Instructor: Tali Moreshet Office: Hicks 218, x8331 Office Hours: Tues. 2-4pm, open door policy

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Course Description:

This course combines technical basics of digital systems and computer organization with non-technical topics, including the history of computers and great inventions in computing. You will be learning how computers work, what are the components that make up a computer, how data is stored and represented inside a computer, and how we can make computers do what we want them to do. If there is anything you would like to know about computers, we may be able to incorporate it into the course as well.

syllabus

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Readings:

• Brian W Kernighan, D is for Digital, published by DisforDigital.net, printed by CreateSpace.com, 2011.  
• Nell Dale and John Lewis, Computer Science Illuminated, Jones and Bartlett, some parts available online.
• References and credits.
• Additional readings will be posted throught the semester. 

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Tentative Class Schedule

NOTE: Some of the links on this page are not accessible from outside Swarthmore.

• Suggested presentation topics
• Presentation scoring rubric

Week	Dates	Topics	Readings & Handouts	Labs & HW
1	Jan 21-Jan 25	What's in a computer? History of computers	D is for Digital - Chapter 1 Computer History Museum Babbage's Difference Engine www.pbs.org/transistor http://www.nobelprize.org/
2	Jan 28-Feb 1	History of computers - cont How information is represented History of computers in education (Nimesh presenting)	D is for Digital - Chapter 2 http://www.asciitable.com/ http://www.unicode.org/charts/ Color Representation Applet For Nimesh's presentation: Evolution of Educational Computing Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child	Homework 1
3	Feb 4-Feb 8	Inside the CPU Logic gates	Computer Science Illuminated - Chapter 4 Intro to how microprocessors work	Lab 1 The Logg-O Simulator
4	Feb 11-Feb 15	How information is stored Alan Turing (Sara presenting)	D is for Digital - Chapter 3.3 Computer Science Illuminated - Chapter 5 Memory slides For Sara's presentation: BBC History: Alan Turing Cracking the NAZI Enigma Code Machine (watch until 04:10)	Homework 2
5	Feb 18-Feb 22	How can we tell computers what we want Machine language Computer ethics in the movies (Christina presenting)	D is for Digital - Chapter 3.1-2, Chapter 5 Assembly slides For Christina's presentation: Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics ACM Code of Ethics Christina asks that you try to watch at least one of the following movies: Desk Set Tron The Social Network	Lab 2 The Knob and Switch Computer
6	Feb 25-March 1	Mac vs. PC Mac vs. PC Marketing Tactics (Ashley B. presenting) - cancelled	D is for Digital - Chapter 6 How operating systems work Computer Science Illuminated - Chapter 10 The evolution of operating systems OS slides	Homework 3
7	March 4-March 8	File systems EXAM : Wed. 3/6, in class	Computer Science Illuminated - Chapter 11	Lab 3 Linux shell commands
Spring Break
8	March 18-March 22	How computers communicate What makes the Internet work Computing at Swarthmore (Ashley M. presenting)	D is for Digital - Chapter 8.1-8.4 D is for Digital - Chapter 9 History of the Internet For Ashley's presentation: What is Wifi & How Does Wifi Work What is a Mail Server and How Does it Work?	Homework 4
9	March 25-March 29	What makes the Internet work - cont "Field trip" to ITS Google and the History of Web Search Engines (Colin presenting)	D is for Digital - Chapter 10 History of the Web Networks Slides For Colin's presentation: A History of Search Engines How Google Search Operates	Homework 5
10	April 1-April 5	Risks and defenses Creating a webpage Social Aspects of the Internet and its Implications (Mireille presenting)	D is for Digital - Chapter 11 Computer Security For Mireille's presentation: Letting Down Our Guard With Web Privacy	Lab 4 - Pre-lab Lab 4 Sample webpage swartlogo.jpg
11	April 8-April 12	Risks and defenses - cont Compression Mac vs. PC Marketing Tactics (Ashley B. presenting)	D is for Digital - Chapter 11 Security Slides The Basics of Cryptography How file compression works MPEG-2 Vidoe Compresion MP3 Compresion For Ashley's presentation: Browse around the following websites: windows, mac Watch a few of the commercials here	Webpage term paper
12	April 15-April 19	Correcting errors Wireless and cellphones Cellphones and their Impact on Society (Uriel presenting)	How Barcodes Work D is for Digital - sections 8.4, 8.5 United States Frequency Allocations AM vs. FM Modulation For Uriel's presentation: 70-Year Evolution Of The Cell Phone How cell phone use affects social interactions How Cell Phones Are Killing Face-to-Face Interactions	Homework 6
13	April 22-April 26	Wireless and cellphones - cont Cloud Computing (Erik presenting)	Wireless Slides For Erik's presentation: Cloud computing in plain English How Cloud Computing Works
14	April 29-May 3	How are computers made The future of computing Review	The origin of Moore's Law An Intel Fab - Where Chips Are Made The Making of a Chip Moore's Law and the future slides
	FINAL EXAM: 5/13 9am