My First Computer from 1982!

As we move into the Computing Section of this course I started thinking about my first computer it was the Commodore 64. What a purchase by my dad. At the time the C64's graphics and sound capabilities were rivaled only by the Atari (hopefully you know what Atari is). Also it was the best selling computer of all time (at the time). At the time I was five and playing some really lame games: Super Bowl Sunday, Frogger and Q-Bert.

What are the biggest differences between your first computer and your present computer?

These screenshots are pathetic and real. I remember these games, the lame controller and the 5in floppy disks. Oh yeah did I mention there was no internet. That explains my 15 year obsession with John Madden Football and the Internet.

As you can see, when you are an old timer a lot has changed. The biggest difference my my C64 and my MacBookPro is speed, size, power, storage, networking and graphics capabilities:

64KB of RAM (C64) vs. 2GB of RAM (my MacBookPro)
1.02 MHz CPU (C64) vs. 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo (my MacBookPro)
16 Colors (Monitor) vs. Millions of Colors (Monitor)
Commodore BASIC 2.0 OS (C64) vs. Mac OS X Leopard (my MacBookPro)
$595 COST (C64) vs. over $2,000 (my MacBookPro)

Week 4 - Topics, Project and Readings

At this point in the course we have completed laying the foundation of the course. We've covered Drucker's Seven Sources of Opportunity, Business Concepts, Business Models and we compared digtial commerce platforms of yesterday and today.

This week we will start with the Computing Section (History, Evolution, Internet Computing). The main idea is observe and discuss the evolution of computing and we also will discuss specific computing components and terminologies. You'll see that we'll learn about the size, speed and power of modern day computer processors. Lastly, we will start to look at changes, issues and future trends in the computing industry.

Tips for Reading:

1.  How PC works (focus on 1-4)

2. Moore's Law (is very short and sweet)

3. Computer Timeline (navigate using the categories, not years)

4. Top 10 Computing Trends 2009 (short and good info)

Tips for the Videos:

1. Keep your eyes and ears open for about 10 minutes. just checking if you are reading ;)

Download Reading Assignments Here

Also, I scheduled your individual project presentation:*

2/3 - Anderson to DeLoge (not finished yet)
2/5 - Dorsheimer to Hight
2/10 - Jacob to Moulton
2/12 - Murray to Zipprich

*Your paper is due 2/12.

Individual Project Information

Characteristics of Digital Commerce Entrepreneurs (5pts)

You are required to submit a 2-3 page report and prepare a 2-3 minute oral presentation for the class. You can utilize audio, video, images, etc. I encourage you to be creative. You are limited to 2 PowerPoint slides.

The student will focus in on an entrepreneur from the digital commerce and entrepreneurship industry. The entrepreneur should be an inventor, founder or leader of a technical tool, service or company.

There are two objectives:

1. Evaluate the entrepreneur and determine his/her personal characteristics, education or lack thereof, professional resume, influences, inventions and/or ventures.
2. Explain how this entrepreneur utilized Technology. Ask yourself: Was he/she a technician, engineer, inventor, visionary, strategist, or all of the above? What enabled the entrepreneur to achieve the success they have? What was the source of opportunity?