I commented on the following blogs this week:
http://nancyslisblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/readings-notes-unit-14.html?showComment=1292036654362#c2861034555622895306
https://lis2060notes.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/reading-notes-dec-6-for-dec-11/comment-page-1/#comment-23
Friday, December 10, 2010
Week 14 Readings
The Gruman reading and the YouTube video this week explain cloud computing. The best description for me was in the Gruman article: cloud computing is "basically virtual servers available over the Internet." The YouTube video was helpful in explaining SaaS, HaaS, and the ways in which cloud computing is flexible, reliable, and inexpensive. What I like about it is that you can connect to your materials using any computer or device. What I wonder about is privacy--I imagine the things I'm storing in the cloud are potentially accessible by anyone, right?
I realize now that I've been using "cloud computing" for a year or so at my job, with Amazon's Jungle Web storage system. And Google Docs. How 'bout that--I'm trendy!
I can see where cloud computing will become even more popular as technology forces us to find ways to increase our storage needs and "utility" capabilities. It'll be interesting to see how these services give Microsoft a run for its money in the future, too.
I very much enjoyed reading the Frey article about "the future of libraries." This kind of brings the whole term full circle for me. The bottom line is: Technology is always changing, and search technology will become more complicated; thus, we'll need librarians around to help people find their way through it all. Frey's summation that libraries need to "embrace new information technologies" is nothing new. But I liked some of his suggestions: a technology advisory board; technology discussion panels and guest lecture series. All of these things would be quite useful in any library setting.
I realize now that I've been using "cloud computing" for a year or so at my job, with Amazon's Jungle Web storage system. And Google Docs. How 'bout that--I'm trendy!
I can see where cloud computing will become even more popular as technology forces us to find ways to increase our storage needs and "utility" capabilities. It'll be interesting to see how these services give Microsoft a run for its money in the future, too.
I very much enjoyed reading the Frey article about "the future of libraries." This kind of brings the whole term full circle for me. The bottom line is: Technology is always changing, and search technology will become more complicated; thus, we'll need librarians around to help people find their way through it all. Frey's summation that libraries need to "embrace new information technologies" is nothing new. But I liked some of his suggestions: a technology advisory board; technology discussion panels and guest lecture series. All of these things would be quite useful in any library setting.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Week 13 Readings
The “No Place to Hide” Web site (I found it at http://www.noplacetohide.net/) was very interesting. I skimmed the final chapter of O’Harrow’s book, and, I guess none of it really surprised me. Since 9/11, I do feel we have become a “surveillance state,” for better or worse. I want to be left alone, yes, but I also want airlines to catch folks like the underwear bomber before I get on a plane. So is this the price we have to pay, in the age of technology? As long as we have the technology, there will be people (and governments) who want to use it--again, for better or worse--at the expense of our privacy. I guess I have accepted that my habits are known to others: where I shop, how much money I have at any given time, what books I read, what coffee shops I frequent, who I’m calling and when. And if someone wants to use that knowledge against me, I imagine there’s very little I can really do about it. Really: what can one single person do about it?
The Electronic Privacy Information Center’s history of the Department of Defense’s “Total [later Terrorism] Information Awareness” highlights the problem of squaring individual privacy with the government’s use of technology. The Terrorism Information Awareness system “was envisioned to give law enforcement access to private data without suspicion of wrongdoing or a warrant.” It would “capture the ‘information signature’” of people the government pegged as potential terrorists or criminals, using financial, medical communication, and travel records. Interesting to see that computer scientists voiced concerns about privacy and security risks of TIA.
The thing I always think about when it comes to matters of privacy is not so much the information being gathered but how one interprets it, who interprets it, etc.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center’s history of the Department of Defense’s “Total [later Terrorism] Information Awareness” highlights the problem of squaring individual privacy with the government’s use of technology. The Terrorism Information Awareness system “was envisioned to give law enforcement access to private data without suspicion of wrongdoing or a warrant.” It would “capture the ‘information signature’” of people the government pegged as potential terrorists or criminals, using financial, medical communication, and travel records. Interesting to see that computer scientists voiced concerns about privacy and security risks of TIA.
The thing I always think about when it comes to matters of privacy is not so much the information being gathered but how one interprets it, who interprets it, etc.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Week 12 Muddiest Point
I have no experience using Facebook or MySpace, thus my question: I know a lot of businesses and organizations have Facebook pages, and they tell you to go to their Facebook page for more information. What do you get from a Facebook or MySpace page that you can't get from that organization's Web page? I'm thinking of the slide from this week of ALA's MySpace page.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Week 12 Readings
Allan's article on using wikis to manage library instruction programs seems like a no-brainer to me. He cites two advantages to library instruction wikis: sharing knowledge and cooperating in creating resources. Having taken the Library Instruction course here in LIS (which I'd highly recommend, actually), I have a new appreciation for the work that goes into lesson plans and handouts. Why not share these materials to take advantage of individuals' areas of expertise and to help distribute the workload? The article offers Web sites for a few commercial sites for creating your own wiki--I don't know if these are still around, though, after three years.
Social tagging is interesting to me, in that it allows the user to create his or her own subject headings for things. But I'm on the fence about whether it's a good idea for librarians to "give up the reins," as Arch puts it, in controlling vocabulary. Based on my own experience using del.icio.us, I can appreciate the problem of variation in tags--I never remember if I've run all the words in a tag-phrase together, or if I've separated them with an underscore, or if I've abbreviated a term, or used caps or lowercase--my own tags are a mess! I can see where a folksonomy created by library patrons, if left to their own devices, could create a kind of chaos! (Loved the term "spagging" for "spam tagging"!)
I enjoyed reading the article on "Weblogs" for its background information and history. Having spent the term contributing to my own blog, I could really understand the pros--fostering collaboration, focus, and communication; simplicity; practicality, for its time-stamping and organized trail of discussion--and cons--the reader has to go to the blog (unless he or she signs up for notification or RSS feeds. I can certainly see how blogs could be used in the library--either among coworkers, as a way to facilitate training, or among patrons, as an extension of reference services. I've actually really enjoyed keeping my blog throughout the term. I'm just not sure the world needs me to keep mine up after this term is over given the millions that are already out there! :)
Jimmy Wales on the Birth of Wikipedia was a very informative video. I learned a lot about this Web site that I use every day. It's operated by thousands of volunteers, funded by donations, has over 600,000 articles in English (and that's as of 2005), was a "Top 50 Website" that was bigger than the New York Times. His "chaotic" model costs about $5000 a month for bandwidth. I liked how he said, "It isn't perfect, but it's better than you'd expect," and I guess that's how I've come to view Wikipedia--as a starting point. Wales discusses how the Wikipedia Foundation handles controversies, how they handle quality control, what types of software tools they use, and how they are governed. I thought it was very interesting at the end, when he said that teachers are finally beginning to use Wikipedia, and that he sees free-license textbooks as the next big thing in
education.
Social tagging is interesting to me, in that it allows the user to create his or her own subject headings for things. But I'm on the fence about whether it's a good idea for librarians to "give up the reins," as Arch puts it, in controlling vocabulary. Based on my own experience using del.icio.us, I can appreciate the problem of variation in tags--I never remember if I've run all the words in a tag-phrase together, or if I've separated them with an underscore, or if I've abbreviated a term, or used caps or lowercase--my own tags are a mess! I can see where a folksonomy created by library patrons, if left to their own devices, could create a kind of chaos! (Loved the term "spagging" for "spam tagging"!)
I enjoyed reading the article on "Weblogs" for its background information and history. Having spent the term contributing to my own blog, I could really understand the pros--fostering collaboration, focus, and communication; simplicity; practicality, for its time-stamping and organized trail of discussion--and cons--the reader has to go to the blog (unless he or she signs up for notification or RSS feeds. I can certainly see how blogs could be used in the library--either among coworkers, as a way to facilitate training, or among patrons, as an extension of reference services. I've actually really enjoyed keeping my blog throughout the term. I'm just not sure the world needs me to keep mine up after this term is over given the millions that are already out there! :)
Jimmy Wales on the Birth of Wikipedia was a very informative video. I learned a lot about this Web site that I use every day. It's operated by thousands of volunteers, funded by donations, has over 600,000 articles in English (and that's as of 2005), was a "Top 50 Website" that was bigger than the New York Times. His "chaotic" model costs about $5000 a month for bandwidth. I liked how he said, "It isn't perfect, but it's better than you'd expect," and I guess that's how I've come to view Wikipedia--as a starting point. Wales discusses how the Wikipedia Foundation handles controversies, how they handle quality control, what types of software tools they use, and how they are governed. I thought it was very interesting at the end, when he said that teachers are finally beginning to use Wikipedia, and that he sees free-license textbooks as the next big thing in
education.
Week 11 Muddiest Point
So, say I have a Web page. Is my Web page indexed only when someone else's Web page has a link to mine?
Friday, November 19, 2010
Week 11 Readings
The Hawking articles bring to light the "miracle" that is Web crawling and searching. It's really hard for me to grasp such incredibly huge numbers when we're talking about data structures containing billions of URLs and hundreds of terabytes of data (and that's in 2006!). But suffice it to say that I'm amazed by the design of crawling algorithms that manage to index what we know as the Web. Further, that these crawling machines "know" which URL's they're responsible for, and which to pass on to another machine; that they "mind their manners" with regard to waiting their turn to enter a request to a server so as not to overload it; that they are able to recognize duplicate content; and that they're able to detect and reject spamming is all rather like sci-fi to me.
I expected Bergman's article on the Deep Web to be daunting, if only because of its length, but I found it surprisingly accessible and interesting. The bottom line: there's a huge amount--like, 500 times--of higher-quality information buried beneath the "Surface Web." And 95% of that Deep Web information is available for free, if only we could get to it! I have to admit, in the early pages of this White Paper, I was thinking, "But how many of us really need such comprehensive information when we search? Isn't Google good enough?" Clearly I was one of those folks who didn't know there was better content to be found! Quality, however, is all in the eye of the beholder: As Bergman says, "If you get the results you desire, that is high quality; if you don't, there is no quality at all" (p. 23). Google, in fact, MAY be "good enough" for most users; the problem, I think, with using conventional search engines is that people don't know the right search terms to use (just like they don't know the right questions to ask during a reference interview). The Deep Web is apparently where one should go for quality information, and "when it is imperative to find a 'needle in a haystack'" (p. 25). I think librarians definitely need to know about the Deep Web--the threefold improved likelihood of obtaining quality results from the Deep Web vs. the Surface Web is convincing. The thing that worries me is that the article states, "The invisible portion of the Web will continue to grow exponentially before the tools to uncover the hidden Web are ready for general use" (12). So if the best information is in the Deep Web, then what are we "finding" from the Surface Web for patrons/users??? Yikes, people are making medical, financial, legal, etc. decisions based on Google searches????
The Open Archives Initiative (OAI) may be the next-best way to find quality information in the meantime, while we wait for the Deep Web to become accessible. Different communities (libraries, museums, and archives) have adopted the OAI protocol to provide access to their resources. (I personally found the Sheet Music Consortium to be a fascinating project!) Shreeves et al. discuss the shortcomings of OAI registries (completeness and discoverability), and improvements the group feels should be made to the registry in the future.
I expected Bergman's article on the Deep Web to be daunting, if only because of its length, but I found it surprisingly accessible and interesting. The bottom line: there's a huge amount--like, 500 times--of higher-quality information buried beneath the "Surface Web." And 95% of that Deep Web information is available for free, if only we could get to it! I have to admit, in the early pages of this White Paper, I was thinking, "But how many of us really need such comprehensive information when we search? Isn't Google good enough?" Clearly I was one of those folks who didn't know there was better content to be found! Quality, however, is all in the eye of the beholder: As Bergman says, "If you get the results you desire, that is high quality; if you don't, there is no quality at all" (p. 23). Google, in fact, MAY be "good enough" for most users; the problem, I think, with using conventional search engines is that people don't know the right search terms to use (just like they don't know the right questions to ask during a reference interview). The Deep Web is apparently where one should go for quality information, and "when it is imperative to find a 'needle in a haystack'" (p. 25). I think librarians definitely need to know about the Deep Web--the threefold improved likelihood of obtaining quality results from the Deep Web vs. the Surface Web is convincing. The thing that worries me is that the article states, "The invisible portion of the Web will continue to grow exponentially before the tools to uncover the hidden Web are ready for general use" (12). So if the best information is in the Deep Web, then what are we "finding" from the Surface Web for patrons/users??? Yikes, people are making medical, financial, legal, etc. decisions based on Google searches????
The Open Archives Initiative (OAI) may be the next-best way to find quality information in the meantime, while we wait for the Deep Web to become accessible. Different communities (libraries, museums, and archives) have adopted the OAI protocol to provide access to their resources. (I personally found the Sheet Music Consortium to be a fascinating project!) Shreeves et al. discuss the shortcomings of OAI registries (completeness and discoverability), and improvements the group feels should be made to the registry in the future.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Week 10 Muddiest Point
What happens if a person at one institution deposits his work in that institution's digital repository, but then decides to go to another institution? Can he withdraw his materials out of the first IR and take them with him? Or does that first institution have rights to his work, for all time?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Week 10 Blog Comments
Week 10 Readings
So it’s Week 10, and FINALLY, I’m seeing “the method in the madness” of the preceding weeks. For without even a superficial knowledge of hardware, software, databases, metadata, open source, storage, networks, WWW, HTML, and XML, we would not be able to have a discussion about the burgeoning digital library services we’re reading about this week. Clearly, computer technology and library science have had to merge disciplines in order to create the DLI-1 and 2 projects discussed in Mischo’s “Digital Libraries” article. The collaboration between computer scientists and librarians less than twenty years ago yielded powerful (re)search tools and allowed access to these resources to many people. Once again, I see how important it is for librarians to understand technology, for THEY are part of the research team that creates these services.
(All I could think of while reading the “Dewey Meets Turing” article was that Google video we watched back in Week 7, and how the company encourages its employees to focus a few hours of each work day on some problem they’re interested in. This article couldn’t sum up that philosophy better: “Digital library projects were for many computer scientists the perfect relief from the tension between conducting ‘pure’ research and impacting day-to-day society.”) So computer scientists had a set of expectations for DLI, and librarians had a set, but the Web “undermined the common ground that had brought the two disciplines together.” Still, they shared common values, that of “predictable, repeatable collection access and retrieval.” While technology lays the foundation for these values, this article encourages librarians to broaden their technology horizons so they can contribute to this emerging field.
Lynch’s article about institutional repositories addresses the value of making available and preserving intellectual life and scholarship. But he also worries that too strict or too complicated policies about what may be included in such a repository may turn some institutions away from the idea. Other concerns he has are preserving digital files in formats that may not be accessible in years to come, ensuring “persistent reference to materials” even as they go through different versions, and recording and documenting rights and permissions of works deposited in institutional repositories. He makes a strong case for thoughtful and careful consideration, and consultation and collaboration with faculty and librarians before rushing into preserving intellectual work.
(All I could think of while reading the “Dewey Meets Turing” article was that Google video we watched back in Week 7, and how the company encourages its employees to focus a few hours of each work day on some problem they’re interested in. This article couldn’t sum up that philosophy better: “Digital library projects were for many computer scientists the perfect relief from the tension between conducting ‘pure’ research and impacting day-to-day society.”) So computer scientists had a set of expectations for DLI, and librarians had a set, but the Web “undermined the common ground that had brought the two disciplines together.” Still, they shared common values, that of “predictable, repeatable collection access and retrieval.” While technology lays the foundation for these values, this article encourages librarians to broaden their technology horizons so they can contribute to this emerging field.
Lynch’s article about institutional repositories addresses the value of making available and preserving intellectual life and scholarship. But he also worries that too strict or too complicated policies about what may be included in such a repository may turn some institutions away from the idea. Other concerns he has are preserving digital files in formats that may not be accessible in years to come, ensuring “persistent reference to materials” even as they go through different versions, and recording and documenting rights and permissions of works deposited in institutional repositories. He makes a strong case for thoughtful and careful consideration, and consultation and collaboration with faculty and librarians before rushing into preserving intellectual work.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Week 9 Readings
Wow, all the readings this week are really way over my head. I’m hoping that some of this stuff becomes understandable once I start applying it to creating my Web page, but for now, I have to say that I really don’t follow much of it at all, and the readings only confounded me rather than made any of it clearer. There’s some hope for the w3schools XML Schema Tutorial, but I can’t really grasp this stuff without actually doing it (why didn’t they have a “Try It Yourself” option, I wonder?). Ooh, this is all starting to worry me. I’m not a programmer, by any means. And this is looking a LOT like programming.
In short:
I have a feeling I didn't read the right Bryan article. . . . The BURKS document I read (from the link in CourseWeb) left me thinking, "Well, it was nice while it lasted," but I guess it just wasn’t relevant anymore, being nine years out of date, and with new versions of software and cheap Internet access. I guess it shows what some were willing to do for those who did not have computing references and resources readily available to them.
The Survey of XML Standards, Part 1, briefly explains what the author defines as the most important core XML standards (and the organizations involved that set those standards). Ogbuji explains that XML is based on SGML, that it is simpler than SGML (HA!), and that it is better suited to the Web environment. The remainder of the article explains different systems, data sets, data models, and languages that all can be used to affect the structure of a document. He provides useful references and resources throughout.
“Extending Your Markup” began, for me, as a very promising informative tutorial on XML language. In the first section alone, I learned three main points:
• SGML lets you define structure for documents
• HTML is primarily used for layout on the Web
• XML (Extensible Markup Language) lets you annotate text
(Those bullet points are from the first page of Bergholz’s article.) First of all, I never knew what the “X” stood for in XML. The examples in Figures 1a and 1b were helpful, in that 1b was clearly easier to read and understand. But I’m afraid after that, the author lost me.
I’m sure I will come to rely on the w3schools “XML Schema Tutorial.” I was thinking “Why do I have to know this stuff” until I read the following in one of the chapters, “Even if documents are well-formed they can still contain errors, and those errors can have serious consequences. Think of the following situation: you order 5 gross of laser printers, instead of 5 laser printers. With XML Schemas, most of these errors can be caught by your validating software.” Hmmm. Okay. That's pretty impressive. I guess I can see why I might want to know this stuff. . . .
In short:
I have a feeling I didn't read the right Bryan article. . . . The BURKS document I read (from the link in CourseWeb) left me thinking, "Well, it was nice while it lasted," but I guess it just wasn’t relevant anymore, being nine years out of date, and with new versions of software and cheap Internet access. I guess it shows what some were willing to do for those who did not have computing references and resources readily available to them.
The Survey of XML Standards, Part 1, briefly explains what the author defines as the most important core XML standards (and the organizations involved that set those standards). Ogbuji explains that XML is based on SGML, that it is simpler than SGML (HA!), and that it is better suited to the Web environment. The remainder of the article explains different systems, data sets, data models, and languages that all can be used to affect the structure of a document. He provides useful references and resources throughout.
“Extending Your Markup” began, for me, as a very promising informative tutorial on XML language. In the first section alone, I learned three main points:
• SGML lets you define structure for documents
• HTML is primarily used for layout on the Web
• XML (Extensible Markup Language) lets you annotate text
(Those bullet points are from the first page of Bergholz’s article.) First of all, I never knew what the “X” stood for in XML. The examples in Figures 1a and 1b were helpful, in that 1b was clearly easier to read and understand. But I’m afraid after that, the author lost me.
I’m sure I will come to rely on the w3schools “XML Schema Tutorial.” I was thinking “Why do I have to know this stuff” until I read the following in one of the chapters, “Even if documents are well-formed they can still contain errors, and those errors can have serious consequences. Think of the following situation: you order 5 gross of laser printers, instead of 5 laser printers. With XML Schemas, most of these errors can be caught by your validating software.” Hmmm. Okay. That's pretty impressive. I guess I can see why I might want to know this stuff. . . .
Week 8 Muddiest Point
I understand that I need to create a Web page in Notepad. But how do I then get that text on the Web? Jiepu kept clicking on a little Mozilla Firefox icon in his ribbon at the bottom of the screen, but I don’t have a ribbon like that, and I can’t figure out how to get my HTML text into a Web page. (Sorry--but I'm really new to Web design and all of this. . . .)
Monday, November 1, 2010
Assignment 5 - Koha
Here is the link to my Koha list:
http://upitt01-staff.kwc.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/virtualshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=49
My username is HAVRAN.
My list name is magpie2600.
My list includes some great books I’ve read recently, and a few that I’m looking forward to reading some day.
http://upitt01-staff.kwc.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/virtualshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=49
My username is HAVRAN.
My list name is magpie2600.
My list includes some great books I’ve read recently, and a few that I’m looking forward to reading some day.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Week 8 Blog Comments
I commented on the following blogs this week:
http://cstalkerlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/unit-8-html-web-authoring-software.html?showComment=1288356698253#c7683379689986512270
http://elviaarroyo.blogspot.com/2010/10/unit-8-html-and-web-authoring-software.html?showComment=1288357511359#c4743342967159737383
http://cstalkerlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/unit-8-html-web-authoring-software.html?showComment=1288356698253#c7683379689986512270
http://elviaarroyo.blogspot.com/2010/10/unit-8-html-and-web-authoring-software.html?showComment=1288357511359#c4743342967159737383
Week 8 Readings
w3schools.com’s “HTML Basic” and the “CSS Tutorial” are great resources. HTML is a markup language that uses tags to describe web pages. Web browsers read HTML documents and display them as the web pages we see. Tags are used in pairs at the start and end of a command, and are enclosed in angle brackets. CSS takes HTML further by defining how HTML elements should be displayed, or the format of a document, including backgrounds, fonts, links, colors, etc. CSS can be saved in external .css files; this makes it easy to change the appearance and layout of a web page, because you can edit a single file.
Webmonkey’s “HTML Cheatsheet” is another winner for getting the basics of HTML. (I am a little concerned about some the comments at the end of this document, which seem to suggest that not all the information here is valid any longer [body attributes, bold and italics, color].) Still, I’m sure there is enough here about basic tags to get one started.
And getting started seems easy enough--the tags for very basic formatting don’t seem particularly complicated. It looks like it gets a little dicey when you start to add images and tables and lists and forms. But adding color is really cool--all those different combinations of rgb values give a wide range of results. The “Quick List” at the end of w3schools.com’s HTML section is very handy--indeed, I’ve printed this out to keep as a guide.
“Beyond HTML” describes one university library’s experience in developing a content management system (CMS) for its library web guides. What struck me about this article is the importance of hiring a “web development librarian.” I wish I weren’t so unsure of myself when it comes to technology; had I more confidence in my understanding of the nuts and bolts of computers and technology, I might have chosen a different track in this program. With one course left to go, at this point, I will not do that. But for those of you just starting out, it seems that a program focused on technology is the smart thing to pursue. The web development librarian of whom this article speaks made significant improvements to the library’s web infrastructure, displaying content in a consistent way, which led to a clearly defined organizational voice and thus credibility and improved usability. And he or she did this using existing technology of in-house web development projects (as opposed to commercial or open-source options)! The end result was a CMS that provided standardization and ease of use through templates. This article really made clear to me that future librarians should direct a good portion of their education toward learning “web site information architecture and writing for the web medium.” As for me, I should devote any continuing education I pursue to this area.
Webmonkey’s “HTML Cheatsheet” is another winner for getting the basics of HTML. (I am a little concerned about some the comments at the end of this document, which seem to suggest that not all the information here is valid any longer [body attributes, bold and italics, color].) Still, I’m sure there is enough here about basic tags to get one started.
And getting started seems easy enough--the tags for very basic formatting don’t seem particularly complicated. It looks like it gets a little dicey when you start to add images and tables and lists and forms. But adding color is really cool--all those different combinations of rgb values give a wide range of results. The “Quick List” at the end of w3schools.com’s HTML section is very handy--indeed, I’ve printed this out to keep as a guide.
“Beyond HTML” describes one university library’s experience in developing a content management system (CMS) for its library web guides. What struck me about this article is the importance of hiring a “web development librarian.” I wish I weren’t so unsure of myself when it comes to technology; had I more confidence in my understanding of the nuts and bolts of computers and technology, I might have chosen a different track in this program. With one course left to go, at this point, I will not do that. But for those of you just starting out, it seems that a program focused on technology is the smart thing to pursue. The web development librarian of whom this article speaks made significant improvements to the library’s web infrastructure, displaying content in a consistent way, which led to a clearly defined organizational voice and thus credibility and improved usability. And he or she did this using existing technology of in-house web development projects (as opposed to commercial or open-source options)! The end result was a CMS that provided standardization and ease of use through templates. This article really made clear to me that future librarians should direct a good portion of their education toward learning “web site information architecture and writing for the web medium.” As for me, I should devote any continuing education I pursue to this area.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Week 7 Muddiest Points
How does one ensure that an email message is encrypted? Are messages automatically encrypted, or is there a setting you have to change in your email program?
Do cookies make one's computer vulnerable to spam or viruses? Or are they just a privacy concern? (Doesn't Ad-Aware get rid of cookies? I kind of remember that. Or maybe it's Spybot?) Are cookies something to be concerned about?
Do cookies make one's computer vulnerable to spam or viruses? Or are they just a privacy concern? (Doesn't Ad-Aware get rid of cookies? I kind of remember that. Or maybe it's Spybot?) Are cookies something to be concerned about?
Friday, October 22, 2010
Assignment 4 - Google Scholar, Zotero, and CiteULike
Here is the link to my CiteULike library:
http://www.citeulike.org/user/magpie2600
The tag "ch" stands for "consumer health."
http://www.citeulike.org/user/magpie2600
The tag "ch" stands for "consumer health."
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Week 7 Blog Comments
Week 7 Readings
The “How Stuff Works” article about Internet infrastructure was very helpful in describing how a computer connects to the Internet. (Where Tyson loses me a little, however, is when he gets into Company A and Company B and NAPs, which I guess connect large ISPs to each other.) Routers enable computers to send information between one another. The explanation of IP addresses was also informative--I’ve used the term forever, it seems, and never knew that it stood for “Internet Protocol.” I wish I would’ve had this article last semester, when I was trying to explain in a presentation the “official” terms for the parts of a URL address: top-level or first-level domain name (.com, .org, .net, .edu, and .gov); second-level domains, and host. The DNS server role is amazing, in that it does its work so seamlessly and quickly. It’s pretty amazing, when you stop to think about it, that these “backbones” of our technological world are what’s behind being “able to talk to everyone else on the planet.” I think it’s safe to say that most of us never even think about all of these components that drive the engine of the Internet. But without them, there would be no Internet.
I can imagine how computers revolutionized the library world in the 80s and 90s, what with their ability to automate everything from checking in and checking out books, tracking circulation and interlibrary loans, purchasing acquisitions and subscriptions, and providing a public interface for patrons, among other things. But I guess as technology has progressed, libraries are realizing how “inflexible and nonextensible” these early systems are, and they now must choose between starting all over, at great cost, or purchasing a stand-alone product (what I think of as a “patch” that meets a particular need), also costly, or coming up with their own solution (which would require a staff person with technological know-how). Pace argues that libraries don’t pay enough for technology, and are going to have to face the music that “better costs more.” At the same time, I do think developers and vendors need to design and market products that are interoperable--they’re doing it for other systems (HR and course management), why not for library systems? Till that happens, I suppose the answer for some libraries is open source ILS, like Koha, or Evergreen (two such systems I’ve heard of).
Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed the video “Inside the Google Machine.” I guess I’ve been a bit jaded when it comes to Google, even though it’s my search engine of choice, my go-to for just about everything. I found the early minutes of discussion and lighted maps showing how many people are using Google the world over to be fascinating, even though I felt really sad about Africa being literally in the dark. I’d never even heard of Orkut or Google Answers (and I guess these never really took off). But what this video demonstrates to me is that this is a company that has a true entrepreneurial spirit--they’re not afraid to give their employees freedom to pursue what interests them--and on company time!--and it’s often worked out in their favor. And they won me over with allowing dogs to accompany their owners to work. Are they hiring??? :)
I can imagine how computers revolutionized the library world in the 80s and 90s, what with their ability to automate everything from checking in and checking out books, tracking circulation and interlibrary loans, purchasing acquisitions and subscriptions, and providing a public interface for patrons, among other things. But I guess as technology has progressed, libraries are realizing how “inflexible and nonextensible” these early systems are, and they now must choose between starting all over, at great cost, or purchasing a stand-alone product (what I think of as a “patch” that meets a particular need), also costly, or coming up with their own solution (which would require a staff person with technological know-how). Pace argues that libraries don’t pay enough for technology, and are going to have to face the music that “better costs more.” At the same time, I do think developers and vendors need to design and market products that are interoperable--they’re doing it for other systems (HR and course management), why not for library systems? Till that happens, I suppose the answer for some libraries is open source ILS, like Koha, or Evergreen (two such systems I’ve heard of).
Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed the video “Inside the Google Machine.” I guess I’ve been a bit jaded when it comes to Google, even though it’s my search engine of choice, my go-to for just about everything. I found the early minutes of discussion and lighted maps showing how many people are using Google the world over to be fascinating, even though I felt really sad about Africa being literally in the dark. I’d never even heard of Orkut or Google Answers (and I guess these never really took off). But what this video demonstrates to me is that this is a company that has a true entrepreneurial spirit--they’re not afraid to give their employees freedom to pursue what interests them--and on company time!--and it’s often worked out in their favor. And they won me over with allowing dogs to accompany their owners to work. Are they hiring??? :)
Week 6 Muddiest Points
You lost me at slides 58-62, the ones about TCP/IP and UDP. What are these, exactly, and what do I really need to know about them?
Also, I think you said in the lecture that FiOS was an example of a DSL, right?
Also, I think you said in the lecture that FiOS was an example of a DSL, right?
Friday, October 8, 2010
Assignment 3 - Jing
Here is the link to my Jing video about using MedlinePlus:
http://www.screencast.com/users/xylogirl/folders/Jing/media/65be5ef6-ffc7-49c9-8b46-0606b2460ac6
And here are the links to my Flickr screen capture images:
The entire set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/sets/72157625120802168/
Or individually:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062741042/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062744518/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062135125/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062136279/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062749512/in/set-72157625120802168/
This was a fun assignment!
http://www.screencast.com/users/xylogirl/folders/Jing/media/65be5ef6-ffc7-49c9-8b46-0606b2460ac6
And here are the links to my Flickr screen capture images:
The entire set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/sets/72157625120802168/
Or individually:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062741042/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062744518/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062135125/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062136279/in/set-72157625120802168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062749512/in/set-72157625120802168/
This was a fun assignment!
Week 6 Blog Comments
Here are my comments on blogs for this week:
http://gemma2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-readings.html?showComment=1286547950843#c5202910552124482305
http://the2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-musings.html?showComment=1286550624569#c8267135485565293796
http://gemma2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-readings.html?showComment=1286547950843#c5202910552124482305
http://the2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-musings.html?showComment=1286550624569#c8267135485565293796
Week 6 Readings
Wikipedia on LANs: This Wikipedia article briefly introduces the history of and the technological makeup of LANs. In very basic terms, I understand that a LAN stands for “local area network,” which is a computer network that connects other computers and devices within a limited geographical area. They are distinguished from WANs (wide area networks) by their speed, the smaller area that they cover, and the fact that they don’t need leased telecommunication lines. We always want faster connections, so I’m sure before long, we will have something else to connect networks that’s even faster than FiOS.
Wikipedia on Computer Networks: This article defines “computer network” and why we have them: to share resources and information. We take so much for granted, I think, when it comes to technology—I am always amazed at what I’ve been learning of the behind-the-scenes when it comes to computers, and also to see how predictions from a few years ago are already common standards in the industry (e.g., optical fiber cable technology, which I assume is FiOS, right?). (As an aside, I remember three years ago, listening to Tomer, in LIS 2000, say that FiOS was the wave of the future. And this was just as Verizon’s FiOS was beginning to be installed in the area. I went home that day and told my husband, “We might’s well switch to FiOS.” And we did, as soon as it became available in our area. Chalk that decision up to library school!) Anyway, there are different kinds of wiring technologies that go into networks, and there are wireless technologies now, too, that connect networks. Then, once connected, those networks get classified according to their “physical scope,” or what I think of as “range.” There are LANs, WANs, PANs, HANs, CANs, and MANs—all of which is just to say that there seems to be a network for everyone. But I have to say that I never think of the Internet as a “network,” even though of course it is! The discussion of hardware is helpful just to be familiar with terminology you often hear IT people using. One thing, though: How does one actually say “ITU-T G.hn”????? I mean, when two IT people are talking amongst themselves, how do they actually say this term????
I enjoyed the YouTube video—short and sweet and to the point. The guy makes it all seem so simple.
Karen Coyle’s article on RFID was very good at explaining what RFID technology is. I read this on the day this week that the PA Turnpike announced it was considering doing away with toll plazas and going to electronic systems where, if a car didn’t already have an EasyPass, a camera would take a picture of your license plate and the owner would receive a bill in the mail for the amount of the toll. I assume they’ll be using RFID technology for this. So it’s kind of interesting to see how this technology is creeping into all aspects of life, for better or worse. I can see how using this technology in the library would be good for tracking inventory, locating misplaced items, and providing some measure of security. But realistically, in this day and age, I don’t see how all libraries could afford to implement such a system. (And if it gets to the point—and maybe it already has—that publishers are automatically including RFID tags in materials, they will simply increase the prices to cover the cost of technology, making it even harder for libraries to buy new items.) I thought it was ironic how Coyle talks about how the retail sector uses RFID as a “throw-away” technology—that is, they use it once, and that’s it. They can afford to be wasteful, I guess. Libraries, on the other hand, could re-use the technology, yet can’t afford it in the first place. Coyle treats both the pros and cons of this technology as it relates to the library. If libraries are in the fortunate position of implementing such technology in the future, they will have to address the issues of privacy, RFID tag signalling, and tag durability.
Wikipedia on Computer Networks: This article defines “computer network” and why we have them: to share resources and information. We take so much for granted, I think, when it comes to technology—I am always amazed at what I’ve been learning of the behind-the-scenes when it comes to computers, and also to see how predictions from a few years ago are already common standards in the industry (e.g., optical fiber cable technology, which I assume is FiOS, right?). (As an aside, I remember three years ago, listening to Tomer, in LIS 2000, say that FiOS was the wave of the future. And this was just as Verizon’s FiOS was beginning to be installed in the area. I went home that day and told my husband, “We might’s well switch to FiOS.” And we did, as soon as it became available in our area. Chalk that decision up to library school!) Anyway, there are different kinds of wiring technologies that go into networks, and there are wireless technologies now, too, that connect networks. Then, once connected, those networks get classified according to their “physical scope,” or what I think of as “range.” There are LANs, WANs, PANs, HANs, CANs, and MANs—all of which is just to say that there seems to be a network for everyone. But I have to say that I never think of the Internet as a “network,” even though of course it is! The discussion of hardware is helpful just to be familiar with terminology you often hear IT people using. One thing, though: How does one actually say “ITU-T G.hn”????? I mean, when two IT people are talking amongst themselves, how do they actually say this term????
I enjoyed the YouTube video—short and sweet and to the point. The guy makes it all seem so simple.
Karen Coyle’s article on RFID was very good at explaining what RFID technology is. I read this on the day this week that the PA Turnpike announced it was considering doing away with toll plazas and going to electronic systems where, if a car didn’t already have an EasyPass, a camera would take a picture of your license plate and the owner would receive a bill in the mail for the amount of the toll. I assume they’ll be using RFID technology for this. So it’s kind of interesting to see how this technology is creeping into all aspects of life, for better or worse. I can see how using this technology in the library would be good for tracking inventory, locating misplaced items, and providing some measure of security. But realistically, in this day and age, I don’t see how all libraries could afford to implement such a system. (And if it gets to the point—and maybe it already has—that publishers are automatically including RFID tags in materials, they will simply increase the prices to cover the cost of technology, making it even harder for libraries to buy new items.) I thought it was ironic how Coyle talks about how the retail sector uses RFID as a “throw-away” technology—that is, they use it once, and that’s it. They can afford to be wasteful, I guess. Libraries, on the other hand, could re-use the technology, yet can’t afford it in the first place. Coyle treats both the pros and cons of this technology as it relates to the library. If libraries are in the fortunate position of implementing such technology in the future, they will have to address the issues of privacy, RFID tag signalling, and tag durability.
Week 5 Muddiest Point
As long as we'll go over MARC and Dublin Core and metadata again, I have no Muddiest Point for what was covered in the lecture this week.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Week 5 Blog Comments
Here are links to the comments I made this week:
http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/metadata-and-dublin-core.html?showComment=1285942981868#c1668467383049878198
http://jobeths2600blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-5-readings.html?showComment=1285943875110#c4037833116054478051
http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/metadata-and-dublin-core.html?showComment=1285942981868#c1668467383049878198
http://jobeths2600blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-5-readings.html?showComment=1285943875110#c4037833116054478051
Week 5 Readings
The Wikipedia entry on “Database” was enlightening--who knew there were so many different types of databases?! It’s helpful to see examples, too: now I know that Microsoft Access, which I have tried to used on occasion, is a DBMS; that Oracle/PRISM human resources application, and PeopleSoft and the Data Warehouse used here at Pitt are (I’m assuming) all “operational” database; that the IMDB that I use often at work is an “external” database.. Would the Excel spreadsheet I use to keep track of my family’s finances be considered an “end-user” database, I wonder? I’m also wondering if the “indexing” discussed here is the kind of indexing and query-running that you can do with Access? I didn’t understand much of the rest of this, I’m afraid.
I found Gilliland’s “Introduction to Metadata” extremely helpful. I especially like her comparison, at the end, of metadata to the Rosetta Stone. I have had some minimal exposure to metadata, having taken both Cataloging and Indexing in the course of completing this program. But my cataloging experience was limited to books, and Gilliland reminds me that there are a lot of other things that get metadata attached to them: in fact, “any information object” can (and will) have metadata. So it’s not just libraries that use metadata, but museums and archives and repositories and even Internet resource providers. Which means that lots of people will be creating and using metadata. Here are some key points I’d like to remember:
The Dublin Core document was more distracting than informative, for all its typos and poor writing. I understand it’s a “work in progress,” but geez. . . . Anyway, what I take away from this is that Dublin Core (DC) is an international effort across disciplines to describe “diverse resources” so they can be searched for and found electronically (which, I think, means it was intended to deal with Web resources). There’s lots here about “semantics” and “refinement” and “standards” and “vocabularies,” but it’s all way over my head. It’s clear that there’s a lot of techy-geeky stuff that’s behind the creation of this particular metadata format, which is all very impressive. But I'd need to have it really dumbed-down if I were going to really understand the Dublin Core Data Model.
I found Gilliland’s “Introduction to Metadata” extremely helpful. I especially like her comparison, at the end, of metadata to the Rosetta Stone. I have had some minimal exposure to metadata, having taken both Cataloging and Indexing in the course of completing this program. But my cataloging experience was limited to books, and Gilliland reminds me that there are a lot of other things that get metadata attached to them: in fact, “any information object” can (and will) have metadata. So it’s not just libraries that use metadata, but museums and archives and repositories and even Internet resource providers. Which means that lots of people will be creating and using metadata. Here are some key points I’d like to remember:
- “All information objects have three features: content, context, and structure”
- “There is no single metadata standard that is adequate for describing all types of collections and materials”
- “Metadata not only identifies and describes an information object; it also documents how that object behaves, its function and use, its relationship to other information objects, and how it should be and has been managed over time”
- “It is helpful to separate metadata into distinct categories--administrative, descriptive, preservation, use, and technical metadata”
- “Metadata continues to accrue during the life of an information object”
- “Effectiveness of searching can be significantly enhanced through the existence of rich, consistent, carefully crafted descriptive metadata”
The Dublin Core document was more distracting than informative, for all its typos and poor writing. I understand it’s a “work in progress,” but geez. . . . Anyway, what I take away from this is that Dublin Core (DC) is an international effort across disciplines to describe “diverse resources” so they can be searched for and found electronically (which, I think, means it was intended to deal with Web resources). There’s lots here about “semantics” and “refinement” and “standards” and “vocabularies,” but it’s all way over my head. It’s clear that there’s a lot of techy-geeky stuff that’s behind the creation of this particular metadata format, which is all very impressive. But I'd need to have it really dumbed-down if I were going to really understand the Dublin Core Data Model.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Week 4 Muddiest Point(s)
I have two muddiest points this week:
First, I went to the Unicode web page, but I don’t understand it. Is there a program (is it this version 5.2.0?) to download that gives you access to all the languages/fonts? Or do you simply locate a particular character you want and copy and paste it from the charts? It all looks very complicated. I often need access to Arabic and Chinese characters--is this what I should be using? I understand Office 2007 has a full symbols library that has what I need, but I don’t have Office 2007 on my computer (I could get it--I just can’t make the time for the transition at the moment). So in a nutshell: how do you access Unicode characters, and where do they go once you access them, and then what do you do with them?
Second, at what point do you choose a compression file format? Do you always have the option of saving an image as a TIFF, a JPEG, or a PNG? Where do you get those options? I don’t recall ever having any choice. When I download images from my camera, they are automatically saved as JPEGs.
First, I went to the Unicode web page, but I don’t understand it. Is there a program (is it this version 5.2.0?) to download that gives you access to all the languages/fonts? Or do you simply locate a particular character you want and copy and paste it from the charts? It all looks very complicated. I often need access to Arabic and Chinese characters--is this what I should be using? I understand Office 2007 has a full symbols library that has what I need, but I don’t have Office 2007 on my computer (I could get it--I just can’t make the time for the transition at the moment). So in a nutshell: how do you access Unicode characters, and where do they go once you access them, and then what do you do with them?
Second, at what point do you choose a compression file format? Do you always have the option of saving an image as a TIFF, a JPEG, or a PNG? Where do you get those options? I don’t recall ever having any choice. When I download images from my camera, they are automatically saved as JPEGs.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Week 4 Blog Comments
Here are my comments on this week's blogs:
http://lostscribe459.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-readings-corrected.html?showComment=1285170684601#c4374115809531724169
http://mfarina.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-notes-multimedia-representation.html?showComment=1285171289921#c4409559409096417835
http://lostscribe459.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-readings-corrected.html?showComment=1285170684601#c4374115809531724169
http://mfarina.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-notes-multimedia-representation.html?showComment=1285171289921#c4409559409096417835
Week 4 Readings - Data Compression
I think the basic idea of the Wikipedia entry on “Data Compression” and the longer “Data Compression Basics” is that certain files, particularly color images, take up a lot of hard disk space and use a lot of bandwidth during transmission. So data compression encodes the information in such a way that fewer bits are used, thus allowing more information to be stored and transferred in less time. The compression method that recovers an exact original is referred to as “lossless” (which kind of makes sense to me, the suffix “-less” meaning “not having”; so “lossless” meaning “not having loss” or “not losing anything”). But sometimes recovered information is not exactly identical to the original, so this is called “lossy.” Run-length encoding (RLE) and Lempel-Ziv (LZ) are examples of lossless compression. Now, I couldn’t really follow the theory and algorithms beyond the first basic example of “Mary had a little lamb,” but I can see the end result: that data compression can reduce the file size significantly, amazingly to no or little detriment to the original. The catch is that both the sender and receiver have to be on the same page as far as the encoding mechanism used for the compression process. Regarding lossy data compression, it was interesting to me that the human eye or ear doesn’t really notice some loss of quality.
The “Imaging Pittsburgh” project is fascinating. Galloway’s article illustrates to me how all of these theories and algorithms are used in the real world, albeit in the background, to enable online access to visual images and photographic collections. The Digital Library’s Image Collection is amazing. The Historic Pittsburgh Collection alone now has 18,000 images, far exceeding the 10,000 anticipated at the time this article was written. I also like their use of Dublin Core metadata—it’s simple and clear, easy to use and interpret. I couldn’t help but look for my ancestors in the “Pittsburghers at Home” collection—my mom will flip when she finds out about this (she grew up in Homestead and Greenfield in the 30s and 40s). The project team had a goal to provide “consistent size and quality” of images (no doubt applying the principles of data compression). I found the “image reproduction service” an interesting idea as a potential source of income for the project. Why not?! Very interesting to see how a project like this begins with a grant and a few partners, and expands way beyond the original goals, to wind up being an incredible gift to a region. This would have been a great project to be involved in. . . .
Webb’s brief article describes the use of YouTube as a venue to promote your library. Believe it or not, I have never gone to YouTube’s Web site directly to search for anything. (I think I’ve always been afraid that I’ll get sucked in and won’t ever get up from the computer again.) My experience with it is limited to the few times friends have sent me links to a video. So I appreciated even the simple instructions of how to just sign up for an account! I can definitely see how adding instructional or informational videos to library blogs or Web sites is a good idea—anything we can do today to get patrons and users involved in our libraries is important and all good.
The “Imaging Pittsburgh” project is fascinating. Galloway’s article illustrates to me how all of these theories and algorithms are used in the real world, albeit in the background, to enable online access to visual images and photographic collections. The Digital Library’s Image Collection is amazing. The Historic Pittsburgh Collection alone now has 18,000 images, far exceeding the 10,000 anticipated at the time this article was written. I also like their use of Dublin Core metadata—it’s simple and clear, easy to use and interpret. I couldn’t help but look for my ancestors in the “Pittsburghers at Home” collection—my mom will flip when she finds out about this (she grew up in Homestead and Greenfield in the 30s and 40s). The project team had a goal to provide “consistent size and quality” of images (no doubt applying the principles of data compression). I found the “image reproduction service” an interesting idea as a potential source of income for the project. Why not?! Very interesting to see how a project like this begins with a grant and a few partners, and expands way beyond the original goals, to wind up being an incredible gift to a region. This would have been a great project to be involved in. . . .
Webb’s brief article describes the use of YouTube as a venue to promote your library. Believe it or not, I have never gone to YouTube’s Web site directly to search for anything. (I think I’ve always been afraid that I’ll get sucked in and won’t ever get up from the computer again.) My experience with it is limited to the few times friends have sent me links to a video. So I appreciated even the simple instructions of how to just sign up for an account! I can definitely see how adding instructional or informational videos to library blogs or Web sites is a good idea—anything we can do today to get patrons and users involved in our libraries is important and all good.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Week 3 Muddiest Point(s)
In class, when the different versions of Linux were being described (Red Hat, Fedora, Ubuntu), I think you said that companies package Linux applications and then sell them as these different versions. Well, then Linux isn't free anymore, right? So how does that work?
Also, really dumb question: Where does one find the disk defragmenter? I know I should know how to run this, but I don't.
Also, really dumb question: Where does one find the disk defragmenter? I know I should know how to run this, but I don't.
Assignment 2 Flickr Link
Here is the link to my Flickr Photostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/
Hope I did this right . . .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/
Hope I did this right . . .
Friday, September 17, 2010
Week 3 Blog Comments
I made the following comments on this week's blog entries:
http://sarahwithtechnologyblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-reading-notes.html?showComment=1284732838603#c2571478468302987148
http://emilydavislisblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-computer-software.html?showComment=1284733907811#c3555775163588327899
http://sarahwithtechnologyblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-reading-notes.html?showComment=1284732838603#c2571478468302987148
http://emilydavislisblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-computer-software.html?showComment=1284733907811#c3555775163588327899
Week 3 Readings
This week's readings all have to do with operating systems, about which I was pretty much clueless. I have a little better idea now, after reading about Linux, Mac OS X, and the Windows update, that there are alternatives to the only one I’ve ever really known, Windows, if one were so inclined to tinker with what one already has. But I’m probably destined to be one of those “lusers” Garrels refers to—at least for the time being, and at least till I’m forced to “RTFM” (loved this guy’s sense of humor!).
Here are the main points I picked up:
Garrels's "Introduction to Linux" describes how Linux was developed by a guy who wanted a free system for smaller PCs that would work with the original UNIX, which was developed for mainframe computers. He put out a “message in a bottle,” so to speak, for ideas on how to build what he wanted, and build it they did, as a community, which later we would all refer to as “Open Source.” Pretty cool. His description of Open Source is very helpful for understanding the impact such software can have on the world. Also pretty cool is that it’s free. Linux is written in the C programming language, which I’ve heard of but never worked with. There are lots of pros—can work with any hardware, you don’t have to reboot all the time, it’s secure, and errors are found and fixed quickly because so many people develop and use it. There are few cons, but there’s a big one for me: the fact that it’s not very user friendly and confusing for beginners. Though Garrels insists there is a Linux “Distribution” for everyone, I would beg to differ with him that “you needn’t be a programmer to install” it on your system. This is something I would be very afraid to try on my own.
Amit Singh’s 2003 document on the Mac OS X operating system was difficult to get through, especially since I am not an Apple user (anymore, that is--I had one back in the early 90s) and am definitely not a “hacker.” But if one were a hacker, there’s a plethora of information of tools and programs available for use with Mac OS X. Singh’s brief history of the Mac OS X was interesting (what I could understand of it, apart from all the abbreviations and acronyms). Sorry, but most of this document was way over my head. I’m sure it’s a perfectly fine operating system (it is definitely the author’s preferred OS, though he gives props to Linux and Windows at the end), but it isn’t free, and it requires Apple hardware.
Wikipedia’s entry on Mac OS X was a little more accessible to me. (I especially appreciated the pronunciation guide, “X” = “ten”—I wouldn’t have known that.) Now I understand that version X has improved stability and reliability, and includes software development tools. I wasn’t too surprised to read that Mac OS X is the “second most popular general-purpose operating system in use for the internet, after Microsoft Windows.” Wikipedia describes this as “the most successful UNIX-like desktop operating system on the internet.” Makes it sounds like an “also-ran,” even though it has “over 4 times the penetration of the free Linux.” Curious that the Mac OS versions are named after “big cats.”
The SuperSite blog entry reprinted the text of a 2008 email from Microsoft’s senior vice president, Bill Veghte, in which he provides an update on the state of Windows . This seemed a little out of date, since we’ve now seen the release of Windows 7. Veghte thanks the billion users of Windows for their input, which makes me think of those TV commercials with all the people who say “Windows 7 was my idea.” I’m still using Windows XP, both at work and at home, but I guess I’ll be forced to change by 2014, when Microsoft will apparently stop supporting XP. I don’t think I’ve heard as many complaints about Windows 7 as I did about Vista, so maybe Microsoft is getting better about working out the kinks before they release a product. I do wish they’d make security a top priority, though—virus susceptibility remains my biggest concern. I thought it was interesting that Veghte states the planned release date for Windows 7, which was three years after the release of Vista. Does this mean we’ll be seeing a new Microsoft OS every three years?
Here are the main points I picked up:
Garrels's "Introduction to Linux" describes how Linux was developed by a guy who wanted a free system for smaller PCs that would work with the original UNIX, which was developed for mainframe computers. He put out a “message in a bottle,” so to speak, for ideas on how to build what he wanted, and build it they did, as a community, which later we would all refer to as “Open Source.” Pretty cool. His description of Open Source is very helpful for understanding the impact such software can have on the world. Also pretty cool is that it’s free. Linux is written in the C programming language, which I’ve heard of but never worked with. There are lots of pros—can work with any hardware, you don’t have to reboot all the time, it’s secure, and errors are found and fixed quickly because so many people develop and use it. There are few cons, but there’s a big one for me: the fact that it’s not very user friendly and confusing for beginners. Though Garrels insists there is a Linux “Distribution” for everyone, I would beg to differ with him that “you needn’t be a programmer to install” it on your system. This is something I would be very afraid to try on my own.
Amit Singh’s 2003 document on the Mac OS X operating system was difficult to get through, especially since I am not an Apple user (anymore, that is--I had one back in the early 90s) and am definitely not a “hacker.” But if one were a hacker, there’s a plethora of information of tools and programs available for use with Mac OS X. Singh’s brief history of the Mac OS X was interesting (what I could understand of it, apart from all the abbreviations and acronyms). Sorry, but most of this document was way over my head. I’m sure it’s a perfectly fine operating system (it is definitely the author’s preferred OS, though he gives props to Linux and Windows at the end), but it isn’t free, and it requires Apple hardware.
Wikipedia’s entry on Mac OS X was a little more accessible to me. (I especially appreciated the pronunciation guide, “X” = “ten”—I wouldn’t have known that.) Now I understand that version X has improved stability and reliability, and includes software development tools. I wasn’t too surprised to read that Mac OS X is the “second most popular general-purpose operating system in use for the internet, after Microsoft Windows.” Wikipedia describes this as “the most successful UNIX-like desktop operating system on the internet.” Makes it sounds like an “also-ran,” even though it has “over 4 times the penetration of the free Linux.” Curious that the Mac OS versions are named after “big cats.”
The SuperSite blog entry reprinted the text of a 2008 email from Microsoft’s senior vice president, Bill Veghte, in which he provides an update on the state of Windows . This seemed a little out of date, since we’ve now seen the release of Windows 7. Veghte thanks the billion users of Windows for their input, which makes me think of those TV commercials with all the people who say “Windows 7 was my idea.” I’m still using Windows XP, both at work and at home, but I guess I’ll be forced to change by 2014, when Microsoft will apparently stop supporting XP. I don’t think I’ve heard as many complaints about Windows 7 as I did about Vista, so maybe Microsoft is getting better about working out the kinks before they release a product. I do wish they’d make security a top priority, though—virus susceptibility remains my biggest concern. I thought it was interesting that Veghte states the planned release date for Windows 7, which was three years after the release of Vista. Does this mean we’ll be seeing a new Microsoft OS every three years?
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Week 2 Muddiest Point
Who/What determines what is stored in cache memory? Is that something that the user has control over or could change if desired, or is it predetermined when you purchase a computer? And what sort of data gets put there instead of into the main memory? When you say that cache memory stores “frequently used instructions and data,” does this mean instructions for, say, simply turning on the computer? Opening a browser? Retrieving a Word document from a folder?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Blogs I Commented On - Weeks 1 and 2
Week 1:
Sherry’s Intro to Info Technology Blog
http://sherry-lis2600introinfotech.blogspot.com/2010/09/additional-notes-on-readings-week-1.html?showComment=1284131160527#c8980338253487029651
I can relate to your experiences with e-readers. I thought I would wait till I was done with this program to splurge on a Kindle, but my boss gave me one last year for my 20th service anniversary. I was so excited! I DO really love it (or I love the IDEA of it--the fact that I can have a whole library at my fingertips, if I wanted to), and I have downloaded and read a few books already on it. The freebies are nice, too. Mainly I've been using it to download "samples" of books I've read reviews on, and that I think I might like to read someday. It's a great way to see if a particular book is something you'd like. But you know what? I am still reading real books, too! Still, I feel I've found a happy medium between the Kindle and the old-fashioned book.
Christy Fic’s Blog
http://christyfic.blogspot.com/2010/09/reading-notes-week-1-aug-30-2010.html?showComment=1284129979970#c1081571614641109883
I liked your analogy between information technology trends and McDonald's fast food! And look what cheap fast food has done to us! I haven't read the book "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" (by Nicholas Carr) yet, but it's on my "someday-when-I'm-done-with-this-program" list. From reviews I've read, though, I gather the author discusses how the Internet has made us distracted readers and samplers of information, while we are much more deeper thinkers and creative people when we read the printed word. So I wonder, if things continue the way they've been, what our society, our children, will be like in 50 years (or less). Perhaps our brains, as well as our bodies, will be obese, with no "muscle tone" to them to encourage critical thinking skills.
Week 2
Melissa’s Blog
http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/wikipedia-articles.html?showComment=1284128548298#c99089415683600039
I worry, too, about the negative environmental impact technology creates. We're the same way in my household--have had multiple PCs, laptops, TVs, VHS/CD/DVD (in that order!) players, portable/cell phones, etc. over the course of the last twenty years. We try to hold out as long as we can upgrading and replacing, but eventually, time marches on and you have to fall in line behind everyone else. We bought a new HDTV last November, and we felt the minute it was delivered that it was obsolete. It was depressing. (And we STILL haven't figured out how to get it, the Blu-Ray, and the sound bar to hook in together!)
Did you know that you can take your old electronics to Best Buy, and they will--supposedly--recycle them. You give them $10 (for some reason), but they give you a $10 gift card for BB. (And you don't have to buy something first to do this.) We've taken several old TVs to the Bethel Park store (South Hills of Pittsburgh) this year.
I think I'm the only person at my gym that still carries around an old Classic 20GB (yeah, 20!) iPod. But it works just fine for me, and it's big enough to keep track of in my various bags and purses, so why replace it?
Rachel’s LIS 2600 Blog
http://millard2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-2-computer-hardware-reading-notes.html?showComment=1284131937321#c766485778101233919
I am the same way--I'm fine with technology AS LONG AS IT WORKS! :) I have "rote-skill" computer knowledge mainly because I cannot seem to keep up with the changes! As soon as I am remotely comfortable with some aspect of technology, the world has moved on to the next generation of gadgets or hardware or software! I feel like I will always have a very superficial grasp of how it all works.
Sherry’s Intro to Info Technology Blog
http://sherry-lis2600introinfotech.blogspot.com/2010/09/additional-notes-on-readings-week-1.html?showComment=1284131160527#c8980338253487029651
I can relate to your experiences with e-readers. I thought I would wait till I was done with this program to splurge on a Kindle, but my boss gave me one last year for my 20th service anniversary. I was so excited! I DO really love it (or I love the IDEA of it--the fact that I can have a whole library at my fingertips, if I wanted to), and I have downloaded and read a few books already on it. The freebies are nice, too. Mainly I've been using it to download "samples" of books I've read reviews on, and that I think I might like to read someday. It's a great way to see if a particular book is something you'd like. But you know what? I am still reading real books, too! Still, I feel I've found a happy medium between the Kindle and the old-fashioned book.
Christy Fic’s Blog
http://christyfic.blogspot.com/2010/09/reading-notes-week-1-aug-30-2010.html?showComment=1284129979970#c1081571614641109883
I liked your analogy between information technology trends and McDonald's fast food! And look what cheap fast food has done to us! I haven't read the book "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" (by Nicholas Carr) yet, but it's on my "someday-when-I'm-done-with-this-program" list. From reviews I've read, though, I gather the author discusses how the Internet has made us distracted readers and samplers of information, while we are much more deeper thinkers and creative people when we read the printed word. So I wonder, if things continue the way they've been, what our society, our children, will be like in 50 years (or less). Perhaps our brains, as well as our bodies, will be obese, with no "muscle tone" to them to encourage critical thinking skills.
Week 2
Melissa’s Blog
http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/wikipedia-articles.html?showComment=1284128548298#c99089415683600039
I worry, too, about the negative environmental impact technology creates. We're the same way in my household--have had multiple PCs, laptops, TVs, VHS/CD/DVD (in that order!) players, portable/cell phones, etc. over the course of the last twenty years. We try to hold out as long as we can upgrading and replacing, but eventually, time marches on and you have to fall in line behind everyone else. We bought a new HDTV last November, and we felt the minute it was delivered that it was obsolete. It was depressing. (And we STILL haven't figured out how to get it, the Blu-Ray, and the sound bar to hook in together!)
Did you know that you can take your old electronics to Best Buy, and they will--supposedly--recycle them. You give them $10 (for some reason), but they give you a $10 gift card for BB. (And you don't have to buy something first to do this.) We've taken several old TVs to the Bethel Park store (South Hills of Pittsburgh) this year.
I think I'm the only person at my gym that still carries around an old Classic 20GB (yeah, 20!) iPod. But it works just fine for me, and it's big enough to keep track of in my various bags and purses, so why replace it?
Rachel’s LIS 2600 Blog
http://millard2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-2-computer-hardware-reading-notes.html?showComment=1284131937321#c766485778101233919
I am the same way--I'm fine with technology AS LONG AS IT WORKS! :) I have "rote-skill" computer knowledge mainly because I cannot seem to keep up with the changes! As soon as I am remotely comfortable with some aspect of technology, the world has moved on to the next generation of gadgets or hardware or software! I feel like I will always have a very superficial grasp of how it all works.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Week 2 Readings
“Personal Computer Hardware”
I have to say that I didn’t find this Wikipedia entry on computer hardware very helpful, but it would take a lot more for me to understand the inner-workings of a computer than what’s discussed here. I know what I need to know to make the various computers in my life work, and when they work (which is most of the time), we get along just fine. When they don’t work, I can often figure out a fix on my own, just by trial and error. But when I get really stuck, I just call up the Pitt Help Desk (I'm staff), and they walk me through trouble-shooting if I’m working at home, or they make an "office call" and fix the problem for me if it’s my office computer. They throw out terminology and explain parts on an as-needed basis, and when everything is working swimmingly again, I quickly forget what it all means, because I never really understood how it worked in the first place. So I guess I need remedial help when it comes to wrapping my brain around things like “chip set” and “BIOS” and “Internal and External Buses.” I think the only way I would ever really understand this is if someone actually opens up and dissects a PC in front of me, extracting each component and showing me firsthand what these parts mean and do. I felt really old reading about “floppy disks” and the “Iomega Zip drive,” now apparently obsolete, but things I remember using “back in the day.” I shudder to think that someday I may be called upon to open up one of these things and perform surgery on it. I know it's important to understand how computers work; I know I'm not always going to have an IT staff at my beck and call. . . .
“Moore’s Law”
Okay, another article that just overwhelms me with numbers and statistics and graphs and charts—all the things I am horrendously inept at deciphering. But I guess the basic principle behind Moore’s law is that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. (I have trouble envisioning these things and how they work—I guess when I hear or read these terms, I just assume that they refer to things that somehow make my electronic gadgets “work.”) I suppose all of this should make us wonder when we will reach capacity, and what sort of “new type of technology” will come along to take its place. (And whether to wait before buying “the latest technology”!) It is interesting that the trend has been that these numbers double every two years, and that people have been able to apply Moore’s law to other measures of digital technology. And is it coincidental that Moore’s law seems to drive the technology industry’s marketing and engineering departments, or is it truly a case of “self-fulfilling prophecy”?
Computer History Museum Website
Isn’t it something that there’s a museum for computer history, which begins its timeline with the year 1939—not so long ago—and ending with 1994. Which makes me realize just how much must have changed, how the field evolved, in those 59 years, in order to have an entire museum devoted to the subject. I found the online exhibit “Timeline of Computer History” interesting. I’m sure it’s a fascinating place for those who are really into computers—it looks like they have a lot of exhibits—however, if I were out near San Francisco, I’d probably find other things to see. :)
I have to say that I didn’t find this Wikipedia entry on computer hardware very helpful, but it would take a lot more for me to understand the inner-workings of a computer than what’s discussed here. I know what I need to know to make the various computers in my life work, and when they work (which is most of the time), we get along just fine. When they don’t work, I can often figure out a fix on my own, just by trial and error. But when I get really stuck, I just call up the Pitt Help Desk (I'm staff), and they walk me through trouble-shooting if I’m working at home, or they make an "office call" and fix the problem for me if it’s my office computer. They throw out terminology and explain parts on an as-needed basis, and when everything is working swimmingly again, I quickly forget what it all means, because I never really understood how it worked in the first place. So I guess I need remedial help when it comes to wrapping my brain around things like “chip set” and “BIOS” and “Internal and External Buses.” I think the only way I would ever really understand this is if someone actually opens up and dissects a PC in front of me, extracting each component and showing me firsthand what these parts mean and do. I felt really old reading about “floppy disks” and the “Iomega Zip drive,” now apparently obsolete, but things I remember using “back in the day.” I shudder to think that someday I may be called upon to open up one of these things and perform surgery on it. I know it's important to understand how computers work; I know I'm not always going to have an IT staff at my beck and call. . . .
“Moore’s Law”
Okay, another article that just overwhelms me with numbers and statistics and graphs and charts—all the things I am horrendously inept at deciphering. But I guess the basic principle behind Moore’s law is that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. (I have trouble envisioning these things and how they work—I guess when I hear or read these terms, I just assume that they refer to things that somehow make my electronic gadgets “work.”) I suppose all of this should make us wonder when we will reach capacity, and what sort of “new type of technology” will come along to take its place. (And whether to wait before buying “the latest technology”!) It is interesting that the trend has been that these numbers double every two years, and that people have been able to apply Moore’s law to other measures of digital technology. And is it coincidental that Moore’s law seems to drive the technology industry’s marketing and engineering departments, or is it truly a case of “self-fulfilling prophecy”?
Computer History Museum Website
Isn’t it something that there’s a museum for computer history, which begins its timeline with the year 1939—not so long ago—and ending with 1994. Which makes me realize just how much must have changed, how the field evolved, in those 59 years, in order to have an entire museum devoted to the subject. I found the online exhibit “Timeline of Computer History” interesting. I’m sure it’s a fascinating place for those who are really into computers—it looks like they have a lot of exhibits—however, if I were out near San Francisco, I’d probably find other things to see. :)
Week 1 Hand On Point - My Experience with Ad-Aware
Okay, so I've been using a different version of this program for several years now (Ad-Aware SE, with a copyright date of 1995-2005--I think I probably got it from Software Licensing Services here at Pitt), on my office computer and my home PC, and I do run it periodically. I have to say, though, that I never really understood how it worked, or what it did exactly, but I'd follow the directions and it seemed to do something.
I never got around to downloading Ad-Aware onto my laptop, though, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to start fresh.
First, the thing froze my laptop, after about 20 minutes into the installation process. So I started again. I had to leave for an hour, so I figured I'd let it do a scan while I was gone. Came home to find that it "was not responding"!
Third time was the charm, however. I ran a scan, and after about 5 minutes, it produced a record that showed it had found 3 cookies, which were successfully removed.
This looks different from the version I have on my other computers. And it seems easier to use (after installation). I think I'll load this version onto those other machines.
I never got around to downloading Ad-Aware onto my laptop, though, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to start fresh.
First, the thing froze my laptop, after about 20 minutes into the installation process. So I started again. I had to leave for an hour, so I figured I'd let it do a scan while I was gone. Came home to find that it "was not responding"!
Third time was the charm, however. I ran a scan, and after about 5 minutes, it produced a record that showed it had found 3 cookies, which were successfully removed.
This looks different from the version I have on my other computers. And it seems easier to use (after installation). I think I'll load this version onto those other machines.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Week 1 Muddiest Point
After completing Assignment 1, I do not understand the difference between the blog and the blog feed. What does one URL do that the other doesn’t?
Week 1 Readings
“OCLC Report”
The first thing that strikes me about this report is the date—it’s six years old. Still, it was interesting to compare where the “information landscape” stands today. For example, the report states that “e-books have entered the adoption phase”; in July 2010, Amazon reported having 630,000 Kindle books, and that it sold 180 digital books for every 100 hard copy books (Claire Cain Miller, “E-Books Top Hardcovers at Amazon,” New York Times, July 19, 2010, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/technology/20kindle.html?_r=1&ref=e-book-readers). The OCLC Report accurately predicted the “convergence of technologies” that mobile communication devices have brought to the technology playing field. In fact, a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report found that “cell phone and wireless laptop internet use have each grown more prevalent over the last year” and cites astonishing statistics of Internet use via Wi-Fi connections, email and instant messaging use via mobile phones among adults, etc. And they’re not just using cell phones to make emergency calls! They’re taking pictures, playing games, accessing the Internet, sending email, texting. Pew reports that in the U.S. today, “cell phone ownership is higher among African Americans and Latinos than among whites (87% vs. 80%) and minority cell phone owners take advantage of a much greater range of their phones’ features compared with white mobile phone users” (Aaron Smith, “Mobile Access 2010,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, available at http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx), indicating the even greater-than-expected reach of technology. So I think this report, despite its 2004 date, is interesting because it seems to have accurately predicted what was coming down the pike in technology and how that technology would be affecting libraries and their users. I also enjoyed “the new vocabulary” section. I’d not heard of many of these words—some of my favorites were “digital swarming,” “fleshmet,” and “snam and spim.”
Lynch, “ Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy”
This article was very helpful for the distinction it makes between “information technology literacy” (technology infrastructure) and “information literacy” (content and communication). I recognize that I lack skills in many IT literacy areas, particularly when it comes to understanding technology infrastructure. But I agree with Lynch when he says that information technology literacy will be “critical for people to succeed in all walks of life, to function as informed citizens, and to continue to learn and grow in an evolving technological society.”
Vaughan, “Lied Library @ Four Years”
This article highlights the experiences and challenges faced by the Lied Library of UNLV as it maintained and upgraded its information technology resources. Kudos to the library staff, who seemed remarkably cooperative, coming in early and doing a lot of physical labor to replace PCs and trouble-shoot. Those in charge of the project were logical, well organized, and had good strategies for reducing negative impact on users. There were lots of things mentioned here that I’d not considered before, mainly with regard to the physical plant. Well, of course there'd be a need for a central uninterrupted power supply unit and for a central tape backup unit! And of course one would need to understand the floor plan and building to make such upgrades as "hot jacks"--even just to add desks! Don't even get started on the security and space issues! I find that I take a lot of these types of things for granted. Little did I know how much planning and work goes into providing computer services in a library! It's an enormous task that requires cooperation, flexibility, and clear thinking from all involved. The bottom line of this article, for me, anyway, is that staff really have to be adaptable to changing technology and changing environment, because “technology never stands still.”
The first thing that strikes me about this report is the date—it’s six years old. Still, it was interesting to compare where the “information landscape” stands today. For example, the report states that “e-books have entered the adoption phase”; in July 2010, Amazon reported having 630,000 Kindle books, and that it sold 180 digital books for every 100 hard copy books (Claire Cain Miller, “E-Books Top Hardcovers at Amazon,” New York Times, July 19, 2010, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/technology/20kindle.html?_r=1&ref=e-book-readers). The OCLC Report accurately predicted the “convergence of technologies” that mobile communication devices have brought to the technology playing field. In fact, a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report found that “cell phone and wireless laptop internet use have each grown more prevalent over the last year” and cites astonishing statistics of Internet use via Wi-Fi connections, email and instant messaging use via mobile phones among adults, etc. And they’re not just using cell phones to make emergency calls! They’re taking pictures, playing games, accessing the Internet, sending email, texting. Pew reports that in the U.S. today, “cell phone ownership is higher among African Americans and Latinos than among whites (87% vs. 80%) and minority cell phone owners take advantage of a much greater range of their phones’ features compared with white mobile phone users” (Aaron Smith, “Mobile Access 2010,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, available at http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx), indicating the even greater-than-expected reach of technology. So I think this report, despite its 2004 date, is interesting because it seems to have accurately predicted what was coming down the pike in technology and how that technology would be affecting libraries and their users. I also enjoyed “the new vocabulary” section. I’d not heard of many of these words—some of my favorites were “digital swarming,” “fleshmet,” and “snam and spim.”
Lynch, “ Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy”
This article was very helpful for the distinction it makes between “information technology literacy” (technology infrastructure) and “information literacy” (content and communication). I recognize that I lack skills in many IT literacy areas, particularly when it comes to understanding technology infrastructure. But I agree with Lynch when he says that information technology literacy will be “critical for people to succeed in all walks of life, to function as informed citizens, and to continue to learn and grow in an evolving technological society.”
Vaughan, “Lied Library @ Four Years”
This article highlights the experiences and challenges faced by the Lied Library of UNLV as it maintained and upgraded its information technology resources. Kudos to the library staff, who seemed remarkably cooperative, coming in early and doing a lot of physical labor to replace PCs and trouble-shoot. Those in charge of the project were logical, well organized, and had good strategies for reducing negative impact on users. There were lots of things mentioned here that I’d not considered before, mainly with regard to the physical plant. Well, of course there'd be a need for a central uninterrupted power supply unit and for a central tape backup unit! And of course one would need to understand the floor plan and building to make such upgrades as "hot jacks"--even just to add desks! Don't even get started on the security and space issues! I find that I take a lot of these types of things for granted. Little did I know how much planning and work goes into providing computer services in a library! It's an enormous task that requires cooperation, flexibility, and clear thinking from all involved. The bottom line of this article, for me, anyway, is that staff really have to be adaptable to changing technology and changing environment, because “technology never stands still.”
Monday, September 6, 2010
Happy Labor Day!
Hi, everyone. I'm late coming to this discussion because I've been away for a few days. Hope you've all had a great holiday weekend.
I'm a "Margaret," and I usually go by "Meg," but since we've already got at least one "Megan" in the class, I decided to go with my second nickname, "Maggie," or "Magpie." (Which may be more than appropriate, because I can be a chatterbox sometimes, just like the bird.) So, apologies in advance for any confusion this naming business causes.
More on the readings and muddiest point soon. (Maybe my blog will be your muddiest point!) I really just wanted to see if I could make this work. :)
I'm a "Margaret," and I usually go by "Meg," but since we've already got at least one "Megan" in the class, I decided to go with my second nickname, "Maggie," or "Magpie." (Which may be more than appropriate, because I can be a chatterbox sometimes, just like the bird.) So, apologies in advance for any confusion this naming business causes.
More on the readings and muddiest point soon. (Maybe my blog will be your muddiest point!) I really just wanted to see if I could make this work. :)
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