Playing with CSS3

Now Hear This!

You can search around for CSS tools to make your blog post look more interesting. Copy and past them to the HTML format (upper right) and then write your blog post.

It is good to pay attention to what features work on which browsers. Many of the flashing types of headlines from the 1990s no longer work in Chrome -- for good aesthetic reasons.

Watch out for Public WiFi Networks

In this article, What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network, the author works with a white-hat hacker to find out what he can learn about users in a cafe with public WiFi. The answer will astound you.

For example:

• In 20 minutes, he knew where everyone else was born, what schools they attended, and the last five things they googled.
• We learn that Joris had previously visited McDonald’s, probably spent his vacation in Spain, and had been kart-racing.
• We see that one visitor has the gay dating app Grindr installed on his smartphone.
• We also see that someone’s phone is attempting to connect to a server in Russia, sending the password along with it, which we are able to intercept.
• In less than 20 minutes, here’s what we’ve learned about the woman sitting 10 feet from us: where she was born, where she studied and that she has an interest in yoga.
• Within 20 minutes he’s obtained the login details, including passwords for my Live.com, SNS Bank, Facebook, and DigiD accounts.

So, how can you be safe?  Read How to safely use a public Wi-Fi network. 

Designing a Compelling Game

In class today we looked at some examples of the Mario game from other students, and talked about what we look for as the characteristics of a good game design. These are good to keep in mind as we design other games this year. We first need to meet the requirements. And the more compelling we can make the game beyond that, the more fun it will be to play.

Here is the list of characteristics of good game design from our discussion, in the order the students shared them.

1. Good story line. Make it interesting, not boring. Have a plot to follow.
2. Different. We like playing new games more than returning to old ones. 
3. Intricate. Have lots of things happening to make the game more interesting.
4. Winnable. At some point the player wants to think he or she can win at the game, and make that point clear. What is the objective?
5. Score Points. Along the way show progress by awarding points for various achievements. Players can get a sense of progress even if they fail to win the overall game.
6. Challenging. While the player wants a chance to win, he/she does not want it to be too easy. 
7. Social Gaming. Set up the game to enable players to play with friends. Compare scores. Put various players in the game. Talk with each other while playing. Whatever.
8. Not Buggy. Make sure the game works smoothly. Bugs are distracting.
9. Good graphics. Many of the best games are nice to look at. 

Feel free to add comments to this blog with other characteristics we missed or which of these you find most important.

Truth Tables

Today we talked about basic Boolean operators -- AND, OR, & NOT -- and how to use them in Truth Tables. Understanding how these work is fundamental to computing because IF-THEN-ELSE statements must test for conditions to tell the program where to go in the algorithm.

In case this is tricky for you, you might want to check out this brief video to review the concept of Truth Tables. Make sure you understand before you proceed because so much of your programming will build on this simple logic.

Make Big Money As Security Expert

The class may remember the brief discussion about Kevin Mitnick, who was one of the original hackers. He was caught, convicted, served time, and has now turned to good.

This recent article, Kevin Mitnick will sell you security exploits, if you have $100,000, highlights how people on the "good" side of security can make money. Although this article points out he is in "murky" territory.

He is offering to sell zero-day exploits (which means recently-found security holes) to companies. Presumably this would be to the company that needs to fix the exploit rather than companies who will try to make money off the exploit.

Many companies offer cash bonuses to people who report security flaws to them ... first. But I suspect $100,000 is on the high side of the bonuses offered.

Turing Machine

We discussed Alan Turing and his concept of the Turing Machine. This is the foundation of computing.

The video we watched is from Computerphile.

The Google Doodle that simulated the Turing Machine is at this link.

Best Practices for Passwords

We talked about how easy it is for bad people to obtain passwords. They can hack into major sites. They can run brute force attacks to crack simple passwords. And they can use social engineering to try to get you to give up your password.

Here is a list of best practices we hope you will follow to keep your passwords safe.

1. Different passwords per site. If you use different passwords on every site you use, then if someone finds your password on one site they cannot break into your accounts on others. Either create a password that uses the site name as part of the construction, or use a password keeper to help you remember.
2. Long and complex passwords. Remember that a desktop computer can crack all the combinations of a short (e.g. 8 characters) password in a matter of a day or so. Aim for 12 or more letters, mix up the upper-case and lower-case, and include some numbers and symbols.
3. Never write them down or give to anyone. The tradeoff for having long and complex passwords is some people write them down on a notepad. But if they ever lose the notepad...
4. Watch out for public computers. Signing in on public computers -- which includes the machines at Mills -- is a risk. Watch for the "remember your login" and "remember your password" checkboxes. If the machine remembers those or you forget to log off, then the next person sitting at your seat will have access to your accounts. 
5. Avoid public WiFi. Over-the-air signals are easy to crack. Try to avoid doing banking or anything secure at a public cafe. Even email is dangerous because if anyone cracks into your email, they can go to important sites, click the "forgot my password" button, and pick up a new password on your cracked email account. 
6. Watch out for phishing. Whenever a business emails you or calls you asking for your login or credit card information, beware. They might be the bad guys or might have false links. You are always better off accessing the site the way you normally do or calling the company at their published number. Legitimate companies will understand this need for security.
7. Use SSL when possible. SSL is when you can see "https://" in the URL on the top of your browser and, depending on the browser, it will display a closed lock. That means your whole conversation from that point onward is encrypted.
8. LastPass or KeePass. These are simple and secure tools that will remember your passwords for you -- regardless how complex and how many you have. LastPass plugs into the browser and will automatically fill in the sign-on information.
9. 2-factor authentication. Use 2-factor authentication for important sites that support it. Even Twitter offers this, as some celebrities fear their account getting hacked and millions of fans seeing bogus tweets. You can request the site send an SMS to your phone. You can use the Google authenticator. Or with a little less security you can answer security questions; just try to make your answers unusual so no one can guess them. Saying your first dog's name was "Fido" might be one of the first guesses. 

Edward Snowden and the NSA

We had a good discussion today about Edward Snowden's revelations about the NSA snooping on people, and the rebuttal from a Director of the NSA.  The links to these videos are here:

• Edward Snowden

• Richard Bledgett, NSA

Is Edward Snowden a whistle-blower or a traitor? Or is the answer somewhere in between?

Did You Know? Video

For those interested in watching the Did You Know? video again, here is the link for it. Keep in mind this video used data from 2008, so the numbers are even more extreme than that today.

What follows are some of the updates:

Google searches per year:


Facebook monthly active users = size of 3rd largest country today!


Number of text messages in June 2012 almost 6/day for every person on the planet.


Expected growth in Jobs:

Fitness Trackers Show How Many People Woke Up During the Bay Area Quake

There are many stories about how Google searches can predict the outbreak of the Flu, and other "Big Data" effects. Here is a story where a fitbit-like device can show us who woke up when during the earthquake.

http://www.wired.com/2014/08/fitness-trackers-show-how-many-people-woke-up-during-the-bay-area-quake/

The importance of good writing skills in business

The Dullest, Most Vital Skill You Need to Become a Successful Manager

Good reading. Important in tech businesses and all businesses!

Often programming is all about trying and trying again

TEALS Program

As you can see from the homepage for the TEALS program, Mills High School is one of 70 High Schools in the country across 12 states that are getting access to this program. I hope many of you will help boost the flat line of computer science AP tests.

My Hello World

Hello class. This is my Hello World post.

I will share some articles and stories I find that I hope will further stimulate your interest in computer science and other STEM fields.

Feel free to comment so we can start a dialogue.