CS 074 The Digital World

Spring 2008
Computer Science Department
The College of Arts and Sciences
Boston College

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Problem Set 1: Getting Started

Assigned: Tuesday January 15, 2008
Due: Friday January 18, 2008
Points: 4 Points

This is a two part assignment. The first part is pretty much logistical: you'll need to install some software on your computer. You need to do this part prompty and alert me if there are any difficulties. The second part involves some reading.

Software Installation and Computer Configuration

Some of the software developed for this course was written in the Java programming language, so that it can run without modification on both Windows and Macintosh computers. You will need to have software that lets you run Java programs.

If you have a Mac, your computer already has such software, although you may need to upgrade it to a more recent version.(If you have a Mac running MacOS 9 instead of OS X, you may have a problem---come see me about this.) If you have Windows, there's a good chance that you already have the software for running Java programs, although probably not what you need to write them.

Step 1
Make a folder called CS074, where you will keep all your work for this course. It's ok if you put this inside a larger folder that contains work for other classes, and if you make subfolders inside of this new one to organize your work. However, you should not have any spaces in the names of these folders (for instance, don't call a folder "Problem Sets"; use "ProblemSets" or "Problem_Sets" instead).

If you are running Windows, open your CS074 folder. From the "Tools" menu, select "Folder Options" and then the "View Tab". Look for the box that says "Hide Extensions for known File Types". If there is a check in the box, click in it to remove the check, and then click the button that says "Apply to All Folders". The default setting on many Windows machines is to hide the three- or four-letter suffix (".exe",".zip",".txt".".html",etc.) attached to file names. It is very important in this class that you be able to see these extensions.

The Mac also gives some control over display of filename suffixes. Under "Finder" select "Preferences" and then the "Advanced" tab and check the box that says "Show All File Extensions".

Step 2
Macintosh
Go to the Terminal program (in Applications/Utilities), start it up, and type: 

java -version
You will see something like this: 

java version "1.5.0_06"
Java (TM) 2 Runtime Environment blah blah blah
As long as those first two digits are 1.5, you don't have to do anything. Go to Step 3.

If those first two digits are something else (like 1.4) you need to upgrade to a newer version. Select Software Update from the Apple Menu. You will be offered a number of new software packages to install, which should include Java software. (If not, let me know!) Follow the directions for installing these packages, and go on to Step 3.

Windows
Select "Command Prompt" from Start->Programs->Accessories and type 

java -version
If the Java version is identified as 1.5 something, you're set for the first four weeks, although you may need to do another download later in the course to get the Java software development kit. You can either go through the steps of the installation below, or wait a few weeks and proceed now to Step 3.

If you see a different version of Java, or if you get a message that the command java was not recognized, then you need to install the Java software. Download the Java installation package for Windows (Warning : it's big! If by any chance you have a dial-up connection, don't try it and come talk to me instead). When the download is completed, double-click on the jdk-1.5.0 icon and proceed with the installation, accepting all the proposed default settings.

Step 3 (All Systems)
Download the file TextEditor.jar to your course folder. When the download is finished, double-click on the icon. You should see the Text Editor window appear. If you don't, come see me (and bring your computer with you).

WARNING: You will have to download several of these .jar files during the semester. Several of my students running Windows last year noticed that their browsers by default saved these files with the suffix .zip instead of .jar. If this happens to you, you need to change the name of the file from TextEditor.zip to TextEditor.jar.

Questionnaire
Write a text document (you can use the TextEditor program you just downloaded, or some standard text processing program like Microsoft Word) containing the answers to the following questions:
  1. What year are you in at BC?
  2. Do you own a computer?
  3. If so, is it a Mac, or does it run Windows?
  4. Is it a laptop or a desktop?
  5. Which of the following do you own: A cellphone (give the make and model), a handheld device such as a Palm Pilot, a game system such as XBox, an iPod or other portable MP3 player.
  6. Have you ever taken a computing course either at the high school or college level? Did you study computer programming in the course? If so, in what programming language? Something else (like Web design, spreadsheets, Flash presentations)?
  7. What is the highest level mathematics course you have taken, and when did you take it (for instance, Algebra 2 in high school, Intro Calculus at another college)?

Debate on Intellectual Property

This week, the New York Times Technology Blog is hosting an interesting debate on intellectual property. On one side of the debate is Rick Cotton, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, NBC Universal; on the other is Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School specializing in telecommunications and copyright law. (You can guess which sides they represent!) The pro-copy protection position is well summarized in the following speech given by Jeff Zucker, President & Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal.

The debate has a new issue each day of the week. Read through the speech and the debate blog and be prepared to discuss the issue next week in class.