New Word Scramble Script

I just want to publicize my new website with a working word scramble script. This script works fast to unscramble letters into every possible word they can create, which is perfect for word scramble games. This is also a good tool for anagrams and scrabble. I used the official scrabble dictionary to create the word list. If anyone has any ideas for useful scripts let me know and I will be more than happy to try creating it. Please visit the site here.

ITEC 610 Conf 3 Proj 1

Here is the first of two projects for my ITEC 610 class this week.

Select an online payment transaction system then describe and assess it. Compare the system with the standard secure credit card transaction approach.
I have selected PayPal as the online payment transaction system I will be reviewing. PayPal is not only a very useful service, but also has higher security and better features than a standard secure credit card transaction. First let’s evaluate the similarities. Both secure credit card use and the PayPal site are secured by a third party, in the case of PayPal that site is VeriSign. Standard secure credit card use requires the user to enter the security code on the back of the card, when using a credit card with PayPal the user must enter this security code. Both transaction method use secure socket layer (SSL) to securely transmit payment information. Although PayPal matches the security of standard secure credit card transactions it also goes a few steps farther to provide a better and safer transaction platform. One of the biggest gains PayPal offers in the realm of security is an amount of anonymity. By not sharing any of your payment information including billing address you can be sure that the only information a seller gets is what you are willing to give them. Another benefit is the different extra layers of security PayPal allows over the standard credit card. The most obvious is that you use a password to protect your account. Instead of verifying your identity off of a security code that can be physically stolen with the card PayPal uses a password that only the user knows to secure the account. PayPal also offers an extra layer of security with their security key. The security key is an electronic device that fits on a key ring and generates pseudo random numbers. By purchasing one of these for $5 and registering it to your account you can add another layer of security to your account. PayPal also offers fraud protection and has processes setup to return funds from fraudulent purchases. This also protects users from paying on orders that are disputed, for example PayPal offers buyer protection on sites like eBay. I have personally used their fraud report process on one of my online purchases and was extremely happy with the results received. Overall PayPal is more secure and easier/faster to use than a standard credit card.

PayPal. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from www.paypal.com

ITEC 610 conference 3 projects

Here are my projects for the week, enjoy.

1. Describe a next-gen telecommunication device
The next-generation telecommunication device is already on its way to being created. Every day cell phones become more advanced and add roles that once were taken by multiple other devices. I would not be surprised if these devices can use high speed wireless internet to send voice and video over IP and if necessary have the capability to use existing cellular networks to augment communications, or even use another communication medium not yet in place. On top of being able to send and receive voice, video, and data (to include email) this device will also have all of the normal functions of your everyday laptop. Although it won’t be able to fit a DVD in it, this device will not only have enough internal flash memory to store several DVDs it will also be able to access your home library of movies and music at the touch of a button. It will also be able to use GPS along with internet services to give you directions or even recommendations for a close restaurant. Overall this device will help you be connected to your word and more than likely be a necessity to succeed in everyday life.

2. Critically asses www.zillow.com from a DB perspective
The first thing that came to mind when I first looked at www.zillow.com was that this is a truly useful site. Being able to combine satellite imagery with housing prices is a very useful tool to both home sellers and home buyers, not to mention realtors. Although the input is base on what users submit and can be incorrect I have looked at a few different neighborhoods that I know well enough to feel confident in their statistics. Like other sites that lean on users to provide content, like wikipeida, I believe that a decent majority of the information is roughly accurate. This isn’t a tool to price your house off of, it is a tool to give you a feeling of what ballpark certain areas are and give a person other general information. From a database point of view the information seems to be organized well enough to allow for most internet users to get what they want from their queries. I like the fact that I can search within just a street or neighborhood instead of having to put in an exact address. This flexibility is great for the home buyer. You can still look up specific properties if you have one in mind or if you just want to see a specific area of town that works out too. The other information available other than price is also useful. For example knowing the square footage, bedroom , and bathroom numbers is important when searching for a house. One of the more impressive things to me is the accuracy of the property lines. I have worked with google earth before with images and drawing lines on images using lat lon, and getting the marking where we wanted them was a lot more difficult than just putting in the lat and lon of where they actually existed. Overall I think that zillow is a very interesting site and I hope to be using it someday in the future to help find my first house.

3. Point out one security flaw in your environment
I would have to say that the most noticeable security breach/flaw in my environment is unsecured Wi-Fi networks. It upsets me sometimes seeing how many people leave their wireless networks unsecured. Although when I am in a jam and need a connection I am sometimes glad that some people are so ignorant. The worse thing about this situation is how easy it is to fix. All Wi-Fi routers come already setup to allow for encrypting transmissions. Although it has been proven the wired equivalent privacy (WEP) is not secure, it still requires effort to break into, and with as many people out there that have unsecure networks that may be enough to fend off unwanted connections. Using WEP is the equivalent to putting up a sign in front of your house saying you use a security system. Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) and WPA2, it’s successor, are more secure. If an individual uses WPA2 and a strong password (ie not out of the dictionary or 3 letters long) they will have adequate security for an average home network. Being technically inclined I have setup several Wi-Fi networks for family and friends and I always turn on encryption. Every once in a while I get asked if they really need it. My response is normally that although they more than likely won’t need it, I have already set it up and requires no further action on their part to keep the encryption. This way they won’t have to worry about the cheap neighbors stealing their internet/bandwidth or any nosey hacker looking for a soft target to exploit. So in theory encrypting your Wi-Fi isn’t that big of a deal, but for all the problems it can stop before they happen and the ease at which you can set it up, it just is one of those things that get me mad to see.

Microsoft Letter

Another assignment I have for ITEC610 was to write a letter to Microsoft telling them ways to improve on their products.

Dear Microsoft,
I have been using Microsoft products since I was a child and used Windows 3.11. I have a few suggestions to improve on some of Microsoft’s products. As a more advanced computer user I am used to helping out a lot of my peers with Microsoft applications like office and outlook. Some of the bigger problems I have seen center around getting individual products to work together better. One such problem is getting formatting from excel to show up in mail merged documents in word. There are workarounds involving specifically entering formatting commands in the document, but by formatting a currency in excel word should automatically adjust to show the appropriate comas, decimals, and currency symbols. Another application that could use a little improvement is access. I have personally used many types of database management software, and Access is by far one of the most user friendly. I think that Access could be tailored more for the beginner atmosphere that could benefit from Access. Better walkthroughs and help functions could also assist the average user. Help dialogues tend to be more technically oriented and personally I can fallow most of them, but the average user has a hard time searching and using the current setups. Overall I think your products are well setup and run, but have a few spots to be improved upon. Keep up the good work and pushing the envelope.

Journal Entry

As part of my UMUC ITEC610 class I am supposed to write a journal entry for 10 years in the future. Here is what I have come up with.

25 Sep 2017

Today was another busy day. It started when my refrigerator malfunctioned and didn’t send the grocery list to the store. So I didn’t have orange juice with breakfast. The repairman claims that the restocking function is back online. Then on my way to work there was an accident that my navigation system tried to route me around. Unfortunately as soon as I got off the main road it was cleared and the side streets were packed with people getting around the non-existent traffic. I also had problems with my avatar for the video conference on my way to work. The avatar kept randomly changing outfits and some people thought he was dressed inappropriately for work, but I don’t see why a monkey wearing red shorts and suspenders offended anyone. Fortunately when I got to work things started getting better. I had only gotten 20 video emails since I left home and my virtual secretary had already answered most of them knowing what answers I would have given. The video conference meeting also went well even though no one was in the same state. Later on my way home my car reminded me that I needed to pick up my kids from school today and that my mother’s birthday was coming up and recommended a store to shop at. When I got home I got to relax and watch the newest episode of my favorite show on demand. Then I watched the baseball game condensed to only 30 minutes. Good thing my team won. It turns out the refrigerator was fixed and dinner had been seamlessly delivered to it and was ready to be thrown in the oven. I hope tomorrow works out as well as today did.

Grad School

I have recently started grad school at UMUC. My ITEC 610 class has an assignment to start a blog and use it as a journal for the class. Instead of starting a new blog and keeping it separate from this blog, I have decided to run both together, so I can have a reason to post more often here and can throw some interesting off topic posts into my journal. I'd like to welcome all my classmates who are checking out my blog for the first time.

NCAA 08

NCAA 08 has a cool new feature that I am sure will start showing up on new games. Not only can you now save video of your instant replays, but you can upload your videos and photos to the EA server directly from the game. Once the files are there it is easy to email or publish your videos. Below are two of my first videos. They aren't that great, but I will add better ones as I make them. Please enjoy and if you have any comments feel free to leave them.