Erin Singleton's Portfolio

I rate this movie with 4 stars.

Summary:

This movie showed the progression of the computer since the 1970’s. It also shows the competition between IBM. Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs. The movie gives a real life perspective of the struggles they faced in their personal lives and the struggles they went through within their companies. Jobs started constructing computers with his partner, Wozniak, in a small garage, while Gates began building computer software in a motel warehouse. Jobs became more successful than Gates in the beginning when he created the Apple Company and was making new computers almost every year. Although Steve Jobs had great marketing skills, he treated his employees horrible. They worked extremely long hours and when he got mad, he would take it out on them. Gates was a lot more laid back with his employees. Throughout the movie Gates and Jobs tried their hardest to make their companies better than the others. Apple was more focused on creating the computers themselves and Microsoft was eager to design the actual software and hard drives that were being put into the computers. At one point in the movie Bill Gates saw what Jobs’ was doing and wanted to make his prototype his own. He convinced Steve Jobs to let him work for Apple only later to find out that Gates stole the computer information and redesigned it to create his own computer and sell it to other marketers. After stealing Job’s ideas, Bill Gates became one of the richest men in the world. At one point in the career of Apple, Steve Jobs was fired only to return a few years later with an attitude adjustment. In the end, both companies became very successful but neither were able to gain each others full trust and merge into one large company.

Thoughts:

I liked this movie a lot because it was very informative but also very interesting. It was inspirational to see two different companies that started out as nothing become something so big. Both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were incredibly intelligent people who had their own strengths and weaknesses. Though they were great marketers, I don’t think I would be able to work for either of them. Steve Jobs treated his employees so cruelly while Bill Gates was so brilliant he might be hard to keep up with. Steve Jobs took more risks and developed things more quickly while Bill Gates took his time and in the long run came out ahead. I think they should make a sequel to this movie and show how much farther computers have come today.

Scelbi Mark-8:

Altair:

IBM 5100:

Apple I and II:

TRS-80:

Commodore Pet:

1.  The earliest computers were much larger than our current desktop and laptop versions. Find approximate dimensions.

The first computer, also known as the ENIAC, had dimensions of about 8.5 feet by 3 feet by 80 feet and taking up  a total of 680 square feet. It also weighed about 27 tons!

2. What is the significance of ARPnet?

ARPnet was the first operating packet switching network, or  internet. It was used solely for military purposes but
it is important because it allowed for the sharing of information between computers that were in separate geographical locations. Also, it lead to the creation of the Internet.

3. When was the internet that we know, world-wide web, developed and introduced?

The World Wide Web that we used today was developed in 1989 by a computer scientist named Timothy Berners-Lee, but wasn’t introduced to the public until 1991.

4. Two men are known for their development of the Apple I computer in a garage behind their parent’s home. Who are they? Are they still with Apple today?

The two men known for developing the Apple I computer are Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Steve Jobs is still the chief executive officer of Apple Inc while Steve Wozniak ended his full-time employment in 1987, 12 years after having created the company but he still remains a part time employee and receives a paycheck.

5. Over the years, Apple has included “easter eggs” within their software. What is an “easter egg”?

Easter eggs are intentional “hidden features” or messages Apple has placed within their software. Easter eggs are commonly in the form of messages graphics, sound effects, and videos.

6. Search for easter eggs within Photoshop and Illustrator. List a few in your post and find them in the software!

Some easter eggs that can be found in Photoshop include a Belching Cat, Merlin the Wizard, Tiger Mountain, the Adobe Space Monkey, Dark Matter, Strange Cargo Credits and other weird secret messages and jokes.  In Illustrator, some of the easter eggs include the Funky Venus Picture, the Pixel Show, and the Birthday Cake Brush.

7. Where do you think computers will take us in the next 10 years?

In the next 10 years I think computers will become much more advanced and be able to do many more things. They will begin to take over daily tasks and jobs that are done by humans today such as note taking, reading, driving, and possibly even surgery. They will be much more efficient and accurate and less time consuming. I think all books will become digital and information will be more accessible and plentiful. I also believe that as computers become more advanced, humans become more reliant on technology and more lazy. They begin to depend to much on computers and other electronics and eventually they might forget many simple but important skills.

1.  Post an example of a Daguerreotype image. Who invented the Daguerreoty process? Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of the process.

Louis Daguerre invented the Daguerre type process. It exposed light sensitive metal sheet which created a direct positive image. Exposure time took up to half an hour. It worked much faster than previous methods that had to be exposed for up to 8 hours. Another advantage was the image could then be made permanent by immersing it in salt and the quality was good. However, a disadvantage is the process itself was very expensive and could not be duplicated. Also this process could not be performed by the masses.

2. Post an example of a Calotype image. Who invented the Calotype process? Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of the process.

The Calotype process was invented by William Fox Talbot. The subject would have been exposed onto light-sensitve paper, producing paper negative. An advantage to this process is an unlimited amount of duplicates could be made from the same picture. A disadvantage is that the quality of the image was poor.

3. Post an example of a Wet Collodion Process image. Who invented the Wet Collodion Process process? Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of the process.

Fredrick Scott Archer invented the Wet Collodion Process or Wet Plate Process. An advantage of this process is that it was much faster and reduced the exposure time to two or three seconds. Also, the cost was lower than the other processes. A disadvantage is that the glass plates had to be exposed and developed while it was still wet with collodion. This means that dark rooms would have to be portable. Also, the glass plates were so fragile and broke easily.

4. Post an example of a Dry Plate Process image. Who invented the Dry Plate Process process? Briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of the process.

Richard Maddox invented the Dry Plate Process. His process of using gelatin instead of glass for a photographic plate is still the base of film today. An advantage of the Dry Plate Process is that it was much more convenient and efficient. It uses gelatin instead of glass and images were much more easier to develop. The camera was alot small and has cheaper to make. A disadvantage of this process is that it was still too complicated for the general public.

5. Who is credited with taking the first photograph of a human? Post the photograph.

Louis Daguerre is credited with taking the first photograph of a human.

6. What is photo emulsion?

Photo emulsion is a light-sensitive colloid, such as gelatin, coated onto a substrate. It is used in the Wet Colloid Process and the Cry Plate Process. George Eastman, and his company Kodak also used this technique to create his photographs.

7. Why did Eastman name his company Kodak?

Eastman named his company Kodak because he liked the letter “k”, and he wanted the word to both start and end with the letter “k”. He had said that the letter “K” was “a strong and incisive letter.” Also he wanted a name that could not be misspelled or mispronounced.

8. Briefly explain how Polaroid film (instant photography) works?

Instant film, commonly referred to as Polaroid photos, is made by transfering dyes from negatives to positive using a chemical reaction. Unlike other cameras, the film in Polaroid cameras already contain the chemicals need to make the reaction happen. In 60 seconds the photo would slowly appear.

Shole’s Typewriter:

Merganthaler’s Linotype Machine:

Operator using a Linotype:

1.  Why was the typewriter an important part of our history?

The typewriter was an important part of our history because it was a more modern version of the printing press. It was then manipulated and later evolved into the computer keyboards we have today. The typewriter was also important because it easier and quicker to type a large amounts of text on and was able to produce multiple copies.

2. What is typesetting?

Typesetting is the composition of text material by means of type.

3. Why was the Linotype the greatest advance in printing since movable type?

The Linotype was the greatest advance in printing since movable type because it allowed type to be set mechanically rather than by hand.

4. How does the Linotype keyboard differ from the keyboard we use today?

The Linotype keyboard is different from the one’s we use today because the Linotype keyboard had 90 characters, while ours has much less. Since the Linotype keyboard did not have a Shift key like our keyboards today, there were three sections of the keyboard. The buttons on the left were all lowercase, on the right uppercase, and in the middle were  punctuation, digits, small capital letters, and spaces. Back then, the letters were also set up by their frequency of use.