Week 7 Comments
My Little Petunia
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4906315101547628497&postID=3123593231848830249
Intro to Information Technology
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5700113582796394224&postID=1743467246102870253&page=1
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Week 6 Muddiest Point
Would the world ever run out of IP addresses? Since all computers and websites have IP address, and with the replacement of computers along with exponential increase of information on the web, is it possible? And what will happen when they run out?
I doubt this will happen. . . http://www.endoftheinternet.com/
I doubt this will happen. . . http://www.endoftheinternet.com/
Week 7 Required Readings
1.) http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-infrastructure.htm/printable
This article describes how information is transmitted from around the world to your home computer.
2.) Dismantling the Integrated Library System
The interoperability of systems in the library is more myth than reality. The ILS systems don't (usually) work easily with each other. If they do it is only after the libraries IT staff works to integrate them. Even if they are used with open source, staff will still have to work to get them to work the way the library needs it too.
I know where I work at a law firm. . . when a new data management system was put in place it took months before our old database worked in conjunction with the new system. Nearly two years after starting to use the new software bugs are still being worked out.
3.) Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Inside the Google Machine
This 20 minute video explains how programs are developed at Google. Such as you can use 20% of your time to work on personal projects. This produced the Google News application and a social networking site. Google remains free, so that anyone with access to power and the internet can use their applications. They fund this through the use of advertising. Through this use of advertising they are able to donate to various organization through The Google Foundation.
This article describes how information is transmitted from around the world to your home computer.
2.) Dismantling the Integrated Library System
The interoperability of systems in the library is more myth than reality. The ILS systems don't (usually) work easily with each other. If they do it is only after the libraries IT staff works to integrate them. Even if they are used with open source, staff will still have to work to get them to work the way the library needs it too.
I know where I work at a law firm. . . when a new data management system was put in place it took months before our old database worked in conjunction with the new system. Nearly two years after starting to use the new software bugs are still being worked out.
3.) Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Inside the Google Machine
This 20 minute video explains how programs are developed at Google. Such as you can use 20% of your time to work on personal projects. This produced the Google News application and a social networking site. Google remains free, so that anyone with access to power and the internet can use their applications. They fund this through the use of advertising. Through this use of advertising they are able to donate to various organization through The Google Foundation.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Week 5 Muddiest Point
With the use of TIFF's I did not understand how it would be used in combination with JPEG compression.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Week 6 Required Readings
1. Wiki - LAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Area_Network
Local Area Network (LAN) connects computers together. This took off once computers needed to be hooked up to printers and shard memory. An example of a LAN is if you have a DLS router in your house. If so all of the computers that are connected to it, are then connected to the internet.
2. Wiki - Computer Network - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network
This article provides a summary of networks and the hardware needed to run them. I discovered why Internet always is misspelled in MS Word when I write it as "internet." It is to distinguish it from generic networks.
Examples of Networks:
PAN - Personal Area Network - Example: Bluetooth with a cell phone or printer, or a printer hooked to a computer via a USB chord
LAN - Local Are Network - small geographic region (home or office) with the use of ethernet chords, they do not need to lease telecommunications lines
CAN - Campus Area Network - connects two or more LANs
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network - does not extend beyond the boundary of a city or town
WAN - Wide Area Network - broad geographic area
GAN - Global Area Network - supports mobile communications over many networks
Internetwork - Contains - Intranet, Extranet, Internet
3.) Management of RFID in Libraries
Radio frequency identifier (RFID) tags can be used in libraries to track the collection, it also has privacy concerns for the users, the article does not deal with privacy issues. It is a barcode that is read by a electromagnetic feild. There are a variety of RFID chips and technology. The thought is that these can reduce the cost of taking an inventory of the library and help produce a ROI. These seem like a good idea for libraries, but the privacy issues and the possibility this would eliminate some library positions concerns me, if i library would be 100% self checkout.
Local Area Network (LAN) connects computers together. This took off once computers needed to be hooked up to printers and shard memory. An example of a LAN is if you have a DLS router in your house. If so all of the computers that are connected to it, are then connected to the internet.
2. Wiki - Computer Network - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network
This article provides a summary of networks and the hardware needed to run them. I discovered why Internet always is misspelled in MS Word when I write it as "internet." It is to distinguish it from generic networks.
Examples of Networks:
PAN - Personal Area Network - Example: Bluetooth with a cell phone or printer, or a printer hooked to a computer via a USB chord
LAN - Local Are Network - small geographic region (home or office) with the use of ethernet chords, they do not need to lease telecommunications lines
CAN - Campus Area Network - connects two or more LANs
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network - does not extend beyond the boundary of a city or town
WAN - Wide Area Network - broad geographic area
GAN - Global Area Network - supports mobile communications over many networks
Internetwork - Contains - Intranet, Extranet, Internet
3.) Management of RFID in Libraries
Radio frequency identifier (RFID) tags can be used in libraries to track the collection, it also has privacy concerns for the users, the article does not deal with privacy issues. It is a barcode that is read by a electromagnetic feild. There are a variety of RFID chips and technology. The thought is that these can reduce the cost of taking an inventory of the library and help produce a ROI. These seem like a good idea for libraries, but the privacy issues and the possibility this would eliminate some library positions concerns me, if i library would be 100% self checkout.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Muddiest Point Week 4
When talking about the Relational Model it was referred to as a "secure structure" in relation to Boolean operators such as "And" or "OR." Does this mean that the searches will provide a straight forward answer to the query given?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Week 5 Required Readings
1.)You Tube and Libraries
This article expounds on positive uses of YouTube (its not just for uploading videos of teenagers beating each other up). With a free account a library could open the eyes of their patrons to all of the services they offer. They would be able to show people how resources can be accessed, at all hours of the day and night. If its 2AM and a student needs help on learning how to use a database, its there even if the reference librarian is not. It would benefit visual learners as well as night owls.
However, I've never been able to get a youtube video to run smoothly, start to finish. So if you have an impatient patron, they may not wait to watch the entire video (you can't please everyone). Its still an interesting idea that seems to be have been successfully used at libraries. However, when checking the citations the video for the "Library Mystery Tour" is no longer there. When checking joemnscu's profile, the user hasn't logged in for ten months. "How to Find the Reference Desk" link no longer works as well. Where did the videos go(granted I didn't do a search for the video title)?
2.) Imaging Pittsburgh - http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_5/galloway/index.html
I have used this collection before, I find it fascinating to see all of the old pictures of Pittsburgh and to be able to visually see how a street or community has changed. It is really a fabulous collection, if you haven't played around with it, I suggest you do. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/
It is a collection of images that are held by the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum, and the Western PA Historical Society. It lets users search across these collections. Searches can be conducted by keyword, explore by time period, location, collection, and you can even order reproductions, which I think are affordable.
The differences of opinion with the three organizations take on cataloging was interesting. It reminded me of the differences in metadata.
3. Data Compression - Wikipedia Data is stored in fewer bits by using compression. Examples: zip files or stuffit files. The person sending the data and the person receiving the data need to have the same type of program for decompressing the data.
The next article goes into more detail on the specifics of compression.
I make no guarantees that the notes I have taken are correct.
4.) Data Compression Basics
Part 1
This is how you get more information to travel across the same space as though its less information. Acronyms are an example of compression. For example, MLA stands for the Medical Library Association. This is lossless compression, the item is compressed and then decompressed, thus resulting in the same image.
RLE (Run Length Encoding) - is one way to compress data. It is useful for images that have only a few colors in them. It does not work very well with text except in case studies. It would increase the size of a file instead of shrinking it.
When talking about the use of RLE for images with colors, if you have ever worked with Adobe Illustrator or any other program that lets you "mix" colors using numbers, the compression as so many parts of color x,y,and z makes sense to me.
The Lempel-Ziv Compressor - this works like using an acronym in professional writing. You only need to define an acronym once so you don't have to keep repeating it. After you have identified the American Library Association as the ALA, you can continue to refer to it as the ALA through out your writing. This compressor works similarly, it replaces repeated data. The LZ compressor wants to eliminate redundancy.
Entropy Coding - shorter codes are assigned to common data elements and longer codes are assigned to those that are not common
Huffman Coding: each code has its own unique beginning - this eliminates the need for a special marker
Arithmetic Coding: data is coded between the numbers 0.0 and .1. It works using percentages.
Prediction and Error Coding: Pictures usually have a slow change in colors at the level of the pixels. So this compression stores the error, by what it thinks the next color should be.
Part 2
Lossy compression of Stills and Audio: Your original object will not be the same after the object is decompressed. It preserves perceptible information.
If an object is decompressed and then recompressed several times with a lossy compressor, it will eventually cause a noticeable difference between the original and multiply compressed image.
I think an example of this is when you upload a picture to facebook or flickr, but when you download it, its quality is crappy.
The writers on these compression programs have to take into consideration the range of human sensation and perception. A computer doesn't know which part of a sound recording is more important, the person talking or the noise of the tape.
Part 3
Video Compression:
Video has to be compressed because it would take a long time to load and view.
This article expounds on positive uses of YouTube (its not just for uploading videos of teenagers beating each other up). With a free account a library could open the eyes of their patrons to all of the services they offer. They would be able to show people how resources can be accessed, at all hours of the day and night. If its 2AM and a student needs help on learning how to use a database, its there even if the reference librarian is not. It would benefit visual learners as well as night owls.
However, I've never been able to get a youtube video to run smoothly, start to finish. So if you have an impatient patron, they may not wait to watch the entire video (you can't please everyone). Its still an interesting idea that seems to be have been successfully used at libraries. However, when checking the citations the video for the "Library Mystery Tour" is no longer there. When checking joemnscu's profile, the user hasn't logged in for ten months. "How to Find the Reference Desk" link no longer works as well. Where did the videos go(granted I didn't do a search for the video title)?
2.) Imaging Pittsburgh - http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_5/galloway/index.html
I have used this collection before, I find it fascinating to see all of the old pictures of Pittsburgh and to be able to visually see how a street or community has changed. It is really a fabulous collection, if you haven't played around with it, I suggest you do. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/
It is a collection of images that are held by the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum, and the Western PA Historical Society. It lets users search across these collections. Searches can be conducted by keyword, explore by time period, location, collection, and you can even order reproductions, which I think are affordable.
The differences of opinion with the three organizations take on cataloging was interesting. It reminded me of the differences in metadata.
The way they have dealt with the copyright issues of the images I thought was creative. If you need to really use an image you can contact the institution it is from just to make sure you are not violating a copyright."Our museum friends tend to view their image collections as works of art with intrinsic value as a photograph. The academic archives tend to view their image collections for utilitarian purposes with minimal description, while the historical society’s practice has been to provide contextual information that not only describes the image, but informs the reader about the history and impact of an area or person depicted by the image. All this is to say that it has taken time to build a common dialogue for discussing critical elements of the project."
3. Data Compression - Wikipedia Data is stored in fewer bits by using compression. Examples: zip files or stuffit files. The person sending the data and the person receiving the data need to have the same type of program for decompressing the data.
The next article goes into more detail on the specifics of compression.
I make no guarantees that the notes I have taken are correct.
4.) Data Compression Basics
Part 1
This is how you get more information to travel across the same space as though its less information. Acronyms are an example of compression. For example, MLA stands for the Medical Library Association. This is lossless compression, the item is compressed and then decompressed, thus resulting in the same image.
RLE (Run Length Encoding) - is one way to compress data. It is useful for images that have only a few colors in them. It does not work very well with text except in case studies. It would increase the size of a file instead of shrinking it.
When talking about the use of RLE for images with colors, if you have ever worked with Adobe Illustrator or any other program that lets you "mix" colors using numbers, the compression as so many parts of color x,y,and z makes sense to me.
The Lempel-Ziv Compressor - this works like using an acronym in professional writing. You only need to define an acronym once so you don't have to keep repeating it. After you have identified the American Library Association as the ALA, you can continue to refer to it as the ALA through out your writing. This compressor works similarly, it replaces repeated data. The LZ compressor wants to eliminate redundancy.
Entropy Coding - shorter codes are assigned to common data elements and longer codes are assigned to those that are not common
Huffman Coding: each code has its own unique beginning - this eliminates the need for a special marker
Arithmetic Coding: data is coded between the numbers 0.0 and .1. It works using percentages.
Prediction and Error Coding: Pictures usually have a slow change in colors at the level of the pixels. So this compression stores the error, by what it thinks the next color should be.
Part 2
Lossy compression of Stills and Audio: Your original object will not be the same after the object is decompressed. It preserves perceptible information.
If an object is decompressed and then recompressed several times with a lossy compressor, it will eventually cause a noticeable difference between the original and multiply compressed image.
I think an example of this is when you upload a picture to facebook or flickr, but when you download it, its quality is crappy.
The writers on these compression programs have to take into consideration the range of human sensation and perception. A computer doesn't know which part of a sound recording is more important, the person talking or the noise of the tape.
Part 3
Video Compression:
Video has to be compressed because it would take a long time to load and view.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Week 3 Muddiest Point
The lecture notes state that by defragmenting a computer the programs will run faster. It has been my experience with PC's that I have used in the past, they would run S-L-O-W-E-R. I was just wondering, if there would be any reason why this would happen?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Week 4 Readings
1.) An Overview of the Dublin Core Data Model
I felt the author could have written in plainer language, I had to get out a textbook from a previous class to refresh my memory of the Dublin Cores metadata standards.
The Dublin Core (hailing from Dublin, Ohio) brings together disparate information via their use of metadata. It is a system that works with different languages and cataloging systems to possibly have a unified catalog. There are specific pieces of information that each person creating the metadata needs to fill in. For example, Title, date, publisher, etc. Things like date are standardized because some people write the month first while other write the day of the month first. It is essentially a standard way to describe things. They are working to include other cultural definitions of things such as censorship with qualifiers.
The DCMI oversees the use of the standards made by the Dublin Core.
2.) Introduction to Metadata - data about data
I should have read this article first. . . it gives a good over of what metadata entails.
Metadata does not mean the same thing to everyone. It is a way to increase the access to the information a library has. Two examples: Library of Congress Subject Headings and MeSH - Medical Subject Headings.
3 features of an information object:
Content - what it contains, intrinsic information
Context - who, what, why, where - extrinsic
Structure - formal set of associations among info objects
Because metadata means so many different things to different people, systems are needed to make metadata interoperable. Such as the Dublin Core's system.
I felt the author could have written in plainer language, I had to get out a textbook from a previous class to refresh my memory of the Dublin Cores metadata standards.
The Dublin Core (hailing from Dublin, Ohio) brings together disparate information via their use of metadata. It is a system that works with different languages and cataloging systems to possibly have a unified catalog. There are specific pieces of information that each person creating the metadata needs to fill in. For example, Title, date, publisher, etc. Things like date are standardized because some people write the month first while other write the day of the month first. It is essentially a standard way to describe things. They are working to include other cultural definitions of things such as censorship with qualifiers.
The DCMI oversees the use of the standards made by the Dublin Core.
2.) Introduction to Metadata - data about data
I should have read this article first. . . it gives a good over of what metadata entails.
Metadata does not mean the same thing to everyone. It is a way to increase the access to the information a library has. Two examples: Library of Congress Subject Headings and MeSH - Medical Subject Headings.
3 features of an information object:
Content - what it contains, intrinsic information
Context - who, what, why, where - extrinsic
Structure - formal set of associations among info objects
Because metadata means so many different things to different people, systems are needed to make metadata interoperable. Such as the Dublin Core's system.
It was interesting to learn about the various definitions of metadata and their uses by different professions. The most important part of metadata is that it organizes information to make sure what it is describing is able to be retrieved and used.
3.) Database - Wikipedia Article
This article was over my head. While I understood the basic design elements behind setting up a database, eventually that was lost in all the discussion of rows and columns. After the Hierarchical model, which reminded me of an index or thesaurus, I was lost. If pictures or graphical representations had been used I might have had a better understanding all all the differences between the databases.
I didn't understand why each tuple in a relational model was given an atomic value.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Week 3 Comments & Course Web
Lori's LIS 2600 Blog:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6958200230416907745&postID=5091243347574691611&page=1
Jean in LIS 2600 Blog:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=8427445099349409461&page=1
Melanija's Blog: Muddiest Point
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8029602389736197544&postID=753882181822681955&page=1
Courseweb Comments:
I commented in the Week Two Discussion Point on Digitization.
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6958200230416907745&postID=5091243347574691611&page=1
Jean in LIS 2600 Blog:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=8427445099349409461&page=1
Melanija's Blog: Muddiest Point
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8029602389736197544&postID=753882181822681955&page=1
Courseweb Comments:
I commented in the Week Two Discussion Point on Digitization.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Assignment 2 - Digitization - Stevenson Family Photographs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27567778@N08/sets/72157607146796781/
Here is the link for the 2nd assignment. These are family photographs that have been stored in an footlocker for over 80 years. They date back to the 1920's, and were taken all over the world. Enjoy!
Here is the link for the 2nd assignment. These are family photographs that have been stored in an footlocker for over 80 years. They date back to the 1920's, and were taken all over the world. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Week 2: Muddiest Point
I might have missed this in class, but my question is on the slide for common printers, slide 69. I was wondering what is the definition of a nonimpact printer? Do nonimpact printers have a counterpart, such as an impact printer? If so, what is the difference?
Week 3 Readings - Linux, Mac & Windows
1. Chapter 1. What is Linux?
Before reading this article, I had a limited knowledge of Linux. I knew that it was an open source software, and that it has a large online community of users. I didn't realize that Linux and Unix were similar programs, or that on a daily basis I use programs that use this code. Such as Firefox that uses Linux, or that Macs run on a Unix program.The online community that has been built around the use of Linux is fascinating, one example is that a bug can be corrected in just a few hours. While I understand it is an operating system with a large web based community, I don't understand how I would go about using the system on my computer. Do I just download the code, install it, and I suddenly have a new OS? Or do I have to build a computer system from the hardware up? I have just always been used to turning on a computer and having it ready to be used.
2. An Update on the Windows Roadmap
&3. What is Mac OS X?
From the blog on Windows, this creeped me out:
One of the key investments we made in Windows Vista was to create a comprehensive "telemetry system" that lets us gather anonymous information about how real customers are using Windows Vista, and what their experiences are with real applications and devices running on real systems. This has helped us prioritize the work of our development teams and of our hardware and software partners to make sure we have support for devices and applications. It also guided our work in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1).
I looked up telemetry system on wikipedia to see what it really was, and it is a wireless system of transferring data. While it may be anonymous and help with the problems in certain applications, what data are they collecting?
With Mac & Windows, both of these operating systems have had trouble with compatibility between older and newer versions. I found it interesting that the next version of OS X, snow leopard, will focus on stability of the operating system. This is nearly the same as the statement from windows wanting to make the transition from XP to Vista with windows 7 an easy transition.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Course Web Comments
https://courseweb.pitt.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_9047_1%26url%3D
In Tech Discussion in Response Susan Geiss' question on a Blog List.
In Tech Discussion in Response Susan Geiss' question on a Blog List.
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