Melinda Cooper's Blog

A virtual machine is a type of computer application used to create a virtual environment, commonly referred to as virtualization. Virtualization allows the user to see the communications of a network through a process of aggregation. Virtualization may also be used to run multiple operating systems at the same time.

There are several different types of virtual machines. Most commonly known, hardware virtual machine software. This type of software makes it possible to perform multiple identical executions on one computer. Through the use of the hardware virtual machine software, the user has a seemingly private machine with fully functional hardware that is separate from other users.

Virtual machine can also refer to application software. With this software, the application is isolated from the computer being used. This software is intended to be used on a number of computer platforms. A virtual machine may also be a group of computers that work together to create a more powerful machine. In this type of machine, the software makes it possible for one environment to be formed throughout several computers. This makes it appear to the end user as if he or she is using a single computer, when there are actually numerous computers at work.

I have posted a link with some very interesting info about virtual machines; Enjoy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_machine

Is Software Piracy okay? Absolutely Not!! It is not okay to make copies of any software, period. It is illegal, immoral, unethical and just plain wrong. This practice hurts a lot of people right in the pocket book. Illegally duplicating software and selling it costs the national economy billions of dollars every year. This is not just lost money; it is lost jobs, lost retail dollars and lost government taxes.

So you want to help stop piracy, but do not know for sure what a pirated copy of a software program really looks like. First of all the quality is bad. It usually does not come with key elements or documentation and the biggest clue is it has no warranty protection or upgrade options. Using pirated software is just asking for trouble, as many of the pirated copies come with a little something extra, viruses.

Look for authentic software with a label on it that states it is genuine. For instance, with Microsoft products look for something called the Certificate of Authority. It is not a license; it's just a visual identifier that says whether it's genuine Microsoft software. Other companies have similar kinds of identifiers to let you know your product is original equipment manufacturer.

While it may be really tempting to take and use a pirated copy of some software that you have been wanting for ages, it is not okay to have that copy. The right thing to do is report it. To report pirated software, go online and search for the company site of the original software and let them know the details of what you were offered. In doing this, you are doing what is right, moral, an ethical. If you ever see or know of pirated software, please use the link below to report it. https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/home.aspx

Microsoft Access is definitely in a league of its own. I have to say from the very beginning of the semester when I saw I had to complete a project using Access, I was very skeptical. Mainly because I had never used Access before. I guess you could say I was scared. After watching the lectures, I felt a little more comfortable with Access. After the completion of this project I learned many things that I never knew before. I learned how to create a brand new table. I also learned how to import, export, and append a database to an existing table. To take it a little further, I learned how to create a query and how to adjust a query to meet certain needs. Further, I learned about form and report activity. Form and Report Activity is pretty neat. With the form and report wizards, I learned that you customize a any form or report in so many ways.

There are many ways to enhance the database project. However, we all know the list could go on for days. In my opinion, one way I think that I could enhance this project is to create a different type of report activity. I would utilize the report activity in a different way. I would probably take out the members address and contact information as you already have that in the Members Table, which is just a click away. I would use the report to tell how many active individual and family members were at the gym and whether they were female or male. I think that it is more important to know how many active members (family or individual) you have. I think all the other information is easily gathered from the Members table, so to reduce the information on the report, I would narrow the fields.

A data-flow diagram is a graphical representation of the flow of data through an information system. DFD’s can also be used for the visualization of data processing. On a DFD, data items flow from an external data source or an internal data store to an internal data store or an external data sink, via an internal process.

A DFD provides no information about the timing or ordering of processes, or about whether processes will operate in sequence or in parallel. It is therefore quite different from a flowchart, which shows the flow of control through an algorithm, allowing a reader to determine what operations will be performed, in what order, and under what circumstances, but not what kinds of data will be input to and output from the system, nor where the data will come from and go to, nor where the data will be stored.

Data-flow diagrams are one of the three essential perspectives of the structured-systems analysis and design method. With a data-flow diagram, users are able to visualize how the system will operate, what the system will accomplish, and how the system will be implemented.

http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/enterprise-solutions/data-flow-diagrams-dfds-14573

As one of the oldest components associated with computers, the database management system, or DBMS, is a computer software program that is designed as the means of managing all databases that are currently installed on a system hard drive or network. Different types of database management systems exist, with some of them designed for the oversight and proper control of databases that are configured for specific purposes.

The DBMS is marketed in many forms. Some of the more popular examples of DBMS solutions include Microsoft Access and Filmmaker. These products provide for the creation of a series of rights or privileges that can be associated with a specific user. This means that it is possible to designate one or more database administrators who may control each function, as well as provide other users with various levels of administration rights. This flexibility makes the task of using DBMS methods to oversee a system something that can be centrally controlled, or allocated to several different people.

There are four essential elements that are found with just about every example of DBMS. The first is the implementation of a modeling language that serves to define the language of each database that is hosted via the DBMS. Second, data structures also are administered by the DBMS. Data structures are what allow DBMS to interact with the data without causing and damage to the integrity of the data itself. A third component of DBMS software is the data query language. This element is involved in maintaining the security of the database, by monitoring the use of log in data, the assignment of access rights and privileges, and the definition of the criteria that must be employed to add data to the system. Last, a mechanism that allows for transactions is an essential basic for any DBMS. This helps to allow multiple and concurrent access to the database by multiple users, prevents the manipulation of one record by two users at the same time, and preventing the creation of duplicate records.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_management_system

What is TCP/IP? Taken directly from the dictionary, it is data transmission protocol: a protocol used for transmitting data between computers and as the basis for standard protocols on the Internet; TCP is short for transmission control protocol and IP is short for Internet protocol. It can also be used as a communications protocol in a private network. When you are set up with direct access to the Internet, your computer is provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program just as every other computer that you may send messages to or get information from also has a copy of TCP/IP.

It is named from two of the most important protocols in it; the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). Today's IP networking represents a synthesis of several developments that began to evolve in the 1960s and 1970s, namely the Internet and LANs, which emerged in the mid- to late-1980s, together with the introduction of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s.

The Internet Protocol Suite, like many protocol suites, may be viewed as a set of layers. Each layer solves a set of problems involving the transmission of data, and provides a well-defined service to the upper layer protocols based on using services from some lower layers. Upper layers are logically closer to the user and deal with more abstract data, relying on lower layer protocols to translate data into forms that can eventually be physically transmitted. The TCP/IP model consists of four layers; Link Layer, the Internet Layer, the Transport Layer, and the Application Layer.

I found a few interesting articles about TCP/IP; feel free to check them out.
TCP/IP Article 1
TCP/IP Article 2

Before I started the Excel Project, I completed the Excel Scavenger Hunt. Let’s just say, thank goodness for that. The Scavenger Hunt thoroughly prepared me for the actual project. Don’t get me wrong, it took some common “Excel” sense, but if you have ever used excel for the basic spreadsheet, then you would know how to maneuver around.

I learned quite a bit about Excel through this project. Some of the things I learned, I never knew before; all thanks to this project. I learned several shortcut functions and syntax's. And most of all I learned how to create a pivot table. Who would have ever guessed that Pivot Tables could be so important to an excel spreadsheet. They are ultimately easy to use with a little bit of practice. Overall I thought this project was pretty easy, but only with the help of the lectures, the excel book, and of course a little bit of common knowledge. I definitely will take a lot from this project, and can't wait until I am tasked with an Excel Spreadsheet job!

What Is a Pivot Table

The Pivot Tables tool is one of the most powerful yet intimidating features in Excel. Pivot tables allow you to quickly summarize and analyze large amounts of data in lists and tables in your spreadsheet by dragging and dropping columns to different rows, columns, or summary positions.

Creating neat, informative summaries out of huge lists of raw data is a common challenge, and while Excel gives you all the tools you need to create such summaries, the actual work of writing formulas, cutting and pasting information, and organizing your totals into a new table can be extremely tedious. Fortunately, Excel has a feature called pivot tables that can solve all these problems. Pivot tables quickly summarize long lists of data. By using a pivot table, you can calculate summary information without writing a single formula or copying a single cell. But the most notable feature of pivot tables is that you can arrange them dynamically. Pivot tables are a hidden gem in Excel. Many otherwise experienced spreadsheet fans avoid them because they seem too complicated at first glance. I have discovered that pivot tables are really just a convenient way to build intelligent, flexible summary tables, nothing more, and nothing less.

To read more on Pivot Tables and to see examples, please visit,
http://www.ozgrid.com/Excel/excel-pivot-tables.htm