Web-Search Engine Article: Povided a pretty good overview of the history of search engines and how things work.
--It was realy interesting to see how the "curtain" is again pulled away on how things work. It's more than just type in a word and hit enter that is for sure.
--The term "Politeness" made me smirk, because it (for lack of a better phrase) It is what it is.
--Interesting to see that Spammers aren't out to just annoy poeple but there is a good peice of change to be made of off web-sites if a person is smart/shrewsd enough to work the system.
--I used to think that a web-counter didn't serve much of a prupose...was I wrong about that.
O-A-I Article: Nice overview article about the Open Archives Initiative.
--One phrase that stood out to me was, "No one service provider can serve the needs of the entire public." For some reason I thought (sarcastically), "That is going to come as such a shock to Microsoft."
---It was interesting to see how the universities came together for the Sheet Music Consortium.
--While reading ERRoLs it was interesting to see XML pop up foro time to time, but then all those abbreviations once again made my eyes start to cross.
Bergaman Article: Until I read this article I had no clue what the deep web was.
--The opening illustration was pretty accurate and alson when you think about it when we search for something on-line we are casting out a net opening to catch something of value in it.
--Lots of good illustrations helped me make sense of what I was reading.
---Never fully realized how complex the web really was.
--When reading the distribution of deep sites by subject I was surprised to see that humanities was the highest ranked one. I thought for sure it would be politics...I guess coming out of the election season will do that to one's way of thinking.
Muddy Point: In the OAI article on the bottom of pg.582 & the top of 583 it mentions the "Future work." My question is has there been any progress made in any of these areas? Is there anyway to find out about any follow-up work that has been done?This article is over 3 years old and with the way technology moves forward so quickly sometimes it would interesting to see how this work is progressing.
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5477147704203276697&postID=6855452384905862491&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=5897482492346367573&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1306183455487090817&postID=6406286438303441296&page=1
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Reading Assignment #11
Reading Assignment #11
Digital Libraries: The article gave a good overview of the “behind the scenes” dealings concerning digital libraries.
--I hadn’t really thought about all the different ways the “information environment” was populated until the intro spelled it out for me. The illustration was a nice touch.
--Interesting to see that the Government got involved in this in 1994 no one really seemed to do much, but in 1998 when DLI-2 got going it seemed like everyone wanted to get involved.
--It was the work that was done in 1994 that set the ground work for everything. Interesting because at times it seems like once something has ceased everyone moves onto something else. In this case that started in 1994 still carries some influence despite the fact DLI-1 had ceased.
--I was hoping to read up on NISO Metasearch Initiative at the link that provided. This is what I got though: The page you were looking for (http://www.niso.org/committees/MetaSearch-info.html) is no longer available.
Dewey meets Turing: Liked that this article dealt with more of the (for lack of a better term) the human side of the DLI (Librarians & Computer Scientists). This article also shows that what looks good on paper doesn’t always translate well into reality.
--Enjoyed reading about the expectations of both sides involved. That Computer Scientists felt a sense of relief from tension of “pure” research & impacting day to day society while Librarians saw a good partnership with computer scientists.
--I agree that the DLI has really broadened Library Sciences. As information specialists we are on the threshold of seeing this field open up in ways that could never have really been though possible say 15-20 years ago.
ARL: Bimonthly Report: Provided a good and easy to follow framework on what at times can be a difficult and tedious subject.
--I was somewhat surprised that we hadn’t read more about MIT until now.
--Appreciated that Lynch noted a “mature & fully realized institutional repository” will not only involve faculty but students as well. What I appreciate is that he is seeing a big-picture aspect that patrons/users are not just scholars and instructors but students have an important voice to contribute as well.
--I agree with Lynch that research libraries need to “establish new collection development strategies”, but that they should also keep their patrons informed as well. After all we are here to provide a service of getting our users in-touch with the best information possible and I feel they have a right to know how that process works. It helps establish a level of trust among us and them.
--After reading about the concerns Lynch has I wonder how many have come to pass. Or are on the verge of coming to pass?
--I can’t quite put my finger on it but when Lynch mention Public Libraries possibly joining forces with local Governments, why does that make me uneasy? Everything else he mentions I can see happening and feel comfortable with…why does the Government make me nervous?
Muddy Question: In the first article we read about the 6 universities being involved in DLI-1, and throughout this course we have read about other Universities being in other studies as well. My question how is a University chosen to be a part of a study like DLI-1 or any of the others we have read about? I think it would be very interesting if we were involved in one, or if anyone knew of a University being involved in one.
Blogs where I have posted concerning these readings:
Digital Libraries: The article gave a good overview of the “behind the scenes” dealings concerning digital libraries.
--I hadn’t really thought about all the different ways the “information environment” was populated until the intro spelled it out for me. The illustration was a nice touch.
--Interesting to see that the Government got involved in this in 1994 no one really seemed to do much, but in 1998 when DLI-2 got going it seemed like everyone wanted to get involved.
--It was the work that was done in 1994 that set the ground work for everything. Interesting because at times it seems like once something has ceased everyone moves onto something else. In this case that started in 1994 still carries some influence despite the fact DLI-1 had ceased.
--I was hoping to read up on NISO Metasearch Initiative at the link that provided. This is what I got though: The page you were looking for (http://www.niso.org/committees/MetaSearch-info.html) is no longer available.
Dewey meets Turing: Liked that this article dealt with more of the (for lack of a better term) the human side of the DLI (Librarians & Computer Scientists). This article also shows that what looks good on paper doesn’t always translate well into reality.
--Enjoyed reading about the expectations of both sides involved. That Computer Scientists felt a sense of relief from tension of “pure” research & impacting day to day society while Librarians saw a good partnership with computer scientists.
--I agree that the DLI has really broadened Library Sciences. As information specialists we are on the threshold of seeing this field open up in ways that could never have really been though possible say 15-20 years ago.
ARL: Bimonthly Report: Provided a good and easy to follow framework on what at times can be a difficult and tedious subject.
--I was somewhat surprised that we hadn’t read more about MIT until now.
--Appreciated that Lynch noted a “mature & fully realized institutional repository” will not only involve faculty but students as well. What I appreciate is that he is seeing a big-picture aspect that patrons/users are not just scholars and instructors but students have an important voice to contribute as well.
--I agree with Lynch that research libraries need to “establish new collection development strategies”, but that they should also keep their patrons informed as well. After all we are here to provide a service of getting our users in-touch with the best information possible and I feel they have a right to know how that process works. It helps establish a level of trust among us and them.
--After reading about the concerns Lynch has I wonder how many have come to pass. Or are on the verge of coming to pass?
--I can’t quite put my finger on it but when Lynch mention Public Libraries possibly joining forces with local Governments, why does that make me uneasy? Everything else he mentions I can see happening and feel comfortable with…why does the Government make me nervous?
Muddy Question: In the first article we read about the 6 universities being involved in DLI-1, and throughout this course we have read about other Universities being in other studies as well. My question how is a University chosen to be a part of a study like DLI-1 or any of the others we have read about? I think it would be very interesting if we were involved in one, or if anyone knew of a University being involved in one.
Blogs where I have posted concerning these readings:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=6937882616450900868&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1952905712855777154&postID=215049025112592889&page=1Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Reading Assignment #9
Reading Assignment #9
An introduction to the Extensible Markup Language: At first I was able to follow the article along but then midway through a lot of the technical jargon really began to throw me.
--It was interesting to read that there it is impossible to devise a single coding scheme. Maybe someday we might see a universal coding system for all computers.
--As much as I still enjoy the whole “pulling the curtain away” aspect of computers this article just really had me confused for a while.
A survey of XML standards: Pt. 1. This article I found a little easier to follow along with.
-- I appreciated that it would mention something like XML 1.0 for example and if there was a change to it then it would discuss XML 1.1.
--I also liked that they included references and tutorials to follow along with for further reading on a subject.
--It was interesting to read about the Internet Engineering Task Force and the other groups who are pushing for standardization.
Extending your Mark-Up: This article actually helped me understand the first article much better.
--The examples made a lot more sense to me having them off to the side instead of within the text made it flow much better for me.
--The fact that this article helped show a lot of the differences between HTML and XML was big help.
--The goal of XML is to replace DTDs. It seems as though XML is easier to follow along with (Figure 8-9)
--The article at the end mentions developments to watch for I wonder what progress has been made in these areas of development?
XML Schema Tutorial: This tutorial like the previous tutorials from this web-site really was insightful. Although usually I like to print things out and read along with them, for some reason I found this one easier to read of off the screen.
--The differences between XML & DTDs were much easier for me to see in this article.
--Interesting to read about the restrictions for Datatypes. How everything has to be just so otherwise everything falls apart.
--Lots and lots of information to keep track of. I am looking forward to hearing the lecture on this material to help me further understand these concepts and hearing them put into some context.
Muddy Point: The tutorial went into great detail about the differences between XML and DTD and how much more XML can do than DTD, my question is…will the average computer user be able to tell the difference between DTD and XML? Someone who browses the web on a weekend for example.
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=6088639436438282257&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=4204912504825876593&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=351362268738673599&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=7743144313058728680&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5477147704203276697&postID=2847749487420259130
An introduction to the Extensible Markup Language: At first I was able to follow the article along but then midway through a lot of the technical jargon really began to throw me.
--It was interesting to read that there it is impossible to devise a single coding scheme. Maybe someday we might see a universal coding system for all computers.
--As much as I still enjoy the whole “pulling the curtain away” aspect of computers this article just really had me confused for a while.
A survey of XML standards: Pt. 1. This article I found a little easier to follow along with.
-- I appreciated that it would mention something like XML 1.0 for example and if there was a change to it then it would discuss XML 1.1.
--I also liked that they included references and tutorials to follow along with for further reading on a subject.
--It was interesting to read about the Internet Engineering Task Force and the other groups who are pushing for standardization.
Extending your Mark-Up: This article actually helped me understand the first article much better.
--The examples made a lot more sense to me having them off to the side instead of within the text made it flow much better for me.
--The fact that this article helped show a lot of the differences between HTML and XML was big help.
--The goal of XML is to replace DTDs. It seems as though XML is easier to follow along with (Figure 8-9)
--The article at the end mentions developments to watch for I wonder what progress has been made in these areas of development?
XML Schema Tutorial: This tutorial like the previous tutorials from this web-site really was insightful. Although usually I like to print things out and read along with them, for some reason I found this one easier to read of off the screen.
--The differences between XML & DTDs were much easier for me to see in this article.
--Interesting to read about the restrictions for Datatypes. How everything has to be just so otherwise everything falls apart.
--Lots and lots of information to keep track of. I am looking forward to hearing the lecture on this material to help me further understand these concepts and hearing them put into some context.
Muddy Point: The tutorial went into great detail about the differences between XML and DTD and how much more XML can do than DTD, my question is…will the average computer user be able to tell the difference between DTD and XML? Someone who browses the web on a weekend for example.
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=6088639436438282257&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=4204912504825876593&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=351362268738673599&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=7743144313058728680&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5477147704203276697&postID=2847749487420259130
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Koha Assignment
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Reading Assignment #8
Reading Assignment #8
W3 Schools HTML: Again I love peeking behind the curtain and seeing how things work. For some strange reason putting together my own web-page seemed kind of intimidating, but after reading this material and getting to “play’ with some of it I am actually starting to look forward to it.
--I was a little surprised to see that I am using some of the codes when I post on some of the message boards that I post on from time to time.
--I did enjoy the background color section and playing with it. Changing the colors really helped me start to feel more comfortable with what I was doing. Although seeing the color codes displayed made me glad we don’t have to memorize them.
--This is interesting because on some level it seems so easy but if you are not careful it can mess everything up very quickly.
--While I am feeling more comfortable with all of this I can see the HTML Quick-List being very near when we start work on our web-page.
HTML Cheatsheet: To quote the late Pope John Paul II, “It is what it is.” I like the fact that it is very easy to follow along with, and this too will also probably be nearby when we start work on our web-page.
W3 CSS Tutorial: Like the HTML tutorial I enjoyed getting to “play” with it as well. It started getting a little too technical for me in some areas but overall it didn’t go too far over my head.
--For some reason I enjoyed learning about the fonts and texts. I have no idea but I spent a good chunk of time just going through those sections not because I had any trouble with them but they just interested me. Probably because those sections reminded me of my TV days when I had to play with the character graphics programs for the station.
--The Border & Margin sections seemed to be the most complex for me with so many different things to keep track of.
Goans, Leach & Vogel article: Enjoyed going through this one because I am currently involved in a task force re-designing our data-base page. I can see a lot of similarities between what they went through and what we are going through.
--Reading about the mess that they had before the re-imagining was just nuts. It was almost like leaving the kids in a classroom by themselves and telling them, “Okay make sure you learn something and don’t mess it up.”
--I have had to deal with “Dreamweaver” before I can’t exactly remember where, but somehow I don’t think it was a real positive experience.
--The fact that they are willing to discuss things that went wrong along the way and the survey at the end says a lot about the overall process. That there are no quick-fixes and not everyone is going to be satisfied.
--They mention that plans were underway for further enhancement and migrating content. I wonder how that has worked out?
--.We just finished going through the “What works and what doesn’t work anymore stage” with plans to get the new page up and running by start of the next semester.
Muddy Question: Concerning the Goans, Leach & Vogel article. I read that a reason that they considered open-source as an option, but decided against it because it would mean “Frankensteining” several products together. What does that look like? What exactly is that process like?
Blogs where I have Posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=6842639853632380331&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=3067842006156590515&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=4121584976152778791&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=1218234815049789241&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4736393327020365268&postID=226318181535505953&page=1
W3 Schools HTML: Again I love peeking behind the curtain and seeing how things work. For some strange reason putting together my own web-page seemed kind of intimidating, but after reading this material and getting to “play’ with some of it I am actually starting to look forward to it.
--I was a little surprised to see that I am using some of the codes when I post on some of the message boards that I post on from time to time.
--I did enjoy the background color section and playing with it. Changing the colors really helped me start to feel more comfortable with what I was doing. Although seeing the color codes displayed made me glad we don’t have to memorize them.
--This is interesting because on some level it seems so easy but if you are not careful it can mess everything up very quickly.
--While I am feeling more comfortable with all of this I can see the HTML Quick-List being very near when we start work on our web-page.
HTML Cheatsheet: To quote the late Pope John Paul II, “It is what it is.” I like the fact that it is very easy to follow along with, and this too will also probably be nearby when we start work on our web-page.
W3 CSS Tutorial: Like the HTML tutorial I enjoyed getting to “play” with it as well. It started getting a little too technical for me in some areas but overall it didn’t go too far over my head.
--For some reason I enjoyed learning about the fonts and texts. I have no idea but I spent a good chunk of time just going through those sections not because I had any trouble with them but they just interested me. Probably because those sections reminded me of my TV days when I had to play with the character graphics programs for the station.
--The Border & Margin sections seemed to be the most complex for me with so many different things to keep track of.
Goans, Leach & Vogel article: Enjoyed going through this one because I am currently involved in a task force re-designing our data-base page. I can see a lot of similarities between what they went through and what we are going through.
--Reading about the mess that they had before the re-imagining was just nuts. It was almost like leaving the kids in a classroom by themselves and telling them, “Okay make sure you learn something and don’t mess it up.”
--I have had to deal with “Dreamweaver” before I can’t exactly remember where, but somehow I don’t think it was a real positive experience.
--The fact that they are willing to discuss things that went wrong along the way and the survey at the end says a lot about the overall process. That there are no quick-fixes and not everyone is going to be satisfied.
--They mention that plans were underway for further enhancement and migrating content. I wonder how that has worked out?
--.We just finished going through the “What works and what doesn’t work anymore stage” with plans to get the new page up and running by start of the next semester.
Muddy Question: Concerning the Goans, Leach & Vogel article. I read that a reason that they considered open-source as an option, but decided against it because it would mean “Frankensteining” several products together. What does that look like? What exactly is that process like?
Blogs where I have Posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=6842639853632380331&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=3067842006156590515&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=4121584976152778791&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=1218234815049789241&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4736393327020365268&postID=226318181535505953&page=1
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Jing/ Screen Capture Assignment
http://www.screencast.com/users/ecu1993/folders/Jing/media/7c706f11-1384-4917-92aa-bfced97dd882
For this portion of the assignment I showed how I was able to get an electronic journal article from the Dickinson College Library while at my home computer.
For the Flickr portion of the assignment I screen captured the same procedure.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2905654117/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2906502492/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2906543284/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2905672749/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2905680887/sizes/o/
For this portion of the assignment I showed how I was able to get an electronic journal article from the Dickinson College Library while at my home computer.
For the Flickr portion of the assignment I screen captured the same procedure.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2905654117/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2906502492/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2906543284/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2905672749/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/2905680887/sizes/o/
Reading Assignment #7
Reading Assignment #7
Jeff Tyson Internet Article: I like reading the articles that allow us to peek behind the curtain to see (forgive me) “how stuff works.”
--I was somewhat surprised to see that the Internet has been in use since 1969 (through the Government) but there was no oversight until the Internet Society in 1992.
--Point of Presence, now I have a better understanding how my outlook express account works.
--The moving graphic helped give a better understanding to what is being discussed, and yes I’ll admit they’re really cool to look at as well.
--A typical 56K modem, I wonder exactly how people do still use dial-up for their connections? Not saying that it’s a bad thing but it seems like with so many sites using advanced graphics, video or audio it would seem that DSL would be the minimum that most people would need.
--The Domain Name System being used back in 1983, and the fact that it was being used in 1969, makes me realize how old the internet really is. That it isn’t some invention over the last decade.
Dismantling Integrated Library Systems: Interesting to read how the old and the new can’t always mix despite our best efforts.
-- Things don’t always work out the way we want them to and that sometimes you have to make something work with what is already in place.
--Seeing the name Sirsi made me smirk. It is the system we are using in the library that I am currently at. In fact we just upgraded to 3.1. Not too different from the previous Sirsi system it kind of reminds me of when I went from Windows 3.1 to Windows95. Looks a little slicker and not so clunky but still basically does the same thing.
--Have to agree with Trevor Dykstra’s quote of, “Innovation will have to come via integration with new technology.”
--The better costs section made me realize that it still all comes down to money. We can say how much we want new technology to help us and things of that nature and in an ideal world that would not be an issue. However in the real world that isn’t always possible we have limited resources many times and we must know how to make the best with what we have.
--Reading “Interoperable Library Systems” was interesting to hear that this technology has reached a plateau.
Google Video: Much like the Windows Vista article we read a few weeks back I felt as though I was seeing a form of a sales pitch. It wasn’t bad thing but I was expecting to see more technical aspects discussed. However after reading another article I see why Google is very secretive about how their system operates.
-- I was pleased to see that Google is giving back with their foundation.
--I remember seeing what their headquarters looks like on a Discovery Channel special. It is actually a pretty laid-back work place so it wasn’t too surprising to see Sergey & Larry very much laid back as well.
Muddy Question: In Dismantling Integrated Library Systems article is says we have reached a plateau, and Verne Coppi at the end of the article says “Reintegration is inevitable.” My question is: If we have hit the plateau why hasn’t someone started the reintegration process? When will we start to see signs of the process beginning? What could it look like? Who will be involved with it?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=481855389631007759&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=96406676237624439&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=1090369698999357745&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=8687000593553354337&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=1754313709333694186&page=1
Jeff Tyson Internet Article: I like reading the articles that allow us to peek behind the curtain to see (forgive me) “how stuff works.”
--I was somewhat surprised to see that the Internet has been in use since 1969 (through the Government) but there was no oversight until the Internet Society in 1992.
--Point of Presence, now I have a better understanding how my outlook express account works.
--The moving graphic helped give a better understanding to what is being discussed, and yes I’ll admit they’re really cool to look at as well.
--A typical 56K modem, I wonder exactly how people do still use dial-up for their connections? Not saying that it’s a bad thing but it seems like with so many sites using advanced graphics, video or audio it would seem that DSL would be the minimum that most people would need.
--The Domain Name System being used back in 1983, and the fact that it was being used in 1969, makes me realize how old the internet really is. That it isn’t some invention over the last decade.
Dismantling Integrated Library Systems: Interesting to read how the old and the new can’t always mix despite our best efforts.
-- Things don’t always work out the way we want them to and that sometimes you have to make something work with what is already in place.
--Seeing the name Sirsi made me smirk. It is the system we are using in the library that I am currently at. In fact we just upgraded to 3.1. Not too different from the previous Sirsi system it kind of reminds me of when I went from Windows 3.1 to Windows95. Looks a little slicker and not so clunky but still basically does the same thing.
--Have to agree with Trevor Dykstra’s quote of, “Innovation will have to come via integration with new technology.”
--The better costs section made me realize that it still all comes down to money. We can say how much we want new technology to help us and things of that nature and in an ideal world that would not be an issue. However in the real world that isn’t always possible we have limited resources many times and we must know how to make the best with what we have.
--Reading “Interoperable Library Systems” was interesting to hear that this technology has reached a plateau.
Google Video: Much like the Windows Vista article we read a few weeks back I felt as though I was seeing a form of a sales pitch. It wasn’t bad thing but I was expecting to see more technical aspects discussed. However after reading another article I see why Google is very secretive about how their system operates.
-- I was pleased to see that Google is giving back with their foundation.
--I remember seeing what their headquarters looks like on a Discovery Channel special. It is actually a pretty laid-back work place so it wasn’t too surprising to see Sergey & Larry very much laid back as well.
Muddy Question: In Dismantling Integrated Library Systems article is says we have reached a plateau, and Verne Coppi at the end of the article says “Reintegration is inevitable.” My question is: If we have hit the plateau why hasn’t someone started the reintegration process? When will we start to see signs of the process beginning? What could it look like? Who will be involved with it?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=481855389631007759&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=96406676237624439&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=1090369698999357745&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=8687000593553354337&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=1754313709333694186&page=1
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Reading Assignment #6
Reading Assignment #6
Local Area Network: Pretty simple article to understand and helped my understanding of how this all works.
--Xerox was involved in the mid 70’s but I am surprised that they aren’t mentioned more in terms of computer development over the years. Almost of us know them for is copiers kinda sad when you think about it.
--I was interested to see that Microsoft isn’t more prominent in this field. With all of the things that they do you’d think they would be, and to find out that their foray into the L-A-N arena wasn’t that successful.
--I remember when I was in Seminary and all the apartments and dorms were wired with Ethernet cables. That was a big deal that we were all wired and could work on projects and research together. Yes we also played a lot of on-line games as well.
Computer Network: Much like the previous article.
--Our library uses a wireless network. Can’t count the number of times we have had to help students log in because of a lap-top issue that they had.
--Had no idea that there were that many different types of area networks. Global Area Network was the one that caught my attention. Sounds like it could be difficult to keep operating with all the things that could go wrong.
--For some reason I am not too surprised that the Government was involved in the Internet’s creation.
--I now understand how my router works thanks to this article. Hey I am an average computer user I plug in the equipment and I want it to work as it should…no more, no less.
You-Tube video: Summarized everything I had read very nicely, and I liked the fact that the Gentleman presenting the video didn’t make me feel like he was talking down to me.
RFID Article: I have had no experience with RFIDs but reading about them was interesting.
--Why is it when I hear about something like this and the FDA I always get a little nervous?
--RFIDs sound like they would make shelf reading a whole lot easier to do.
--A concern of mine in getting something like this set up is the trial and error that would probably go in the early stages of this. I mean the barcodes that are used I remember when we first went to them at a library I worked at and to say it was a learning experience is an understatement. However I can’t imagine ever going back to a stamp and library due-date slip.
--As I read this I realized that the cost for a system like this must be unreal.
--I am sure though that if more libraries adopt this system that the vendors will find a way to make this system more “user-friendly” for DVDs & CDs & magazine articles.
Muddy Question: Why did the author feel the need to tell us how it is possible to beat an RFID tag? That isn't exactly a good idea.
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=2484512840620987532&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=7650461811986294684&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=9024962617698144764&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=8624094078636163671&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=107352555931312506&page=1
Local Area Network: Pretty simple article to understand and helped my understanding of how this all works.
--Xerox was involved in the mid 70’s but I am surprised that they aren’t mentioned more in terms of computer development over the years. Almost of us know them for is copiers kinda sad when you think about it.
--I was interested to see that Microsoft isn’t more prominent in this field. With all of the things that they do you’d think they would be, and to find out that their foray into the L-A-N arena wasn’t that successful.
--I remember when I was in Seminary and all the apartments and dorms were wired with Ethernet cables. That was a big deal that we were all wired and could work on projects and research together. Yes we also played a lot of on-line games as well.
Computer Network: Much like the previous article.
--Our library uses a wireless network. Can’t count the number of times we have had to help students log in because of a lap-top issue that they had.
--Had no idea that there were that many different types of area networks. Global Area Network was the one that caught my attention. Sounds like it could be difficult to keep operating with all the things that could go wrong.
--For some reason I am not too surprised that the Government was involved in the Internet’s creation.
--I now understand how my router works thanks to this article. Hey I am an average computer user I plug in the equipment and I want it to work as it should…no more, no less.
You-Tube video: Summarized everything I had read very nicely, and I liked the fact that the Gentleman presenting the video didn’t make me feel like he was talking down to me.
RFID Article: I have had no experience with RFIDs but reading about them was interesting.
--Why is it when I hear about something like this and the FDA I always get a little nervous?
--RFIDs sound like they would make shelf reading a whole lot easier to do.
--A concern of mine in getting something like this set up is the trial and error that would probably go in the early stages of this. I mean the barcodes that are used I remember when we first went to them at a library I worked at and to say it was a learning experience is an understatement. However I can’t imagine ever going back to a stamp and library due-date slip.
--As I read this I realized that the cost for a system like this must be unreal.
--I am sure though that if more libraries adopt this system that the vendors will find a way to make this system more “user-friendly” for DVDs & CDs & magazine articles.
Muddy Question: Why did the author feel the need to tell us how it is possible to beat an RFID tag? That isn't exactly a good idea.
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=2484512840620987532&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=7650461811986294684&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=9024962617698144764&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=8624094078636163671&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1491308052360981630&postID=107352555931312506&page=1
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Reading Assignment #5
Reading Assignment #5
Data Compression: Wikipedia. A good primer for explaining what data compression is and how it works.
--This article helped me so how much I take my computer really for granted. That I expect it to automatically do whatever I want it to do when I want it done. Like play my videos without really thinking about it.
--Reading the examples of lossless & lossy made sense. For some reason I chuckled when it said that 26 was a smaller file size than 25. [9]8. Sometimes my literal sense of thinking plays havoc with what I am reading.
--I have never understood what is meant by “Internet telephony.” Why is it called that?
--To read about something that started in the late 1940’s/early 1950’s was really refreshing after reading about the 1960’s so often.
Data Compression Articles: By the time I had finished reading these articles I thought, “Everything I ever wanted to know about data compression, but I was afraid to ask has now been answered.” Have to say though I don’t consider it a waste of my time. I like the fact that the author injected little shots of humor throughout and that if it became too complex they would cite an example for understanding what they were talking about.
--I love reading what the abbreviations stand for and how they apply to what we are doing.
--For some reason reading the LCS lines seeing how they progressed and what values would come next interested me a lot. It became almost like a game to try and figure out what would come next and how the next value was reached. Would I want to do it all the time? Heck no! I can only imagine that they will get harder so I’ll quit while I’m ahead.
--Reading about RGB also interested me as well, because I remember my ambulance driving training and being taught about different colors meaning different things within the color spectrum.
--I also liked learning about the on-line streaming process since I like listening to ESPN radio on-line and watching Sportscenter on-line and understanding how it works.
--Looking at the image block section was interesting because it still is hard for me to believe that such a small thing can make a big difference.
Imaging Pittsburgh: I love history so this article was a real treat for me
--It sounds like such a simple idea but reading everything that went into it was very eye opening. That it involved a grant for one thing to make it happen and that it took the photographic collections of three institutions to help out as well.
--Looking at the 1955 photo was kind of strange because where I went to college about 20 years ago part of the city looked like that in 1988.
--One would think that working on a project like this there would be a consensus just about every-time. In an ideal world maybe but we don’t live in an ideal world now do we? Reading about the challenges made me see just how much work had to go into this. Not only did they have to deal with issues like selecting the pictures but also technical issues such as Metadata & the Web-Site. It was nice to see that the article did not mention anyone throwing up their hands and saying that they were going to quit. Although I am sure there were moments people wanted to.
--This article was done in 2004 I wonder what kind of progress has been made since then?
You-Tube: I admit I am a huge You-Tube visitor so this article held my interest from beginning to end.
--The ease of using You-Tube makes me wonder sometimes why more schools don’t use it more often. My guess is that they probably explored it at some point but have found logistical issues too bothersome.
--It says in order to upload an artist or TV show or basically anything from the entertainment spectrum that you need permission. I am willing to bet that some of the videos are done without permission. That the “copyright police” could have a field day with you-tube if they wanted to, and that makes me wonder if there will ever be the day that certain areas of you-tube will become pay-per-view.
Muddy Question: While I enjoy reading and learning about the abbreviations in the 2nd article I found at times it was difficult to keep all of the abreveations straight in mind. There were times I had to go back and re-read something to undestand what I just read. Did anyone else have this issue and how did you deal with it?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=2509969814099689784&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=7852200519071717247&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=3390927621638259886&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=5390955881482592986&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=3512837352940137481&page=1
Data Compression: Wikipedia. A good primer for explaining what data compression is and how it works.
--This article helped me so how much I take my computer really for granted. That I expect it to automatically do whatever I want it to do when I want it done. Like play my videos without really thinking about it.
--Reading the examples of lossless & lossy made sense. For some reason I chuckled when it said that 26 was a smaller file size than 25. [9]8. Sometimes my literal sense of thinking plays havoc with what I am reading.
--I have never understood what is meant by “Internet telephony.” Why is it called that?
--To read about something that started in the late 1940’s/early 1950’s was really refreshing after reading about the 1960’s so often.
Data Compression Articles: By the time I had finished reading these articles I thought, “Everything I ever wanted to know about data compression, but I was afraid to ask has now been answered.” Have to say though I don’t consider it a waste of my time. I like the fact that the author injected little shots of humor throughout and that if it became too complex they would cite an example for understanding what they were talking about.
--I love reading what the abbreviations stand for and how they apply to what we are doing.
--For some reason reading the LCS lines seeing how they progressed and what values would come next interested me a lot. It became almost like a game to try and figure out what would come next and how the next value was reached. Would I want to do it all the time? Heck no! I can only imagine that they will get harder so I’ll quit while I’m ahead.
--Reading about RGB also interested me as well, because I remember my ambulance driving training and being taught about different colors meaning different things within the color spectrum.
--I also liked learning about the on-line streaming process since I like listening to ESPN radio on-line and watching Sportscenter on-line and understanding how it works.
--Looking at the image block section was interesting because it still is hard for me to believe that such a small thing can make a big difference.
Imaging Pittsburgh: I love history so this article was a real treat for me
--It sounds like such a simple idea but reading everything that went into it was very eye opening. That it involved a grant for one thing to make it happen and that it took the photographic collections of three institutions to help out as well.
--Looking at the 1955 photo was kind of strange because where I went to college about 20 years ago part of the city looked like that in 1988.
--One would think that working on a project like this there would be a consensus just about every-time. In an ideal world maybe but we don’t live in an ideal world now do we? Reading about the challenges made me see just how much work had to go into this. Not only did they have to deal with issues like selecting the pictures but also technical issues such as Metadata & the Web-Site. It was nice to see that the article did not mention anyone throwing up their hands and saying that they were going to quit. Although I am sure there were moments people wanted to.
--This article was done in 2004 I wonder what kind of progress has been made since then?
You-Tube: I admit I am a huge You-Tube visitor so this article held my interest from beginning to end.
--The ease of using You-Tube makes me wonder sometimes why more schools don’t use it more often. My guess is that they probably explored it at some point but have found logistical issues too bothersome.
--It says in order to upload an artist or TV show or basically anything from the entertainment spectrum that you need permission. I am willing to bet that some of the videos are done without permission. That the “copyright police” could have a field day with you-tube if they wanted to, and that makes me wonder if there will ever be the day that certain areas of you-tube will become pay-per-view.
Muddy Question: While I enjoy reading and learning about the abbreviations in the 2nd article I found at times it was difficult to keep all of the abreveations straight in mind. There were times I had to go back and re-read something to undestand what I just read. Did anyone else have this issue and how did you deal with it?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=2509969814099689784&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=7852200519071717247&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=3390927621638259886&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=5390955881482592986&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=3512837352940137481&page=1
Thursday, September 11, 2008
My Flickr Pictures
These are some of the pictures that I took when I was at the Pro-Football Hall Of Fame this past Summer.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30042576@N08/sets/72157607235334810/
Flickr Blogs where i have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=6105264136580073479
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4657309357315020681&postID=1250745253598266327
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Reading Assignment #4
Reading Assignment #4
Database Article (Wikipedia): A good overview and introduction to databases.
--Interesting to see that throughout the decades each person who develops a new system generally is dissatisfied with the previous decade’s advances. The feeling of, “They did it good but I can do it better” is really rampant sometimes. Never realized at times how competitive this field really is until I started studying the readings more closely. (It makes Microsoft’s foothold in the market impressive from a certain point of view.)
--I remember when COBOL was the dominant language. Back in 1984 when I started high-school my computer teacher was teaching us some of the basics of it because that was what everyone was using at that time.
--I see where the Relational Model is being used in our library, because the minute I saw “SQL” I realized that is what we use for our Rapid ILL system.
--With Object-Oriented databases seeking to bring the database world and the application programming world closer together it seems as though that is where the next major break-through lies.
--The article talks about the legislation in the United Kingdom protecting unauthorized disclosures of personal information on databases, but what about the United States? What legislation is in place for our protection?
Introduction to Metadata: The article is written in a way that when Gilliland gets too technical she provides a good example to help simplify things for the average reader.
--Never realized how much we in the Library Sciences are dependent upon the services that Metadata provides. Especially those in the Archiving end of the Library Sciences.
--Reading through Table 1 and seeing technical terms being applied to things that I use all the time and take for granted helps me gain a greater understanding for how complex and specialized this field really is.
--Library metadata has been in use since the 1960’s makes me wonder how things have really changed since then. We used to have room-sized computers and now we have Blackberries, I wonder about the changes since then. It was also interesting to read that the development of Library metadata has been first and foremost about providing access to content. Much like we do in the real world.
--Gilliland writes, “It is possible to conceive of it being used in an almost infinite number of new ways to meet the needs of non-traditional users, for multi-versioning, and for data mining.” I wonder what new ways we could be looking at for non-traditional users.
Dublin Core Article: Provides a good overview of the on-going project.
-- I wonder what progress they have made since this article was written 9 years ago and much of the last couple of paragraphs discussed work that still needed to be done. We can only assume tht they have made some progress by now.
--Thought the term “resource” was interesting from the perspective of it is not only including data and things of a computer nature, but also books and people as well.
--When Miller began to write and discuss computer coding I was somewhat surprised that in-order to understand it I had to use things that I learned in my logic course almost 20 years ago. The graphic at the end of the article really brought that point home for me. (I should write my logic professor a thank you note someday).
--Dewey Decimal is still being used in some places. I don’t think I could handle having to use it again.
Muddy Question: The Wikipedia article discusses the “A-C-I-D rules” They sound very stringent and straight-forward. However right after the explanation it says that many databases relax these rules for better performance.
My question is: When is it appropriate to relax these rules? How is it decided which rules are relaxed? And if they are relaxed every so often then why call them rules at all? Why not call them guidelines?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4619180577856147392&postID=6564099702343520457&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=4607901818617335487&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=889897992883147029&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=4985219821099945805&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1003426038996200615&postID=1300285221863047449&page=1
Database Article (Wikipedia): A good overview and introduction to databases.
--Interesting to see that throughout the decades each person who develops a new system generally is dissatisfied with the previous decade’s advances. The feeling of, “They did it good but I can do it better” is really rampant sometimes. Never realized at times how competitive this field really is until I started studying the readings more closely. (It makes Microsoft’s foothold in the market impressive from a certain point of view.)
--I remember when COBOL was the dominant language. Back in 1984 when I started high-school my computer teacher was teaching us some of the basics of it because that was what everyone was using at that time.
--I see where the Relational Model is being used in our library, because the minute I saw “SQL” I realized that is what we use for our Rapid ILL system.
--With Object-Oriented databases seeking to bring the database world and the application programming world closer together it seems as though that is where the next major break-through lies.
--The article talks about the legislation in the United Kingdom protecting unauthorized disclosures of personal information on databases, but what about the United States? What legislation is in place for our protection?
Introduction to Metadata: The article is written in a way that when Gilliland gets too technical she provides a good example to help simplify things for the average reader.
--Never realized how much we in the Library Sciences are dependent upon the services that Metadata provides. Especially those in the Archiving end of the Library Sciences.
--Reading through Table 1 and seeing technical terms being applied to things that I use all the time and take for granted helps me gain a greater understanding for how complex and specialized this field really is.
--Library metadata has been in use since the 1960’s makes me wonder how things have really changed since then. We used to have room-sized computers and now we have Blackberries, I wonder about the changes since then. It was also interesting to read that the development of Library metadata has been first and foremost about providing access to content. Much like we do in the real world.
--Gilliland writes, “It is possible to conceive of it being used in an almost infinite number of new ways to meet the needs of non-traditional users, for multi-versioning, and for data mining.” I wonder what new ways we could be looking at for non-traditional users.
Dublin Core Article: Provides a good overview of the on-going project.
-- I wonder what progress they have made since this article was written 9 years ago and much of the last couple of paragraphs discussed work that still needed to be done. We can only assume tht they have made some progress by now.
--Thought the term “resource” was interesting from the perspective of it is not only including data and things of a computer nature, but also books and people as well.
--When Miller began to write and discuss computer coding I was somewhat surprised that in-order to understand it I had to use things that I learned in my logic course almost 20 years ago. The graphic at the end of the article really brought that point home for me. (I should write my logic professor a thank you note someday).
--Dewey Decimal is still being used in some places. I don’t think I could handle having to use it again.
Muddy Question: The Wikipedia article discusses the “A-C-I-D rules” They sound very stringent and straight-forward. However right after the explanation it says that many databases relax these rules for better performance.
My question is: When is it appropriate to relax these rules? How is it decided which rules are relaxed? And if they are relaxed every so often then why call them rules at all? Why not call them guidelines?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4619180577856147392&postID=6564099702343520457&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4181925387762663697&postID=4607901818617335487&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=889897992883147029&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=4985219821099945805&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1003426038996200615&postID=1300285221863047449&page=1
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Reading Assignment #3
Reading Assignment #3
Linux System: As I read through the Intro there were a few things that occurred to me.
--Linux is in much more wide-spread use than I realized. I had no idea that Amazon was using it, or that a lot of movies were using for their CGI shots, the U.S. postal service and the German Army just to name a few.
--It seems as though Linux is much more inclined to cater to businesses and Government programs as opposed to the home-PC market. I say that because when one did read the manual they were difficult to follow and finding documentation was difficult as well, and it says right there in the article that it is not user-friendly and confusing for beginners. Most beginners are people who are setting up their home-PCs, They used to tell people to, “RTFM: Read the Manual.” (I don’t think I really want to guess what the “F” stands for).
--I personally like the idea of having a free software operating system and how basically all Linux systems are the same, however there is one thing that troubles me even more than the cons concerning the troubles beginners could have. Linux is free and I hate to say it but sometimes…you get what you pay for.
--Even Linux has to concede something to Microsoft. Otherwise why would they be willing to have some compatible programming with Microsoft?
Mac-OS X: I found a lot of what I read in both articles (Kernel-thread & Wikipedia) to be way too technical and at times very confusing.
--The use of Kernels has found its way into the Mac-OS. (Didn’t see any mention of them in the Windows information, but more on Windows a bit later).
--One thing that really confused me was all of the different operating systems that were being discussed. Having to read & re-read just to figure out which ones were still being used, which ones could be adapted to one another and which one was getting ready to be used next.
--It seems as though the Mac-OS is more designed for a student/professional. I say that because the numbers of games for the Mac are pretty limited, and yet I see a lot of applications that a student/professional would be more inclined to use than say an avid game-player.
--The conclusion in the Kernel-thread helped a lot with giving me some bottom line information about Mac-OS.
--I became a little paranoid about ever owning a Mac-OS computer after reading through the Hacking tools section. Just so many different ways that it can be hacked into. I saw on CNN that this was a chief complaint against the I-Phone for a long time in that it could be hacked into through the Internet Explorer. Whether that is still the case, I don’t know.
Windows: After reading this piece I felt like saying (almost hypnotically), “Windows Vista GOOD!” I felt like I was reading a sales pitch and I was expecting something much more technical.
--Even Microsoft has come out to play with the others. There is a Microsoft Services for UNIX & Quick-time & I-Tunes were all developed by apple. However though Microsoft stands alone in terms of use and being more widely known by the average computer user (of which I am one).
--The fact that are willing to continue support for Windows XP (even after the intended release of Windows 7 in 2010) until the year 2014 tells me that maybe some people are not happy with Windows Vista and are clinging to Windows XP as long as they can.
--I am a Vista user and with the exception of some of the transitions from different windows I really can’t say that I would keep it if I had the chance to switch back to XP. After reading what I would have to go through to back to XP on my new computer, the downgrade licenses and so forth, I think I’ll just stay with Vista.
--The Internet Explorer 7 they have with Vista is a Godzilla sized pain in the neck. I have to right click on IE7 and run it as administrator to get it to work properly. Otherwise it locks up a lot more or new tabs keep opening up on me.
--A huge red flag for me was the “telemetry system” that allows them to gather anonymous information about how real customers are using the program. I am sorry I don’t like people or organizations being able to gather information on me without my permission. Anonymous or not…I like having some sense of what I have on my computer is mine and what I do with my computer is my business.
Muddy Question: Why were we assigned to read two articles that were so technical, and then assigned to read one that sounded like (at times) a sales-pitch for Windows Vista? I am not complaining about the Linux or Mac-OS articles or even the information on Vista, but it was just very strange to go from three very technically oriented articles then suddenly to one that was about an Operating System that had very little technical information at all. It took a minute to "regear my brain"
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=271112965323219834&postID=2616120692262767054&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=4268674843996478222&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7821109072135779287&postID=5756541473977954588&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=8427445099349409461&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=8343433152457723658&page=1
Linux System: As I read through the Intro there were a few things that occurred to me.
--Linux is in much more wide-spread use than I realized. I had no idea that Amazon was using it, or that a lot of movies were using for their CGI shots, the U.S. postal service and the German Army just to name a few.
--It seems as though Linux is much more inclined to cater to businesses and Government programs as opposed to the home-PC market. I say that because when one did read the manual they were difficult to follow and finding documentation was difficult as well, and it says right there in the article that it is not user-friendly and confusing for beginners. Most beginners are people who are setting up their home-PCs, They used to tell people to, “RTFM: Read the Manual.” (I don’t think I really want to guess what the “F” stands for).
--I personally like the idea of having a free software operating system and how basically all Linux systems are the same, however there is one thing that troubles me even more than the cons concerning the troubles beginners could have. Linux is free and I hate to say it but sometimes…you get what you pay for.
--Even Linux has to concede something to Microsoft. Otherwise why would they be willing to have some compatible programming with Microsoft?
Mac-OS X: I found a lot of what I read in both articles (Kernel-thread & Wikipedia) to be way too technical and at times very confusing.
--The use of Kernels has found its way into the Mac-OS. (Didn’t see any mention of them in the Windows information, but more on Windows a bit later).
--One thing that really confused me was all of the different operating systems that were being discussed. Having to read & re-read just to figure out which ones were still being used, which ones could be adapted to one another and which one was getting ready to be used next.
--It seems as though the Mac-OS is more designed for a student/professional. I say that because the numbers of games for the Mac are pretty limited, and yet I see a lot of applications that a student/professional would be more inclined to use than say an avid game-player.
--The conclusion in the Kernel-thread helped a lot with giving me some bottom line information about Mac-OS.
--I became a little paranoid about ever owning a Mac-OS computer after reading through the Hacking tools section. Just so many different ways that it can be hacked into. I saw on CNN that this was a chief complaint against the I-Phone for a long time in that it could be hacked into through the Internet Explorer. Whether that is still the case, I don’t know.
Windows: After reading this piece I felt like saying (almost hypnotically), “Windows Vista GOOD!” I felt like I was reading a sales pitch and I was expecting something much more technical.
--Even Microsoft has come out to play with the others. There is a Microsoft Services for UNIX & Quick-time & I-Tunes were all developed by apple. However though Microsoft stands alone in terms of use and being more widely known by the average computer user (of which I am one).
--The fact that are willing to continue support for Windows XP (even after the intended release of Windows 7 in 2010) until the year 2014 tells me that maybe some people are not happy with Windows Vista and are clinging to Windows XP as long as they can.
--I am a Vista user and with the exception of some of the transitions from different windows I really can’t say that I would keep it if I had the chance to switch back to XP. After reading what I would have to go through to back to XP on my new computer, the downgrade licenses and so forth, I think I’ll just stay with Vista.
--The Internet Explorer 7 they have with Vista is a Godzilla sized pain in the neck. I have to right click on IE7 and run it as administrator to get it to work properly. Otherwise it locks up a lot more or new tabs keep opening up on me.
--A huge red flag for me was the “telemetry system” that allows them to gather anonymous information about how real customers are using the program. I am sorry I don’t like people or organizations being able to gather information on me without my permission. Anonymous or not…I like having some sense of what I have on my computer is mine and what I do with my computer is my business.
Muddy Question: Why were we assigned to read two articles that were so technical, and then assigned to read one that sounded like (at times) a sales-pitch for Windows Vista? I am not complaining about the Linux or Mac-OS articles or even the information on Vista, but it was just very strange to go from three very technically oriented articles then suddenly to one that was about an Operating System that had very little technical information at all. It took a minute to "regear my brain"
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=271112965323219834&postID=2616120692262767054&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=4268674843996478222&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7821109072135779287&postID=5756541473977954588&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=8427445099349409461&page=1
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=8343433152457723658&page=1
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Second Reading Assignment
Reading Assignment #1
OCLC Report: As I read thought this report my first reaction was, “Well soon the only place where we are going to be able to see any print material is on-display in a museum.” Looking back though I don’t think those of us who like to read printed material, like journals and books, have anything to worry about anytime soon. (More on that a bit later on)
--I agree that most of the major trends in content aren’t technological but rather they are social. Smartphones or I-Phones are serious indicator of that. We can now text/I-M one another, send pictures of one another through e-mail, send video of one another, be in a chat room, play music on our phones and surf the web with our phones. Ten years ago these are things that we used to be able to do only on our computers. Now we can do these things anytime and anywhere without even thinking about it not only with our phones but with palm-pilots and blackberries. It’s about staying connected to one another and how we can do it easier.
--Marshall McLuhan was right in 1964 when he said, “The message is the medium.” So was Mark Fiderman when he said, “With this early warning we can set out to characterize & identify the new medium before it becomes obvious to everyone.” We can analyze the content of a container all we want, but if we don’t look at how the container itself is shaping our lives or how it could impact us as library professionals then we are missing an opportunity to see how a new container be used. Not only by us as library professionals but in changing people’s perceptions of a library. Showing that a library is a place of ideas and information, and not just a place where the books are kept.
--The section on Social Publishing caught my attention, because it mentioned that it could be a way for libraries to reach out to communities. I have seen this first hand. Carrier Library at James Madison University where I used to work at has a page on Facebook.
--I mentioned that as I read this I thought that this report was basically sounding the death knell for print materials, but after reflecting for a bit I was wrong. For three reasons: 1) In 2004 Inter Library Loan requests were at 51,000 they are projected to be at 57,000 by 2009. An example of technology and libraries working together. 2) Why would someone want to go through the process of “tiered access” for a sample of a book or article when they can have an entire book or article for free? 3) When was the last time someone you heard of someone having an issue like downloading viruses, spyware or other computer issues that one can face from time to time when they had an actual book or magazine in their hands? Now don’t get me wrong I am in-favor of new mediums and ways of getting information out to the public, but I just don’t think the print industry is on its last legs.
Clifford Lynch Article: When I read this article I thought, “Was he telling me any of this?” When I was done I felt more informed and that my time wasn’t wasted.
--His setting up the difference between Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy was something that helped me follow his train of thought and how he showed that both aspects were different and yet relied on one another. Much like technology & libraries are two sides of the same coin and they rely upon one another.
--He makes the case that students graduating from an educational system where they only have basics skills (concerning computers & technology) are cheated. I agree with him, however it raises a question for me, and that question is who is going to teach the children the more intermediate skills that Lynch is looking towards? Most of the people who can teach these skills effectively are probably teaching in colleges, working in the Government or working for a computer company making a far more sizable income than in the school system.
--His point about students learning how to type 40 years ago and how we moved onto Word Processors in the 1980’s brings up showing how things have changed and how fast they change in our world today. For example in 1993 when I was in college I learned how to work a Mac, and at the time I thought it was the greatest thing I ever used it blew the PC I had at the time out of the water. Today only 15 years later my cell-phone could put that Mac to shame in every way possible.
--Much like we have been told we need to change people’s perceptions about libraries I find that I need to change my perceptions about computers. There is more to computers than the desktop/laptop that I use all the time, and that computers impact us in other ways as well.
Lied Library Article: This article made me smile and brought back some good memories because when I was working at Carrier Library at James Madison University we too upgraded our computing systems in the summer of 2004, and we went through many of the things that LIED Library went through.
--Luckily when we did our computer switchover our summer session wasn’t that busy so the transition was relatively smooth. (Well as smooth as one can expect).
--We replaced our monitors with flat screens and disposed of our old ones in the same manner that they did at Lied Library.
--Lied Library began their E-Reserves program in 2002. I was involved in leading the E-Reserves program at JMU as a pilot project during the summer of 2004 into seeing if it could be a viable option in the future. I revisited JMU last year and discovered that E-Reserves are now the norm for reserve articles. They had maybe 3 paper articles at most in a semester.
--I had to smile when I read that they upgraded to the Millennium Operating system, because we did that as well. I wonder if they had a smooth transition like we did?
--While the technological aspects of Lied Library are impressive there are some serious negatives as well. The cost to run a place like that has got be huge, and I don’t just mean the monetary costs (which have got to just be huge to say the least). I am thinking in terms of cost to the staff. They are serving so many different patrons; they have to know a lot more about computers than the average librarian, not much in terms of office space, and Vaughn noted himself that there aren’t too many times when the library is shut-down for any serious length of time which means that there has to be someone there. One would think that the staff at times must just feel wiped out at the end of the day.
--I was interested in seeing that they have an attached café with the library. I wonder how they deal with food and drink messes especially around the equipment?
Muddy Question: I’ll be the first to admit that the Lied Library is, from a technological point of view, very impressive there is no denying that they have a well-earned reputation.
My question is this: How much can be seen as too much? Is there such a thing as too much technology in a library? To a point where the books, the archives, the print journals and other areas are overshadowed by the technology aspects of the library. Is that ever a possibility? Will we ever cross a line, and when we do will we realize it only after it is too late to do anything about it?
Blogs I have posted to:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=271112965323219834&postID=1386571618696058234
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=9208681496334963649
OCLC Report: As I read thought this report my first reaction was, “Well soon the only place where we are going to be able to see any print material is on-display in a museum.” Looking back though I don’t think those of us who like to read printed material, like journals and books, have anything to worry about anytime soon. (More on that a bit later on)
--I agree that most of the major trends in content aren’t technological but rather they are social. Smartphones or I-Phones are serious indicator of that. We can now text/I-M one another, send pictures of one another through e-mail, send video of one another, be in a chat room, play music on our phones and surf the web with our phones. Ten years ago these are things that we used to be able to do only on our computers. Now we can do these things anytime and anywhere without even thinking about it not only with our phones but with palm-pilots and blackberries. It’s about staying connected to one another and how we can do it easier.
--Marshall McLuhan was right in 1964 when he said, “The message is the medium.” So was Mark Fiderman when he said, “With this early warning we can set out to characterize & identify the new medium before it becomes obvious to everyone.” We can analyze the content of a container all we want, but if we don’t look at how the container itself is shaping our lives or how it could impact us as library professionals then we are missing an opportunity to see how a new container be used. Not only by us as library professionals but in changing people’s perceptions of a library. Showing that a library is a place of ideas and information, and not just a place where the books are kept.
--The section on Social Publishing caught my attention, because it mentioned that it could be a way for libraries to reach out to communities. I have seen this first hand. Carrier Library at James Madison University where I used to work at has a page on Facebook.
--I mentioned that as I read this I thought that this report was basically sounding the death knell for print materials, but after reflecting for a bit I was wrong. For three reasons: 1) In 2004 Inter Library Loan requests were at 51,000 they are projected to be at 57,000 by 2009. An example of technology and libraries working together. 2) Why would someone want to go through the process of “tiered access” for a sample of a book or article when they can have an entire book or article for free? 3) When was the last time someone you heard of someone having an issue like downloading viruses, spyware or other computer issues that one can face from time to time when they had an actual book or magazine in their hands? Now don’t get me wrong I am in-favor of new mediums and ways of getting information out to the public, but I just don’t think the print industry is on its last legs.
Clifford Lynch Article: When I read this article I thought, “Was he telling me any of this?” When I was done I felt more informed and that my time wasn’t wasted.
--His setting up the difference between Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy was something that helped me follow his train of thought and how he showed that both aspects were different and yet relied on one another. Much like technology & libraries are two sides of the same coin and they rely upon one another.
--He makes the case that students graduating from an educational system where they only have basics skills (concerning computers & technology) are cheated. I agree with him, however it raises a question for me, and that question is who is going to teach the children the more intermediate skills that Lynch is looking towards? Most of the people who can teach these skills effectively are probably teaching in colleges, working in the Government or working for a computer company making a far more sizable income than in the school system.
--His point about students learning how to type 40 years ago and how we moved onto Word Processors in the 1980’s brings up showing how things have changed and how fast they change in our world today. For example in 1993 when I was in college I learned how to work a Mac, and at the time I thought it was the greatest thing I ever used it blew the PC I had at the time out of the water. Today only 15 years later my cell-phone could put that Mac to shame in every way possible.
--Much like we have been told we need to change people’s perceptions about libraries I find that I need to change my perceptions about computers. There is more to computers than the desktop/laptop that I use all the time, and that computers impact us in other ways as well.
Lied Library Article: This article made me smile and brought back some good memories because when I was working at Carrier Library at James Madison University we too upgraded our computing systems in the summer of 2004, and we went through many of the things that LIED Library went through.
--Luckily when we did our computer switchover our summer session wasn’t that busy so the transition was relatively smooth. (Well as smooth as one can expect).
--We replaced our monitors with flat screens and disposed of our old ones in the same manner that they did at Lied Library.
--Lied Library began their E-Reserves program in 2002. I was involved in leading the E-Reserves program at JMU as a pilot project during the summer of 2004 into seeing if it could be a viable option in the future. I revisited JMU last year and discovered that E-Reserves are now the norm for reserve articles. They had maybe 3 paper articles at most in a semester.
--I had to smile when I read that they upgraded to the Millennium Operating system, because we did that as well. I wonder if they had a smooth transition like we did?
--While the technological aspects of Lied Library are impressive there are some serious negatives as well. The cost to run a place like that has got be huge, and I don’t just mean the monetary costs (which have got to just be huge to say the least). I am thinking in terms of cost to the staff. They are serving so many different patrons; they have to know a lot more about computers than the average librarian, not much in terms of office space, and Vaughn noted himself that there aren’t too many times when the library is shut-down for any serious length of time which means that there has to be someone there. One would think that the staff at times must just feel wiped out at the end of the day.
--I was interested in seeing that they have an attached café with the library. I wonder how they deal with food and drink messes especially around the equipment?
Muddy Question: I’ll be the first to admit that the Lied Library is, from a technological point of view, very impressive there is no denying that they have a well-earned reputation.
My question is this: How much can be seen as too much? Is there such a thing as too much technology in a library? To a point where the books, the archives, the print journals and other areas are overshadowed by the technology aspects of the library. Is that ever a possibility? Will we ever cross a line, and when we do will we realize it only after it is too late to do anything about it?
Blogs I have posted to:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7114620464717775258&postID=8006325409564131110
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3224525137548604663&postID=6073455576871728850&page=1https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=271112965323219834&postID=1386571618696058234
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=9208681496334963649
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1693482552938456993&postID=5202360343339771744
Thursday, August 28, 2008
My first reading assignment
Reading Assignment #2
Computer Hardware: Thought it was a good “getting to know you” reading from Wikipedia. Although going in I thought I had pretty good understanding of a computer there were certain things about the article that helped open my eyes a little more.
--My understanding was limited to Hardware & software and nothing more. Then I find out that there is something stored in the R-O-M called “firmware.”
--I was surprised to find out that although many people have home-computers in reality they compose only a small minority of the computer hardware in use. That CD players, automobiles, & microwave ovens have computer hardware embedded into the system and is not seen by most people.
--Something I noticed in the removable media devices is that the “A” drive is now classified as obsolete. That the CD, DVD & even Blu-Ray drives are seen as more common media devices, and I remember when the CD-Rom drive was considered a big deal. That playing a music CD on the computer was something special now it is just another part of the computer.
--Reading through the “internal & external bus controller” sections I noticed one thing. Out of the 16 bullet items listed 7 of the items are either being phased out, outdated, or for older machines. This made me reflect on something I heard during the lecture. The students were asked how they would describe integrated technology. After reading this article the term I would use is “fluid,” because technology is constantly changing all around us constantly. For example, I bought a computer in 2001 & another one in 2007 from the same company. The differences are the newer one is faster, can do more programs, and the biggest difference is no “A” drive on the newer one. These changes happened only 6 years apart. Who knows what the next computer I own will do that my newer one can’t.
Moore’s Law: I must confess ignorance before reading this article I had no clue who Gordon Moore was or what his law was, but after reading this I have to wonder why more people do not know of this man or his law.
--I was amazed to discover that Moore was a co-founder of Intel and that he foresaw the day when “The number of transistors the industry would be able to place on a chip would double every year.” Of course in 1975 he then revised his law saying that it would be every two years as opposed to every year.
--In spite of all of the advances that we have made in technology like all things man-made the transistor has its drawbacks. One quote, among many, that stood out to me was, “The cost to make each transistor decreases, but the chance the chip will not work due to defects increases.” Even in the world of transistors money/costs is a factor. For example the cost to “tape-out” a 90nm chip is at least one million dollars. The cost of one 90nm chip costs more than many of my friends and family make in a year. The cost for 65nm chip exceeds three-million dollars a year. Very interesting that many times we do not think of the financial aspect of what technological advances cost.
--Moore’s law is not only in-effect today, as seen in NAND Flash Memory, but that many in the technology field predict that Moore’s Law will continue in effect for the foreseeable future. However Moore knows that his law cannot last forever.
--Looking at the Computer History Museum I was shocked to see what a computer chip looked like in the 1950’s with just one transistor in it. I bring this up because it is believed that by 2015 the processors will contain 15 billion transistors. That is billion with a “B” not just 15 million.
--While the hardware improves the software doesn’t always keep up with the changing times. Another quote, Wirth’s Law to be exact, that stood out for me was, “Software gets slower faster than hardware gets faster.” While the number of transistors increases it should be noted that doesn’t mean more processor speed.
--The video, while brief, gave me a good overview of what I read. That the bottom line is more Moore’s Law is about constant doubling.
--That technology trends in the last 4 decades has taken us from computers that were as big as a room to the I-Pod nano.
Computer History Museum: Again I confess ignorance I had no idea that this place even existed nor had ever heard of most of the people who were in there or their accomplishments. I thought most of the computer technology today started and ended with Bill Gates and Microsoft. I was surprised to find out that Mr. Gates and Microsoft are hardly even mentioned.
--I liked the fact that when I looked at the Silicon Engine I was able to see Moore’s Law once again being discussed and utilized. That in the 1950s there was one transistor, but by the 2000’s there were 592,000,000 transistors on a chip.
--That the internet timeline actually began in 1962 not in 1992 when it was more widely known and used
--Seeing computers that were bigger than any of my suitcases. I had always heard about room sized computers but never really saw any of them. I was just amazed that any of them worked at all and for something so big that at times it seemed like they did so little.
-- Reading about how Charles Babbage’s difference engine machine was re-built from the original drawings in the 1800s. That it had 8,000 moving parts weighed 5 tons and was 11 feet long just floored me. I used to work in a warehouse and many of our machines were not that big.
Muddy Question: One thing that stood out to me in the lectures was when it was mentioned that most people think books when they hear libraries. That what we want them to think is information first. I agree with this statement and I have heard this several times at the library I work at.
My question is this: How can we do this when at times it seems as though libraries have a difficult time dealing with ever changing technology due to a limited budget, limited resources, qualified people not being availible or people's unwillingness to embrace new technology?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6709282551702346326&postID=485981395426362657
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7821109072135779287&postID=4962163656489671707
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8747228788318880740&postID=8407104800590130460
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=9179574221183744791
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4619180577856147392&postID=925690530959679777
(Responded to these on Saturday as a courtesy to those who responded to my blog)
http://stephaniec-lisblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/comments-ive-made-so-far.html
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=2808884919242478778
Computer Hardware: Thought it was a good “getting to know you” reading from Wikipedia. Although going in I thought I had pretty good understanding of a computer there were certain things about the article that helped open my eyes a little more.
--My understanding was limited to Hardware & software and nothing more. Then I find out that there is something stored in the R-O-M called “firmware.”
--I was surprised to find out that although many people have home-computers in reality they compose only a small minority of the computer hardware in use. That CD players, automobiles, & microwave ovens have computer hardware embedded into the system and is not seen by most people.
--Something I noticed in the removable media devices is that the “A” drive is now classified as obsolete. That the CD, DVD & even Blu-Ray drives are seen as more common media devices, and I remember when the CD-Rom drive was considered a big deal. That playing a music CD on the computer was something special now it is just another part of the computer.
--Reading through the “internal & external bus controller” sections I noticed one thing. Out of the 16 bullet items listed 7 of the items are either being phased out, outdated, or for older machines. This made me reflect on something I heard during the lecture. The students were asked how they would describe integrated technology. After reading this article the term I would use is “fluid,” because technology is constantly changing all around us constantly. For example, I bought a computer in 2001 & another one in 2007 from the same company. The differences are the newer one is faster, can do more programs, and the biggest difference is no “A” drive on the newer one. These changes happened only 6 years apart. Who knows what the next computer I own will do that my newer one can’t.
Moore’s Law: I must confess ignorance before reading this article I had no clue who Gordon Moore was or what his law was, but after reading this I have to wonder why more people do not know of this man or his law.
--I was amazed to discover that Moore was a co-founder of Intel and that he foresaw the day when “The number of transistors the industry would be able to place on a chip would double every year.” Of course in 1975 he then revised his law saying that it would be every two years as opposed to every year.
--In spite of all of the advances that we have made in technology like all things man-made the transistor has its drawbacks. One quote, among many, that stood out to me was, “The cost to make each transistor decreases, but the chance the chip will not work due to defects increases.” Even in the world of transistors money/costs is a factor. For example the cost to “tape-out” a 90nm chip is at least one million dollars. The cost of one 90nm chip costs more than many of my friends and family make in a year. The cost for 65nm chip exceeds three-million dollars a year. Very interesting that many times we do not think of the financial aspect of what technological advances cost.
--Moore’s law is not only in-effect today, as seen in NAND Flash Memory, but that many in the technology field predict that Moore’s Law will continue in effect for the foreseeable future. However Moore knows that his law cannot last forever.
--Looking at the Computer History Museum I was shocked to see what a computer chip looked like in the 1950’s with just one transistor in it. I bring this up because it is believed that by 2015 the processors will contain 15 billion transistors. That is billion with a “B” not just 15 million.
--While the hardware improves the software doesn’t always keep up with the changing times. Another quote, Wirth’s Law to be exact, that stood out for me was, “Software gets slower faster than hardware gets faster.” While the number of transistors increases it should be noted that doesn’t mean more processor speed.
--The video, while brief, gave me a good overview of what I read. That the bottom line is more Moore’s Law is about constant doubling.
--That technology trends in the last 4 decades has taken us from computers that were as big as a room to the I-Pod nano.
Computer History Museum: Again I confess ignorance I had no idea that this place even existed nor had ever heard of most of the people who were in there or their accomplishments. I thought most of the computer technology today started and ended with Bill Gates and Microsoft. I was surprised to find out that Mr. Gates and Microsoft are hardly even mentioned.
--I liked the fact that when I looked at the Silicon Engine I was able to see Moore’s Law once again being discussed and utilized. That in the 1950s there was one transistor, but by the 2000’s there were 592,000,000 transistors on a chip.
--That the internet timeline actually began in 1962 not in 1992 when it was more widely known and used
--Seeing computers that were bigger than any of my suitcases. I had always heard about room sized computers but never really saw any of them. I was just amazed that any of them worked at all and for something so big that at times it seemed like they did so little.
-- Reading about how Charles Babbage’s difference engine machine was re-built from the original drawings in the 1800s. That it had 8,000 moving parts weighed 5 tons and was 11 feet long just floored me. I used to work in a warehouse and many of our machines were not that big.
Muddy Question: One thing that stood out to me in the lectures was when it was mentioned that most people think books when they hear libraries. That what we want them to think is information first. I agree with this statement and I have heard this several times at the library I work at.
My question is this: How can we do this when at times it seems as though libraries have a difficult time dealing with ever changing technology due to a limited budget, limited resources, qualified people not being availible or people's unwillingness to embrace new technology?
Blogs where I have posted:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6709282551702346326&postID=485981395426362657
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7821109072135779287&postID=4962163656489671707
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8747228788318880740&postID=8407104800590130460
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=9179574221183744791
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4619180577856147392&postID=925690530959679777
(Responded to these on Saturday as a courtesy to those who responded to my blog)
http://stephaniec-lisblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/comments-ive-made-so-far.html
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=2808884919242478778
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