Taking the Pulse - Alex Crouse

I am excited to have recently secured an internship as a software developer and am looking forward to being able to bring what I have learned into the professional environment. I am privileged to have the opportunity to have my tuition paid for by my employer (Target), and without their help, I would not be able to pursue my education. I hope this internship provides me with the skills my employer is looking for in their software developers.   I plan to deepen my understanding of core development concepts using Java and C# to build better end-user programs for our customers and show that no matter our age or experience, there is always room for growth. Being able to contribute meaningfully to a company that has supported my journey is what motivates me to learn the most I can about all types of technology, not just software. While other opportunities may arise, I still am drawn to being a software developer for Target. As a retail associate for multiple years, I have noticed ...

 In recent years the Godot game engine has gained significant popularity in the game development industry. Popular games I have played made in the Godot engine include Chillquarium, which is a fish tank simulator, and Brotato, a roguelike game where you play as a potato slaying enemies. Godot was released in 2014 under the MIT license, allowing anyone to use, modify, and distribute Godot freely. This licensing model also means developers retain full ownership of their games without worrying about royalties or fees that come with proprietary services such as Unity. Having a game engine such as Godot evolve so quickly and be able to stand toe-to-toe with commercial products gives me hope for the game development industry. I started school with the dream to be a game developer, but after learning more about how the career and industry play out, I feel unmotivated to work in such an environment. Godot has relit the passion for game development within me, and I hope to one day publish m...

I recently watched a meeting between the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the South Korean president, Lee Jae-myung, where the Chinese president gifted two new Xiaomi smartphones to the South Korean president. The two exchanged jokes about the device's security, and the Chinese president even joked about checking for backdoors. Backdoors are not necessarily a new topic for me, but they did, however, pique my interest in the history of backdoors. Backdoors deliberately undermine the users' security by allowing for a direct access point to the device; however, these can be implemented for many reasons. Knowing these Xiaomi phones are banned in America, it made me curious how many backdoors have been created in modern technology for government surveillance. It has brought me back to the idea of how every sheet of paper printed can be traced back to a specific printer based on a unique ID printed on each sheet of paper. It is small steps like these that allow for a higher level o...