Well, we made it past the first exam! Now that the initial anxiety has diminished, let's talk about technology in general, this class in particular, and what it all means to me.

First of all, I'm not a technophobe, but I will admit that my knowledge and embrace of technology is not as strong as it should be. In fact, I'm still using Windows 98SE and a 56 kbps dial-up modem at home. This is mainly because I sit in front of a computer all day at work, so the last thing I want to do when I get home is surf the web and read email. Furthermore, I had never even blogged before this class, so this is a whole new thing for me. Text messaging, talking on the phone, blogging, and surfing the web has never really been a priority for me. I'm too busy with work and school to spend any time with what I call "non-value added" activities. If I had any free time I would rather ride my bike or go hiking.

From my home PC information above you've probably figured out by know that my cell phone is not cutting edge either. I got it second hand from my wife; it was hers for a couple of years before she turned it over to me. Its a second generation ("2G") unit with no camera, a monochrome LCD screen, and no wireless internet capability. However, becuase I have a GSM wireless provider, and the phone is a tri-band Motorola (the brand that I absolutely love!), it works virtually anywhere in the world. In fact, my wife and I have taken it all over Asia and Europe and it worked everywhere we went.

Now, Michael Dell will be happy to know that I am finally moving up in the computer world. I'm about to order a new computer system. My first system (which was top of the line in 1999) had double the standard memory (both SDRAM and cache), a 30 GB hard drive, upgraded video and sound cards, a 250MB zip drive, and a 40X CD-ROM. Including an HP color printer, Viewsonic 19" VGA CRT, Altec-Lansing speaker system, a UPS/surge protector, Windows 98SE and a professional-level voice recognition software package from Dragon, the total cost was about $3000! I can assure you that my new system will cost a fraction of that. But, I can also assure you that it will not be running Windows Vista. I learned a lesson from the IT guys at work: let others experience the pains of bad code and vulnerabilities before diving in and committing yourself to a new operating system. In other words, if it works, don't fix it!

Moving on, I thought this class could help increase my knowledge of technology, so I jumped in. In fact, I had the choice of taking HTM 304 or ACCT 308, but I have absolutely no desire to be an accountant. In fact, I often tease my wife because she's a "bean counter". So, HTM 304 was an easy choice for me, especially since Dr. Fang was teaching it and I really like her style, having previously taken a class from her. I thought 304 would be overwhelming because my knoledge of technology is not great, as I stated earlier. However, I just started reading the textbook and reviewing the class presentation slides, and it all just came together.

I think the textbook is well written. The author presents all of the information in an easily understood manner, and he is extremely honest about the limitations of technology, the information overload that many of us experience, and the disagreements among the many developers and users of technology regarding definitions, formats, and other common subjects. Chapter 1 (MIS and You) was a straightforward overview, with nothing unexpected. Chapter 2 (Purposes of Information Systems) is where we really started to dive in and learn why we love (and hate) these things called computers. Chapter 3 (Hardware and Software) was perfect timing for me, since it included a class presentation, all just prior to my upcoming PC purchase. (Remember, I haven't purchased a system since 1999, so I had some refreshing to do!) I really enjoyed Chapter 4 (Database Processing) since that is my specialty at work. Over the past year at work I have been a member of several cross-functional teams charged with developing new systems (databases), so this subject was almost a review for me. However, looking ahead at Chapter 5 (Data Communications and Internet Technology) things look a bit intimidating, since this subject is admittedly my greatest weakness. I hope it's not too difficult!