Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Blog Assignment #6 - Final Course Reflection




At the beginning of the semester I wasn’t sure of how much I would get from this course. This class helped me to learn how to present technically to others. I learned how to write professional memo, technical descriptions, and process to write recommendation reports. These are just the overview of the course. There are lots of other things I have learned from this class. The blog assignments encouraged me to write on personal blog. The oral presentation was one of the best parts in this course. Though I wasn’t fully prepared for the presentation but what I presented thrilled me. I was excited to communicate with the listener without having a script. It was like direct communication. I explained what I learned from the topic. And this is how someone should do presentation without having looked into the script. During this course I was late for almost every assignments but I tried to submit them later. One of the best experiences I gathered while I was working on my final draft. I wrote the final draft in one night which took me around 8 hours. I hope that my work would pay me off.
Finally I would like to thank my teacher Prof. Dragan for his wonderful way of taking class. Everything was well organized. If someone misses class he or she can easily cope up with the class using class note. The blogsite we used for the entire course was another remarkable tool. What I learned from this class are the best I could learn from an English class.    

Blog Assignment # 5



Today I am going to summarize two well-known products based on reviews. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review by lists some features of the tablet. It has S Pen Stylus which is an active digitizer. It also has speakers in front of the tablet which is a rare addition.  Though it has S Pen but the apps to use it are very limited. He compares the dimension and weight of this tablet with other similar product. This review is based on hands-on testing. The author also provided video to show the hands-on testing. On the review the author highlights the design and the unique software features of the tablet. The author highlighted the software ability to recognize text and the use of S Pen. The author concluded “The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is the best Samsung tablet yet. If you can get over its somewhat high price, it's a sound Android tablet investment.”( To reach this decision the author considered S Pen and unique software of the tablet.
 
Asus VivoBook X202E-BH91T-CB review by Ahmer Kazi gives some basic specifications of the ultrabook. He outlines the ultrabook as thin, portable, and affordable touch screen laptop. He also said that its performance is not very strong. He compares the performance of this laptop with few other similar laptops. This review is based on research as the reviewer compares the product theoretically. The author highlighted the thin and portable feature of the laptop in his review. The author concluded “With its tiny chassis, touch screen, and affordable price tag, the Asus VivoBook X202E-BH91T-CB gives users a decent alternative to ultrabooks and tablets, though it can't do much beyond daily computing tasks.” (Ahmer Kazi,2013). The author considered the thinner and portability of the laptop to reach his decision.
 
Franklin, E. (2012). Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Review - Tablets - CNET Reviews. Product reviews - Electronics reviews, computer reviews & more - CNET Reviews. Retrieved June 5, 2013, from http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/samsung-galaxy-note-10/4505-3126_7-35150647.html 
 
Kazi, A. (2013). Asus VivoBook X202E-BH91T-CB Review & Rating | PCMag.com . Technology Product Reviews, News, Prices & Downloads | PCMag.com | PC Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2013, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2418806,00.asp 

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Blog Assignment #4



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STTNYNF4lk

This video shows the overview of the NAO robot by Aldebaran robotics. The video also shows some of its specifications, its height the structure and comparison to a human height. It also shows how it uses sensors to see what is happening in its surrounding and cope with it. The video also shows its abilities to see around it and perform certain task. It also shows how they communicate with other nao robot.  This video mainly shows the features and configuration of NAO robot and some task done by it. This video is created by the NAO robot designer Aldebaran robotics. As this video is created by the same company who designed the robot it is not fully accurate what is shown in the video. If this was done by any reviewer then it is more trust able.     

Artificial Intelligence. (2005). In McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (5th ed., pp. 176-177). New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.

According to McGraw-Hill (2005) “artificial intelligence is the capability of the computer to manipulate symbolic expressions that can represent all manner of things, including knowledge about the structure and function of objects and people in the world, beliefs and purposes, scientific theories, and the programs of action of the computer itself.”(McGraw-Hill, 2005. P 176). This means that AI should have the ability to read its surroundings using its sensors and manipulate it with its knowledge with certain object or human to perform a task generated by its own.
The video shows some features that satisfy NAO to be considered as artificial intelligent. Its shows how NAO takes an object from the floor and put it in the trash can. The software in NAO robot is limited to certain knowledge. NAO robot showed some emotional activity. It is kind of important for robot to be emotional to be an artificial intelligent because it will make them be more like human.
The video is more appealing then technical description. The video give a perfect presentation combining software, hardware and task it performs. The technical description details about the technical specification of the robot. But the video attracts more attention. For this robot to advertise, the video will be the best way to present it to consumer and later mail or email interested customer technical description for further details.

Artificial Intelligence. (2005). In McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (5th ed., pp. 176-177). New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.rpa.laguardia.edu:2048/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3475800482&v=2.1&u=cuny_laguardia&it=r&p=GVRL.Science&sw=w

Nao Robot - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved June 2, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STTNYNF4lk

Friday, April 12, 2013

Blog Assignment # 3




In my memo I was working with crowded computer lab scenario. I have chosen this because I thought it would be easy to research about computer systems as I have a good knowledge about system configuration and software. The solution was easy which was to buy new systems and lower the number of workstation. I also thought of arranging different types of system depending on users. When I got the scenario first I started to search for different workstation for educational institution. Then I created a custom hardware configuration for workstation and calculated the estimated cost. Then I calculated other costs to see if it was below the dedicated fund. After all the research I started to write down the memo in profession manner. In my school life I have written many formal documents including user manual. This was not that different from the user manual I wrote in my high school. Here I had to write more formally than I did in the user manual which also had graphic illustration. I have pasted a part of my memo in the following paragraph.       

The retail price of regular workstation including monitors is $775.49 each. So for 50 workstations the total cost will be $38774.50. The retail price of performance workstation is$ 989.98 including monitors. So the total cost will be $ 19799.60. Dell is offering free shipping on computers so there is no shipping charge. School license for Microsoft Office 2013 will cost $ 50 for each workstation costing total of $ 3500.00. I am also planning to include Adobe Creative Suite 6 for designing purpose. This will only be available for performance workstations. Each will cost around $ 349.00. For 20 workstations it will cost $6980.00. The technician may take 3.5 h to setup each system and the average cost is $20/h. So the cost to setup the workstations may be near to $4900.00. Taking all the costs into consideration the grand total becomes $73954.10. The remaining fund can be used to buy new furniture and improve the lighting of the lab.