Week 2 notes

1) Computer Hardware: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardware


This break down of parts of a computer was helpful, especially because of the diagram.  Clifford Lynch's article from last week, in which he described the levels of technology literacy, made me realize that while I consider myself technologically proficient, it mostly ends at using a computer.  I don't really know how it works.  This article at least gives me an idea.  Now I could at least point out the parts of a computer and explain their basic functions.


2) Moore’s Law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law
    also the video http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-moores-law


Basically, Moore's law states that the number of transistors that can be put on a circuit doubles every few years.  This is expected to continue for the next decade or so.  This seemed perfectly reasonable to me, given the technology inventions I can think of over the past ten years.  (Remember how big cell phones used to be?)  But the video introduced me to how mind-boggling this is.  The woman in the video compared Moore's law in computers to the auto industry.  By now, we should be driving cars that go a million miles an hour, get 1,000 miles to the gallon, that cost about a quarter.  Wow!  That was a wake-up call that made me evaluate what I had read about Moore's law.


It's interesting to note that when Moore wrote about this theory in 1965, he predicted the trend would continue "for at least ten years."  More than 40 years later, it's still true.  And now we are predicting at least another ten years.  It makes me wonder if the span of Moore's law will continue to be expanded.  It also makes me realize that it's hard to predict technological trends (something I thought about while reading this week's digitization articles, too).


I didn't realize that Moore's law has many aspects beyond transistors.  It also applies to power consumption  (it doubles every 18 months), pixels per dollar (the value of a digital camera), etc.


Also, the article raised the question: Had the theory proven itself true as a self-fulfilling prophecy?  Perhaps the industry sees Moore's law as a goal to achieve.  It's hard to say.

3) Computer History Museum. http://www.computerhistory.org/  


I had never heard of this museum, but now I want to take a field trip there!  (Even though it's in California.  Which makes sense, that it would be in Silicon Valley.)  Looking at the schedule, it is closed frequently for construction.  I think the website has a lot to offer, though, and it could be used as a virtual field trip for students.  You can even search the museum's entire catalog (72,756 records)!


I especially liked the Timeline feature, where you can click on years to see the developments.  You can also filter events by company, people, networking, graphics, etc.  I also like the "This Day in History" feature.  Today's is the first discovered computer bug (1945): It was an actual moth caught in the hardware.  So now I know where the term comes from!