Most Useful Concept I learned in CSC318

In CSC318 lectures, the most interesting and useful concept that stuck with me is the Big 8's idea activity. The Big 8's activity allowed us to practice a very important skill which was coming up with 8 ideas in a limited time period. For the first 5 minutes, we thought of 8 ideas that summarized the main concepts of our research done in phase 2. In the next 5 minutes 8 more ideas were created upon evaluating our 8 old ones with our group mates. The activity made this specific lecture very interactive, and allowed me to better understand how developers push out new inventions through fast brainstorming. As a computer science student, we are striving to produce and improve applications to fascinate the world. This Big 8's activity allowed me to personally practice being in the position to think big similarly to in sprint meetings. Compared to the other 11 lectures where we learned the concepts through either a video, or a story I believe that interactive lectures such as this one keeps the class invested and interested in the topics. As a final proposal to improve CSC318, get the students involved through activity not videos. In today's age, watching a black and white video from the 80's is quite hard to do without falling asleep!

Skype Versus TeamSpeak Versus Discord

The constant growing population of online gaming and communication demands a smooth communication application. Currently, there are three major players: TeamSpeak, Discord, and Skype. Each have their own advantages where TeamSpeak and Discord is a server and client system. While Skype is a peer to peer system, which puts more burden onto the user's network. Skype gives the user a one to one experience, but also allows the user to create large chat rooms. On the other hand, Discord and Teamspeak have lobby rooms where many people may join at once. I believe that Teamspeak and Discord will take over Skype due to the flexibility of their chat rooms to be able to hold large amounts of people at once. It gives reliability because the servers are hosted elsewhere, so no ONE person's internet will disconnect the whole call. Therefore, having TeamSpeak and Discord's chat room system versus Skype's more telephone-like system gives variety, flexibility, and a more modern system to fit big groups for online communication.

Bibliography
-all photos are self taken by Beginner CS Student
-https://www.skype.com/en/
-https://discordapp.com/
-https://www.teamspeak.com/

Major Difference in Pokemon Sun and Moon Versus Older Generations of Pokemon

The Storage Options in Older Generations

 The Pokemon Storage in Pokemon Sun and Moon





A major change in the design of the Pokemon storage box in the newest Pokemon game known as Pokemon Sun and Moon has improved the experience for hardcore players. In older generations of the game, the storage always had four options: 1) deposit Pokemon, 2) withdraw Pokemon, 3) organize boxes, and 4) organize items. In Pokemon Sun and Moon, that is no longer available because all these four options are very similar and can be condensed into one interface. As shown in the video, players are now able to do all four options to each Pokemon in one interface. For hardcore players such as myself, maintaining 32 boxes of Pokemon requires a lot of time and dedication. The option to be able to easily navigate through all your of Pokemon and organize them is very convenient. This change in the design of the box is good for the future of the game series because Pokemon is a game where players spend time playing with, and against friends in all sorts of strategic battles. No one wants to spend more time looking through a collection of 32 boxes than actually playing the game. Remember every click matters and time is money. "There is a time and placee for everything but not now" quotes Professor Oak. I for one have definitely felt the impact as I continue on with my competitive Pokemon career!

Bibliography

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Professor_Oak
https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/696959-pokemon-x/66726364

Pictures and Video are Done by Beginner CS Student

Critique on The Potential New Features Coming with the iPhone 8

The iPhone 8 will be Apple's newest phone in their phone line set to be released later this year. A couple of news sources have stated that Apple plans to have the home button that is located at the bottom of the iPhone removed. Instead of having the home button do fingerprint detection, Apple plans to use the whole phone screen as a hybrid of the typical smartphone screen with fingerprint detection.

My take on the potential change is that it may cause shock to Apple fans because the home button has been tradition to the iPhone for many years. However, hardcore Apple fans will continue to support them, and some may give it a try anyways. The idea of putting the fingerprint detection on the screen could be more effective in the long run because the screen is bigger and allows for bigger area of detection. Sometimes fingerprint detection runs into failure, but with this change that may result in that happening less often. The potential problem that I can see with the removal of the home button is "what is going to replace it?" As a past iPhone user, I frequently used the home button to go back to main screen and it was my main way to navigate through my applications. Removing it will require a suitable replacement. Otherwise, adapting to this new change may worsen the experience of the iPhone. Imagine having to click back on every tab to get back to the main screen. O(n) complexity in real day uses are not preferable. Overall, fingerprint detection on whole screen sounds like an excellent move if the correct changes are implemented to supplement the removal of the home button.

Bibliography

Gibbs, Samuel. "Apple May Replace IPhone Home Button with Fingerprint-scanning Screen." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.

Gordon Gottsegen February 14, 2017 12:50 PM PST. "Apple's IPhone 8 May Be the Only New IPhone to Get the Steel Body Treatment." CNET. N.p., 14 Feb. 2017. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.

Galbraith Building Entry Doors

Ever walked through the entry doors of the Galbraith Building of the University of Toronto. There is a set of doors controlled by a hand waving detector. However, the sign and usage of the hand waving detector is hidden and very hard to spot for the casual walker. I walked past the door once, and the other set of doors opened automatically. That initially scared me because I was not expecting the door to open by themselves. I tried to repeat the procedure by waving my hand at the spot, but it did not open. I believe that the sign needs to be more visible in the open, or give the push to open option instead. Otherwise, potential confusions can occur like the situation that happened to me. This is a design flaw because it is suppose to make people's lives easier, but instead can cause confusion due to lack of visibility.

The Nintendo Switch

The recent announcement and peak at Nintendo's newest product has revealed it to be the Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid of  both a handheld console and home console. Players will be able to play at home on the big screen and have the option of playing it outside as well. The design of the Nintendo Switch is very modern-like in the sense that it is small and easy to carry around. The controllers on the left and right side are also detachable, so mounting it at home is easier as well. In an age where handheld consoles have dominated the market as seen from smartphones, the Nintendo Switch is a very innovative device. Handheld capabilities to fit modern needs, but also keep the feel of Nintendo home consoles. The only concern with our limited information of the Nintendo Switch is if those controllers are attached tightly on the rails, or not. If they are very loose, then we may get into a problem similar to losing the new Apple earpods. Overall, the glance at the Nintendo Switch seems promising due its design of being a hybrid handheld home console. You can find more information at http://www.nintendo.com/switch/features/.

A Critique of The Layout of the Buttons in Shadowverse: An Online Card Game

Since December of 2016, I have been playing a card game known as "Shadowverse". In this card game, there is a relatively simple user interface. The player has a couple of options: picking a card to play, making the character say a phrase, end their turn, and even quit the game. However, one specific issue with the design sparked my interest and that was the end turn button. If you look at the location of the end turn button,  it is in the worst possible location. I understand that the button was designed to be near the player decks to provide convenience to the players. Yet, some of the interesting game information is only accessible by clicking on the deck, and since the end turn button is right beside it, eventually the player will click the wrong button by accident. The conclusion is that the player decks should be positioned further away from the end turn button to prevent future mishaps as this is what happened to myself.