David Galbraith's Applied ICT Blog

Fort George Ideas. Casino

2007-11-14T11:11:00.000Z

Another idea I have for the Fort George site is a casino. There are no casinos in Derry or its surrounding area. There are many amusements under different family names, however Big Bucks Casino sounds a lot more appealing than Crossan’s Amusements!

The design of the casino is quite unique. The roof is in the shape of a casino roulette table. On top of that there is a large 3D slot machine. The casino will also have a further theme that i have yet to decide upon.

Examples of Eco Friendly Architecture from other media.

2007-11-12T19:25:00.000Z

The picture I have chosen from “The Sunday Times Magazine” is a very interesting one. Not only is it an extraordinary feat of engineering and architecture but it is also a very eco-friendly environment with many features spread throughout the building.

On the left hand side of the picture there is a car of the future to match the rest of the picture! And not only is the car futuristic, but the garage the car is stored in senses the car approaching and opens. When the car is inside the garage has an automatic RapidCool system inside which keeps the car running smoothly under warm conditions.

The swimming pool is also very environmentally friendly. Beneath the transparent under water pool tiles are solar panels. The power generated from these panels is used as electricity to the main house. At the back end of the house there is an Eco Flow garden which is shaped like stairs. The water gathered at the top flows downwards and is used in the house for many different domestic reasons.

The roof is shaped like a funnel so that any water that lands on the roof filters downwards into the house to be used much like the water from the Eco Flow garden. There is a treadmill in the house and when somebody works out on it, it generates electricity to be used in the house.
N conclusion this building is a fantastically designed building and the fact that it is eco-friendly only adds to the appeal of the building. I would gladly live in a house like this!

Fort George sketch ideas. Ski Slope

2007-11-12T19:00:00.000Z

The First idea I have for the Fort George site is a large artificial ski slope. I believe this is a good idea because going on a dry ski slope is good practice for beginner skiers before they go and do the real thing on real snow. The nearest dry ski slope in this area is in Craigavon, a good 2 hour drive from here, so the construction of one here in Derry would be useful for people from many nearby places such as Donegal, Tyrone and Derry itself.

My design consists of a downward slope with protective padding on each side all the way down in case of accidents! There will also need to be skis, ski poles and ski boots available for rent and to use on the slope.

The surface of the slope will be a unique brush type of surface designed to cause minimal injury upon impact. Also below the surface there will be solar panels to help power the floodlights which will be in use when the slope is open at night. A lift will also be in place on the side of the slope, however, learning to side step up the side of the hill is one of the main skills taught to beginners.

On the whole, if this was to be constructed then I believe that it would be a great addition to Derry and it would surely benefit both the economy and the environment.

Learning NI

2007-10-25T13:41:00.000+01:00

This week in class we used a website called Learning NI to send information electronically through the available online forums.

Here is a picture of the homepage. One would type in their C2k user name and password here.

Here, there is a section in the lower left hand side of the page titled All Courses. Here I select the A2 Applied ICT Multimedia folder to bring mr to the forum page.

I then clicked on workspace in the top right corner to open up a new window.

This is the window to post comments to each other member of the group.

How I made the Tram and my Composite Images.

2007-10-11T19:16:00.000+01:00

Tram

I made the tram (below) in a programme called google sketch up. I started off with a long 2D rectangle and i used the Push/Pull feature to make the rectangle a 3D cuboid. With pencil tool i drew a horizontal line across the face of the cuboid and i used the move feature to make the face side pointed, more like the front of a tram would be.

On the side of the cuboid i drew out several square holes to act as windows for the tram. I also installed a large cuboid hole on the top face of the tram to act as a windscreen. Below the windows on the side I drew a line as a design to make the tram look a bit more interesting. I also coloured the outside of the veichle a silver metal colour.

Internally i installed bucket seats all around the tram. I also gave the interior a carpet floor and tiled walls. In the drivers area i drew out 3 circles and coloured them different colours to make them look like control panel buttons.

Composite Images

To create these images i used a programme called The GIMP. I first found pictures of well known areas in Derry such as Shipquay Street and The Bogside. I then found suitable pictures of transport veichels to super impose onto the images of Derry.

In GIMP the first thing to do is to open the picture of the veichle (Tram, Gondola etc.). Then I edited the image so as none of the background would be there. I then superimposed the image of the tram onto the background of Derry, and edited it accordingly.

Composite Images

2007-10-10T19:28:00.000+01:00

A tram at the top of Shipquay Street

Tram Passing by the Free Derry Wall

Gondola near the Free Derry Wall

Internal Tram View

2007-10-07T14:13:00.000+01:00

Here are a few screenshots of the inside of my tram.

Control Panel

Seating

External Tram View

2007-10-07T14:01:00.000+01:00

Here are several screenshots of the outside of the tram i created on Google Sketch-Up.

Side View

Front Corner View

Front View

What Are The Characteristics of The Following Graphics File Formats: GIF, PNG, JPEG, XCF, PSD, SVG.

2007-10-03T20:03:00.000+01:00

DEFINITION:
GIF: The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is an 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability.

The format uses a palette of up to 256 distinct colors from the 24-bit RGB color space. It also supports animations and allows a separate palette of 256 colors for each frame. The color limitation makes the GIF format unsuitable for reproducing color photographs and other images with continuous color, but it is well-suited for more simple images such as graphics or logos with solid areas of color.
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gif

PNG: Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a bitmapped image format that employs lossless data compression. PNG was created to improve upon and replace the GIF format, as an image-file format not requiring a patent license. PNG is pronounced "ping".

PNG supports palette-based (palettes of 24-bit RGB colors) or greyscale or RGB images. PNG was designed for transferring images on the Internet, not professional graphics, and so does not support other color spaces (such as CMYK).
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Png

JPEG: In computing, JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) is a commonly used method of compression for photographic images. The name JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the name of the committee that created the standard. The group was organized in 1986, issuing a standard in 1992 which was approved in 1994 as ISO 10918-1. JPEG is distinct from MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) which produces compression schemes for video.
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jpeg

XCF: XCF, short for Experimental Computing Facility, is the native image format of the GIMP image-editing program. It supports saving each layer, the current selection, channels, transparency, paths and guides. However, unlike a PSD file, the undo history is not saved in an XCF file.
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XCF_%28file_format%29

PSD: The .PSD (Photoshop Document) format stores an image with support for most imaging options available in Photoshop. These include layers with masks, color spaces, ICC profiles, transparency, text, alpha channels and spot colors, Clipping paths, and duotone settings. This is in contrast to many other file formats that restrict content to provide streamlined, predictable functionality. Photoshop's popularity means that the .PSD format is widely used, and it is supported to some extent by most competing software.
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Photoshop#Features

SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an XML specification and file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and animated. SVG can be purely declarative or may include scripting. Images can contain hyperlinks using outbound simple XLinks. It is an open standard created by the World Wide Web Consortium's SVG Working Group.
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svg

What Is an Alpha Channel? How Can This Be Useful In Your Coursework Project?

2007-10-03T19:49:00.000+01:00

DEFINITION:
Alpha Channel: In computer graphics, alpha compositing is the process of combining an image with a background to create the appearance of partial transparency. It is often useful to render image elements in separate passes, and then combine the resulting multiple 2D images into a single, final image in a process called compositing. For example, compositing is used extensively when combining computer rendered image elements with live footage.

This will be useful in my future coursework as, one of the aspects of the coursework is to create a new method of transport for Derry. I will have to produce photographic evidence of what the system will look like in Derry. This is managable through the utilisation of a computer programme called " The GIMP". This programme will create an alpha channel for a jpeg photo so it can be adapted onto a backround picture of Derry.

LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_channel

IN MY OWN WORDS:
Alpha composing is combining different parts of pictures with one another to produce a form of transparency. It is used to combine a computer image with a piece of live footage.

What Does “RGB” Have To Do With Graphic Files?

2007-10-03T12:50:00.000+01:00

DEFINITION:

The RGB color model is an additive model in which red, green, and blue (often used in additive light models) are combined in various ways to reproduce other colors. The name of the model and the abbreviation ‘RGB’ come from the three primary colors, red, green, and blue and the technological development of cathode ray tubes which could display color instead of a monochrome phosphoresence (including grey scaling) such as black and white film and television imaging.

LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rgb

IN MY OWN WORDS:

The three colours, Red, Green and blue are combined to make a positive image. These colours can also be combined to make different colours.The initials RGB come from the colours Red, Green and Blue.

This Picture is from the same above link.

What Is The Difference Between VECTOR and BITMAP Graphics? Explain Both Terms.

2007-09-20T13:55:00.000+01:00

Definition:- VECTOR: Generation of images from mathematical descriptions that determine the position, length, and direction in which lines are drawn.
BITMAP: Any visual matter containing pixels that has a bit depth of one. In other words, the pixel is either 100 percent black or 100 percent white.
DIFFERENCE: The Difference between BITMAP and VECTOR Designs is that Vector images are generated via mathematical equations whereas bitmap images are based visual matter and pixels.

Links:- Bitmap: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rls=GGIE%2CGGIE%3A2007-38%2CGGIE%3Aen&q=define%3A+bitmap+graphics&meta
Vector: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rls=GGIE%2CGGIE%3A2007-38%2CGGIE%3Aen&q=define%3A+vector+graphics&meta

My Own Words:- VECTOR: Images created from Mathematical equations. thes equations modify position, length and direction of various aspects of the image.
BITMAP: In Bitmap the Pixels are either 100% black or 100% white.

What is a pixel?

2007-09-20T13:45:00.000+01:00

Definition:- A pixel (short for picture element, using the common abbreviation "pix" for "picture") is a single point in a graphic image.

Link:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel

In My Own Words:- A Pixel is a small part of an image and it connot be seen very clearly on on sharp image.

Useful Links

2007-09-14T11:19:00.001+01:00

http://www.wikipedia.org/
Online Encyclopedia

http://scc-appliedict.blogspot.com/
Mr Barr's Class Blog

http://wwww.google.com/
Search Engine

http://www.derryvisitor.com/
Derry Website for good pictures of Derry

http://blogger-tricks.blogspot.com
Tips and Tricks for blogger

SketchUp Test

2007-09-05T20:18:00.000+01:00

To-day we were introduced to a new programme which will be heavily used throught our coursework this year. It is called Google SketchUp. SketchUp is a 3D modelling programme designed for professional architects, civil engineers, filmmakers, game developers, and related professions. It is also widely used by teens and pre-teens as an entertainment software.

To test out the software and to make myself familliar with it, I took the available tutorial on the software and it was quite a large help and I now feel more comfortable using the software.

The first building I made with the software was an average rectangular building with a helipad and car parking on the roof. On the left hand side of the building i have a ramp for the cars to get on the roof. I cut holes for the doors and windows and I put people and wastepaper bins in the area outside the building.

Data Protection Act (Phillip Rabbett)

2007-02-26T11:53:00.000Z

Computer Misuse Act 1990:

Aim: An Act to make provision for securing computer material against unauthorised access or modification; and for connected purposes.Penalty:A person guilty of an offence under this act shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.(£5000)

Example:
(1)Any act which causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer;
(2)To impair the operation of any computer;
(3) To impair the operation of any such program or the reliability of any such data.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Aim:It gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways in which their material may be used. The rights cover: Broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public. In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to object to distortions of his work.

Penalty: 2 year imprisonment and a fine

Example:
(1)Using software under the terms of the liscence
(2)Illegal copy or distribution of product unless strictly for back-up purposes, under the terms of the liscence.
(3) Fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical … for the purposes of research for a non-commercial purpose does not infringe any copyright in the work provided it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement.

Data protection act 1984 and 1998 (Emmet Ryan)

2007-02-26T11:44:00.000Z

The 1998 data protection act extended that of 1984, including paper based data.The law was introduced to help answer those what-if questions...who will be able to access the information?,will it be vunerable to hackers?, may my information be sold on?...However they were exceptions to the law...if the information required was to safeguard the national security, if used for the prevention/detection of crime and if the data was used strictly for the collection of taxes.Therefore the rights of individuals include to have any errors corrected, compensation for any distress caused as result of the act being broken, to see data held on themselves within 40 days days of payment and to prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress.The act generally provided individuals with certain rights and impossed penalties for the breaking of the law.

Christopher Elliott Homework

2007-02-25T15:06:00.000Z

Cost of Information ( Paul Cooper )

2007-02-12T12:03:00.000Z

Producing good quality information incurs costs of money, time and human resources.

Information incurs costs in many different ways: -

Data collection
Data entry
Data processing

Data collection is data colected directly. Companies who want to respond to requests for information often have to ooffer prizes to guarantee adequate responses.

Data entry is data which is keyed in, this takes time and a person has to be payed to do it. there are automatic processes to enter data, however these still need people to operate the systems.

Data processing this is processing the inputted data. this requires hardware and software resources. large scale processing could take up large parts of the companies ICT resources.

The quality and value of information ( Garett Boyle )

2007-02-08T21:59:00.000Z

How information adds value to an organisation ( John Clift )

2007-02-08T21:37:00.000Z

Good information, i.e. information that is timely, accurate, up-to-date complete, etc. adds value to organisations in the ways described below.

Information aids decision making: the quality of decision making depends on information. the more effective the decision making the better the business is as a whole.

Information also Monitors and controls various aspects of a business. it can help the organisation stay well informed about how well it ids doing. An organisation can look at the performance of different employees to determine who is the most-orleast- effective. this process can help to ensure that the use of resources is cost-effective.

Information can be used to target resources and gain competitive advantage. rganisations have limited resources and their efficency will be vital. information about costumers buying habits is very important in this process and as a result the organisation can be more profitable.

Information can tell abusiness how it is faring in relation to other competitiors. identification of strenghts and weaknesses will also help to improve its competitive edge.

Data, information and knowledge in action ( John Coyle )

2007-02-08T21:33:00.000Z

Data Information and Knowledge Questions (Darren Armstrong)

2007-02-08T20:13:00.000Z

1) Define the word data.
Data may be defined as a collecton of values. this collection of values is sometimes referred to as raw facts and figures. this may take different forms, combinations of letters and numbers, sound waves image elements, etc.
2) Define the word information.
Information is data that has been made meanningful, i.e. the potential meaning of the data has been realised. Two stages are involved in this: First, there must be a context for the information, specific use to which it will be put, e.g providing the answer to a particualr question.
3) Define the word knowledge.
Knowledge may be defined as a broad understanding of the context in which a particular piece of information occurs.
4) What does the data represent?
Data represents events, objects, individuals, dates, times, amounts, etc.
5) In Information, how do you make a form accessible to users?
This involves transforming the data into a different format, sorting and grouping it into a table, etc.

Links

2007-02-08T11:49:00.000Z

http://scc-as-appliedict0607.blogspot.com/
http://www.prideofnorthside.moonfruit.com/
http://rainbowspirit11.blogspot.com/
http://www.topspurs.com/
http://www.beedogs.com/
http://fantasy.premierleague.com
http://harryhotspur.blogspot.com

Past paper Questions

2007-02-05T11:57:00.000Z

Task SS2

Task SS3

Task DB1

Task DB2

Task DB3

Task DB4

Task DB5