Comments- Week 6

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Assignment 3- Personal Bibliography

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

-My three topics were Digital Libraries, Academic Libraries, and Medical Libraries.

-My articles are labeled "Project3googlescholar" for the ones from Zotero and Google scholar; and "Project3citeulike" for the ones I found on CiteULike.

Reading notes- week 6

-Computer Networks: The first two readings this week, (and the video), were all about computer networks. Computer networks can vary in size from a personal computer and printer for one person, all they way to the internet, with every size in between. Smaller networks can be connected through Ethernet cables or wireless. The meaning of the word network in a group of interconnected computers. It thought it was very interesting to see that the biggest form of network is called an internet, which is where the Internet got its name. I also was surprised to learn that the Internet is the "back-bone" of the World Wide Web, but it is not the same thing (I always through these were the same thing, and that the words could be used interchangeably). The article about LAN gave a more detailed description about what a local area network is. This is a computer network confined to one building. These were originally created in the 1980's so computers at the same business could share disk space and laser printers, both of which were very expensive at the time, and it made a lot of sense to share these. The video from You-Tube reminded me of last week's class when using You-Tube as an education tool in a library was discussed. This was a very easy to understand video about networks, and it explained very well what different types of networks exist, and how they are classified by size.
-Karen Coyle, RFID: The last reading we had this week was about the RFID. This is a device that is similar to barcode, because it is used to identify things. It is very different from barcodes, because it is read by an electromagnetic field, not by a laser. RFID chips are used in many things, from highway toll systems to lost pet IDs. These are different from barcodes, because they don’t have to be visibly scanned to be read, they can be scanned in multiples, can they could be used as a security device for libraries. This system is not used readily in Libraries yet, but Coyle anticipates that there may come a day when they are the only book id device used in libraries. I am not sure if this would be a good or bad technology for libraries to adopt. Much of what the RFID can do seemed like it would be helpful, but there were also many negative things listed, such as privacy issues. Over all, I am not sure which system would be best for libraries, the old barcode system, or the new RFID system.

muddiest point- week 5

Is the process of transmission of photos the same for transmission of videos? They are different storaged formats, so are they transmitted differently, or is it basically the same way?

comments- week 5

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Readings- week 5

-Data compression: The wikipedia reading was about the basic information behind what data compression is and why it is used. Data compression is compressing information or objects so they use less space (bits), and take less time to send. The person who is compressing and sending the information and the person receiving and decompressing the information must have the same encoding scheme. Once data is compressed, it must be decompressed to be accessed, and this can take time based on the type of file, especially a video. The second reading was very in-depth about what data compression is, what types of compression are available, and how it all works. This reading took some time to get through, and I am still not sure I fully understand. Lossless data compressing is a form of data compression in which the data is fully reconstructed when it is decompressed. Lossy data compression is when some aspects of the data is combined, and may not be able to be exactly the same when decompressed. The past about video compression said that videos are just sequential pictures, they can be compressed in a similar way as pictures, it just is more complicated.

-Galloway: This article was about a digital image collection where all the pictures center around Pittsburgh. The University of Pittsburgh received a grant to digitize many historical photos of Pittsburgh. I think this is a great idea, because it allows more people to access this material. This was one of the main reasons for this project, to bring these images to the public. One part of the article stated that, “metadata is the glue that holds this collection together.” They used the Microsoft Access database management system. I thought this article was interesting, because it had a lot to do with some of the things talked about in last week’s class. It also showed how digitization can be used in libraries and archives.

-Webb: This article is about how YouTube, the popular online video website, could be used to enhance libraries. YouTube is a free site that is easy to sign up for, and that anyone can use. Webb suggests that libraries could make short videos about their available sources, and post them on YouTube, with links to these videos on the library web page. This would allow Library patrons to see these videos from anywhere. This is one way that a website that is very popular could be used for educational purposes in a library.

muddiest points- week 4

What is the difference between a table database and a computer file system?

Metadata seemed to be a big topic with a lot of information, I am still not sure who creates metadata.

comments- week 4

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readings for week 4

The first article was about databases. I had no idea that databases have been around since the 1960’s. Databases are collections or records or data on a computer system. I never knew there was more than one type of database models. The hierarchical model makes sense to me as an organizing model, with every record relating to the one above it. The network model seemed like it might be the easiest to use, and it seemed to be the most flexible. In this model, records can relate to one-another, files can belong to multiple sets, and have multiple “parents. This made the most sense to me, because it allows larger, more diverse groups of files to exist separately from smaller groups, they don’t all have to be on levels. The relational model was very well organized, and seemed to me to be like a spreadsheet, because in this model there are columns and rows. I thought it was interesting also that databases are full of security, which is very important in our world today, these securities, such as encryption may prevent hackers from stealing personal information.
The article by Anne Gilliland was all about metadata, which is the data about data. This is a term used by information professionals, and can be referring to indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, and cataloging records. One important thing about metadata is content, which is the object it is about. The context of metadata is also important, it indicates the data’s importance regarding who, what where or how. These two are combined to make the structure of the metadata. I thought one thing that was important is that metadata does not have to be digital. One form of metadata that existed before the digital age is bibliographies.
The article on Dublin Core would not load on my computer, so I looked it up on Wikipedia, and found some information about it. The Dublin Core Model was founded in Dublin, Ohio, at an OCLC convention. Dublin core uses XML, which is a type of database model. The Dublin Core model makes it easier to find things on the web, because it describes them in an easier to use language. The “Core” is an element of a database.

Muddiest point- week 3

I was unclear as to whether de-fragmenting the system was mainly to fix or improve software, or if it affected the hardware.
I am not fully sure what the difference between free-ware and open source software is. (Is it that one can be edited and one cannot?)
One other thing I would like to mention, I am not sure if it was just me, but the Panopto for this week seemed to be slightly off. The slides did not match up to the video, they were about 10 minutes ahead of the video of class. This made it hard to follow the slides and the video.

Flickr- assignment 2

Here is the link to my flickr.com page for assignment 2:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30457213@N07/

comments, week 3

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Readings for week 3

These readings were all about computer operating systems. I personally have a Windows operating system, using XP. I have not switched over to Vista, and I have heard that there are problems with Vista. The website from this week's reading about Windows confirmed that Vista does have some problems. Windows has been the most popular operating system for years, but, as the website said, the release of Vista was very ambitious. The operating system changed many things, some of which were changed so much that older programs can no longer be used with Vista.
The websites about Mac OS X were very interesting. The first one was very hard to follow for me, since I know very little about computer programming. The wikipedia site helped me understand a bit better what the first site was about. I have always liked Macs, but never have owned one. When I bought my last computer, I debated about whether to get a Mac or PC, and I chose a PC. My sister got a Mac, and I think she made a good choice. Mac's operating system is easy to use, has very good graphics, and does not have problems with spyware. I think the next computer I get, whenever that ends up being, will be a Mac.
I thought the website about the Linux operating system was very informative. I didn't know very much about Linux before reading this information. I thought it was great that Linux is free! Linux is based on a UNIX system, and is written in C-programming language. Linux was, and still is, created by many people, it can be constantly updated, and runs without needing to reboot. All of this sounded good to me, except the website went on to say that Linux is not very user-friendly for new users, and that there are so many distributors it can be hard to know which to choose. I do not think that I will choose to switch to Linux, but I am glad I was able to learn that there is another option out there, which I knew very little about before.

muddiest point week 2

I was a little confused about storage hierarchy. I was not too sure what was meant by small (fast) places and large(slow places).

Comments week 2

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Comments- assignment 1

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week 1 readings

OCLC: This article is about the shift from consumers purchasing content with containers, to purchasing content alone. Containers are anything that holds information, such as a book, CD or DVD. Content is the information held in these. Consumers are more and more often purchasing the content alone, such as in e-books, or by paying 99cents for a song from Itunes. Miriam Williams, of the ALA, stated that it may get to the point that information becomes a commodity where nothing is free; she stated that one day we may pay 25 cents for a sentence. Blogs and wikis, which are user edited information forums, are also becoming more popular. These are created and edited by consumers and are usually free to access. Information is becoming a commodity in which almost nothing is free. I found this article to be very interesting; it had a lot to do with how libraries are evolving, and how they will probably be in the future.

Clifford Lynch: This article was written in 1998, but it had a lot to do with how technology is changing, and a lot of what it covered and predicted seems to be true still today. Lynch theorizes that information literacy will be essential, “for people to succeed in all walks of life.” This is certainly true, and will become even more so as time goes by.

Lied Library: This article, in my opinion, was very detailed; it had its interesting points, but a lot of it was very drawn out. I found it interesting that this library had to replace all of its computers within the four years since opening, to stay current in today’s technological world, and since this article was written, the computers may have been replaced again. In the Lied Library, there is a lot of money spent on everything, from staff, computers, security, and even a new air conditioner. This library is at the fore-front of technology, and because of this money must be spent to maintain this technology. I found it interesting that very little mention was made of books or journals available in paper-form. This article was solely about the technological aspects of the library, though being such a large library there must be an equally large book and journal collection.