Answer:
Give an example of a special purpose computer that you are familiar with and briefly describe its hardware and its software.
One example of a special purpose computer is a microwave because the programs on a microwave (like the "Popcorn" program) can't be changed. The hardware of a microwave include its buttons, the door, the light bulb, the transformer, the waveguide, the magnetron, and the control circuit. The software of a microwave is all of the programs that make the microwave run. These include the "Popcorn" program that is supposed to perfectly make your popcorn, the "Sensor" program that senses for a certain type of food/drink and adjusts the temperature accordingly, or a "Defrost" program which can be used to defrost meat.
2. Explain in your own words the difference between running your app by "Connecting to the Companion" and running your app by "Packaging" it.
When running the app by "Connecting to the Companion", the MIT companion app transfers the software (blocks) to the phone and then interprets them for the Android operating system. The Android OS takes the software and interprets it for the phone's processor so the app can run. Because of the way "Connecting to the Companion" works, the code can be re-interpreted every time a change is made. This process is known as interpretation because the code is constantly being re-interpreted.
When running the app by "Packaging" it, a program changes the software (blocks) on the computer into binary code and then packages it in an .apk file. Using a barcode scanner or another piece of software, the .apk file can be loaded onto the phone so the Android OS can interpret the code for the phone's processor. This process is called compilation since all of the source code is changed into binary.
3. As we learned in this lesson, a byte is about the same amount of memory as a character, such as the letter 't'. There are approximately 7 million characters in all of the Harry Potter novels combined. How many bytes of memory would all of the Harry Potter novels take up? How many copies of the Harry Potter novels would fit on a 7 Gigabyte flash drive. (Remember 1 Gigabyte is 1 billion bytes.)
The Harry Potter novels would take up approximately 7 million bytes. This means that 1,000 copies of the Harry Potter novels could fit on a 7 Gigabyte flash drive!
