Final Post Summary

It's been such a long and interesting set of weeks. This project was really fun and interactive. I probably would have managed to snap out the same game without IST 195 but it's IST 195 that brought the business end to my work. What is it about technology that improves out lives so much? It's a larger contextual understanding that technology is the way of the future from manufacturing to advertising to distribution. We are saturated with gadgets and cutting edge technologies that allow us to achieve any idea that we might come up with. Through this project, I can clearly see how.
My 3 bloggers that I commented on are located in another post! Thank you so much! :)

Week 5 - Lossy Compression & Binary

Through computers, there is a digital medium through which music moves. WAV file sizes can be determined, whereas MP3 files cannot, and so that determines the future of sound. The average human can hear between 20Hz and 20kHz, so lossy compression is the act of disregarding all other sounds imperceivable to the human ear. But before one can even think about finding the file size of a WAV file, there first needs to be an understanding of bits and bytes. What is a bit? What is a byte? Essentially, there are 8 bits in a byte. The Binary Digit - the "bit". BUT what is a bit? A bit is either a 1 or a 0 and this is the language that makes up our computers and our ipods. That is the foundation of computer programming. Any number that is part of the make-up a computer can be discerned through Binary Code. An example of this would be:

256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
40 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0

176 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0

Focus on the 1 below each number and add them together. You will get the number to the far left this way. That is basic Binary number conversion for ya!
Something as essential as this will be VERY useful information for my potential product. Not so much for the product itself here, but moreover the business side of it. Understanding C language and basic operating systems might help my company create an interface or program using Binary. Not only is it good to understand why computer language is important to any business, but it is also important to put it to use TODAY. So much of what we do is through this digital medium and so in understanding the basic measurement of size in a computer, businesses can then move into other forms such as sound and video!
My project now has come to an interesting point : I'm finally going to be making my game. I have all of the materials that I'll need for it and what's left is the construction of it, as well as the Illustrator and Photoshop elements for the game cards! I also have decided to have my board map out constellations and so whenever your piece lands in spaces (color-coded) and occupy all of those areas, they have that constellation! Cool, huh? Above are the photographs of my most recent prototype for the board design.

Week 6 - Computer Forensics and Operating Systems

This week, I'll be talking about two lectures that deal with valuable information being distributed over the Web as well as different basic operating systems, which most know and use. The most distinguished of operating systems include Microsoft, UNIX, Linux, and Apple. Ken Thompson, the father of UNIX and arguably the father of the standard operating system, created C programming language which is also foundry to operating systems today. UNIX uses a command prompt which greatly increases the power of the user due to the absence of a digital interface in other programs. Basically, the keyboard and simple word commands control the program directly. However, multitasking has evolved through following operating systems, which is really a great thing for users as well. Open-source operating systems allow for any number of users to alter, copy, and redistribute the software at no expense to the company. There are over 600 versions of Linux out there by it having this quality.

What I really want to take hold of from the lectures is the understanding that by having a product "open-source" it basically means free advertising and free designers working to make something better for the user. And who knows a product better than the user himself? If I were to make my board game open source, I would probably lose profits without a secure patent. However, If the real world worked like operating systems, I could still oversee and manage everything that's happening with my product. I really really wish that I could do that.
So I'm at the last limb of my game. I'm almost finished with it and my last step is packaging. I have absolutely no idea how I want it to stay together but however so, I want it to be just as beautiful as the rest of it. It's so flexible that I really can do anything with it. I might use that to my advantage.

Famous Bloggers

Scott Nicholson (the board game guy)

This guy is basically known for his exploration of board games. You might know him from the ISchool here at SU. I went to the GGJ (Global Game Jam) earlier this semester and he was running it. Very knowledgable guy, funny too and really friendly!

Check him out here - http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/?paged=20

This Blog is great - it's more about ideas. It fascinates me!

Technology-internet based stuff in Spanish. Google Chrome allowed me to translate it, which gave me the opportunity to check it out!!

http://www.microsiervos.com//

Last but not least... Gizmodo! I love this blog. It's got the latest Industrial Designed products and more. It tracks recent news, and makes the impossible very real! check it out as well here:

http://gizmodo.com/

Blog Comments

Here are my three comments on fellow IST Bloggers!

Let's Go _ Infinity World

Miiez Queen

Gabriel Shore

Week 4 - Input / Output

This week's lecture honed in on devices used to achieve an input and output of information. We spoke briefly about digital cameras and their ability to generate varying degrees of quality photos based on how many MegaPixels were in the device, as well as technologies in the output field such as Printing. However, the discussion became much more interesting as we began to listen to the innovative services of the future. Google, for instance, has this Voice Recognition software which they believe will be the driving force in the future market. RFID chips have also come into full swing, detecting location remotely though being 1/2 mm in size.

From the lecture, I'm stringing together the importance of data quality and accuracy. With every part of my project, I need to make sure that it not only remains beautiful but also well-designed. I would like to have this lecture influence the direction of my project. By thinking about media and different mediums for displaying my project, I think not only a flip-book but also a digital movie (via my 10 MP camera) would help me better advertise my work.

The project has come along in different ways. I have changed the interface of it along with the gameplay. Before it was all about building these connections between different marbles. Now, however, the gameplay focuses on collections of gaseous matter (stars). It's all about having more of your galaxy on the board than another. Pictures above and video clip below (again with my 10.0 MP camera) will tell the tale of what my work is.

Along with the information we learned in lecture, I would like to use RFID chips to track my product inventory. This device is pervasive yet effective and simple and would eliminate the cost of human hands and the capacity for error that goes hand in hand!

My idea.

After recieving one comment on my idea, I've decided to make a post specifically indicating my idea. You won't have to scramble through my posts to figure it out because I will outline it here.

One student actually pointed out to me that he/she did not see what my idea was (even though I had about 6 or so posts). Here is that conversation:

bennettk195 said...
Can you please clarify what your idea is? And also, can you share what your inspiration was?
February 13, 2011 8:55 PM

Katy Jeremko said...
Hey Bennettk195, you should read my other posts. That was an ideation pre-post. My idea is a game based on the Big Bang, where each player is equipped with stars (marbles) and have a springboard to place them somewhere on the board. After that happens, they make connections between their marbles (as the gameboard is a chalkboard) and therefore create a constellation. After this has happened, whoever so builds the largest constellation wins. Does that clarify things? If you have any more questions, refer to my other posts.
February 14, 2011 3:10 PM

So, just for anyone who might stumble upon to my site looking for the idea I've been working on, here it is. Please give me any feedback you may have or would like to share!