movies like Avatar.
I found out more than I ever knew about the discs and components of hard drives are assembled. The most surprising thing to me perhaps, is when I found out data on hard drives is never deleted, the link to it just becomes detached. It’s no wonder that data recovery services can restore all kinds of damaged hard drives, just short of the hard drive being grinded into pieces!
