For my business, in my office I would use the Windows Operating System, even though I am a die hard Mac believer. Windows seems to be able to do more for a business and has sturdier software. I would possibly toy with the idea of using an open source operatins system like Linux, created by Linus Torvalds. I could potentially write any program that I needed for my Sucarpool.com, which gives me tons of freedom and capability.
The only problem with an open source operating system is support. If anything went wrong, I would not necessarily have the techincal support I would with a huge corporation like Apple or Microsoft. I could go to the creator, but I doubt he/she would have 24 hour tech support. It could put me in a real pinch if anything goes horribly wrong one night at 2AM (prime time for college students!).
Kryptos sounds like a really cool endeavor for cryptographers. Since it is in a restricted area in the CIA headquarters in DC, I unfortunately cannot go see it. But I'm still interested in taking a trip down there...maybe I'll use SUcarpool.com to find someone who wants to give me a ride!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Post 7
Previously, I mentioned that I did not want to ask my customers for their social security numbers because of the high rates of identity theft in college aged kids. To further their protection, I would contact the three top credit agencies, Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian, and ask them to advertise on SUcarpool.com. Furthermore, I would also contact annualcreditreport.com and ask them to advertise as well. I want the students to see these ads and to become aware of how to get their credit reports.
Checking your credit report annually can protect against identity theft because if someone steals your identity, they can open another account and exploit your credit. By frequently watching your credit score, you can be sure to avoid identity theft. At the very least, knowing someone is using your name and ruining your credit can help stop it before it gets out of hand and ruins your credit forever.
In terms of advertising, I would create a separate databse to keep track of all the businesses that have ads on my website, past and present. This would help organize my advertising, and I could make future decisions by quickly looking at the old data. For instance, if a popular restaurant on Marshall Street keeps buying ad space on SUcarpool.com, I would know to contact other restaurants on Marshall Street and tell them of the success other similar businesses had. It's a great way to make money and ensure the site keeps running.
Checking your credit report annually can protect against identity theft because if someone steals your identity, they can open another account and exploit your credit. By frequently watching your credit score, you can be sure to avoid identity theft. At the very least, knowing someone is using your name and ruining your credit can help stop it before it gets out of hand and ruins your credit forever.
In terms of advertising, I would create a separate databse to keep track of all the businesses that have ads on my website, past and present. This would help organize my advertising, and I could make future decisions by quickly looking at the old data. For instance, if a popular restaurant on Marshall Street keeps buying ad space on SUcarpool.com, I would know to contact other restaurants on Marshall Street and tell them of the success other similar businesses had. It's a great way to make money and ensure the site keeps running.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Post 6
The domain name is very important for my entrepreneurial endeavor because it is a website. SUcarpool.com is avaliable, which is fortunate. A domain name is really an alias for an IP address. I would only have one IP address tied to this domain name because I would only have one server (unless my website really grew which would be awesome!). Of course, I would use an unrestricted domain name, preferably with the suffix ".com". ICANN.com is a great resource for finding out more information about domain names.
My website's database would be one of the most important components of the entire business. Keeping each customer's information on file is important to see our client demographics, such as age, location, etc. This can help with advertising for the site since we'll know our customers and our potential target and where to reach them.
The goal of our datebase would be to record this data efficiently and to manage the vast amounts of information we collect. The most important component of databases is the integrity of the data. It must be consisent. Therefore, a RDBMS (relational database management system) would be great to allow us to design a logical system for the database. RDBMS uses SQL (Structured Query Language). The relationships between entities are responsible for keeping the data consistent. The primary key and foreign key makes sure that when one piece of data is deleted, all other corresponding data in other entities are deleted as well. This ensures that there isn't any phantom data floating around.
My website's database would be one of the most important components of the entire business. Keeping each customer's information on file is important to see our client demographics, such as age, location, etc. This can help with advertising for the site since we'll know our customers and our potential target and where to reach them.
The goal of our datebase would be to record this data efficiently and to manage the vast amounts of information we collect. The most important component of databases is the integrity of the data. It must be consisent. Therefore, a RDBMS (relational database management system) would be great to allow us to design a logical system for the database. RDBMS uses SQL (Structured Query Language). The relationships between entities are responsible for keeping the data consistent. The primary key and foreign key makes sure that when one piece of data is deleted, all other corresponding data in other entities are deleted as well. This ensures that there isn't any phantom data floating around.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Post 5
Since college students are so prone to identity theft, I want to avoid taking unnecessary information from my users as much as possible. I do not need their credit card numbers or their social security numbers. The only number I absolutely require from them is their SU ID number to make sure they are an SU student, and their email address. It is a student's option to put their phone number on the site as well.
If SUcarpool.com ever became so big that I would need my own office to maintain it, I would choose Apple computers with a MacOS X operating system because I'm a huge Mac fan. It's pre-emptive multitasking abilities guarantee that each process gets some operating time, also known as a time slice. This ensures that the computer is efficient.
Thank goodness for the internet, yes? Without it, my business could not exist. http://www.SUcarpool.com contains an important component called a hypertext transfer protocol, which is a four step process between the client and a web server. It basically means that the internet user connects, requests information from a server, they recieve that information, and then the connection is closed. This esnures that the web server is not overloaded by many open connections. If I ever needed to send my clients an email, I would use the SMTP email protocol, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
If SUcarpool.com ever became so big that I would need my own office to maintain it, I would choose Apple computers with a MacOS X operating system because I'm a huge Mac fan. It's pre-emptive multitasking abilities guarantee that each process gets some operating time, also known as a time slice. This ensures that the computer is efficient.
Thank goodness for the internet, yes? Without it, my business could not exist. http://www.SUcarpool.com contains an important component called a hypertext transfer protocol, which is a four step process between the client and a web server. It basically means that the internet user connects, requests information from a server, they recieve that information, and then the connection is closed. This esnures that the web server is not overloaded by many open connections. If I ever needed to send my clients an email, I would use the SMTP email protocol, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Post 4
In order to design my website, I would like pictures from college students in their cars. User content would make it seem more realistic, so I would ask college kids to take the pictures and send them to me for me to post on the website. In order to do this, I need to make sure the pictures they send me have enough DPI to show up clearly on the screen. 5X7 photos would be the best size for the website.
On the website, I would install a "Trip Cost" application to add up the cost of the entire trip and then divide it between the carpoolers. It would take into account the cost of gas and tolls along the way. The riders would then be assured of the cost of their share.
In order to do this, I would use a RFID in their EZPass to record how much they spend on tolls. The information could then be used to determine how much each rider owes the driver. Students can then be assured their driver is not ripping them off, but the cost of the trip is validated by the RFID.
On the website, I would install a "Trip Cost" application to add up the cost of the entire trip and then divide it between the carpoolers. It would take into account the cost of gas and tolls along the way. The riders would then be assured of the cost of their share.
In order to do this, I would use a RFID in their EZPass to record how much they spend on tolls. The information could then be used to determine how much each rider owes the driver. Students can then be assured their driver is not ripping them off, but the cost of the trip is validated by the RFID.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Post 3
Excel will come in handy for SUcarpool.com because it can store massive amounts of information in an easy to use and organized format. I would create a spreadsheet of information concerning each student with a profile on the website. It would store their name, email address, ID number, home address, school address, what kind of car they own, how many passengers their car holds, and their home college.
Collapsible Menus would be of the utmost benefit to me because this is a ton of information for each student, and it would be hard to analyze it all at one time. Instead, a collapsible menu would allow me to organize the information into easy to sort categories. Pivot tables would also be valuable so that I can analyze vast amounts of data quickly.
I would probably hire a design team to create the website, but in case I want to change the colors, I can use hexidemical color rules to tweak the colors I do not like. Using the sliding scale from 0 to F, I could make the colors darker or lighter and play with the saturation and hue. I would make sure to use RGB color since it is the mode used with a light source, or a monitor in this case.
Collapsible Menus would be of the utmost benefit to me because this is a ton of information for each student, and it would be hard to analyze it all at one time. Instead, a collapsible menu would allow me to organize the information into easy to sort categories. Pivot tables would also be valuable so that I can analyze vast amounts of data quickly.
I would probably hire a design team to create the website, but in case I want to change the colors, I can use hexidemical color rules to tweak the colors I do not like. Using the sliding scale from 0 to F, I could make the colors darker or lighter and play with the saturation and hue. I would make sure to use RGB color since it is the mode used with a light source, or a monitor in this case.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Post 2
This week, when Professor Rubin talked about servers, I knew that this is the technology I would need for my website, SUcarpool.com. The server would control access to all the resources of the website, including user profiles, previous carpool groups, and maps/routes for getting home. It would take very few people to run the website since it is mostly user generated information, but in order to join in the effort of Green Computing, I would try to use a virtual computer to reduce my consumption of energy and generate less waste.
In order to attract students to the website, I would be sure to follow the 4 effective website criteria: design, technology, content, and management. The design would have to be simple and the technology easy to use. No busy student would take extra time to learn how to use a confusing site to get a ride home. Our content would be minimal, since the students would be the ones providing most of the information. And for this site, management is crucial. Like any other site, figuring out how to make the website more user-friendly and efficient takes time and trial and error. A management team would be a large component of the company to ensure the website is easy to use and hassle-free.
SUcarpool.com would also have a large social media presence because it is one of the primary ways that college students communicate. Twitter tweets and facebook messages/status updates could alert students with the most recent postings and remind students to begin networking to find rides home during the holidays and breaks. Twitter and Facebook would remind students when it's time to check Sucarpool.com for Spring Break plans.
In order to attract students to the website, I would be sure to follow the 4 effective website criteria: design, technology, content, and management. The design would have to be simple and the technology easy to use. No busy student would take extra time to learn how to use a confusing site to get a ride home. Our content would be minimal, since the students would be the ones providing most of the information. And for this site, management is crucial. Like any other site, figuring out how to make the website more user-friendly and efficient takes time and trial and error. A management team would be a large component of the company to ensure the website is easy to use and hassle-free.
SUcarpool.com would also have a large social media presence because it is one of the primary ways that college students communicate. Twitter tweets and facebook messages/status updates could alert students with the most recent postings and remind students to begin networking to find rides home during the holidays and breaks. Twitter and Facebook would remind students when it's time to check Sucarpool.com for Spring Break plans.
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