20 Points, due Jan 31

Install some application on your phone or PC. Browser plugins are included. For phones, you will need to use an official app store. For PCs apps or browser plugins, be careful to use reputable sources; if you haven't heard of it, at least Google it. Perhaps just move on. Browser makers also have official stores for add-ons (Firefox, Chrome, IE), which can give some assurance.

Phone apps and browser plug-ins are usually the easiest to install. Usually, you can just go to the store using a web browser or by opening the store icon, find what you want, and select it. The system will take it from there. For PCs, you will generally be directed to download an installer. The browser may ask if you want to run it, our you may have to go to Downloads and run it yourself. A PC install will usually require an administrative password.

Choose some software to install, install it, and run it a few times. Then simply send me an email about it. Tell me what you installed, how it went, and what you think of it. Please use “114 homework” in your email subject so I can easily sort them out. You can install whatever you like, but here are some suggestions:

VLC is a popular media player. Can be installed on pretty much anything, PC or phone.

The GIMP is a digital picture editor. Its authors consider it a good free alternative to Photoshop. Gimp installs on most PC platforms (Win, Mac, Linux).

Privacy Badger is a browser plug-in which blocks some attempts by web sites to track your activities. It will also report what it found out about the page you are visiting, which can be interesting. It installs in Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers, though not necessarily on the phone versions of those browsers.

You could always install the WinSCP program we use in lab to store files on the server. It's more useful than exciting, but it is useful.