Secure Email Project Post

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/07/071031/tampa-company-using-biometrics-secure-computer-sys/

The article above is about a company in Tampa, Florida, Realtime North America, that is using biometric technology to help businesses and governement agencies tighten up their coumputer security. The compnay developed a biometric based system named "biolock" that recognizes each individual users' fingerprints. The benefits of this system is that a computer administartor has the capabilities of assigning by terminal who has access to certain information. Also it allows the administrator to know when data was accessed, how long it was accessed for, and for what purpose.

Realtime North America has also developed a special mouse and keyboard that scans fingerprints to obtain a match. These systems also keep track of users' activities as well as restrict the logons or the level of security clearance for various users. The chief operations offcier of Realtime North America believes that high profile corporate fraud cases such as Enron, Paine Webber, and NASA could have been prevented through the use of biometric fingerprint technology. The crimes that were committed in these cases exposed a weakness in the traditional use of passwords to protect information.

Realtime North America believes that that biometric technology is the final frontier in protecting vital data. The system they provide can save millions in fraud losses. The next big hurdle for Realtime North America will be to persuade lawamakers to back the technology with government funding.

"Database Project"

The database project taught me many different things. I learned how to create queries, forms, and reports using microsoft access 2007. I didn't realize how difficult access is to use. This being my first time using access, it took me a while to figure everything out. I was able to take adavantage of the form and report wizards beforehand thus not having to do so much altering in the design view. The form and report activities gave me the most trouble. I might have used the query as my data source for the form activity instead of the member's table. However, knowing this, I was still uanble to denote whether the two new members I created in my form were an Individual or Family Member. The report was no walk in the park either. The grouping and sorting portions were complicated. However, I feel I was able to figure it out in the wizard.

Overall there is not much I would change as far as the fucntionality of this database. I would, however, alter the ease of manipulation and input. I personally found the layout view much more helpful and less complicated than the design view. Microsoft Access is hard to master in a couple weeks but even with the amount of time I spent on this project I still feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable using access. The lectures were helpful but only to a certain extent.

"Presentation and Web 2.0 Project

For my presentation project I chose scenario one, which was to pitch an entrepreneurial idea to a venture capital company. I brainstormed a few ideas until I came up with a plan to acquire an avocado production facility in Peru and export avocados into the U.S. I figured this would be a straightforward business opportunity to present to either some angel investors or a venture capital company. I put together a power point that I believe would be able to persuade a few investors.

My power point presentation followed a logical flow. I started with an executive summary, provided a mission statement, presented my course of action, a SWOT analysis, and various other aspects that I would've included if I was presenting an entrepreneurial idea. I also tried to include and cover as much information as possible during the presentation so that the feasibility of my venture idea would not be questioned. I feel that my presentation is visually appealing as well as to the point and thorough. I avoided clutter as much as possible and tried to avoid inconsistencies, errors, and unbelievable claims. My slides are readable and contained bullet points that I used to help elaborate my speaking portions.

Critiquing one of my peer's presentations helped me make sure that my presentation was correctly put together. I learned that power point seems to be the most effective tool for this project. I also realized that YouTube was not the only means of sharing my presentation over the web. Lastly, I learned that following the grading rubric is harder depending on the topic of the presentation.

Overall this project was a learning experience for me in many ways. This was my first time uploading a presentation video on the internet. The power point project was more time consuming than I expected. I had to make sure all my images and animations were "free".  I also had to make sure that the music I included in my presentation was authentic and paid for. This project will definitely help me in the business world. Considering the fact I chose scenario one, this project was definitely something I hope to be doing again in my future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf0Oshy-Ylk

"Excel Project"

The excel project was both difficult and time consuming. First I had to manipulate and format a set of raw data. This portion of the project was the easiest. I used the video examples as my guide and was able to manipulate the data set to fit the requirements. Patience was the key for this part of the project. It was hard not to rush through this section and bypass a portion of the directions. However, through trial and error I was able to complete this piece of the project and feel some sense of accomplishment. This was the largest set of data that I have ever worked with in Excel and I had to overcome a few obstacles especially when using formulas. Overall I feel I did well on this part of the project but my difficulties were about to increase.

The second part of the Excel project was the data analysis section. This was the portion of the project where I had to create two pivot tables. The first pivot table was fairly basic. However, I struggled when trying to figure out what to put in the values section of the pivot table. After a few hours of trial and error I realized that the count of the target achieved was the necessary input in the values section. Hopefully it turned out fine. The second pivot table was a nightmare for me. This pivot table I was asked to determine the average percent increase in heart rates for the subjects but the subjects needed to be grouped by decades. I was never able to figure out how to group the subjects by decades. I watched the pivot table videos online multiple times and I read the excel discussion board. Still I was not able to figure out how to group the subjects. I hope I will not be penalized too many points. As far as the other components of the pivot table, I feel I was able to figure them out.

In conclusion, the data analysis portion of this project was extremely challenging. I wasn't able to figure out how to group the subjects by decade and thus ended up not meeting the requirements for my second pivot table. Overall this project tested my patience, my computer skills, and my attention to detail. There were times where I felt like giving up especially with the pivot tables. Luckily the discussion posts and videos were able to help me in creating my first one but I was never able to grasp the concept of grouping. However, I did learn how to manipulate cells by using different addressing techniques. I also figured out how to alter portions of the pivot tables by switching up the inputs into the columns, rows, and values sections. Below is a screen capture of my second pivot table. All 49 subjects are visible because I was never able to figure out how to group them by decade.