What did you do this past week

I went to my classes this week and I am very happy with the classes I am taking this semester. I am taking this class of course, Software Design with Dr. Batory, Intro to Security with Dr. Young, and the online accounting class. I feel like this will be a fairly lightweight semester with only SWE and maybe Software Design that will take up some time. Also, I installed Windows 7 on my laptop on a new partition alongside a Ubuntu partition. I installed Windows 7 because it seems like the Software Design class requires a Windows machine? I’m not entirely sure but the first project had me using the MSDOS.

What’s in your way?

I haven’t coded since last semester. I spent all winter break being lazy, playing World of Warcraft (I have since quit to focus on my studies), and binge watching Netflix. Thankfully, this semester, I will be coding in Java for Software Design and Intro to Security, and I am comfortable in Java. However, in SWE, I will be using Python and I have not coded in Python in 2 years. I hope to step up my Python game this semester for the first two projects in SWE. Also, I have not taken OOP yet so I feel like I am at a disadvantage because the tools and software used in OOP and SWE are similar along with the class rigor.

What will you do next week

I’ll have to get started on the Collatz project but I am hoping to start sooner during the weekend. Even though the project seems fairly easy, I do not want to start late. I will be going to the study sessions on Monday and Wednesday to get help if I get stuck (which I probably will). I am also considering getting a part time job and earn some side cash, but I’m not sure if it is really worth it. I have Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays off, but I might want to use those days to study and relax.

This class

Coming into Spring 2017, this was the class that I was most looking forward too. On Tuesday, I came early and chose to sit in the back. Wrong choice as I could bareley see the projector screen. Also, the markers that Dr. Fraij were using were almost dead, I wanted to lend him my own but I was too tired to do it, sorry. On Thursday, I sat in the front, and while the room got brand new markers, the projecter screen was still hard to see. I think its the quality of the screen and not my eyesight.

Anyways, both lectures were awesome and I am glad that the class is and hour and a half long. It is also cool that there are quizzes and Dr. Fraij class out students because I will be studying and reading so that I don’t fail the quizzes.

Tip of the week

You can download Microsoft operating systems from the CS department through the MSDN/Dreamspark program that UTCS is apart of. Here is a link to the page for more information. You’ll have to sign up for one and then you can download the 32-bit and 64-bit versions Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and more. If you email msdn@cs.utexas.edu, you can requests the product key to activate the operating system. I have been waiting 3 days for mine but I hope it comes in soon!