Refresh your knowledge with new technology
Letter from the Editor
Dear reader, Thank you for choosing to read the Refresh Magazine. We are glad to have readers join with us as we share about the interesting technology in the world. We have a variety of articles from electric cars to comparison of graphics card products. By reading this magazine, you will receive many new ideas on choosing what products to buy, and misconceptions that we believe that needs to be fixed in this world. The Refresh logo was thought to refresh your knowledge on the newest technologies and to be able to see a new perspective of technology, and we are sure you have chosen to read this magazine to refresh your knowledge of the new technologies out there, and that can help you further understand how technology has advanced in people’s lives and what products are a better pick for your personal enjoyment. You may also take on new perspectives that you have never thought of before. I hope you enjoy reading this magazine as much as we enjoyed making it. I hope you will take on new perspectives of technology and learn about technologies that you may have never thought existed in the world. Thank you! From the Refresh Magazine team, Blake Karwoski Daniel Um Eric Su Sean Sheth
Biography Blake K.
I am Blake K, and I attend LASA High School. I like to both create and read memes. I am also concerned with the new Google privacy policies. I like to spend my free time reading memes and thinking about new ideas for new memes that I can write. I like playing Minecraft because I can express my creativity by destroying or creating.
Sean S.
I am Sean S, and I attend LASA High School. I have experience with creating websites, so I created our website. I like to write about the best gaming computers and the computers with the best performance. I also like to compare operating systems on smart phones. I will be mostly focusing on smart phones and computers.
Eric S.
I am a 9th grader at LASA High School. I am a large contributor to Refresh magazine. In my role, aiding the blog, I will be blogging about how technology can be used in multiple different ways. These ways could be for changing the world for the better or in times for the worse. Mostly, I will explain how certain technologies can affect the modern world.
Daniel U.
I am a 9th grader at LASA High School. I am part of the Refresh magazine team. I am very interested in the new technologies out there and am happy to be writing about them. I will contribute to how technology changed the world and how powerful technology is. I also like playing video games and I would like to write how video games have improved as technology has improved.
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Table of Contents 1 2 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 23
Biography Table of Contents GPU Benchmarks & Data Analysis Best of PC The Gameboy Advance Meme Quiz Is Tech Ruining the Lives of Teens? Cars of New Ages 1v1 iOS and Android Pathway to a Professor The Real Personal Computer In the Studio
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GPU Benchmarks & Data Analysis Eric S Frames per Second
HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 800 MHz HD 7750 1GB GDDR5 850MHz Radeon HD 6790 1GB HD 6850 1 GB GDDR5 775MHz passiv GTX 550 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 900 MHz HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 900 MHz GTX 560 Ti 1GB GDDR5 822 MHz GTX 570 1.25GB GDDR5 732 MHz Frames per Second
HD 6950 1GB GDDR5 800 MHz HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 880 MHz GTX 580 1.5GB GDDR5 832 MHz HD 7950 3 GB GDDR5 900 MHz HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 925 MHz GTX 590 3GB GDDR5 607 MHz GTX 680 2 GB GDDR5 1006 MHz HD 6990 4 GB GDDR5 830 MHz 0
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The graphics card is the most important component for PC gamers. If you are interested in playing the newest games such as Battlefield 3 on high graphical settings, you will need a powerful graphics card to do those demanding computations. The best frames per second to play at is over the 40 fps mark. These mid range cards will give you the optimal performance and won’t break your bank. The two brands of graphics cards have a tight compitition, allowing for copetitive priceing and great features. Both brands are very good, offering different things. In the end, choosing a card depends on the intended usage and personal prefernce.
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Model HD 6990 4 GB GDDR5 830 MHz GTX 680 2 GB GDDR5 1006 MHz GTX 590 3GB GDDR5 607 MHz HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 925 MHz HD 7950 3 GB GDDR5 900 MHz GTX 580 1.5GB GDDR5 832 MHz HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 880 MHz HD 6950 1GB GDDR5 800 MHz GTX 570 1.25GB GDDR5 732 MHz GTX 560 Ti 1GB GDDR5 822 MHz HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 900 MHz GTX 550 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 900 MHz HD 6850 1 GB GDDR5 775MHz Radeon HD 6790 1GB HD 7750 1GB GDDR5 850MHz HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 800 MHz
FPS 94.45 94.43 90.34 84.61 73.61 63.27 60.12 57.9 56.17 48.74 42.18 39.21 38.2 31.87 29.43 17.84
Price $1,068.44 $760 $539.99 $459.99 $389.99 $402.45 $316.48 $299.99 $249.99 $199.99 $129.99 $139.99 $128.99 $120.16 $111.99
Pricing is as of April 16, 2012. Data from Battlefield 3 with settings at: resolution: 1920*1080, graphics setting: high, field of view: 75. Data from www.tomshardware.com.
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The price to frames per second for the ATI cards follow a more polynomial patter. This means that it is better to buy a more mid range card for an optimal price to frames per second.
Image from www.wikipeidia.com Image from www.amd.com
Price to FPS ATI $1,200.00
HD 6990 4 GB GDDR5 830 MHz HD 7970 3GB GDDR5 925 MHz HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 880 MHz HD 6950 1GB GDDR5 800 MHz HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 900 MHz HD 6850 1 GB GDDR5 775MHz HD 7750 1GB GDDR5 850MHz HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 800 MHz
FPS 94.45 84.61 60.12 57.9 42.18 38.2 29.43 17.84
Price $1,068.44 $539.99 $402.45 $316.48 $199.99 $139.99 $120.16 $111.99
$1,000.00
$800.00
Price
$600.00
Poly. (Price)
$400.00
$200.00
$0.00 0
As you can see, the price to frames per second for the Nividia cards follows a more linear patter. This means that each card is more evenly priced and any model can give you a good performance for the price.
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Image from http://logo-vector-free.blogspot.com
Image from www.nividia.com
Price To FPS Nividia $800
$700
$600
GTX 590 3GB GDDR5 607 MHz GTX 580 1.5GB GDDR5 832 MHz GTX 570 1.25GB GDDR5 732 MHz GTX 560 Ti 1GB GDDR5 822 MHz GTX 550 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 900 MHz
FPS 90.34 63.27 56.17 48.74 39.21
Price $760 $389.99 $299.99 $249.99 $129.99
$500
Price
$400
Linear (Price) $300
$200
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$0 0
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Best of PC Sean S
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Alienware Desktops From: www.techenvy.com
oes your computer lag out or crash because of the fact that it has a slow processor? If so then you just might want to have more advanced and heavy gaming units. The average computer has about 2.4 Ghz. But, If your computer is below that and you play intense games like Battlefield 3 it is time to get your computer replaced with an Alienware or even an Asus desktop system to replace your old slow machine and make it game ready. Additionally if your computer can run Battlefield 3 then it is ready for anything because Battlefield 3 was rated in 2011 the most demanding game, according to tomshardware.com. For those who have never heard of Alienware computer, you should know that Dell’s gaming computers are under a branched company in this case it is Alienware, the Dell gaming pc. Alienware desktops are the best bet if you have lots of money and a large space to put it in for intense gaming. Though Alienware desktops are very good at gaming they can cost up to about $4,000, for only one system with its hardware maxed out, according to alienware.com. An Asus desktop could be of better uses in that they are much cheaper and exceptionally small compared to to the large and oversized Alienware desktops. They have roughly the same performance in games but costs much less. Adversely, Asus desktops are not as popular nor as commonly used for gameplay, as the Alienware computers.
Asus Desktop From: www.cnet.com
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Asus Laptop From: www.anandtech.com
Laptops are very capable and can run up to 3 Ghz though its portability and lightweight not to include the high performance, but this is the best of both speed and on the go. This ASUS, ultra-thin laptop boasts a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and a GeForce GT 540M graphics card with 1GB of memory and Optimus support. This makes it a very price worthy laptop and performance ready. Though this laptop may catch your attention at first, but be careful because when you play any heavy game it has a tendency to have a medium FPS for intense games. The HP Envy is very capable device for light gaming like Team Fortress but has the same looks as compared to the expensive Macbook Pro. Except the fact that the HP Envy runs on the Microsoft Windows 7 so you can play intense games that are only specific for Windows operating systems.
HP Envy Laptop From: www.geek.com
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The Daniel U
The evolution of the Nintedo Gameboys.
Gameboy Advance Logo from http://images.wikia.com/nintendo/en/images/4/42/Game_Boy_Advance_Logo.png
1989:
The Nintendo Gameboy was released in Japan on April 21, 1989. This was the first handheld gaming device created by Gunpei Yokoi and Nintendo Research & Development 1. The best selling game was Tetris with over 30 million sold.
Gameboy from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Nintendo_Gameboy.jpg
1998:
The Nintendo Gameboy Color was released in Japan on October 21, 1998. This was the first model with basic color on the game. This device has 8-bits of memory. The resolution is 160 x 144 pixels.
2001:
The Nintendo Gamboy Advance was released in Japan on March 21, 2001. This Gameboy had a greater quality of color during the time on a small device. This device improved to 32-bit of memory.
Gameboy Color from http://images.wikia.com/ donkeykong/images/a/aa/GameBoyColorYellow. png
Gameboy Advance from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Game-Boy-Advance-1stGen.png
Gameboy SP from http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__ cb20100904191126/animalcrossing/images/f/fa/Game_Boy_Advance_SP.png
2003:
The Nintendo Gameboy SP was available in North America in March 23, 2003. This was the first gaming model with a backlight so that one can play where there is a little light. The resolution is 240 x 160 pixels. Pipe from http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZEysWxGPm00/TAWG440-JVI/ AAAAAAAAAgM/KAZ1MzfETec/s400/mario+pipe+nes.png
2003:
The Nintendo DS was available in North America on November 21, 2004. This was the first touch screen model in the Nintendo evolution with two screens. The resolution improved to 256 x 192 pixles.
DS from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/a/a3/Nintendo-DS-Fat-Blue.png
2006:
The Nintendo DS Lite was available in North America on June 11, 2006. This DS Lite model is smaller and slimmer than the original DS. Also, this device provides higher backlight. The battery play is 15-19 hours.
DS Lite from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Nintendo-DS-Lite-Black-Open.png DSi from http://www.techdigest.tv/ Nintrendo%20DSi%20Blue.jpg
2009:
The Nintendo DSi was available in North America on April 5, 2009. This gaming the device was the first Nintendo device that allowed access to wifi. The new camera is at 640 x 480 pixels.
DSi XL from http://cdn.harveynorman.ie/media/catalog/product/ cache/8/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/s/dsixl.jpg
2009:
The Nintedo DSi XL was released on November 21, 2009. This device was a larger version of the DSi, having a wider sceen. The DSi had over 26 million sold, but only 12 million DSi XLs were sold.
2011:
The 3DS was released in North America on March 27, 2011. This gaming device was the first 3D game without the use of 3D glasses. The 3DS projects 2 images really close to each other, giving the 3D effect. During one weekend, 374,764 were sold. The original price was $249.99, but the price dropped to $169.99 due to the lack of buyers.
3DS from http://sickr.files.wordpress. com/2012/04/3ds_cobalt_blue3.jpg
MEME QUIZ Part I: Identify the following
Blake K A-Longcat B-Ravecat C-Zombiecat D-TallCat
A-Nyan Cat B-Waffle Cat C-Tac Nayn D-Emo Nyan
Part II: RAGE Comics
Matching: Fill in the blanks: A.Oh God B.I lied
What is a common name for characters in a rage comic? A-Blah B-Derp C-Merp D-Gusta
Where do rage comics originate from? A-Memebase B-4Chan C-9gag D-reddit
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C.Me gusta D.Melvin
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Part IV: Advice Animals Fill in the blanks: A.Advice C.Bachelor B.Insanity D.Buisness A-ASDF B-JKJK C-LMFAO D-FSJAL
Part III - Gaming Who are the people in the “reaction guys� Macro? A-Reporters for Ign hearing about new Zelda release B-Professoinal COD team after being announced winners C-People attending Minecon hearing about 1.0 release
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___ cat
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___dog
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___wolf
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___frog
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What game does Herobrine come from? A-Half life B-Minecraft C-Fallout D-Zelda: Ocarina of time
For more information, visit
Knowyourmeme.com. Answers: Part I : C,A,D Part II: B,C,D,A Part III: A,B Part IV: D,A,B,C NO PEEKING
Is Tech Ruining the Lives of Teens? Daniel U Losing Directions?
G
lobal Positioning Systems (GPS) are found in many cars today. These devices have helped humans save time by putting in little effort in knowing where to go. When there are directions given from person to person, some directions may be unclear and the person driving could end up going in a wrong direction without even knowing. These “direction giving” devices are occasionally built into certain cars. This devices has revolutionized the driving experience because now people don’t have to worry about getting lost through difficult streets found in the busy cities such as New York City and they can drive with a relaxing mind.
Image from Market Playground
General GPS used in cars
Calculators are Crutches? Another example of how technology has improved the lives of people is that there are faster ways of doing math using the calculators. Before calculators were invented, it was hard for students to solve math problems and learn new things faster. Now, it is very easy to do simple math on calculators, accelerating the speed of learning every day. Graphing calculators are very useful in math because one is able to graph, thus finding more information about the patterns one can find using graphing calculators. In the LASA High School, there are TI-84 Plus graphing calculators available throughout the math classes. Many quizzes and tests allow the use of graphing calculators. Many people own graphing calculators. According to Heidi Pomerantz at Rice University, people may think that calculators are used as “crutches,” but they are not capable of “thinking.” In other words, people may view calculators as a short-cut in doing certain math problems, but students are the ones that set up the problems and they must know what functions are needed to do certain problems. Students and able to have a higher understanding of the functions available in the calculators and how it works just by trying out random functions. Image From Valley Business Machines
Advanced Graphing Calculator 11
Image From Georgia Tech
Too Much Computer? According to Los Angeles Times, the average daily usage of computers is
“seven hours and thirtyeight minutes”
by teenagers. There are computer labs in many schools and students are able to learn through these computers. At the LASA High School, there are programs such as “Delta” which is a program where students learn at their own pace through activities on the computer. Computers are found everywhere in the LASA High School classrooms. Although people may think that having so many computers and having people dependent on computers is a bad thing, there are many tasks that are performed every day on the computers that cannot be performed any other way. For example, people are able to learn from computers in fun ways. I was in elementary school,
Computer Lab
we had a website called learning. com which was used throughout my school. This helped students enjoy their activities while learning about the different functions a computer can serve. Another example is the variety of great programs on the Apple Mac, such as programs like Garage Band, an easy and enjoyable program that helps people be creative and make music. Furthermore, the social networking sites can benefit the economy because people can form groups faster rather than traveling to meetings. Meetings can be held online so that time is not wasted getting to the meetings or groups. Also people can talk to each other online creating better relationships between themselves so they can better know one another, making more friendships and developing networks. As people form friendships and participate in network, ideas and information are shared, improved upon, developed, and enhanced. 12
Thus, an individual’s knowledge, awareness, and wisdom are increased. For example, using the social networking technologies such as “Facebook,” one is able to create groups and organize schedules of certain activities so that people can gather at a certain place at a certain time and discuss a topic together. This brings in new knowledge and innovative ideas onto the world. Technology has benefitted the lives of many people. These computers, graphing calculators, and Global Positioning Systems are part of many people’s lives and are found almost everywhere. These devices have helped people save their time, educating themselves, and make people’s lives easier. Although people think that these technological devices are just lazy ways of doing certain things to help people get through the day, there are many new things learned and achieved through these devices.
Cars of the New Age Eric S
I
f you browse though the many television channels available, you will notice the commonality of car commercials. In many of these commercials, you will see different car companies bragging about hybrid and electric technology in their new cars. They all say that their hybrid cars will make the world a brighter place, giving the feeling that humanity can actually rise above the problem of CO2 pollution. But in reality, the world is still far from that pretty picture on television. While many car companies assure you that they are solving the problem of global warming by making hybrid and electric cars, in reality there are too few electric cars on the street to actually make a difference. The number of hybrid cars in the United states is approximately 1.6 million, according to NumberOf. net. This number is approximately 0.6289% of the total number of cars in the United States, and is not enough to make any change to the problem of greenhouse gas pollution. There has to be great change in the auto industry to make the number of hybrids and electric cars increase to a significant number. New innovations in hybrid and electric technology are worthless if they are not implemented in a mainstream fashion.
The great challenge of getting the majority of the population to own a hybrid and electric car is overcoming the skepticism of the new technology. Many people think that these new cars are less reliable than a normal combustion engine car because the technology is still relatively new in the auto industry. To put it in perspective, the first combustion engine car was made 127 years ago, the hybrid came out 20 years ago, the electric car hit the market 2 years ago. To make matters worse,
“approximately 0.6289% of the total number...�
Image from Motortrend
The world needs to quickly make these ideas into a reality.
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the massive recall of Toyota hybrids in 2009 gave this new hybrid car a bad rap, making potential owners turn their back on hybrid cars. Electric cars are also unappealing to people who have long commutes. The small range of the electric car is approximately one third of the range of the traditional combustion engine cars, according to hybridcars.com. The long recharge time also makes the electric car unappealing to many people. To increase the number of hybrid and electric cars on the street, major change is needed in the auto industry and in the government. The automobile companies should shift most of their focus to producing better and more affordable electric and hybrid cars. This shift in focus will help the technology become more accessible to the common man. With this shift of focus, car companies can improve on the deficiencies and fix the problems that most electric and hybrid vehicles face currently. With greater focus from the car companies, the hybrid and electric car technology can grow even faster than before because there would be more funding and research and development to work on the technology. Other than the changes needed in the auto industry, the
government “cash for clunkers� program was very successful in removing old gas guzzling cars from the street. The government should do this program again to further reduce the number of inefficient cars on the road. Another solution is for the government reduce the tax on hybrid and electric cars and to encourage and promote the ownership of cars with less environmental impact. With the help from governmental programs and thoughtful, hybridfriendly regulations, more hybrid and electric cars can hit the road. Many car companies and politicians argue that the production of hybrid and electric cars is already very high and that there is also governmental support for the car companies that produce hybrid and
electric cars. It is true that there are some policies that help the production of hybrid and electric cars, but this is not enough. Even though the production of electric and hybrid cars is growing, the rate is still too low to make a difference in the problem of climate change. There have to be more policies that not only change the manufacturing world, but also the consumer world. The government should extend its influence of the public by both the use of strict regulations and educational programs that can push the average citizen to own a environmentally friendly automobile. Currently, the problems caused by oil are creeping up on the
human race. If there are significantly more hybrid and electric cars on the road, the threat of climate change can be reduced. To make the road more environmentally friendly, many factors are required to come into play. With the dedication of automobile companies and regulations from the government, more hybrids and electric cars can be put on the road. The problem of our lack of resources is catching up to our rapid technological growth. We have to change our principles and use our innovation to solve this problem.
Image from TechVehi
The electric car demonstrates the shift of car technology from cumbustion engine to the electric engine.
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1v1 iOS and Android Sean S
T
he MessagePad by Apple was the newest device and, the predecessor of the newest iPhone models. It was the origins of the current day iPhone. Apple’s iOS did not have an official name until the release of the iPhone software development kit on March 6, 2008. Before then, Apple marketing literature simply stated that their iPhone runs a version of “OS X,” a reference to iOS’s parent, Mac OS X. When introduced, it was named iPhone OS. It was soon renamed iOS on June 7, 2010, since iPhone was no longer the only device to run iOS by then (Wikipedia). For applications (“apps”), phones that run on the Android OS are better because there is a large community of developers who write applications which extend the functionality of Android run devices. In comparison, the iPhone’s iOS can support very minimal multi-gaming functions. A great majority of iOS apps are space hogs and will cause the iPhone to to lag or crash. If the user has too many iPhone processes at once, the iPhone could restart so it can close the unneeded applications that are not in use.
Image from Wikipedia
iPhone 4S
caught up to the Android OS run phones which have always included a flash for taking visible photos in various dark environments.
If you use your phone a lot to go onto Facebook or to Facetime with your friends, the Android run phones lack a good camera and do not fully support Facetime. The iPhone iOS is very functionFLASH!!! But you really need that? al for social networking and has If so the iPhone is for you. Want a great quality backed up by Apple. phone that can take pictures or videos and can settle for a slight multi- Relations, between the two comfunctionality? Then go no further. panies were bad already but how The iPhone is going to be your solu- there is an ongoing patent dispute tion. It has a full HD 1080p camera between Apple and Android that and can even shoot videos with the has become somewhat bitter. Apple exact same quality. It also has finally maintains that Android is copying 15
Android Logo
Image from Daily Forum Mobile
Which is better?
their software but with only slight modifications to the visuals and the way the operating system looks. The iPhone’s iOS is very easy to download off of the web, But, the Android software it is very difficult to find even though it is an open source program available for editing and modification. Most customers of both Android and iOS running phones don’t really keep in mind which type of software is better when purchasing a new phone (TechCrunch). Overall, the iOS applications are better than the Android OS applications because the App Store has a wide selection of various different apps and even if you do have to pay. The apps available for the Android OS phones might be better quality
“The best phone overall is the iPhone...”
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but are not original at all and are instead remade versions of the apps made officially for the iOS software. This is done by the developers for the Android Market using their skills to imtate the original softwaares. Which is better the built-in App Store app or the online Android Market? The App Store is much better because it has lots of useful applications for daily life while the Android Market (Also online) have less apps overall, and most applications are just for gamers. Though if you are a gamer then t he iPhone might still be for you. They also have a wide variety of different applications for gaming like NFS (Need for Speed) Adrenaline and the GTA (Grand Theft Auto) series.
Pathway to a Professor Learn the steps Ryu took to success.
ment activities and is the only branch of engineering that is concerned with both people and things. In adDaniel U dition, one has many options when being an industrial “I wanted to be a professor because of my cultural background. I was born and raised in Korea and nited States: schools with five days of school teaching colleges and adults was considered a good per week including many holidays. South Kojob, and at that point, I thought it was a good career.” rea: schools and academies with six days of Teaching for Ryu was the best option since school per week with few student holidays. United he was born and raised in an environment where States: many colleges and universities to attend which teachers teaching adults were considered intelputs less pressure on students. South Korea: less colligent people. He also found a job that he enjoyed. leges and universities than the United States which “I like lecturing because I beputs greater pressure on students taking the test that lieve I can change the lives of these people.” may last up to eight hours determining which college Even though Ryu enjoyed lecturor university one may attend. United States: many ing and teaching adults, in some ways, students not able to get enough sleep because they he did not like his job to the fullest. spend too much time on Facebook, playing games, “Staying in school all the way and not having a and watching television. South Korea: many students real world industry experience was my weakness.” not able to get enough sleep because they are studying for their next big exam. United“I think of personal happiness Since he was teaching for so long, there was no way States: usually school and exin life more important than to grasp a real world industracurricular activities end at 6pm. South Korea: usual time ahaving success in your career.” try experience. So he tried to come up with ways to student comes home is 10pmcome up with ways to further enjoy his teaching 12am. Struggling through these things brought experience. Through all his years of teaching he Youngsam Ryu to one of the best colleges in South Korea. found out a nice way to enjoy teaching while he is Youngsam Ryu, a PhD graduate from Virnot able to have a real world industry experience. ginia Tech, studied hard in South Korea, eventu “Trying to make more friends ally getting into one of the best colleges offered helped me overcome my weakness. ” in South Korea. Because of all the competition in Ryu made more friends in the Texas State UniSouth Korean schools, Ryu said that there was no versity with both his students and other professors. such thing as copying other people’s homework, no This has helped Ryu feel connected to the university such thing as asking other people for what to study and not feel lonely inside the school. When one feels for on a test, and no such thing as asking for somelonely, one feels as if he/she is trapped in the school one’s notes when one is absent. In South Korea, just for the money. When one has that attitude, there Ryu attended Korea Advanced Institute of Science is no enjoyment in their career. Even though Ryu did and Technology (KAIST) and received a Master’s not have a real world industry experience, he was Degree there, and when he moved to the United still able to affiliate with his school and enjoy his caStates, he attended Virginia Tech to receive his Ph.D reer. He also gives additional advice for high school “I wasn’t sure what engineering to do students to have a better success in their schools. when I was in college because I was too young and “I always tell my students: don’t miss a class, do couldn’t see what engineering was about.” Even the homework that was assigned, and make a friend though it was difficult to find a career, he evenin the classroom, someone who is smarter than you,” tually decided to become an industrial engineer. he said, “also, don’t isolate yourself from the class.” Industrial engineer applies all types of industrial, commercial, and govern-
U
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Achieving a great career and making a large amount of money is not always “being successful.” One can become a millionaire, but if that individual is depressed all the time, there is no good in that. Also, one can make small amounts of money, and still be happy with their lives. “I think of personal happiness in life more important than having success in your career.” Ryu Young Sam
Images from Texas State University
Texas State University Logo
Images from Texas State University Website
KAIST Logo
Images from KAIST Website
Virginia Tech Logo
Images from Virginia Tech Website
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The Real Personal Computer Building the computer of your dreams Eric S
M
any people have different needs from their like gaming, these components do the main work,” he computer. If you’re a PC gamer, there is a said. even greater “... the central processing unit and the graphrequirement of perThe central proformance from your ics card because when you do high demanding cessing unit is the computer. However, processes like gaming, these components do most important a problem arises with component in the the main work” the excessive cost of computer. As it acts buying a gaming comas the brain of the puter at a retail store. A gaming computer at a electron- computer and runs all of the processes. A good procesics retail store can cost around $2000, while a custom sor is very important because it defines how fast your computer can cost around $1000 while still possessing computer will run. If you run simple programs on the the features you want. Building a custom computer is computer like web browsing and word processing, the one of the best solutions, but with so many available processor does not have to be very powerful and thereparts, models, and brands available, the process can be- fore less expensive. A better processor is needed if you come confusing. So which components should you use run more processing demanding applications like video and which components are the most important? editing, because in these applications, more complex computations are required to run these programs. To Building your own computer allows for complete opti- run these programs fluidly and with ease, a high permization of the parts used in each build depending on formance processor is recommended. Some believe that the processes that will be running for each individual. speed is not a issue and that high performance procesBuilding a computer can be a both fun and confusing sors are not worth it. However, if you run a highly deexperience. With the many components and models of manding program on a cheaper processor, it may cause each component, there are thousands of possible com- instability or crashing of the program. binations for a build. Having the right components is essential for people like video editors and computer gamers because the right components can make a difference in a enjoyable experience running these processes and a frustrating experience. This article will explore the different components in depth, and provide explanations of the essential components. This article will also address common questions that you may have about computer building. Yen Ping Liu, an Electrical Engineering graduate from the University of Texas, is an expert at building computers with his vast knowledge on the subject and his great experience. “The parts that I would use a more expensive model of would be the central processing unit and the graphics card because when you do high demanding processes 19
The CPU acts like the brains of the computer Image from www.wikipeidia.com
intense graphics on integrated cards or lowerend graphics card, you will experience more lag or “slow motion gameplay.” Graphics cards have a very large range in performance with several models that yield large differences in results from another model. For example the cost of a graphics card can range from being $50 to $2000, this illustrates how great the range of performance is. Much like the processor, the model of the graphics card depends on which applications will be running. Currently, to play all of the high quality games on high performance, a $150 - $250 graphics card will be enough. While these components are so expensive, the rest of the computer does not have to break your bank. “If I were to cheap out on certain components, I would cheap out on less essential parts like the power supply, keyboard and mouse,” Liu said. “It is Image from www.amazon.com not as essential to have an expensive power supply because in most cases, you don’t need over 600w of For gamers interested in building a computer that power and you don’t have to have a very efficient can handle all of the new games on the highest power supply. The keyboard and mouse are less graphics setting, the graphics card will be where important to the build because they do not impact you should invest your money in. The graphics card performance. However some gamers may prefer to will make the greatest impact on the gaming expehave a better mouse and rience - frames per “It is not as essential to have an expensive keyboard for the better second. The graphics card does all of the power supply because in most cases you feel.”
The Graphics Card is the most important part in a gaming build
graphics processing don’t need over when you play games. Investing your money in a good graphics card is very important for gamers, because putting money in the graphics card will make the most difference in the end result of the computer performance during gaming. No other upgrade of any other component will yield a greater difference in gaming performance. It is not necessary to have a graphics card if you are not playing games with intense graphics because most motherboards have integrated graphics on the board that can run mostly all graphics processes that are not computer games that have high graphics. However if you use a integrated graphics card when playing computer games with intense graphics, the frames per second will be really low because the integrated graphics card will not be able to handle the processes at a speed where one will have a good gaming experience. In other words if you play games with
600w of power”
The power supply of the computer is one of the components of the computer where quality is not as important. Most power supplies are fairly cheap at around $50. However some models can be really expensive because of higher wattages and extra features. Other models are expensive because of greater efficiency of the energy and
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energy saving features. These features aren’t that necessary and do not impact the speed and performance of the system. Buying the power supply with the highest wattage is not needed because a surplus of electricity in the system would not help change the way that the components function in any way, the surplus will just be unused. However, features such as energy efficiency can be good and nice to consider because it can help reduce the electric bill and also make your computer a little bit more environmentally friendly.
signed to fit comfortably in a hand. Without a bothersome wire, a wireless mouse is a good idea if you are irritated with tangled messes of the wires of all the computer devices. The only downfall to wireless mouses are that they require batteries. A laser mouse performs better than traditional optical mouses because the laser is more precise than the led light on the optical mouse. The drawback of the laser mouse is that it is expensive compared to how much a optical mouse costs. The things apply to the keyboard too. Keyboards with many features can cost way more “Efficiency in the power supply is not that important than keyboards that have more basic features. One for a computer build. However it is a good thing to should get a keyboard that has all the features that consider if you have money left over in the budget,” are desired and less features that one can live without. he said. This will allow for the conserving of money while “A mid ATX case should be able to maintaining the personalThe keyboard and mouse ized feel that one desires. are both the least impor- hold all of the components you need In sum, you should get a tant components and the for a standard computer build” keyboard and mouse that most important compoyou are comfortable with nents. The model and type of keyboard and mouse and does not cost you much. Along with the mouse that people use are up to their personal preference. and keyboard, the chassis completes the picture of Some people care about using a better mouse with your computer workstation. features such as macros, customization, wireless, and laser operation. However some of these features aren’t “The chassis mainly affects the building experience as necessary when using the computer. Gamers may of the system. Some of the cheaper chassis may be prefer to buy a more expensive gaming mouse with harder to use when setting and putting together the programmable macros to quickly perform a certain system. I would recommend to buy a chassis with task in the game. Some high end computer mouses many good reviews to avoid this issue.” will allow for adjusting of the weight and shape of the mouse. This feature is not as important as it seems The chassis or the case of the computer is the most because the majority of computer mouses are de- important component during the process of building the actual computer. The computer cases come in several sizes. Mini towers are for people that want to build a computer that is compact. Most computers that are built are mid ATX and full ATX towers. The full ATX tower has several drive bays and expansion slots. For people interested in having several hard drives and optical drives. “A mid ATX case should be able to hold all of the components you need for a standard computer build.” he said.
The case is important for the building experience Image from www.buy.com
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The full tower is not really essential to people with building a computer with one of each component, for those purposes, mid ATX cases will do the trick. In a standard computer build, the mid ATX is the go to size for the case of the system. Mid ATX towers can
hold all of the needed components in a computer build. It is able to hold the standard ATX motherboard and the majority of computer builds are mid ATX towers. A mid ATX tower will be the best option for building a computer that suits all purpose. “The main difference between a expensive case and a less expensive is the cool features and differences in style. You may want to pay more money on a cool looking case if you like to have a nice looking computer,” he said. Chassis’ come in different shapes and color. People that are interested in bragging about their new computer may want to buy a cooler looking chassis with a window on the side to show off the nice components inside. For people that just don’t care about the appearances of their computer, a cheaper and less fashionable case is fine. However, it is important to buy a case with good reviews, because some cases could have bad quality or have poorly designed expansion slots that can make the process of building frustrating. The case is the image that you will associate to your computer. It can be cool or ugly it’s up to personal preference! “Building a computer is a fun experience. Sometimes it can be tricky when finding all of the parts you need, but in the end, it is very satisfying to have a system that is fine tuned for your requirements.” - Yen-Ping Liu
The Expert’s Build Computer
Gaming
CPU: Intel core i5 Motherboard: Asus or Gigabyte motherboard Memory: 4GB DDR3 Chassis: Antec or Lian Li ATX case Graphics Card: Nividia Geforce 560 Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM or 60GB SSD (secondary hard drive) Power Supply: 600watts Monitor: 24 inch 1080p Keyboard and Mouse: personal prefernce
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In the Studio Sean S
This is important because Lewis has seen how technology has changed for the benefit of his compositions. Technology has advanced very much since the 1990’s and is continuing to do so at the moment. With that the quality of musical compositions has evolved along with the ever advancing technology. Advancing technology such as CD’s and DVD’s have helped Lewis make his music widely known to others. “Quality, is the key to having great and caring fans, recording quality has dramatically improved over the past years due to advancement in studio equipment, but there is still a limit to this technology.” Lewis pressed. The quality of musical compositions has been progressing at a very rapid rate along with technology itself and Lewis has looked at this straight in the eyes and has seen much progress at work and used this technology to his advantage. Though technology is very important in composing music because they get
Photo By: Sean Sheth
Michael J. Lewis has seen, as an musical composer of the classical music, just how fast studio technology has evolved over time. He has seen the development from the old 2 to 3 track records that were 4 inches thick slowly but gradually change into the digital items like 40 to 50 track CD’s and DVD’s that are about 3mm thick.
Lewis’ Studio in London tired of the same ‘boring style’ and want a more unique type of music or even a new genre of music.
sult in the noticeable changes in the final composition as compared to the use of electronic gadgets.
“Too much technology such as auto-tuning, and electronic mixing can make compositions lack emotions and express nothing but basic sounds, very repetitive drums, or just plain beats. I always make sure to avoid those kinds of things.” Lewis insisted.
“Though technology is very helpful and comes to great aid when making musical compositions, technology is only great but should never be used to fully replace ‘pure music’.” Lewis answered.
Lewis believes that technology is of great assistance, though too much can make the “moment” fade away. This is why Lewis strives and gets out of his way to try as much as he can to remove the auto-tuning and uses of electronic equipment. Furthermore, he states that recording equipment is his exception to this rule because of recording equipment doesn’t re23
Technology is very good for making a compositions, but it should not entirely be based around electronic effects. Mostly, because technology can, in a way, limit the mind’s creativity, and make it much like anyone else’s mind. If someone was to have the same computer or use the very same effects as the composer did, it would make each of the final compositions limited and much more like the other person. Perhaps even limiting the cre-
about the plagiarism being used to actively distribute copyrighted materials. Hence, technology used in the ‘correct manner’ results in an almost immediate distribution of the compositions without the slow process time of writing perhaps a 3-inch record with limited tracks.
ativity and the essence of oneself.
Technology should never be fully abused and Lewis agrees with that. But, instead technology should be used to go along with handmade compositions. These compositions, usually with original instruments, should include many ‘pure vocals’ such as singers that sing without using auto-tuning or any other voice altering devices. “Most fans go for my musical compositions because of my use of original instruments, and not just electronic samples of them.”, Lewis added.
Image from www.bluediamondmusic.com
“Technology is at its best only when it is used in the right combination along with the ‘hand composed’ music.” Lewis replied.
“I respect the digital age though not what it has done to music.” Lewis summarized.
Michael J. Lewis
“Too much technology make compositions lack “CD’s and flash drives are only good emotions and express to distribute ‘actual’ music or music nothing.” composed by the composer’s very hand with little two no help from technology.” Lewis commented.
Image from www.toeleven.net
In the digital age, we should begin to consider the fact that technology is great at being used for distribution, though it can easily get out of hand. This is now familiar news
Mr. Lewis has seen all of these developments, and still respects technology as a whole. But, dislikes what it has done to the musical industry causing it to lose lots of creativity, uniqueness, and skill to many voice altering technologies and electronic instruments. Adversely technology to him is a very important issue many composers will face; lose your creativity or lose your popularity. Now singers don’t need much skill, all they need is some money and equipment. There is no longer any need for skill in creating musical compositions. Knowing this, Mr. Lewis has always tried to avoid technology in his compositions only heavily relying on the importance and creativity of his art and music.
The old 3 Track Record
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The Kindle: Inside and Out Nik Jedrzejewski is a manager at FreeScale, a leading producer of computer chips in the Semiconductor industry. Before the Kindle, reading e-books required either a desktop computer or a power-hungry tablet/laptop. Now, with Kindle’s new e-ink technology, the e-reader can go up to a month without needing a recharge. Sara T., a satisfied owner of the Kindle, can go long periods between charges.This article is about Nik Jedrzejew-
“I don’t think most people realize just how cool of a technology it is.”
ski, A manager of the design for the CPU of the Amazon Kindle, as well as Sara, who owns the Kindle touch. “I am a product marketing manager, so I am a general manager of this chip. I do all the marketing, make sure it’s built on time, the customers are happy, that we’re doing everything we’re supposed to,” says Nik. Our processor is basically a CPU, with special technology built in to be able to display things on the electronic paper.”
This electronic paper is made mostly by the company E-ink. The process the ink uses is known as electrophoresis. Two of the three Kindles use this Eink. There’s the original Kindle, the one with the buttons, and there’s a Kindle touch, which doesn’t have the buttons but has a touch interface, and then there’s the Kindle fire, which is LCD-based tablet. Nik programs for everything with the electronic paper. “I don’t think most people realize just how cool of a technology it is. Most people just don’t understand that it’s just a clear little bubble with liquid in it. It has little black particles, which are made out of Carbon, and white particles. What’s cool is that based on voltage a series of pulses, the particles will move
up and down, and you can really control them. So, you can think of the film as like bubble wrap.” Nik explains it as “A bunch of little bubbles right next to each other, like pixels. They have particles in them, and based on this back pane, with a voltage positive or negative, the particles will go up or down. I think it’s amazing technology. It’s pretty cool how it looks.” E-ink was designed for its low power consumption, allowing users to go a long period between charges. “When you turn off the power, the picture stays on the panel itself,” he says. “So you can turn off the power, unplug and the image stays there.” However, this new tech does come with some downsides, which are inherent with the
Photo from electrostuff blog.
BY Blake Karwoski
In the above picture, two freescale chips (identifiable by their logos) can be seen in the lower left and upper right. 25
Photo from wikipedia.
display style. “What usually most customers are looking for, including me, is a faster responding panel, so what you notice is that when you turn the page, a lot of times there is flashing, for the e-ink to refresh, which is just really the resetting of the particles which float in the little bubbles on the film, they have to know exactly where those particles are, so they need to know where to start from. That reduces ghosting. So, you’ll notice on an e-reader sometimes when the screen changes, you’ll see ghosting, kind of like an etch-a-sketch, from the previous images. I would like to see them getting faster, at displaying the image on the screen, as well as less ghosting, and things like different options, like maybe some built in, front LED lights on the side, for reading at night.” Amazon’s business model seems to be based upon having little or no profit on the hardware, making the money on the downloadable content instead. As a producer of the hardware, this definitely puts Nik in a tough spot. “The companies, the content aggregates, like Amazon is, [have] realized that they can make a lot of money on the books, and what their strategy was about 3 years ago. Back then, the Kindle was
says, “ They’re making money by you looking at the ads they display. They know exactly who they’re advertising to.”
Amazon sells the Kindle with and without the 3g service, so people can download books anywhere. “The percentage of 3g enabled about three hundred dollars, and Kindles is decreasing, just because they were trying to make money there’s more Wi-Fi than there was, on the hardware itself, and they three years ago. Everywhere you realized how much more money go you can get on Wi-Fi. What they could get if they could get Amazon did at the beginning, the number one market share, why they became so successful, is in the country and the world, so they made the product very easy they’ve enabled a lower priced eto use. So you don’t have to do reader, and they had to sacrifice anything except sign into your the profits that they make on the amazon account, for the 3g modhardware to get the profits they els, and you’ll be able to downcan make by selling books.” load a book right away. For the Amazon also sells a reduced Wi-Fi, it makes it a little bit more price Kindle which uses ads to difficult because you have to log in, find the Wi-Fi hotspot, log in with a password and then log into amazon. But you know, the price difference, there’s a cost difference to amazon, between the Wi-Fi models and the 3-g models.” There is also the option to get many books for free. Some ways of doing this include going to sites other than Amazon for downloads, and many public libraries. “There are a lot of free books, like classics, which are Public domain.” The Kindle can also let users save annotations and highlights they make in the book. This new tech is definitely changing the world. Someday, the “old,” paper books Courtesy of fotopedia might be referred to as “tree help counterbalance the initial price books” much like Today’s new of the Kindle. tech is called “e-books.” “The ones that don’t have ads cost about twenty five dollars more,” he 26