Exploring Computer Careers

I think a career in graphic design would be interesting. Graphic designers communicate messages using electronic media. They develop the layout of magazines, newspapers, corporate reports and other publications. The average salary of an entry level position is $35,000 dollars in 2008. Median salary of staff-level graphic designers is $45,000 dollars. A link to educational requirements is the occupational outlook handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm.
A link to several job postings is
http://www.creativehotlist.com/index.asp?linkTarget=searchJobs.asp&state=TX,OK,AR,LA,MS,KY,TN
Most of the postings look interesting
I picked this career because I think it would be cool to design stuff I have always been a fan of artwork, logos, clothes, etc. I would never pursue a career in this because I dislike computers.

My internet connection is dsl, 2meg download 384k upload it is run through a wireless router. It is a secure network it is not possible for anyone to piggy-back on my internet connection. I also have a software firewall. No I don't have a network printer.

Computer System Other options

For the optical drive I would go with the one included in the price 16X DVD+/-RW Drive. For speakers I choose the Bose Companion 3 series II Multimedia Speaker System which costs $270.00 dollars a little expensive but I love music. I would also upgrade the soundcard with Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium card for $100.00. For the keyboard I would choose the one that comes with the computer. Same thing for the mouse.

Video Cards and Displays

The computer I want to purchase comes with a nVidia® GeForce® 310 512M GDDR3 graphics card. The computer I want does not come with a monitor, so I will have to purchase one seperately.

Internal and External Ports

Front Ports
USB 2.0 (4)
15-in-1 Card Reader
Headphone port
Microphone / Line-in port

Rear Ports
IEEE 1394a
RJ45 10/100/1000 Network port
Line-in connector
Front L/R line-out connector
Back L/R surround connector
Side L/R surround connector
Center/subwoofer connector
Microphone connector
USB 2.0 (4)
eSATA
S/PDIF connector
HDMI ports

17-in-1 Media Card Reader
Secure Digital (SD) Memory Card
MiniSD
Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO)
Multi Media Card (MMC)
RS Multimedia Card (RS-MMC)
Multimedia Card Plus (MMC+)
Multimedia card Mobile
Memory Stick (MS)
Memory Stick Duo
Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO)
Memory Stick PRO Duo
Compact Flash I
Compact Flash II
Smart Media Card (SM)
xD Picture Card (xD)

Basically the computer I want to purchase comes with extensive ports I mainly use usb ports for my ipod and my cell phone. I also use picture cards for my cameras sd card.

Computer System Storage

There are numerous options for storage. There is 500GB included in the price of the computer. There is 640 GB for $50.00, 750 GB for $100.00, 1 TB for $150.00, 1.5 TB for $250.00, and 2 TB for $350.00. I would choose the 1 TB for $150.00 because it not that much money to double the amount of hard drive space and I have a lot of music and video files and I never want to run out of space.

Computer System RAM

There are many options for RAM. It starts with 3GB included in the price of the computer. It also offers 4GB for $50.00, 6GB for $130, 8GB for $190, 9GB for $250.00, 12 GB for $350.00, and 24GB for $3000.00. The differences between the options is the amount of RAM. Most of the software I run only needs 2 GB of RAM. So I would purchase the 4 GB Ram upgrade because new software comes out all the time and may need the extra memory.

Computer Systems: Processor and Motherboards/Buses

The options I have for processors are the intelcore i7-920 processor (8MB L3 cache, 2.66 Ghz) included in price, the intelcore i7-960 processor (8MB L3 Cache, 3.2 Ghz) add $470.00, the intelcore i7-975 processor Extreme Edition (8MB L3 Cache, 3.33 Ghz) add $900.00, and the intelcore i7-980x processor(12MB L3 Cache, 3.33 GHz) add $1,100.00. The main difference between the four processors is the Ghz of computing speed. I would select the cheapest one because it has ample speed.

Form Factor and Base Configuration

I need a computer that does a variety of tasks from surfing the internet, word processing, gaming, sound, and multimedia. I would need the computer to be a desktop because they are more powerful and I don't need the portability. I like the Dell Studio XPS 9000 because it has plenty of hard drive memory 500 GB thats double what my current computer has. It also has a nice graphic card nvidia 512 MB for gaming. I would choose the base model PC because it is the cheapest and still has ample memory (3GB) and speed (2.66 Ghz) for my needs. I mainly use my computer for downloading music, surfing the internet, and word processing. You can view this computer at this website http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/desktop-studio-xps-9000/pd.aspx?refid=desktop-studio-xps-9000&s=dhs&cs=19

Email Platform

I use Yahoo mail. I use Yahoo mail because it is the most popular one and I needed and email account. It is free and now has unlimted storage space. It offers spam and virus protection. It has email forwarding and mobile access which I do not use. It is orgainized into folders. It has many applications like Flickr and Paypal and others. It has photosharing and videosharing. It probably supports other languages but english is the only language I use. I will only use yahoo mail because it hasn't failed me in the past and is the most popular option.

Application Software: Social Networking

The only social networking site that I use currently is Facebook. The address is www.facebook.com. I use Facebook because most of my friends use facebook for fun and it keeps me in touch with what they are doing, pictures, etc. There are other social networking sites like myspace and others but I don't use those. Facebook is free. Targeted mostly towards personal networking. It has mobile access from your phone. It has photosharing and videosharing. There are many other networking sites for an array of interest like Last.FM for music. I wouldn't use any other site besides Facebook becasue like I stated earlier most of my friends use Facebook.

Virus Protection. Are you absolutely certain your personal computer has virus protection software running? Yes. If yes, what virus protection software do you use? Norton
Password Strength. Go to Microsoft Password Check tool, enter your password to see how strong it is. How strong is your password? Strong
Firewall. Does your computer have a firewall active? Yes If your machine is running a firewall, what kind is it? Windows. What's the name of it?
Ad/Mal-ware. Are you absolutely certain your personal comptuer at home has ad/malware protection software running? If yes, what software are you using?
Spam. Do you forward to friends and families strange photos, stories, please for help or security warnings? If yes, how often do you check to see if the messages you forward are true or valid? No
Phishing. Do you know what phishing or social engineering is? No
Image. Do you monitor your online image? No Are you absolutely certain your social network profiles are private? No. Do you ever do vanity searches on the internet? No
Data Backup. Do you have a backup of your data? Yes. If so, where do you keep that backup? on Cds in the office

Personal Computer Use Profile

I use computers for school, home, and work. I mainly use the Internet websites like wikipedia for general information but I always double check with more reliable websites. I use word for school to type up papers. I just use the mouse and keyboard. I use a wireless network. I also play videogames using xbox live. I use a printer and the Internet. I feel I have enough knowledge about computers to get by in work and school. I really don't like computers in general. I don't know much about computer hardware. I do like computer software especially when it comes to music. No I do not know how to clean my computer of viruses I get someone else to do that for me. Yes my other family members use my computer.

Computer Literacy, Revisited
After reading chapter 1 and research on the Internet I believe my knowledge of computer literacy was accurate

Computer Literacy, First Impressions
Computer Literacy to me means you are able to use a computer and the software of a computer like word, excel, powerpoint, access, etc. You are also able to surf the internet use social networking sites etc.