Class Preview: Fall 2003

CS 450 - Operating Systems

By all accounts, this class should suck. Prior experiences with the professor have not turned out well (not grade-wise, just staying-awake-in-class-wise), and there's stuff in the syllabus that's anything but exciting. On the other hand, I've managed to stay awake for four consecutive class sessions already, and the professor has already gone off on some interesting tangents (most notably on the Aegis system). So, I'm going to reserve judgment and hope for the best.

SMAD 356 - Telecommunications Law

The professor in this class is one of the coolest people I have met at JMU. She's worked all over the world, including Riyadh. Her teaching style is conversational and accessible, and I love the subject matter. This should be my favorite class this semester.

CS 474 - Introduction to Databases

My first formal database training, though I've worked with MySQL before. The professor is a really cool guy (even if his South American accent is a little hard to understand). This is the first in a series of two classes that should allow me to take the Levels 1 and 2 Oracle Certification tests.

In class yesterday, explaining SQL, Dr. Mata-Toledo says, "SQL is known as pseudo-English. I guess that's why they have me teaching databases here."

CIS 320 - Networking for Business/IT Majors

I affectionately(?) call this class networking for dummies: it appears to be everything I knew about networking before I ever took CS 460. I'll have the hardest time staying alert in this class, and I can't skip it, because the professor gives quizzes regularly. Not fun.

September 05, 2003 - 09:21 AM

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