Week 7- Clear: Cloud Computing

Welcome to Week 7!

Cloud Computing is everywhere these days. Most have no idea they use it though. The best example of a very common cloud computing system is GMail. Before I reviewed this weeks lectures, I truthfully did not know that I used cloud computing daily either. The advent of cloud computing has really changed how the internet works, and how easy it is to access information. When you are on the run and need to get that very important email, would you be able to do it without cloud computing?

Another very important security system of cloud computing is the login system. For GMail you get to choose your personal information such as username and password, which is yours to keep forever. This makes it much easier to remember your credentials, and have a secured system. The one problem with this feature is that people do not try hard enough to make a hidden password. There are man common passwords, such as "password", that people use. One way to avoid this problem is by putting different numbers, or signs in your password to keep it authentic to yourself.

This photo from Innovationsimple.com is a good cartoon that is very accurate to how some perceive cloud computing. Although these types of people have never used a computer in their life, they can still imagine the advancements that we have achieved.

Another great example of cloud computing is iCloud from Apple. With this system, you can update your pictures, music, etc. from your phone to your computer on the go. It is hard to believe that you can be thousands of miles away, and still have a back-up for a picture you just took right on your home computer.

Here is a video from apple that explains how iCloud works.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

Austin

Presentation Project- American Farmland Trust

Welcome to my presentation post!

I did my presentation on the American Farmland Trust. After going through information, and reading up on the organization, I realized that they are fighting for a very important cause that most might not know about.

Reviewing my presentation did not go as well as I had hoped. I thought I did a great job, without any mistakes, but I was wrong. My intro did not really jump out and grab a hold of the listener. It was informational, but not flashy. I tried to answer different questions, and some background about the organization in my presentation, which I feel that I did a good job of. With a time constraint of 2-3 minutes, it felt like things were left out that there wasn't enough time for. I would have liked about 5-6 minutes to fully get my points across, but that was the point of the speech.


All of the claims that I made during my presentation were completely factual. I am the kind of person that requires factual information to get my points across. I also tried to validate the claims about farmland loss, but probably could have had more information to solidify that area. Again, more time could have allowed more information.

One large problem that I noticed after reviewing my project was reading from slides. I did not preview the slide before I showed it. This seemed to be hard to do without boring the viewer in my eyes. I feel like if I were to tell what my slides were about before I showed them, there would not have been enough time for the viewer to read over them and absorb the information on the slides.

Overall I felt like this was a good learning experience. I was able to read up on an organization that I feel very strongly about, and improve my presentation skills. Here is the link to my video presentation, I hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UGgC2C3arc&feature=plcp&context=C37825e7UDOEgsToPDskJJPkbI2bF4Z5J2gquyOZv6

Week 6- Clear: Software Licensing

Welcome to week 6! Throughout this whole segment, the component that was most interesting to me was software licensing. Everyday people buy products, or even use products that have certain licensing agreements that they have no idea about. An example Professor Olson used was iTunes. Most everyone today has an iTunes account. I personally have an account, and have not read any of the agreement that I accepted when I signed up for the program. When a new user signs up for a program like this, the chances that they thoroughly read over the licensing agreement is slim to none. The problem with this is that consumers do not know exactly what they are signing up for.

This video from "GoogleTechTalks" shows how people are becoming more aware that licensing agreements are not gone through by consumers like they should be, and what can be done to help this problem.

This picture is a small portion of the iTunes software license agreement. If you read through just the first few lines of the agreement, it seems as though there could be some very important information within the agreement. For most though, the only piece that gets read on the screen is the "Agree" section.

Overall I feel like there is very important information in these agreements that should be read before agreeing. They are long, and not the most interesting material to read, but in the end, you know exactly what you are signing up for.

Week 5: Clear- Presentations

Welcome to Week 5 of my blog! This week we discussed presentations and how to enhance your presentations for the viewers. Almost everyone that has recently been in school, or worked in a managerial position has had to do a presentation, mostly with powerpoint. This program has become the go-to tool for creating presentations. If you think about the use of hand written displays, the level of professionalism cannot be matched when compared to a digital display. With the use of charts, photos, embedded videos, and other enhancements, presentations are a very valuable learning tool.

One person that gave presentations a new style was Steve Jobs. He would always appear in his blue jeans, and his black shirt. The way the Jobs spoke to his audience, everyone felt involved, and that they were almost friends.

This video from "BNETvideo" explains how Jobs captivated his audiences.

For most, presenting in front of a group of people is one of the hardest things to do. Statistically, people fear talking in front of a group more than death. For our Presidents, there is no room for this fear when it comes to their speeches. This photo is from President Obama's inauguration.

Thank you for reading!

Week 4- Clear Strategy and Technology

Welcome to my Week 4 Blog! This week we focused on Strategy and Technology in different types of organizations. I had a clear understanding of all of this material and really enjoyed this weeks lectures. The concept that I have the strongest grasp on is the "Value Chain". I have seen this concept in other classes, but the technological twist that this week covered made it a lot more interesting to me. After watching the interviews with several different employers from different sectors of the workforce I realized that without technology, value chains would be almost impossible to function. Technology allows each function in the value chain to easily communicate and integrate.

This chart from Steven Black shows how different value chains have to work together to create a valuable product or company.

One very interesting section of this week was learning about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs working together. This documentary from BBC goes through different factors between Microsoft and Apple. I feel like this friendship that turned into competition has really revolutionized not only computer technology, but tablets, phones, and other devices. In my eyes, competition on this level is what drives innovation in not only technology, but all things in the world.

The sections from this week that seemed to really hit home the most was "Interviews from the Field". This video really put all the things we are learning about technology into real life situations. If you take a minute to sit back and think about how much technology we use everyday, not only at work but in our daily lives, it is amazing. How often can you go through a whole day without checking your Facebook, Twitter, or even check you email? It seems almost impossible to make it through a day without these different types of technology.

In conclusion, this week was very interesting and valuable to me. The implication of different types of technology to everyday life and work is very interesting to me. The way that our lives are encompassed around our smart phones, computers, and other devices would have been unimaginable 50 years ago. Thank you for reading!