Using WolframAlpha to Generate Passwords

Need a strong password in a pinch but can't think of any?

Head over to WolframAlpha and have it generate one  for you!

You could have WolframAlpha generate a password by typing in the search box:

Generate a 8 character password.

- This will generate a 8 character password of random characters.

Generate alphanumeric password

- Will generate a alphanumeric password

You can even have WolframAlpha analyze your passwords:

Analyze password dog  

- Will analyze the password dog and return the results

Generate password all special characters

- Will generate a password using only special characters

Generate password only numbers

- Will generate a password using only numerical digits


There are a few more that you could come up with. Play around and see what combinations you can come up with.

September 2015 - List of Stuff

I decided to start a new little piece called List of Stuff. Each month, I will feature a few things that I came across during the month and put them up for others to check out. These could be things I'm currently into, articles that I read, software or apps that I used, books, music, or just plain anything that I found cool for that particular month.


September 2015 - List of Stuff


This is Cuba's Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify - all without the internet. Really cool piece on how another part of the world gets their information.

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9352095/netflix-cuba-paquete-internet


Google CS First. Came across this and thought it was a neat source for educators.

http://www.cs-first.com/create


Nuclide IDE - Developed and used by Facebook employees.

http://nuclide.io/

iOS at Facebook. Tons of information on the app that so many people use. 

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5463eca4e4b09c644a61f99a/t/55fa801ae4b008853e3de038/1442480154751/SimonWhitaker.pdf

Microsoft Mathematics. Calculator on steroids. For more advanced uses. Would recommend for any students taking math courses.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15702


How we Built an Infinitely Scalable Malware Detector

http://www.scalescale.com/how-we-built-an-infinitely-scalable-malware-detector/


iPhone App - Filters by Tap Tap Tap. TONS of photography filters. From the makers of Camera+

http://taptaptap.com/filters/


That concludes September's List of Stuff. Let me know if you liked the idea behind this. If so, I'll continue on in the coming months and possibly turn it into an email newsletter if it gains enough traction.


As always, enjoy!



~Michael

Scratch Programming - Turbo Mode

Here is a little trick that I picked up through the CS50 course already. It was not featured in the lectures directly, but through a neat video that was shared on the problem set page from week 0.

To run a Scratch program in Turbo Mode, simply Shift + click on the green start flag to run your program in Turbo Mode.

When a Scratch program runs, it will step through each step/direction the exact amount of times stated. With Turbo Mode, the process is allowed to run faster opening up a few extra possibilities to play with.

Harvard CS50 Course

I've been trying to follow along with Harvard's CS50 course this semester as it happens live. The course lives at: https://cs50.harvard.edu/  CS50 is Harvard's introductory computer science course and features an array of programming languages and concepts.

All of the materials, lectures, and notes are made available on this site. There is a huge amount of information to go through.

I'm enjoying the class so far, but I'm only through week 0. I liked the intro to Scratch programming. I've heard of it before and set it up on computers for the school district, but never had a chance to use it until now. I think it's a great resource to have when teaching young children how to program.

I look forward to what this class brings. I've heard great things about it. Anyone that would like to follow along with it is welcome to join me. Just let me know and we can work through notes/problem sets together.

100th Post: The Defining Technologies, Hardware, and Software That Led Me Here

Post 100 of this blog will be retrospective of the top 10 things that have influenced or gotten me to where I am in my technological journey. These are in no certain order. Enjoy!


1. Java programming language - In high school, I took the Oracle Internet Academy courses. It was the first time offered at my school. The 2nd course had us programming in Java and it quickly become one of my favorite languages.

2. Microsoft Windows XP - This was the operating system that helped get me into computers. XP was my playground for all things computer related. I got my first taste of dealing with malware and programming under XP.

3. Android - My first smartphone was a Droid 2. Android programming got me into app development and thinking about programming for apps. Seeing an app you made on someone's device is a powerful feeling.

4. Nintendo - My first gaming system and also one of my favorite (Super SNES). I remember playing the classics and I'm still drawn to them today. 8-bit and 16-bit games define some of my past.

5. Compaq laptop - My first personal laptop was a Compaq. So much gaming and coding was done on this machine. I still have it today!

6. iPhone/iPad - A full blown computer system that fits in the pocket.

7. C++ - The programming language when you want to get serious about game development.

8. Gamedev.net - Learning the concepts of game programming before I could even begin to carry them out. The site and the people behind it were very influential to me.

9. Apple Macbook - The laptop that was so redefined and sleek. Unix underpinnings which lead me into a new world of development.

10. Comcast Cable internet - Going from dial-up to cable internet was eye opening. So many more possibilities were opened. The amount of information from sites, videos, and books geared towards tech/programming is near endless.

BONUS 11. Hacker News - One of my starting points for information. Some of the best programming resources have been found here.

BONUS 12. Linux - Linux, a whole new operating system to me and a look into a different lifestyle. Open source software is a GREAT thing and I feel like it should be in the spotlight more.

TI-83 Plus Calculator Emulation

Now that school is getting back in and classes are underway, I thought it would be a good time to share some useful information on TI calculators.

TI graphing calculators are required for a lot of the higher level math courses taught in high schools and universities. They are very nice, but they can be expensive if they're only going to be used for 1 class. This would be great to use at home, as most schools will have a few to loan out if needed.

Did you know that you can emulate these calculators and run them on your computer like any other software program?

Wabbitemu is a package designed to emulate these calculators and runs on Windows, Mac, and Android.

Once the program is installed, you'll need a ROM image of the calculator you want to emulate. I'm choosing my favorite for this example, the TI-83 Plus.

Here is a link to the ROM that I am using in this example. You can find other models with Google or even on the TI website.

http://nitroroms.com/show/file-info/L164856/Texas_Instruments/TI-83+%20v1.03%20(19xx)(Texas%20Instruments).rom.html

Download and copy this file somewhere onto your computer. When you open Wabbitemu, you'll be asked to locate the file you'll be using. Pick the file you downloaded and the calculator will start up!

                                 Wabbit running a TI-83 Plus ROM in Windows 10


 One of my favorite features of this program is under the File menu. There is an option to record an .avi video file. This is a great resource for instructors. Think about how someone can record going through the steps of a sample equation and then upload it to their site. Students can later watch the video and follow along. I think this is one of the best features that makes this program a top notch calculator emulator.

For more resources, please see:

https://education.ti.com/en/us/home

Android Emulation on Windows 10 - Troubles/Fixes

Recently I ran into some troubles getting my old Android emulators running under Windows 10 after my upgrade from Win7. I believe the trouble came from upgrading from Windows 7 Professional into Windows 10 Home edition. In doing so, I lost access to Hyper-V.

I was trying to get the Microsoft Android emulator running as VirtualBox isn't fully compatible with Windows 10 yet. Also, Genymotion seems to be having trouble with the new version of VirtualBox.

The only way I was able to get an emulator up and running was to fire up a virtual machine running Windows 8.1 Pro. From there, I was able to get the Microsoft Android tools installed and running:

So if you run into this issue on Windows 10 that is the cause and that is a possible fix. Another way would be connecting a device to your computer and testing it through there. I do this sometimes on my Galaxy Tab, but I always like having the emulators around too.


Here are a few resources on mobile emulation and mobile device lab setups:

Android Testing on Devices and Emulators

Testing Mobile - Emulators-Simulators-Remote-Debugging/

How to Build a Device Lab

Setting up a Mobile Device Lab

Etsy's Device Lab

CS Unplugged - CS without a Computer

When I was first learning about programming, the best teachers told me to start with a pen and paper before ever reaching for the keyboard.

Check out CS Unplugged - Computer Science without a computer. 

Tons of free activities to use in the classroom or anywhere to help learn some computer science concepts.

A big benefit to program design and logical thinking will be the amount of time saved. Rushing to a keyboard and coding right away often leads to wasted time. Image getting halfway into a program and realizing there is a much better approach to the problem and the existing code has to be tossed.

This is why it's nice to have a good start in your mind, on paper, or whiteboard before even sitting down at a keyboard.