My comments on Justin's blog....
My comments on Jenn's blog....
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
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)?
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)?
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, September 14, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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!
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!
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