Week 1

Lecture;

In Lecture one on Accessing Knowledge, we mainly went through an outline of the course. We were given some of the basic requirements of the University Preparation Course and expectations of a student at university. We also went through the regulations and systems used in lectures and tute's.

Readings;

Computers as we know them, in a shop or factory are named by their brand, ie: Toshiba, Dell, Compaq, HP and many more. But actually the parts that put the computer together inside are made by many other factories and brands that are not known by the consumer. Along side the hardware aspects of computers, their are the important software components. Programming languages such as Java and C#, just two of the numerous languages in the computing industry, are examples of popular choices for a computer programs run time environment. For a user with no computer involved expertise, there is to be no difference between a TV screen and computer monitor and the only difference between TV and HDTV is the "high definition" part. Whatever that may mean...

An average computer user wouldn't even think that the very content of the screen they are looking at, such as the buttons, icons, windows, arrows, and scroll bars, is actually called something: the Graphic User Interface. From records to Cd's, VHS to DVD and TV to HDTV, technology and fields in computing are continually evolving. Probably the biggest name in technology and computing is Microsoft, who produces the world's most popular operating system and more. Along with their triumph has also some bumps, such as the Microsoft Antirust Case, a suit against the Department of Justice, and the issue between Microsoft and Java, which involvement between the two corporations where stopped due to legal controversy.


Activities;