Hopkins Hosts a Hackathon

Last weekend the Johns Hopkins University hosted its first Hackathon, a 36 hour long competition where teams of 1-4 students were asked to create a smartphone app and present it. The winning prize of $1024, or the equivalent of the number bytes in a kilobyte (2^10), went to a sophomore team of Brian Ho, Ben Lu, Willis Wang, and Miles Zhan. Their app, called "DropMe," is a play on a picture and message sharing application like "Bump." This new app is location-aware, meaning that it can be dropped into a different on-screen location based on the GPS reading of the mobile phone.

The competition began with opening ceremonies on Friday night, but the real work started at 9 pm and lasted until 9 am on Sunday morning. The contestants were supplied with Red Bull energy drinks, ice cream, pizza, Mountain Dew, coffee, bagels, and anything else they needed to keep themselves awake. As if that wasn't hard enough, the teams that completed a project were then expected to present them to a panel of expert judges. This panel was made of three Hopkins CS professors, Devon O'Dell from content delivery network Fastly, and John Bienko of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Alex Monroe, a junior at Hopkins, worked on a app called "Riffmaster," which used sound frequency signals from a guitar to control computer programs. In essence, they made the instrument a keyboard! From http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bs-md-jhu-hackathon-20130922,0,1736133.story

The sponsors of the program ranged from internet giant Facebook, for which student organizer Nate Schloss worked as an intern last summer, to alumnus Michael Bloomberg's company, Bloomberg L.P., to GitHub, EPIC, and the Social Innovation Lab right here at Hopkins. Facebook had a separate prize that went to a graduate student team which created an app that would allow event organizers to sell tickets to the event over Facebook. This Facebook Concerts app, created by Rahil Arora, Ankit Sharma, Nishikant Deshmukh, and Saramjeet Prasad, also took 3rd place overall. 2nd place was secured by team of Farhan Damani, Blaine Muri, and Jason Albalah for "SuperScale," an app that turns an iPhone into a scale.

Daniel Swann, an employee right here at Student Technology Services, was one of the students who worked tirelessly over the summer to organize and execute this event. He, along with Ben Glickman, Nathan Schloss, and Tyler Cloutier, believe the event went so well, they'll be repeating it again next semester.

"The winning hacks were extremely creative and well polished, and I felt that the winners definitely deserved their prizes. It was amazing to see so many innovative ideas developed over this short 36-hour period. I could even see some of the projects possibly being spun off into startups or independent studies," said Swann.

Some of these focused on the homeless population in cities across the country by allowing smartphone users to look up shelters and soup kitchens based on their current locations. Another allowed a user to get a reading on how safe an area of Baltimore is based on location and time of day. Given the increase in crime in Baltimore this summer, it's not a bad idea. A third, more academic app allowed a user to take pictures of old maps and automatically tie them together into a large mosaic. Matthew Petroff worked as an individual and produced a 1915 map of Hopkins' Homewood campus for his presentation, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Nate Schloss, one of the student coordinators for the Hackathon, worked at Facebook as an intern last summer. Facebook was one of the major sponsors of the event. Congratulations, Nate!

This is an amazing example on the Hopkins campus of the initiative and collaboration that is a key feature of the Hopkins atmosphere. Hopkins is known for challenging its students, and there is nothing more challenging than producing excellent work in a short span of time with hardly any rest. Then again, that's the reality for many students on a day to day basis.

Over 130 students on 50 teams participated in the success of this event, and only 25 teams were able to present a finished product after 36 hours. That's an amazing accomplishment against incredible odds, and each student who was in some way connected to HopHacks should be very proud of themselves.

Special thanks to the Johns Hopkins HUB, The Baltimore Sun article written by Luke Broadwater, and Nate Schloss for their quotes and information. Best of luck for the next event, and thanks for reading!

New JHU Outlook Email Format

Hello Hopkins!

The TechBlog is going to take a short break from the FrontDoor Software to talk about a topic that has captured the attention of most students on campus. I'm talking about the new Outlook email layout, which hit our corner of the internet over the weekend. It's actually more accurate to call it a new Web App, since the Outlook we use is not the same as the Outlook software.

The new layout mirrors the changes that Microsoft made over the entire Office 2013 Suite. The top bar is blue, instead of the soft orange design that doodled its way around our screens before, and the design is more angular and sharp. The old dinging sound of receiving a new email has been changed to a two-tone quip that sounds more soothing and melodic than the old one. Overall it fits better with the new JHU layout that came into play on September 3, and since the main features are the same, it shouldn't be a major switch.

Still, there are some features that have been getting mixed reviews from the students. One student commented that it looked too plain, and another had an issue scrolling to the stop of the screen to hit the send button. She ended up having to delete the email she was writing because Outlook had some kind of glitch. It could just be the web browser she was using, but it's worth noting that particular issue.

Color is noticeably absent on this version of Outlook; the old version had the buttons for Reply, Reply to All, and Forward colored differently. They are all gray now. There also used to be a way to group your emails according to a small color bar on the right hand side of the email preview box, which has been removed from this version. It's also more difficult to tell which email is new and which has already been read, because the only thing distinguishing the two is the color of the (small) subject line. The new ones are blue, and the read ones are gray. Not the most exciting or eye-catching item, but at least there is a new option on the top to look at "Unread" emails, which separates them for you. Emails that have drafts associated with them say "Draft" in orange letters, and that stands out.

The options appear when multiple emails are selected.

Now onto the good features. A feature I accidentally stumbled upon was that it has a built in "smart" calendar system, which reads through your emails and puts events that you make through the Starfish scheduler in your calendar for you. This was especially helpful to me today, because I had totally forgotten about a meeting I had scheduled. I'm glad the email remembered. If anyone sends you a meeting request, there is an option within the email that allows you to schedule a meeting with one click. It will check your availability for you and report back before making any changes. This is a seamless feature that will actually come in handy if the Calendar function is used often.

It's also possible to delete multiple emails at the same time, although there is still no way to click your entire Inbox and delete everything at once (Outlook developers: take note of Gmail's features to isolate certain emails and perform mass actions on them). Just move the mouse to the upper left corner of the email preview box and click the box. Clicking on one email allows you to view it in the large window, but unchecking the box just clears the entire screen, a new feature. Clicking on multiple emails brings up a new option window in the main part of the screen, and here there are options to delete the selected conversation.

The personal information page for a user on Outlook 2013. The mail button allows you to send an email, and the calendar logo schedules a meeting with the contact

 Finally, there is an easy feature to view basic information about an email contact. Simply click on the name and a window will pop up, with small symbols that allow you to email them or schedule a meeting. It's a nice integration of different Outlook features all compiled into a simple arrangement.

Most of the other features are pretty self-explanatory and located in the same places as the old version. It doesn't take long to get used to the new features and layout, so don't be afraid to use it more often. Leave your comments below for what you think of the new design, and we'll see you next week!

FrontDoor Anti-theft Protection Software: Windows Edition

Every Hopkins student receives the daily Incident Reports from Campus Security, and somehow the addition of these emails made crime more noticeable in our lives. Despite the warnings to be vigilant and reminders to keep personal belongings with you at all times, it is a sad truth that our cash, debit and credit cards, and phones are still stolen on an almost quotidian basis. A laptop is, perhaps, the most devastating item to lose because it undoubtedly is home to irreplaceable pictures, essays, and research data. This can sometimes result in a loss of years of work.

It is impossible to know when you will be the victim of a crime, and it can happen to anyone. Hopkins Security knows this, so they have discovered a way for students, faculty, and staff to maximize the chance that stolen computers will be returned to their rightful owners. In fact, if you have read the Daily Incident Reports this week, Monday's mentioned something called FrontDoor Software. To download a free copy of the software and protect your computer, go to frontdoorsoftware.com/jhu right away. Make sure to use your @jhu.edu email! Having this software increases your chances of recovering your laptop from 3% to as much as 95%. For free, it's worth having.

This is the FrontDoor logo. I think the dog is a Newfoundland. 

FrontDoor Software Security is a program that uses a registered computer's wireless connectivity to track its movements, which is similar to other recovery programs. FrontDoor allows an owner of a stolen computer to log in to another computer to report the stolen laptop. At this point, FrontDoor will turn on its arsenal of unique features and start the recovery process. Once the computer is connected to a wireless network, the Skyhook Location SDK will quickly obtain the location of the laptop, and you can actually see the last known location of the computer on the user interface screen at FrontDoorSoftware.com.

The list of locations where FrontDoor has registered my computer.

Skyhook Location SDK is able to obtain the location within 4 seconds, a fact that I have verified through my own experimenting with FrontDoor. It's also accurate to within 10 meters, but this accuracy is diminished when inside a large building (of which there are many around the Hopkins campus). Finally, Skyhook boasts a 99.8% availability, which means it can work at almost any time. The coverage around Baltimore is very high, as expected, but this is not the case everywhere, so check availability at your permanent residence. 

The features of FrontDoor are pretty simple to enable; simply go to the user interface login page, go to the directory, and hit the "Stolen and Lock" tab. Click the edit button to mark the stolen and lock boxes, depending on what you prefer to do. By remotely locking the stolen computer, you protect your information from the thief. By reporting it stolen, on the other hand, you set off a series of events. First the computer will display a message with your contact information, just in case it was all an honest mistake, and Campus Security picked up what they thought was an abandoned device.

The Stolen and Lock screen. Don't forget to hit the Update button!

To deter a real thief, the computer equipped with FrontDoor Software will then actually start to make loud noises, shouting phrases such as: "Help! This computer has been reported as stolen or lost!" and "You are not my owner! Return me now!" If the culprit has taken the computer to a public place, this will certainly attract attention, and the suspect will most likely flee the scene without the laptop. An honest person can then come up, view your contact information, and alert you to the location of the laptop.

Once a computer is reported as stolen, Campus Security is also informed of the situation and will be notified.

Overall my review is that FrontDoor software has a few kinks in it, and whether that stems from design flaws, incorrect installation, or lack of knowledge regarding the software itself has yet to be determined. It would be a good idea for Hopkins security and IT Services to both become more acquainted with the software so they can help students use the software effectively. Considering that this service is free for students and faculty, and that the location services are very impressive and accurate, every student should install this on his or her computer. It could make a difference one day, and that's a chance I'm willing to take.

Free Stuff for Students!

Welcome to the first week of classes, fellow students! I hope your summers were relaxing and/or productive, and that your class schedules are not too hectic and stressful. Just in case they are, however, the TechBlog has some shortcuts so you have a fewer number of items to juggle in your life.

Most people on campus have known about the Hopkins Technology Store for a while, unless you're a new freshman (for the record, it's on the first floor of Krieger, connected to the computing lab). Chances are good that most of you have never had a reason to go to it, especially if you have a PC.

That's about to change.

Possibly the greatest debate of our generation. From here

The Hopkins Technology Store does more than sell Macs and Apple products: it has free software available to every student on campus. This includes Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8 OS downloads, Office 2013, Office 2011 for Mac, and Office 2010 for absolutely no cost to students, and at a discounted rate for faculty and staff. The suites don't skimp either; PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, Publisher, Outlook, and video conferencing software is included in the downloads, among other items.

All this for free! From here

Microsoft Office is probably the most useful tool to any college student, next to the computer on which the software is installed. Everyone will have to write at least one essay while here, and with the rising cost of tuition, books, and food, a penny saved is a penny earned. Save yourself $130 and download the free Office 2013 suite, and maybe a new OS on the side.

In addition to Microsoft products, the Tech Store also has Adobe Creative Cloud ($20), Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac ($40), SPSS packages (prices vary from $42 to $106, based on the edition) for Windows and Macs, and lots of other products that range from HD video converters to antivirus software. For the software that's not available for purchase and download, there's always myJLab, a VDI which allows you to have a temporary user profile on a Windows OS with access to MatLab, Mathematica, SPSS, and other  helpful tools. For more information, see this blog post from last year. This little advertised service offered by Hopkins has been around for a while, so take advantage of the discounts Hopkins provides and get some high tech equipment on your machine!

In addition to software and Windows OS editions, the Tech Store also boasts "the best pricing available for Apple recommended systems for students and parents!" If you're thinking about getting a new Mac computer, consider stopping here first to get their bundle packages, which include the warranty guaranteed by the Hopkins Tech Store. It's much easier to get your computer fixed when the repair desk is right on campus, and currently they're expanding the iOS repair system. More students helped means less time sitting in the library, cursing your bad luck and scrambling to finish that lab report.

See? They really do say it word for word.

For those of you who prefer PCs, the Tech Store also offers links to Dell laptops via the mobile computing program, and the HP Academy feature, which allows you to purchase the newest HP laptops and computers for about $100 less than the normal price. That's enough for a textbook or two, and I bet the parents would enjoy the lower prices.

Of course, for the hardware needs for all students, the Tech Store also has a great selection of Apple products, including the iPad 2, iMacs, and Apple Care Packages. For those of you who are looking to get a bit more out of Hopkins, the Tech Store is also hiring new students who are passionate about technology and resource assistance. Check them out at the Student Employment Job Fair on September 13.

In the near future, the Tech Blog will be looking closely at some of the esoteric software offered by the Tech Store, especially one called FrontDoor, which is supposed to protect your computer's information in the event of theft and increase the probability of its recovery. That's next time.

That's it for the TechBlog this week. Happy first week, and let's have a great semester!