Computer Science 12:
Other important information
- Week 1: Course information
- Week 1: Other important links
- Week 5: Copyright issues and policies of "free" graphics download sites
- Jerry Waxman's course notes – available at the Copy Center under Gino’s Pizza, across Kissena Blvd from QC
- Exploring Microsoft Word by Grauer and Barber
- Exploring Microsoft Excel by Grauer and Barber
- Exploring Microsoft Access by Grauer and Barber
- Websites of other Computer Science 12 instructors: (1) Jerry Waxman and (2) Joe Svitak. The latter site includes Hands-on exercises (downloadable .exe file) and sample exams. (Note that this course, as taught by me, will be organized somewhat differently from the course as taught by other instructors.)
- Companion website for the Grauer and Barber textbooks (and the author's page)
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- ADS account signup
- CUNY Portal, including access to Blackboard after you log in. See also CUNY portal information.
- Queens College student email
- Queens College main website. To find your way around, see the site map.
- Academic Calendars according to the Registrar's office
- Weekend College
- Queens College Computer Science Department
- Google (web search engine) - needed to find websites to cite in the paper you'll be writing
- Policies Governing Use of Queens College Information Technology
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Week 5: Copyright issues and policies of "free" graphics download sites
Complaints about copyright violations are one of the main reasons why websites get shut down by web hosts. So that this doesn't happen to you, please keep in mind the legal and ethical issues discussed below.
Before you download any clip art from anywhere, please read the following:
- On About.com: Free clip art? Read the terms of usage!, Public Domain Clip Art, and other Articles about "clip art terms of usage".
Some sample terms of use:
- Webweaver's Terms of Use & Privacy Policy on Webweaver's Clipart Collection (see also the briefer "Terms of Use" at the bottom of their main clipart page)
- Terms Of Use on DryIcons.com
- "The Creative Commons License" at the bottom of About FreeVectors.net on FreeVectors.net
In particular, please note the following basics:
- Never display a graphic by linking directly to the graphic on the site where you found it. In other words, do NOT do the following:
- Instead, you should always (1) download the graphic, (2) display your own local copy, e.g. as follows:
<img src="http://www.freegraphicssite.com/images/someNicePicture.gif" alt="A very cool looking graphic I found" />
This is called "hotlinking" or "stealing bandwidth." It consumes resources of the site you've linked to that way, without directing viewers to the site itself.
<img src="someNicePicture.gif" alt="A very cool looking graphic I found" />
(or display your own copy using a site like PhotoBucket, if you don't have room on your own site), and (3) give credit for the graphic with a text link back to the site where you got it. (Of course, the alt attribute should say something more specific.)
Some free graphics sites may have additional requirements, but the above are basic and should be followed always, even when not stated explicitly.
Read the "terms of use" (or similar) page on any site you download graphics from. If a downloadable graphics site does not have any "Terms of Use" page or anything similar, beware. It may well be a spam site containing plagiarized stuff.
For up-to-date info on Internet copyright issues, from the viewpoint of artists, see Plagiarism Today.
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