Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Transition Computers to the Mind

Transition Computers to the Mind

How well do you think? How fast can you type on a keyboard? Are you physically disabled or mentally impaired? How would you like to have a computer interpret the answers to these questions before you do? This scenario sounds like science fiction but is now a reality, thanks to a marvelous device. NeuroSky of San Jose, California has had a miraculous breakthrough in a technology that can monitor your brain waves. The device can enhance your ability to interact with electronic devices and computers.

    At the Game Developers Conference in 2008, many attendees had a chance to try on the device for the first time. Compared to the alternative, a brain implant device that is permanent, NeuroSky has given back your body a mind of its own. In a demonstration of the pilot device "MindSet", many attendees of the Conference were able to test their abilities to think. With the device attached to their heads, they had instructions given to them on how to use the device without thinking about it. To accomplish this they could use simple actions to relate to consequences. For example; when you get excited, this indicates a yes and when you are relaxed, this indicates a no.

    The mechanisms involved in creating this type of a device require science that is on the cutting edge of technology. Silicon, copper, microchips, and micro censors, tightly woven around your head giving you the ability to manipulate a digital environment. This will help all humankind to realize new potentials of their mental capacity by exercising and relaxing the brain. Eventually, by creating focus and having a basic willingness to succeed you will create an improvement overall mentally.

Today, individuals can be quadriplegic, yet they have intelligence that is far superior to yours or ours. Stephen Hawking is the most recent primary example to make national headlines because of his research in physics. On the other hand, there is an Ocala, resident business owner named Shawn Mims. He has the same situation and has a Bachelors Degree. His business, Space World PC, LLC would become a mega seller if he were able to do the things that we can do. Overall, this platform of technology would provide him with the ability to control his computers as we do.


 

References

Madrigal, A. (2008, February 22). Gallery: The Hard Science Behind Videogame Technologies. Message posted to http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/multimedia/2008/02/gdc_gallery_2?slide=6&slideView=8

NeuroSky Inc. (2008). Contact Us. In NeuroSky's Corporate Address [City of Residence]. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from http://www.neurosky.com/menu/bottom/contact_us/

NeuroSky Inc. (n.d.). MindSet™ (Commercial Neural Headset). In http://www.neurosky.com/menu/main/technology/product_summary/

[Technology operation]. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from http://www.neurosky.com/menu/main/technology/product_summary/

Holmes, W. (2007, July). (cover story). Futurist, 41(4), 41-46. In Expanding the Human Mind [The Future of the Brain.]. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from Education Research Complete database.: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=21&sid=d0b0d4a0-b776-4db1-948e-4033f56eebf8@sessionmgr9&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ehh&AN=25310575

Friday, September 12, 2008

Robert Perry – Customer Service Week 11 Discussion

Customer Service for the 21st Century

Five challenges facing effective customer service.

Effective Communication

Companies that initiate communications with customers must meet the demands of the expanding population. In most metropolitan areas, businesses begin with a good intention, set their focus 100% of their time and energy on appealing to the customer. After a couple of weeks, they begin to feel comfortable and start to relax. This is when the critical meltdowns occur and this is where businesses of the 21st century must change in order to maintain their businesses. The most effective way to maintain a 100% focus on customer service environment is to setup the organization with teamwork. Having employees that are capable of working together and who do not know the meaning of the word individual is an intelligent way to accomplish business. No matter what the business occupation is, every business can benefit from better teamwork and multi diverse employees.

Employee Misconduct

Employees who misbehave during the hours of operations are wasting both time and money. On average, the 8-hour workday has between six and six-and-one-half hour's worth of useful time. Companies should create an atmosphere in the organization that is competitive to the point that it would deter misbehavior and horseplay. If the employees group together in teams and the teams compete for special privileges, then these teams will have goals that they can achieve together. Special privileges could consist of many different things but they should all consist of benefits that help both the company and to the employee.

Salary Justification

It is a known fact that a happy employee is a well-paid employee. Any company that takes care of its employees by means of generous monetary endorsements knows what the benefits are to spending the extra money. Take Microsoft for example, Microsoft has more millionaires on its staff than any other company in the world. These millionaires would rather work for Microsoft than any other company in the world because Microsoft takes care of them in every way. The salary of the employees translates down to the fundamentals of customer service. If a customer service rep. is unhappy, they will displace their positive mental attitude without realizing that they have done so.

Office Technology Organization

Every company within the fortune 500 knows the importance of CSR software. Implementation of CSR software within a corporate network gives the employee data about the customer they are talking with. Better CSR software cost the company more money up front, but its benefits are worth more than the upfront costs. Companies could implement extranet and intranet systems to collaborate the information between departments. With automated telephone systems and the World Wide Web, customers can deliver information directly into these CSR applications. This leaves little chance of mistake on the part of the organization and places more responsibility on the customer.

Engineering, Research, and Development

Companies should always continue to grow and flourish. They should always engineer new methods to manage their relationship with the customer. Research and Development are critical to assessing weaknesses within a company.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

NAIA Event Administrator Letter About Tasha Perry

April 19, 2007

 
 
Dear President Taylor: 

I wanted to write to you to express my appreciation of Natasha Perry, your Swimming and Diving Graduate Assistant. I have served as the Swimming and Diving Event Administrator at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for three years now. Over this time I have gotten to know Tasha and have had the privilege of working with her at the NAIA National Championships and throughout the season while she coordinated Top Times for the Swimming and Diving Coaches Association.

During this time I was able to observe Tasha as a coach and professional. The top times process is a very time consuming project and one that takes great organization, communication and patience. She handles all aspects of this project with extreme professionalism and is very responsible and committed to her work. She is very timely, organized and

Her communications skills are outstanding and she is a true pleasure to work with. Her follow through is second to none and I always had full confidence that everything under her responsibility will be executed and completed at the highest level. I also feel her judgment and decision making excel far beyond other a lot of other coaches I work with. She works will with all different types of audiences, including coaches, athletes and administrators.

I think she will make a great Head Coach some day and is a huge asset at the present time in her position at your university and with the NAIA. She pays extreme attention to detail and really cares about her athletes and the entire program.

Another one of Tasha's talents that makes her unique is her commitment and loyalty. She always gives 110% to everything she is involved in. I just wanted you to know what an impact she has on our swimming association and how much she helps me. So thank you and Coach Nelson for allowing me to work with her and getting to know her better. 


 

Sincerely,

Renee Hultgren

NAIA Event Administrator

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Evolution of 3D Multi Player Games for Windows

The Evolution of 3D Multi Player Games for Windows – Rough Draft

Robert Perry

Rasmussen College

CGS1190C Computer Information Systems

Vilma Hernandez

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Evolution of 3D Multi Player Games for Windows

The first 3D game for Windows to incorporate a multiversity of player interactions began in 1999 titled Ever Quest. Ever Quest commenced with 2,000 members who logged on all at the same time. The combination of 2,000 players from all around the United States of America simultaneously playing a single video game set a world record. Today, this game still exists and is widely popular in both the first generation version and the new Ever Quest 2 second-generation version. The 3D multi player online games have become a multi billion-dollar market for companies to infiltrate; the most advanced online multiplayer games (MMOG for short) have artificial intelligence (AI) at the highest level and one day this AI may out smart humans.

Ever Quest and Ever Quest 2 have both created enormous wealth for Sony Online Entertainment and continues to flourish as leading games for this company. As you begin the games, you start out as a newbie with no weapons, armor or spells. The term newbie refers to new players who have not yet soiled their weapons in tremendous battles with other players. Soon after you slay your first primordial beast, you realize that you are not alone; in fact, you must coordinate with others to accomplish your quests. Quests, given to you from the beginning, lead you in the path of righteousness by giving you valuables such as, experience points, and monetary rewards.

Flash forward two years, you have logged more than 90 hours playing in front of the computer and now you are the highest level in the game. What do you do now? Sony Online Entertainment has realized that this scenario is possible and they have created expansion sets for the game. The expansions extend the end of the game and continue your character with new valuables and new quests. Expansions also increase the level of difficulty for the game, making it impossible to proceed without camaraderie.

In China, the Ever Quest series has become so popular that the officials had to impose sanctions on the game producers that limited players to 3 hours of game play. This is a result of a number of individuals dying due to exhaustion and fatigue from being in front of the computer for hours on end. An estimated 500,000 people were addicted to the internet and had to have counseling due to this addiction.

Today in Orlando, Florida, Electronics Arts (EA) offers a new type of MMORPG game that incorporates console play and computer online play to achieve their overall goal. EA released their game with full customization of your own unique species of animal that you control and give it commands. There are over a thousand combinations of characteristics to choose from and each combination choice reveals your new character. Creating a new species of animal depends on the unique attributes you choose for your pet. The creature becomes a learning virtual organism and this revolution in video game architecture pushes the limits of artificial intelligence for the character in video games.

Spore requires your computer to have better than average hardware as outlined by its system requirements. While playing the game with minimum requirements you will notice lag and loss of frame rate. The term "lag" comes from the user experience and the reduction of frame rate while in game sessions. Due to lagging, you will notice jumpy non-smooth animations and characters will perform randomly when commanded. Having above average video graphics and a good internet connection will correct this lag and will aid the enjoyment of the gaming experience.

Mass Multi Online Video Games (MMO) is the genre or type of game classification. People who are computer enthusiasts, hobbyists, or spoiled rich children all appreciate the capabilities of high-end computer gaming graphics while playing MMORPG games. The difference between win or lose can sometimes depend on the power of your graphics processing unit. Each year there are competitions and venues where computer gaming enthusiasts of all ages gather to "FRAG" one another. The term FRAG loosely comes from the game Unreal Tournament and refers to one player killing another player in game. To be the best online player and win the most points you must abide by the laws of performance and development and upgrade the video graphics as often as possible.

The manufacturer plays a significant role in the production and distribution of new games. Assurance of product placement is noticeable in the introduction animation to most popular game titles. The animation that precedes the entry to a game is a marketing ploy designed to target the audience of the game and appeal to better performing graphics. Examples of these images show up on television, on billboards, and in magazines.

Over the span of the last ten years, massive advances in the technology of video graphics architecture including CPU, memory, and core speeds have given birth to a revolution in the gaming industry. Lifelike realistic animations are more common within the newly released game titles. These real time animations require more processing power, more memory, and more pixel pipelines than ever before. The goal of the companies creating online video games is to draw on the public's tendencies to become addicted to a product, and most of these companies have succeeded in doing so.

References
The Virtual World of Online Gaming. (2008). In Britannica Book of the Year, 2007. Retrieved August 15, 2008, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9435326

virtual reality. (2008). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-253106

Electronic Arts. (n.d.). Overview. In What Is Spore [Spore offers you choices of
play the way you want to!]. Retrieved August 15, 2008, from Electronic Arts
Web site: http://www.spore.com/what/news

Monday, September 08, 2008

Week 10 Discussion Assignment – Robert Perry

Letter from Chris after getting off the phone with Aretha Washington


 

Chris Walker

1652 E. Main Street Suite 150

St. Charles, Illinois 60174

September 8, 2008

Daniel Negreanu

Human Services

Staff-Temps International

1652 E. Main Street Suite 150

St. Charles, Illinois 60174

Dear Mr. Negreanu:

    I have just gotten off the phone with Aretha Washington and the company she represents has an urgent need for a Temp today within 15 minutes. I would personally like to suggest we send Alfred Reed or Tom Jones. I have sent you their contact information in the company portal. They are both on-call and either one will make a good replacement for the person whom I sent there this morning. Please inform me as soon as you have additional information for me regarding this matter. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.


 

Sincerely,

Chris Walker

Employment Counselor


 


 

Letter to Aretha Washington after hearing availability of Temp.


 

Chris Walker

1652 E. Main Street Suite 150

St. Charles, Illinois 60174

September 8, 2008

Aretha Washington

Human Resources Director

Tiger Electronics

645 N Michigan Ave

Chicago, Illinois 60611

Dear Mrs. Washington:

    We have another temporary personnel staff member available and in route to your location. Please accept my apology for the incontinence that this mistake has caused you. You had every right to be displeased with this situation and I take full responsibility for this. I will see to it that this does not happen again, and to do so I will be compensating you for today and tomorrow's employee cost.


 

Sincerely,

Chris Walker

Employment Counselor


 


 

Discussion Assignment Week 10

  1. How well was the customer call handled? Explain.
    1. The customer call was not handled, as it should have been. Mark made several critical mistakes that a hardened corporate executive would have known better than to have made. Mark should have not taken on the responsibility after just having been in an accident. Mark's focus was outside the workplace and his stress levels were high.
  2. What should you have done differently?
    1. Mark should have gone to his boss before returning to his office and asked for some assistance with his workload. After going to the boss, he should have checked the company web portal to see the stats of his Temps. The data for this Temp no showing up to the job site would document this already and there may have been some correspondence about it.
  3. Do you believe that Aretha was justified in how she treated you? Explain.
    1. Aretha was justified but her demeanor was typical of someone that is stressed. She herself could have been a little more considerate of Mark's feelings and realized that Mark is a human. Her boss because of this incident may have just yelled at Aretha.
  4. How do personal problems or priorities sometimes affect customer service?
    1. Personal problems affect the ability to perform given tasks because they are a sidetrack. Sidetracks are deterrents from the priorities set forth by daily routines. When you bring your personal life into the stress of the workplace environment, there is too much distraction from the focus of work.