Chapter 6: Music Production

As music and audio production becomes more technology -based, professional musicians and producers have sought refuge in many innovative and readily available professional music software to record their music. One of the most popular digital audio workstations is Fl Studio( also known as fruity loops). With this software users can create recording-studio quality sounds and vocals. Fruity Loops utilizes many popular digital tools such as synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, and sequencers. Popular plug-ins(such as vocals and snares) may be download via the internet and added to Fl Studio as special add-ons to create different sounds. This program has become internationally acclaimed and gained attention through many popular producers, namely Lex Luger. Lex Luger, a producer from Suffolk, VA, has created many popular beats such as H.A.M.(featuring Jay-Z and Kanye West) and B.M.F.( Rick Ross). All of his productions were created with the use of fruity loops and have made him a very successful person at a young age. This success gained the attention of a lot of now-popular producers with good reason. Multiple websites have rated and reviewed Fruity Loops to be an outstanding and completely professional program that is great for beginning and veteran producers looking to create new and amazing sounds. To get a demo of this software is completely free, but to continue to use you have to purchase a license which is reasonably priced.

 

Chapter 5: Wireless Entertainment

With the introduction of many wireless technologies, the world of computer technology seems to have no limit. Bluetooth, 4G networks, GPS, NFC(near field communication) technology, and cloud computing are all forms of wireless technology that have been invented with the purpose of improving and simplifying the hassles of our day-to-day life. However, even though all of these technologies have practical uses, technology like The World's Largest RC car are used for purely entertainment purposes. With a base price of $10,999 you can afford to purchase this life-size RC car that is slightly larger than most consumer vehicles on the road today. This car is extremely accurate in terms of the details of an actual car. Unfortunately the car can't hold actual people and  the battery only allows you to play with the car in increments of 7 minutes at a top speed of 18mp. However, a few years ago the Top Gear crew took on a challenge to create a life-size remote control car with a person inside that yielded great success. Maybe this could lead to a new way of operating cars in the future?

Chapter 4: Big Brother is Watching

With the popularization of social networking sites many employers have sought to looking at popular websites, as a basis for hiring potential employees. According to the Hunffingtonpost.com, "37 percent of employers use Facebook to pre-screen appliants." This being a substantially large percentage, should convince you of several things to not do/post on your Facebook or any other social networking site such as Twitter or LinkddIn. Contrary to popular belief , you can learn a lot about a person from viewing their Facebook or Twitter, Simple things such as your religious affiliation or political background can prove to be a red flag to potential employers. To clean up your profile on a such such as Facebook is increase your level of privacy, untagg yourself from obscene or vulgar images, change your profile picture and any albums if needed, unlike any religious affiliation or political affiliation page that you might think will hinder your chances of employment, and unlike any obscene material pages.All of this will ensure your safety for potential employers that might seek to your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, for future employment.  

Facebook Firing Report Video

 

Chapter 3: Operating Systems

According to Google, the definition of an operating system is "The software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherals." Although that seems like a complicated definition in simple terms an operating system or "OS" is software that communicates with the hardware and allows other programs to run. Some of the most common operating systems are Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux; however, there are dozens of them in existence. AIX, Amiga, BeOS, FreeBSD, FreeDOS, GUN/Hurd, HP-UX, IRIS, JavaOS, MINIX, MS-DOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Palm OS, QNX, SkyOS, Solaris, TRON, and Tru64 are all popular operating systems that have been around since the early 1980's. All of these operating systems are/were used worldwide with Windows controlling over 80% of the operating system market. Also, a less known fact is that your phone contains different operating systems from computers. With the mobile phone industry developing in its hardware sector, development seems to be concentrated these days, mainly on mobile phone operating systems. The most phenomenal OS's in the mobile phone industry are iOS, Android, Research in Motion, Windows for mobile phones, and Symbian 60. These mobile operating systems are present in today's most popular phones from the iphone 5 to the new Samsung Galaxy S. 

Chapter 2: All of this Technology now what!?

Alright so now since you have a nice overview of what computers are lets assume you're in the market to purchase a new one? In this ever-evolving world a computer is one of the most basic essentials you'll need to survive in day-to-day life. So the question is which one? Do you want a Dell, 2 GB of memory, 500 HDD, desktop or something completely different? Unfortunately, there is no true answer to that. Each computer should be bought and built to be tailored to your specific needs. But, there are a few common things that most people, even the non-tech-savvy ones, look for. If you're just an average person who's looking to casually surf the web, maybe check his/her e-mail occasionally, pay for bills, and store random pieces of data(pictures,music,etc.) then it's obvious you don't need anything extremely fancy to handle the task. Fortunately for you there are multiple notebooks and desktops available that will fit your needs for around $500. Nevertheless, if you're in the market for a laptop or desktop for a business or something to fit your hardcore gaming addiction or video-editing software then you might need something a little more expensive and powerful. For those who are, realize that you will most likely be paying well over $500 for your computer unless you plan on building it yourself. In which case you will still most likely be paying over $500 for parts and the extra labor you might need. In terms of the specifications for these computers the hardcore gamer/video-editor may need extra RAM, a graphics card, and a faster processor, whereas the business owner may need extra bandwidth, a strong wireless signal, extra monitors, and printers to accommodate his needs.

Chapter 1: It started from the bottom, now it's here

With the advent of the computer, the world has seen a surge of increased leisureliness because with the computer we are allowed to do multiple tasks with the click of a button.The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613 in a book called "\The yong mans gleanings by English writer Richard Braithwait, and was used to describe to a person who carried out calculations, or computations. This stigma later evolved to describe a certain machine that carried our calculations for you. Since the late 1830's, the first concept of a computer was invented by English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer Charles Babbage. Early uses of "computers" were for simple calculations and computations; however, over time computers use have developed into more intricate applications. From e-mails, to keeping a daily agenda, programming music, taking pictures, video-chatting, researching, reading, and an abundance of more tasks, the computer has completely changed the way of life that we experienced 300 years ago. And with an increase in the influx of new technology this trend is only going to continue to grow until 25 years from now the computers we're using now are going to seem like archaic tools. 

Introduction

Hello world, this is my introduction post to my new blog for computer fluency at the College of Charleston. I am very eager to learn about computer fluency and it's impact on today's modern society; as I know that computers, electronics, and technology in general is extremely prevalent in the year 2013. As the world becomes more globalized, technology increases and the usage of it becomes more widespread, and in my journey throughout this blog I will discuss the technology and ingenuity it takes to create useful technology that emerges throughout our society and is desired amongst our people.