101010101

The title is a reference to the fact that I've made it through the chapter on binary signals today for my comp sci reading. Whoohoo, 2 chapters down, 2 to go. I feel so productive.  It's actually kind of sad since I took about 5 pages of notes just for a fairly short chapter.....I like to think I'm being thorough, but I'm probably killing three trees in the process. The nice thing about my computer science class is that the textbook is online, which seems fitting. You can find it at: http://chortle.ccsu.edu/CS151/cs151java.html. So far, I think the explanations are pretty easy to understand; of course, I'm still going over the relatively simple basics of computers, so all of that could change when I actually start getting into the meat of programming. Until then, I'll enjoy the seemingly easiness of it all. I actually really enjoyed the first chapter, which talked about things like the CPU, main memory, hard disks/secondary memory, the motherboard, and the role of the OS in running a computer system. Even though I had spent a lot of time on the computer before then, it was pretty cool to get a basic idea of how my computer actually works. If you're interested in learning about your computer from a functional standpoint, I would definitely recommend the first chapter, even if you aren't interested in actual programming.

On a slightly different note, I've become very acquainted with the Kindle application for the computer in the past couple days. I downloaded my Latin book for the Kindle, but I wanted to be able to access it on my computer (bigger screen, easier to read), so I also downloaded the app available through Amazon. In my opinion (which you can take with a grain of salt), the Kindle app is definitely worth the download, especially if you have a book with a lot of dense material (read: textbook). It also makes flipping back to past chapters fairly easy, seeing as you can just click a button and go to the table of contents. I thought this was a little easier than navigating the book on my mom's traditional Kindle. I have a Kindle touch, but I didn't have it with me when I downloaded my Latin book, so I can't really speak to the navigability of the Kindle app vs. the Kindle touch. The app is also nice if you're taking notes/doing problem sets since you can just glance up at your computer screen, instead of having to look down at the Kindle. I definitely love the portability of the Kindle vs. my laptop, but if I'm set up in a relatively stationary work position, I prefer the computer app. Anyway, that's just my two cents. Check it out if you're interested. You can download the app at: PC app or Mac app.

Hannah