Personal Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Computers - Essay Example From the time we wake up in the morning, until the time we go to bed, computers direct and assist our life. Personal computers today come in various forms – there are the desktops, the laptops, and the palmtops and if that was not enough, even cell phones can be used as personal computers. A computer in every home has changed the way people communicate. People wake up by the alarm that rings from the cell phones and even before they are out of bed, they check the emails on the cell phone itself. In Japan, people describe the cell phone as an extension of themselves (Faiola, 2004). Fifty-five percent of the population in Japan has signed up for internet access from their cellular phones. On the way to work, they answer all their emails. Cell phone is now a way of life, as they link it to their home-office PC, download music, use it to access information, read newspaper and even read novels. They use it to watch the TV programs, navigate the streets with the built-in GPS system, scan bar-coded information, get e-coupons for discounts on food and entertainment, and pay bills. They use it at school too by emailing the questions to the professors in the classroom. The professors answer them orally. The Japanese are so skilled at writing emails on cell phones, that they find it simpler than using computer keyboards. Computer technology is used in everyday lesson plans at the Highland Middle School (Horace). A SMART board, or a dry-erase board, when teamed with the projector becomes a touch-screen computer monitor that the whole class can see. The operator’s fingers act as the mouse and as soon as the board is touched, signal is sent back to the computer. This way they can browse the internet, make interactive presentations, and write on the screen. At The Pennsylvania State University, emails have replaced letters, telephone calls and memorandum as the preferred means of communication (Auguston, 2002). Learning occurs in classrooms, labs, libraries, residence

Da Vinci and the Modern Female Portait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Da Vinci and the Modern Female Portait - Essay Example Renaissance art portrayal is a naturalistic reflection of realities that is recent in terms of discovery, rather than just framed myths and gender-based constructions. Leonardo’s art portrayal was regarded as abnormal in social terms. He presented through art, a view of female sex, which was culturally abnormal in the patriarchy of his day. To them, a woman is an intelligent being, and therefore biologically equals half of human species. Earliest portraits preserved by Leonardo, referred to as Ginevra de’Benci, done in the late 1470s, puts forth a fundamentally new female age. It portrays a sitter posed in a three-quarter view and it engages the eye of the observer. Portraits done by Northern Renaissance painters indicates a preoccupation with realism and having a precise detail of physiognomy and the costume. This kind of approach is a characteristic of panels by the Flemish masters Rogier van der Weydan and Hans Memling (Victoria 100) High Middle Ages evolution of portraiture reached its crescendo in the fifteenth century. This was the period during which greatest masters of artistic illusionism begun to appear in Europe. Italian Renaissance painters discovered the use of textural properties of oil painting. Leonardo da Vinci was famous for his portraits that were life-like in their realism. He used to learn entirely from nature and science to make his paintings look real. He drew and took many notes from observation, since he believed that it is the basis of knowledge. Leonardo was among the first Italian Renaissance to use the three-quarter pose instead of the popular profile. His subjects had unique facial expressions that challenged viewers. The new technique he invented-chiaroscuro and sfumato, also brought his subjects to life (Patrick McDonnell 56) Rogier van der Weyden transcends the concept of naturalism formal or informal,