12/8 Comments

YouTube Video

Viacom copyright violation

No Place to Hide

This kind of reminds me of the whole "pre-crime" thing from Minority Report. It would seem that, if this domestic spying idea is true, the US is trying to stop any home grown terror or crime before it starts. And I would think that if a person has nothing to hide, what would be the problem on a little domestic inquiry. I mean, if the government decides they want to listen on some of my conversations, texts, emails, whatever, I feel sorry for the guys they assign to listen to my friends and I. Let them listen to my stupid conversations if they actually and eventually get some hard intelligence about a possible event.

EPIC TIA

Again this is a domestic spying or human tracking that the government is currently working on. I mean I am all for personal rights and privacy, but I do not have anything to hide and if it does turn into some sort of ultra police state, simply deal with it for 4 years and vote in a new party. Our government is set up so that power is evenly distributed over many branches not just one. So if a majority gets voted into every single branch that is in favor of a police state, then as a country, we have more issues than the ruling party. All of this is just coming out now, how much do you think has gone on before this and how much more is currently happening? Out of sight, out of mind, I still use my vote and have a plethora of opportunities to voice my opinions about the current state of affairs. Hey, if not, remember remember the 5th of November.

12/1 Muddiest Point

Again, I am going to say I have no Muddiest Point for this week, as we are using blogs in class and we are children of the web 2.0 revolution.

12/1 Comments

Using a Wiki

Ah, Web 2.0. Wikis could be a fun and integral part of libraries. Instead of bogging down the Circulation desk with mind-numbing questions, patrons can refer to the library wiki. The wiki could be a constantly evolving thing adapting to the newest and strangest questions. There could even be a "was this helpful" kind of survey that will use statistics to point patrons in the right direction after a few clicks.

Academic Social Tagging

In a thought social tagging for the world of academia could be something useful and very good. Although someone is definitely going to have to monitor the tags and amke sure people are tagging the right things with the right tags. I think the good outweighs the bad though, the tags will eventually create an ease of access and allow users to precisely find what they are looking for and like materials.

Wikipedia!!!!

The creation of Wikipedia will probably go down in history as one of the best and most influential creations of the 21st century. A lot of people try to discredit Wikipedia, but I mean it is what it is. It is a socially generated reference encyclopedia, there is a lot of garbage on there but there is a lot more useful material on Wikipedia. Even if someone uses Wikipedia as a reference and clicks one of the many links associated with a given page, doesn't Wikipedia serve it's purpose? Don't get me wrong, I love Wikipedia, scanning through the various pages and trying to link various things together is a great (drinking) game (think Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but only using Wikipedia articles). Wikipedia is a great tool, but like Uncle Ben said, with great power comes great responsibility.

Weblogs and You

Blogs and libraries are kind of in the same boat as social tagging and libraries. On one hand they could be a useful tool, but on the other hand it could get ugly. If librarians start to blog and open the forum up for comments there could be some interesting posts from user and/or staff. So it will have to be monitored very closely and every word is going to have to be carefully scrutinized so that nothing bad comes of a post. Some of the examples in the article about a mouse not working can be done through twitter or something shorter not necessarily a whole blog post, but I feel like I am just being nit-picky with that.

FUNTASTIC WEBPAGE OF GOODNESS!!!

here's the link to my iweb made site!

iweb is fun. i chose the comic book layout to keep myself interested in the project and not get sidetracked with something. when commissioner gordon calls, you listen.

Muddiest Point

When are libraries and other academic institutions going to work together rather than keep jumping on the next big thing and stop working against each other using or promoting different systems? Google cannot take over the world and do everything.

This weeks notes.....

Digital Libraries

It's always interesting to see that Google is the main competition for any digital library or project that comes about. It is about time that many institutions are banding together and trying to make a splash in the world of digital libraries and actually try to compete with the Google model. Bill Nye should be excited that the NEH and all of the government programs are joining in on the crusade to establish a digital library. I was surprised to see NASA and the FBI on that list, but then again I'm sure an open access library could end up housing dangerous material and could pose a threat to national security. I guess we will see what becomes of it.

Dewey Meets Turing

This could be my favorite article ever. It honestly made digital libraries sound like some sort of evil secret plot against humanity. And anything that puts some sort of excitement into putting things in order in boxes makes me feel better. I mean really, "The Initiative?" totally a secret plot to destroy the world. The DLI could just be another clever acronym that is just a cover-up for something more sinister. I am not going to be surprised if I end up seeing James Bond walking around trying to foil any sort of plans. But regardless, as the Web grows, libraries and librarians are going to have to continue to work together and strengthen that connection to fight the good fight against copyright and intellectual property.

Institutional Repositories

This is basically a breakdown of all that is going on in the world of digital institutional repositories. Again, the ways of scholarly communication are constantly changing and putting more and more pressure on the institutions to create something new and also within the rights of intellectual property. Eventually all of the institutions are going to agree on a certain system and create an all digital library, but there are still many obstacles to overcome and no end in sight.

Muddiest Point - 11/17

The winner this week is going to have to be why care about the "Deep Web?" Does it really matter what is contained in the part of the web people rarely use? I mean if there is that much free money floating around that people can do studies about things no one uses, can I get in on any of that action?

Weekly Comments

David Hawking , Web Search Engines

So even Google let me down on this one. I could not get access to part 1 or 2, it kept referring me back to the current issue of Computer magazine.

Shreeves et al.

This is a fine example of academic writing at it's best. I could not get past the abstract and I was already lost. The abstract was full of run on sentences and I couldn't make heads or tails of the whole OAI data providers sentence. After reading the article as far as I can tell is that the whole Open Archives Initiatives Protocol for Metadata Harvesting turns out to be a big ado in the world of metadata tagging.

Bergman - The Deep Web

This was a really interesting article explaining how the web and search engines work. It basically explained how search engines work and the different protocols different engines work. It almost reinforces that only so much of the Web is actually used. Basically the 80/20 rule all over again.

Weekly Comments

My Comments on Christa's blog

My Comments on Jaime's blog

10/10 Muddiest Point

Muddiest Point.

I am going to go for two this week. First point will be why choose XML and not EML? XML just sounded cooler? Second Point will be, according to the Intro to XML article it states that DTD is not needed for XML, but yet all of the articles reference it and explain it. If it is not needed why bother including it in the talks?

10/10 Notes.... Week.....(mumble, mumble,mumble)

Intro to XML

Welcome to the wonderful world of awesome acronyms. This intro article provides a nice overview of extensible markup language (why not EML?). I have come to figure I have a terrible memory with acronyms and constantly find myself re-reading most things to go back and find what something means. It just turns into a Where's Waldo kind of game, it makes reading a lot more entertaining. As seeing as I do not have a XML programming background all of that information basically just flew right over my head but I believe I got the gist of all of it.

XML Standards and XML Tutorial

The Standards and Tutorial articles are both basically the same thing. Both articles delve deeper into the wonderful world of XML than the Intro article. All in all, I would need to refer to all three articles if I were to throw my hat into the age of acronyms. I am, however, starting to enjoy the W3Schools stuff, they really seem to think about their articles and what goes in.

Extending Your Markup

Or maybe I spoke too soon. I will probably just refer to this PDF rather than the other three, although my heart remains with the W3Schools. The "asides," if you will, make things a lot easier to understand. For example, the DTD information is much easier to follow and understand than most things.

Koha Assignment

Here is the link to my Koha book list!

As a running theme with my, I chose to do stuff out of my childhood. Some Eureeka's Castle, some Tiny Toon, even some AAAhh!!!! Real Monsters.

PS. Did anyone else know that Tiny Toons are released on DVD?!

Week 8...9....8.5 comments

My Comments on Christa's Blog

My Comments on Kelsey's Blog

Muddiest Point (10/27)

8 weeks into the term and I am finally going to say it..... I do not have a Muddiest Point for this week!

Week 8.... Take 8

HTML

This W3Schools method of teaching really appeals to me since I am a hands on learner. Rather than just explaining HTML to you, it encourages you to test it out for yourself and get actual experience instead of theoretical. Everything is broken down into easily readable sections and chapters. I highly enjoyed the "This is a ____" when talking about certain codes for HTML, as if the heading did not explain what was to follow.

HTML Cheat Sheet

The Cheat Sheet is basically a quick reference version of the W3Schools article without chapters. This gives you the quick version of the W3 article without all of the examples and explanations. For the next assignment, I will probably be referring to this rather than the W3 article, unless I am entirely lost in something.

CSS

The CSS article is basically set up the same at the W3 article and considering there is no cheat sheet associated with CSS, I will probably be referring to this. But there is a table of contents on the left hand side of the web page so it basically is a self contained cheat sheet but you have to put a little extra work into it.

To Infinity and Beyond HTML

I highly enjoy when we get an article actually explaining how we are going to use a topic in our field. This is a prime example of it. The new generation of librarians is going to need to adapt to the new job descriptions. Very soon librarians are basically going to have to run their own IT department and be able to troubleshoot any technical problem that comes up. As stated in this article librarians are going to be expected to be able to update the library web site and make it usable and presentable to the public.

Muddiest Point 10/20

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point this week have to go to IP addresses. With the use of static and non-static IP addresses, is there going to be a time when every IP address is in use? Or a time when a person will not be able to connect to the internets because all of the connection points are taken? I know there are some 4.3 billion combinations and this is highly unlikely. But just in case, do the internets get too big to sustain itself and Web 100.0 will have to explore new connection points?

Week 7 ..... Take 7

The Internets

I love Howstuffworks.com it is such an entertaining website to go to to figure how to fix something or just to kill time. This article on the internets shed some light on how my magic wireless connects me to the world wide web. I never knew what any of the acronyms stood for, if anything at all. There was a very good use of pictures on the article to explain a kind of complex idea. I would have to say the POP, NAP, Backbone, then Internets picture was the best clearing up something that was foggy to me due to all of the technical jargon.

Google

I mean all of the conspiracy theories about Googles taking over the world can't be true right? Come on, who else would have a gigantic wall that showed where Google was being used all over the world in real time? Bond Villains that's who. Don't be surprised if you read one day that Sergey and Larry actually did buy Iceland and then received a visit from James Bond and MI6. When I first saw the time on the video, I was not too excited, but the guys from Google delivered a very entertaining 20 minutes. It's nice to see that Google is basically allowing for people to be creative and follow what they want to do. Google has such a ridiculous hold on the Internets that allowing this freedom is not hurting them one bit. Plus with Google Grants they are actually giving back to the communities that use them. I hope I have future bosses that can still kid around with laser pointers.

Dismantling Integrated Library Systems

I didn't really pick up on the main point of this article. Pace seemed to flip flop on every section whether he was for change in ILS or not. In the third section he says "Not only is creating a completely new ILS unrealistic, but Roland Dietz, Endeavor's president and CEO, suggests that even "incremental functionality improvements [to existing systems] are more and more expensive." But then in the following section he says "Libraries will benefit from these new solutions, and many will choose to purchase the products from their ILS vendor, with whom there is often a strong relationship." Then he goes back to saying how expensive a change will be coupled with problems of a new system. And then in conclusion he brings up the open source movement and how it will help library systems. I understand the importance of ILS and how they effect the transfer of information, but I don't think Pace can figure out what side of the fence he wants to be on.

Assignment 4

Jing Video Link - How to beat World One of the Original Super Mario Brothers.... WITH MUSIC!!!

Super Tips, Secrets, and Tricks to World One of the Original Super Mario Brothers.

World 1-1 Secret 1

World 1-1 Secret 2

World 1-2 Secret 1

World 1-2 Secret 2

Bowser's Castle Spoiler

Week 6 Comments

My comments on Rachel's blog

My comments on Christie's blog

Assignment 3 - zotero and CiteULike.

http://www.citeulike.org/user/djdougan2

There's the link to my library. I tried to get things that interested me some intelligent links, some not so much. You would be suprised how little there is in the way of articles on cartoons and muppets.....

Weekend Update (comments .... Take 6)

Common types of networks video
I had to watch the video quite a few times to figure out if Mr. Relativity actually said anything of substance. This is one instance where a Wikipedia article would actually suffice instead of this. All he did in the video was define what PAN, LAN, WAN, CAN, and MAN are. In this situation I feel like a simple list of definitions would suffice rather than an obviously nervous man telling me on Youtube. In some cases he starts to almost make a point but then stops and tries to segue into the next network. I think the Norbert would agree with me, this was almost... interesting...

Local Area Network
I am glad I watched the video on Youtube before I read this article. If one were to combine the video and article into one presentation, it would be perfect. This article breaks down the history of LAN (ps. one of the first networks codenamed "Octopus". awesome) and offers deeper information about local area networks. Who knew there were that many companies competing for the actual LAN programming and even the cables used. It''s nice to see another company other than Microsoft coming out with something that turns out to be the standard.

Computer Networks
The grandaddy of them all. This article is like the Rose Bowl of Wikipedia computer network articles. It encompasses all phases of any network. Depending on how you read the articles, this would either be new or repeated information. But where this differs from all the other articles is it has more information regarding the the other aspects of computer networks. After reading this WIkipedia page it made the newest CSI: NY episode make a lot more sense. The killer was using technology to commit murders and the CSI's were using the technical jargon of switches, hubs, bridges, IP, etc. I got what they were trying to say and what the killer was actually doing through some pretty nice animations, but now I get the actual and technical aspect of it.

RFID in Libraries
Karen Coyle brings up the problem of privacy with RFID chips, but I don't understand what the actual problem would be? The library would have RFID scanners to scan the book to make it easier on librarians and patrons. At what point is privacy invaded? The library already has all of the information on the borrow because of a library card so why would it matter that you can just walk out of the library with your books and just by pass the whole check out process? RFIDs will make things easier, which I am all for.

Muddiest Point

(see RFID chips)

Week 5 Comments

My comments on Justin's blog....

My comments on Jenn's blog....

Weekly Comments .... Take 5

Data Compression (wiki and dvd-hq)

I really love wikipedia articles, they are my favorite. I never could have figured out on my own that Data Compression means compressed data. Thanks editors of wikipedia for clearing that up. I never would have thought of a JPEG as a compressed file. I guess I always figured it was just the type of file rather than a compression like the ZIP files I was more accustomed to. My favorite type of compression? the OGG Vorbis files. I always get a kick out of these files when going on etree or dreamingtree to download live concerts. I have to say though that the wikipedia article was surprisingly more understandable than the dvd-hq one. Some of the examples in the dvd-hq article were hard to understand and I had to stare at them for a while. Although the picture graphs in the same article were a welcome site breaking down the amount of compression expected in a given file.

YouTube and Libraries

YouTube is a very informative website, but it also is a blackhole. How many times has someone gone onto YouTube looking for something specific only to click on the "related videos" section and got lost in the hours of fun. I definately think YouTube should be an option for libraries in the future since veveryone is getting used to Web 2.0 and all of its social networking capabilities. People would be able to refer to YouTube for instructions or how to fix common problems and let the library staff concentrate on more important tasks.


Imaging Pittsburgh

I really enjoyed this article. It was a change to actually read something that was happening in Pittsburgh. Reading this article boosted my hopes of getting a job in Pittsburgh after graduating. Granted this was printed 5 years ago, but the project would seem to be an on going thing and it would be interesting to be involved something like that, especially here. Anyways, it's nice to see local places getting grants to preserve things about Pittsburgh. Who knows, after the G20 all of the world leaders could send more money this way thanks to Pamela's pancakes.

Muddiest Point

This week's winner would have to be the expected amount of compression of a file. I understood the charts on the dvd-hq article SHOWING the expected compression, but I must have missed the actual science behind it. I know from experience trying to compress files into one zip file, the compression was not that much. Maybe because I am trying to compress already compressed files (mp3, jpeg, etc)?

Blog Comments Week 4.

My comments on Andy's Blog

My Comments on Erin's Blog

Weekly Readings .... Take 4!

Database

This is a typical Wikipedia article to me; tons of information, absolutely no structure. There is such a ridiculous amount of abbreviations that go unexplained, it really takes away from the article. I've probably heard of a couple of the abbreviations but not all of them. I got lost half way through the article trying to figure out what was referencing what and where it was explained. Regardless, I think I caught the gist of the article and figured out some of the intricacies of databases.

Metadata

The metadata article is put together better than the Wikipedia article but I still got lost in all of the information in it. Especially for the first article in a series, there is a ton of definitions thrown at you in a glorified introduction. I like the idea of adding charts and diagrams to try and make sense of all of the different forms of metadata and all of its variations. Who knew there was the much on metadata to talk about? After getting through the denser beginning part of the article, the "Primary Functions of Metadata, Some Little-Known Facts about Metadata, and Why Is Metadata Important?" sections help lift the fog quite a bit but there is still a lot to digest.

Dublin Core

All of these people that wrote and edited these articles must really like acronyms. I was fine with this article until I got to the "programming(?)" part talking about Michaelangelo being a painter and working on the Sistine Chapel. I understand the theory behind the DCMI, but I doubt I would be able to put it into practice. In theory, the DCMI sounds like a great idea to universally code things to make it easier to find whatever you are looking for. Then once you have found what you are looking for (easy Bono), the results will lead you to other similar things.


Muddiest Point(s)

There is a lot to chose from this week, but I am going to have to go with the DCMI and its structure. Like i said above, I get the theory, but I do not get all of the examples the article uses. I am going to assume that it is because I have absolutely no programming or coding in my background. I'll use their example. I know that Michaelangelo was a painter and worked on the Sisten Chapel. The more I look at it, I believe that the examples are supposed to build on one another and show how the DCMI will allow a system to make connections between information, but the coding language is completely foreign to me.

Flickr Assignment!

Here is the link to my flickr set!

Flickr itself is pretty easy to use. However, I decided to use Pixlr.com to edit the resolutions of my pictures. For some reason Pixlr kept crashing Firefox right as I would click to save my edits. So that made things interesting. I tried to pick some objects and photos that would kind of explain and give some insight to me. Other than Firefox crashing, I might start using flickr and pixlr a lot more now!

Week 3 Comment

My comment on Ashley's Blog....

Blog Comments Week 1 and Week 2

Week 1!

Page 6 Comment on Shannon's Blog

Clifford Comment on Erin's Blog

Week 2!

Cost comment on Jon's Blog

Weekly Readings ... Take 3

Windows

This would be the OS that I personally have the most experience with. It has always just been the operating system that my family decided to use starting with Windows 3.1. Any version of Windows has always basically just been something that got me to what I wanted. I've never tinkered with it to a certain extent other that to make sure my favorite game worked. My only questions involve Windows Vista and the article on Windows brought some of them to light. With all of the security measures Vista has taken against various attackers, at what point does the levels of security just become an annoyance? I know you'd rather be safe than sorry, but does it really have to ask me if I am sure if I want to run a non-Microsoft approved program?
Another question is why did Vista have all of the compatibility issues with software and hardware? Did they just rush the release? Why not just take the extra time you needed and put the sound version out, it's not like Microsoft needed the money or the market share. The email/article also state that Windows 7 is based off of the Vista architecture so there will be no more compatibility issues with Windows 7. So why not base Vista off of the XP architecture and rush the release but not have any compatibility issues?

Mac OSX

I loved the fact that the Wikipedia article had to explain that it is not called OS (ecks) but OS (ten). Just another reason why I love Wikipedia. Anyway, OSX was my first Mac experience, I bought a iBook my junior year at PITT and I loved it when I first got it, but after a while became disappointed. Out of the box, the iBook was very easy to use and very open. Everything was up front and all of the programs you wanted were simply on the dock at the bottom of the screen. There are some neat features of OSX like the Dashboard and what not, but all of that did not keep me entertained. I'm not saying I am a PC Fanboy, I just found out that I am not an Apple kind of person.

Unix/Linux

I have never used a Linux based system knowingly. I read through the article and it said that some phones and PDAs are based on the Linux build, but I never really looked into it. The article explained the beginnings of Linux as Unix and made it seem like Linux was the universal pick for an original OS. The article gave me the opinion that Linux is very easy to use but it just takes a little bit of computer know how and a little elbow grease. I am a big open source supporter and any Linux build is open source. I really enjoy that Dell and other companies are trying to embrace the open souce and selling computers loaded with the Ubuntu OS.

Muddiest Point.

In the Linux/Unix article it gives the impression that Unix was basically the first OS available to the computer world. I understand that this is a competition based economy and naturally difrerent operating systems would come about, but why not continue with the Linux/Unix architecture? Why did we have to come out with 3 major systems that run on completely different programming? Everything is gravitating back to universal compatibility, but there are still a lot of things that work for Windows, or OSX, or a Linux based OS that are not cross-compatible with the other operating systems.

Thoughts.... Take 2 ... Less is Moore

Computer History Museum
I had no idea that the Computer History Museum existed until I flipped through their website. Diving more into their website though, yielded some pretty interesting finds. I am a sucker for the history of things and their Online Exhibits section is quite entertaining to me. The Babbage Engine looks really interesting and I would love to be the guy in the video that turns the cog to get the machine running.

Moore's Law
(see Muddiest Point)

Personal Computer
Being a child of the computer generation, having access to a personal computer has always been a privilege I have had. Whenever we first got our original Packard Bell computer you could not pull my sister and I away from it. We were always finding new things, especially games, to play around with on it. Usually I was the one that ended up playing with the new "expensive" toy the most. Especially when something broke, I was the one that got to put in the new hard drive or the new cd burner. It was fun learning on the fly what SATA cables were or making sure to put some cardboard down as to not shock the system and then have to replace the memory because of the static shock. I have not really broken into the world of the laptop yet, but I am working on adding that to my resume.

Muddiest Point
I do not really understand the whole concept of Moore's Law. It does not pertain to anything of then the world of computers and its peripherals. Even in the video the girl states that eventually the transistors are going to become so small that they will not be able to work. So what happens to Moore's Law then? Why do we need a law for something that we have complete control over? In 1965 when Moore first published his article about everything doubling every 2 years, most people did not think that everyone would have access to cheap computers that could fit on one's lap. It was only a matter of science fiction that people would own computers that could fit into a single room rather than a single house. So at what point do we ratify this "Moore's Law" and just take it for what reality really is? Technology is obviously going to continually evolve and become smaller and more efficient it is not going to get worse new breakthroughs are happening constantly. Moore is one of the original founders of Intel so maybe he just included it as his business model to sell future shares of Intel. With those hilarious new Intel ads out it seems to have worked out pretty well for Intel.

Thoughts .... Take 1

Lied Library
After reading the article I am glad the Lied Library at UNLV set such a precedent and trend with other university libraries as well as public libraries. Since computer technology is constantly advancing, Lied Library started with the best technology available and set a goal of 3 year replacement plan. To me, the 3 year plan seems a little bit lofty the way the economy has turned and as schools begin to cut programs in all areas, 3 years will turn to 4 and so on. Does anyone know if Hillman copied their renovations after this? Most of the things mentioned in the article I have seen there, especially the laptop borrowing system.

Info and IT Literacy
Since the world is quickly becoming more closely connected with ever new social news, media, or networking site that pops up, information literacy is quickly becoming a necessity. All of the applications on facebook, twitter, the blogosphere, or even for the new smart phones, people are quickly having to catch up with all of the new tech and trends out.

Info Trends
A good follow up article to the Infro and IT Literacy one. This just shows the trends toward the digital age. A couple members of my family have worked for the USPS and I have heard how much less mail is being sent as opposed to email and other electronic messages. It almost seems as if the post office is quickly moving toward the private sector rather government run. Everyone is sending emails rather than mail for the instant connection rather than waiting the day or two to correspond.

Muddiest Point.... take 1
So I am going to take the easiest way out on the first Muddiest Point of the season. As we were leaving class the other day, Muddy points were the hot topic. There was a girl going down the steps behind me that said "What if there are no muddy points? Am I supposed to act stupid and just say something is muddy to look dumber?" Kudos to you Girl on Stairs. I agree I am sure there will be somethings that some people get and others don't and something that I more than likely do not get. But do we just propose something to fill this space? Discuss.... GO!