UT Austin CS 307 Exam

Well… I passed the UT Austin CS 307 – Foundations of Computer Science exam!! Yay!

That was a class that I actually took when I was a sophomore, and it the only AP test I have not received a 4 or 5 on (I got a 3).

Ideas for Online Services

So after watching the Social Network, researching HouseSYSTEM, and talking to Paras Chopra about Visual Website Optimizer, I have become really interested in web applications that I can make money on. Originally, I had a not really that original idea to create an online system for the University of Texas that would allow a student to select college classes they were interested in, schedule blocks of time for whatever they want, and then add in parameters for their classes, such as the ability to minimize walking distance, or minimize dead-time in between classes, etc.

Pretty much I thought this was a brilliant idea until I found out that (at the moment), there is no way to access the catalog without a certified student login. Asking for those logins would raise a large number of privacy concerns, so the only way I would be able to get access to those logs would be to specifically ask the University for access to its catalog. This would require talking to them and the idea would likely be rejected or shut-down.

Just had another idea, combine this with something similar to CourseMash, and you would also be able to maximize classes with your friends.

So, what I want to do now is to find niches in the market that have not really been filled, or I can do a better job of, and I want to make some cool web applications that are either free, subscription based, or ad-based.

To give a little bit more background, I am not trying to find the "next big thing". I am trying to find a service that I can make modest gains on. A service that is currently not being met, or is not currently being met very well.

So, here goes for my idea dump.

• Course Scheduler
  • This is the idea I described earlier. Basically a system where one would be able to log-in, select courses they were interested in, and be able to automatically, and in seconds, generate possible schedules. There would be a lot of functionalty, and I would probably try to market this as a subscription-based. I may do it ad-based, but I may just decide to give it away for free.
  • To be honest, this is probably going to be the next project I do. I will have my system read and parse the Austin Community College schedule and it will work for that school.

Rejected from Turing + 4/3.5/3 Year Plan

1Well, I didn’t get in to Turing Scholars… Yeah, it sucks, but it is no big deal… I have a new plan. 8 Semesters, 4 of which are “full loads” (15 hours):

Summer 2011		3 Credits
GOV	312L	3	Texas Government
Fall 2011		15 Credits
CS	313K	3	Logic, Sets & Functions
CS	315	3	Algorithms & Data Structures
M	326K	3	Probability I
UGS	302	3	Freshman Year Signature Course
VAPA	*	3	Visual and Performing Arts
Spring 2012		15 Credits
CS	310	3	Computer Organization & Programming
CS	336	3	Analysis of Programs
EE	316	3	Digital Systems Engineering
M	340L	3	Matrices & Matrix Calculations
ACC	310F	3	Foundations of Accounting
Fall 2012		15 Credits
CS	337	3	Theory in Programming
CS	345	3	Programming Languages
CS	352	3	Computer Systems Architecture
SPN	350	3	Spanish Culture Topics
FIN	320F	3	Foundations of Finance
Spring 2013		15 Credits
CS	341	3	Automata Theory
CS	372	3	Operating Systems
CS	357	3	Algorithms
SPN	350	3	Spanish Culture Topics
FIN	320F	3	Foundations of Entreprenuership
Fall 2013		12 Credits
CS	375	3	Compilers
CS	343	3	Artificial Intelligence
CS	347	3	Data Management
CS	*	3	Elective
Spring 2014		12 Credits
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
Fall 2014		12 Credits
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
MKT	320F	3	Foundations of Marketing
Spring 2015		12 Credits
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
CS	*	3	Master's Coursework
MAN	320F	3	Foundations of Management

What is brilliant about this plan is this:

Normal Plan – If I get bored I can drop out of school in Fall of 2013, after 5 semesters with a Bachelors in CS.

BFP – If I want to, I can easily pursue Business Foundations. If I go for Master’s this is spread out, if not, I can graduate Spring of 2014 (6 semesters) with a Bachelors and Business Foundations certificate.

Master’s – The only thing I don’t like about this plan is that the Master’s will take 8 semesters pretty much no matter what. The CS department makes it hard to enroll in more than 12 hours anyway. At least with a Masters without BFP, I will take a lightened load almost every semester.

An overview:

	Hours	Semesters	Full Semesters	Avg Hours
Regular	66	5	2	13.2
Regular + BFP	78	6	2	13
Integrated	93	8	1	11.625
Integrated + BFP	108	8	4	13.5

And of course, this allows us to estimate the costs. My estimated are based on about $300 per credit hour, about $500 per semester in fees, $800/30 per hour for books, about $8,000 per year for housing, and about $5,000 per year for personal.

	Hours	Semesters	Tuition, Books, Etc.	Housing	Personal	Total
Regular	66	5	$ 24,170.00	$ 20,000.00	$ 12,500.00	$ 56,670.00
Regular + BFP	78	6	$ 28,610.00	$ 24,000.00	$ 15,000.00	$ 67,610.00
Integrated	93	8	$ 34,535.00	$ 32,000.00	$ 20,000.00	$ 86,535.00
Integrated + BFP	108	8	$ 39,460.00	$ 32,000.00	$ 20,000.00	$ 91,460.00

This is versus my estimate for the the FULL cost of attending (130 hrs, 9 semesters)… $ 105,700.00, and getting a Master’s would cost $ 126,250.00, so I feel like I am getting a pretty good deal. I am getting a Master’s in 4 years, saving almost $ 40,000 off of the normal price, taking a lighter schedule, and getting what is essentially a business minor.

Now, we estimate some income from summer internships (based on Microsoft, which pays 80% of a starting salary). I did my estimated based on hourly wages, which got me in the correct range, according to my sources.

	Hours	Semesters	Internships	Avg Wage	Income
Regular	66	5	2	$ 32.00	$ 20,480.00
Regular + BFP	78	6	2	$ 32.00	$ 20,480.00
Integrated	93	8	3	$ 32.00	$ 30,720.00
Integrated + BFP	150	8	3	$ 32.00	$ 30,720.00

So things look good.

Artificial Intelligence

OK, so while I was working on the website, and I was sorting through all my AI papers, I had a small robotics idea. I really want to build a minimal computer (i.e. motherboard, CPU, memory, USB (lots). I saw a web and then I decided that the connections between a web are Many to Many, and that they could be modeled in a MySQL database using an intersection table. Then I wondered what the requirements would be to port MySQL to a simple OS, like my OS. I thought it would be cool to build a robot/PC running a minimal version of Linux, and then I could write all the code… That is an idea. I thought about how when I was working on the OS project and the IE project, I had a very limited idea of how stuff actually works. For example, I can customize everything about a simple OS to fit exactly what I might need, such as an AI-friendly filesystem. I could model some data using SQL, allowing SQL to be “learned” by the system. I had a narrow view. I thought that AI existed within an application in userspace. I realized that this is a really awful model. The whole system needs to be working together to get AI to work.

I did a little bit of research, and I think I will probably stick with Ubuntu as my Linux Distro. It has the most packages, and I can just delete the unneeded packages. I think to connect, I will just SSH into the box.

Website To-Do List

The following projects need details added to them:

• 3PC (PCI-System)
  • Film a video tutorial of the software and upload it.
  • Get the documentation files (PDF) and upload.
  • Finalize documentation and upload.
  • Get the manual (PDF) and upload.
• AERIOS
  • Document code and create HTML documentation with DoxyGen.
  • Sort and standardize downloads.
  • Write up a simple instruction sheet for how I am proceeding with development.
• Capture the Fief
  • Standardize download.
• Game of Life
  • Standardize download.
  • Document code and create documentation with DoxyGen.
• Hangman
  • Standardize download.
• IE Project
  • Sort through research, changing everything to PDF’s. Allow for a large download, as well as downloads of the more interesting papers.
• NAP Chat
  • Standardize download.
• Mayan Number Translator
  • Standardize download.
• Neural Network
  • Finish/start tutorial.
  • Document code and generate HTML with DoxyGen.
  • Include basic instructions for using JAR in development.
  • Standardize download.
• C++ RPG
  • Standardize download.
• NVBCAP
  • Standardize download?
• SLIMBIL
  • Standardize download.
• Slime Soccer
  • Standardize download (this is the standardization model).
  • Document code and generate HTML with DoxyGen.
• XOR Encryption
  • Standardize download.
• APS
• Eagle Scout Project
  • Upload pictures and get Gallery working.
  • Upload PDF of workbook.
  • Write app to take names and stuff.

I also need to go back through all of the ZIP’s and get them into a standardized format. In other words, they should all have project files, source, headers, binaries, documentation (if any), and the Thor/Texas Public License.

Today, Wednesday the 22nd

I still have not heard back from Turing Scholars yet… I hope I get in, and I know that they will finish giving out notifications on March 1st. That means, not including today, they have 5 business days to accept or reject me. Hopefully the former.

Anyway, tonight I will be doing a lot of updating – adding detailed information about each of the projects I have chosen to post on here. I think I might write a “Refactor My Code”-like web app to use on this site (and give out).

I added a section on the website for Eagle Scout Project as well as a new page detailing the Thor/Texas Public License. In short, this license allows anyone the ability to reproduce, copy, or modify my code and binaries as long as my copyright notice stays with the software. Also, it grants full rights to sell and sublicense my code free of charge to any public school in the state of Texas (they too must maintain the copyright notice).

Finished converting...

It took a little bit of time, but I was finally able to convert my old political blog, "Firelight World Review" into a much more friendly business and technology related blog, "RealTech". Throughout this blog, you will notice that I post links to other sites I have found through my research (StubleUpon). I will probably write a little bit about major changes to my website, www.nickpape.com, as well periodically write updates about the projects I am working on at work.


As a side note, I set up a WordPress blog on the local machine there. I have been trying to figure out how to get it to sync with a database on my website. Then I would make a second wordpress setup that was on one of my websites subdomains, but this would probably be restricted only to editing by me. I just wanted a place at work where I could easily record and recover code snippets, aid in my planning by typing out and chronologically documenting my development, as well as providing a nice idea of what I have been doing. In other words, I would like a place that my bosses could go to and see that I have been working really hard (which I have been). I think sometimes it is a little bit hard to see or explain what I am doing, as I work in a non-tech company. For example, if I had just written my entire base class for something, they would just be like, "what? When is that page going to be done." It is hard for me to explain that writing the page is one of the easiest parts, logically speaking. Although writing the pages ALWAYS takes a lot longer.


Anyways, enjoy the blog! I plan to post all sorts of informal stuff I have here, including, but not limited to,

• Startup ideas
• Business research
• Software architecture ideas
• Software/technology reviews
• Comments about my classes at The University of Texas
• Major updates to my website
• Etc, etc...

I think this is a sufficient post! Have fun browsing my website and blog.