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

Koha Assignment

The NFL

http://pitt5.opacwc.liblime.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-shelves.pl

Here it is!

Other KOHA sites I posted at:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4657309357315020681&postID=3046530245133690014&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5053881157949942224&postID=6591959687329713408&page=1

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

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/

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

Bibliography Assignment

http://www.citeulike.org/user/jpm73

Here it is

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