My CiteULike
fulfillment of an assignment and proof that I'm a nerd.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Readings - Networks
Wikipedia - LAN
It is interesting to me that the technology for high speed connections was developed when it was. I take for granted the fact that this technology has been around as long as it has. (not that 37 years is a long time, but it doesn't seem like high speed connections have been around that long). Now that this technology is in the public sector it makes me wonder what is being used by the government now? Do they have even faster connections that we just aren't ready for yet?
Wikipedia - Networks
Networks are groups of connected computers. The type of network is generally determined by geographic size. Several computers are linked in a system, usually wired with ethernet or IEEE cables through a routing board called the hub.
I'm not sure what else to say about this.
Where does skynet fit in? GAN perhaps?
YouTube
I was not able to experience the YouTube video at my house because I have no sound on my computer.
Management of RFID
For the cost I can't see the justification in using RFID tags on items. I think that it is a neat idea, some of the applications in the non-library setting make me nervous. (Big Brother Human Tagging for example) But I just don't think that the article justified why it was significantly better than barcodes, especially for the inflated cost.
It is interesting to me that the technology for high speed connections was developed when it was. I take for granted the fact that this technology has been around as long as it has. (not that 37 years is a long time, but it doesn't seem like high speed connections have been around that long). Now that this technology is in the public sector it makes me wonder what is being used by the government now? Do they have even faster connections that we just aren't ready for yet?
Wikipedia - Networks
Networks are groups of connected computers. The type of network is generally determined by geographic size. Several computers are linked in a system, usually wired with ethernet or IEEE cables through a routing board called the hub.
I'm not sure what else to say about this.
Where does skynet fit in? GAN perhaps?
YouTube
I was not able to experience the YouTube video at my house because I have no sound on my computer.
Management of RFID
For the cost I can't see the justification in using RFID tags on items. I think that it is a neat idea, some of the applications in the non-library setting make me nervous. (Big Brother Human Tagging for example) But I just don't think that the article justified why it was significantly better than barcodes, especially for the inflated cost.
Muddiest Point
I'm curious how long PNG has been available. I have seen the tag, but I don't think I have any pictures in this format. It seems like it is really the best format available. So why does jpeg still seem dominant?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
comments links
Week 5 reading
Data Compression
I dug it, I always wondered how compression worked when you do something like zip a word document, and know I know...sort of. Although I have to admit I had some trouble with the word "lossy", it just doesn't seem proper.
Data Compression Basics
This was good because many of the acronyms that I didn't understand in the wikipedia article were covered in greater detail here. It also did a better job of explaining compression, I almost think that this article could have replaced the wikipedia article.
Imaging Pittsburgh
It was really neat to have such a relevant article. It is very neat to see all the issues that need to be addressed when developing a digital collection like this. Ohio Historic Society has several online photo databases and know I know a little better how much work went into the development of those databases.
YouTube and the Library
This seemed a bit like a YouTube advertisement. Though I definately see the benefit of this type of mass advertising for reaching a wide audience. One issue I see, though is, how do you get people to your video? There are so many videos on YouTube, it is difficult to ensure that people are actually getting to it.
I dug it, I always wondered how compression worked when you do something like zip a word document, and know I know...sort of. Although I have to admit I had some trouble with the word "lossy", it just doesn't seem proper.
Data Compression Basics
This was good because many of the acronyms that I didn't understand in the wikipedia article were covered in greater detail here. It also did a better job of explaining compression, I almost think that this article could have replaced the wikipedia article.
Imaging Pittsburgh
It was really neat to have such a relevant article. It is very neat to see all the issues that need to be addressed when developing a digital collection like this. Ohio Historic Society has several online photo databases and know I know a little better how much work went into the development of those databases.
YouTube and the Library
This seemed a bit like a YouTube advertisement. Though I definately see the benefit of this type of mass advertising for reaching a wide audience. One issue I see, though is, how do you get people to your video? There are so many videos on YouTube, it is difficult to ensure that people are actually getting to it.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Muddiest Point
Why aren't there more copywrite issues between developers of operating systems. It seems like the developers of UNIX and especially the Xerox OS developers would have a pretty strong case in the court of law. Are there a specific number of differences that make one OS significantly different enough from another that there are no legal ramifications?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Week 4 Readings
Databases
Wikipedia
I felt like this article was a little abstract. I've used simple databases before, but with few examples I'm not sure that this article meant anything to me. For instance, I'm pretty sure that the database program I've used before (Dbase in Open Office) was a relational model. So what does a hierarchical or network model look like? How is it different to use? I thought that the history was interesting, but other than that it seemed a little over my head.
Metadata
This article is really a piece of meta-metadata. It made me realize how much metadata is really floating around. The article makes it seem that this data is almost as important as the information it refers to. The layers that form around a piece of information during its lifetime at a museum are very interesting. We start with a document, it has to be described in paperwork to be accepted into the archive. Then it is inventoried, then catalogued, and placed in a finding aid. This finding aid could end up in an online database where it will be marked with several search criteria. The hard copy will likely be put into a binder, which will likely have a table of contents, and be catalogued itself. And this is only a very basic example. It sort of makes my head spin a little.
Dublin Core Metadata Model
I thought that this was very neat. I liked the axiomatic approach of thier organization. The project seems very large and all emcompassing, and I wonder what effect this will have on retrieveablitly. What is the point of a table of contents so large that nobody can get through it? Perhaps I was misinterpretting what they were actually planning on doing, but that was the impression that I got.
Wikipedia
I felt like this article was a little abstract. I've used simple databases before, but with few examples I'm not sure that this article meant anything to me. For instance, I'm pretty sure that the database program I've used before (Dbase in Open Office) was a relational model. So what does a hierarchical or network model look like? How is it different to use? I thought that the history was interesting, but other than that it seemed a little over my head.
Metadata
This article is really a piece of meta-metadata. It made me realize how much metadata is really floating around. The article makes it seem that this data is almost as important as the information it refers to. The layers that form around a piece of information during its lifetime at a museum are very interesting. We start with a document, it has to be described in paperwork to be accepted into the archive. Then it is inventoried, then catalogued, and placed in a finding aid. This finding aid could end up in an online database where it will be marked with several search criteria. The hard copy will likely be put into a binder, which will likely have a table of contents, and be catalogued itself. And this is only a very basic example. It sort of makes my head spin a little.
Dublin Core Metadata Model
I thought that this was very neat. I liked the axiomatic approach of thier organization. The project seems very large and all emcompassing, and I wonder what effect this will have on retrieveablitly. What is the point of a table of contents so large that nobody can get through it? Perhaps I was misinterpretting what they were actually planning on doing, but that was the impression that I got.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
IT weeks 2 and 3
Muddiest Point
Are the hardware parts for all computers essentially the same? All of the material in-class dealt with PC's, but this only makes up .2% of computers manufactured in 2003, according to the Wikipedia article. So do my cellphone, calculator, and car have basically the same stuff, as in motherboard, CPU, peripherals, etc?
Week 3 Readings
I used to run Linux on a partitioned harddrive. I've often thought about going back because I liked how smooth it ran, and the fact that everything is open source. The problem I ran into at the time was I had a WinModem, which was not compatible with Linux, so with no internet access I had a bit of trouble accessing the miriad of software available. I do have a tendency to run open source software made for Linux and adapted for Widows (ie VLC Media Player and Open Office Suite). The ideas are seeping into the corporate realm also. I worked in the dental field for several years and we were getting ready to implement an open source dental office management software package to replace SoftDent (Owned by Kodak).
I found the Wikipedia article much more tangible than the one from kernelthread.com. I read both of them, but I admit that I mostly browsed the one available on kernelthread. I was having trouble seeing the point of knowing the startup order of the machine and details like that. I understand that some find that information important, but I didn't really. Though, I found the history of Mac Os X very interesting.
Windows still reigns supreme, but the security issues seem to be its downside. I have considered many times switching to Mac for security reasons. I think it is good that Windows is striving to fix the problem. I haven't used it much, but I don't like Vista, it seems to glitchy, and I'm not very happy with the new interface. I suppose I will get used to it over time, but by the time I do Windows 7 will be out and I'll have to get used to another layout probably. Windows NT was the most stable kernel and they stopped using it, which I think was problematic, at least they will be builiding off of Vista so that hopefully they can work out some of the bugs.
Are the hardware parts for all computers essentially the same? All of the material in-class dealt with PC's, but this only makes up .2% of computers manufactured in 2003, according to the Wikipedia article. So do my cellphone, calculator, and car have basically the same stuff, as in motherboard, CPU, peripherals, etc?
Week 3 Readings
I used to run Linux on a partitioned harddrive. I've often thought about going back because I liked how smooth it ran, and the fact that everything is open source. The problem I ran into at the time was I had a WinModem, which was not compatible with Linux, so with no internet access I had a bit of trouble accessing the miriad of software available. I do have a tendency to run open source software made for Linux and adapted for Widows (ie VLC Media Player and Open Office Suite). The ideas are seeping into the corporate realm also. I worked in the dental field for several years and we were getting ready to implement an open source dental office management software package to replace SoftDent (Owned by Kodak).
I found the Wikipedia article much more tangible than the one from kernelthread.com. I read both of them, but I admit that I mostly browsed the one available on kernelthread. I was having trouble seeing the point of knowing the startup order of the machine and details like that. I understand that some find that information important, but I didn't really. Though, I found the history of Mac Os X very interesting.
Windows still reigns supreme, but the security issues seem to be its downside. I have considered many times switching to Mac for security reasons. I think it is good that Windows is striving to fix the problem. I haven't used it much, but I don't like Vista, it seems to glitchy, and I'm not very happy with the new interface. I suppose I will get used to it over time, but by the time I do Windows 7 will be out and I'll have to get used to another layout probably. Windows NT was the most stable kernel and they stopped using it, which I think was problematic, at least they will be builiding off of Vista so that hopefully they can work out some of the bugs.
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