So the subject raised is "preparing" for future shock. How does one do this? My thoughts travel back to New Years Eve 1999 when the Y2K bug was going to cause mass destruction on a global scale and we would witness the end of the Internet as we knew it... people were very stressed about this and took grandiose precautions to make their systems safe.
Their preparation was successful I suppose because nothing happened. What we prepare for now may be the latest version of Y2K. A form of scare mongering generated by those who like to live life on the pessimistic side. I am not the type of person who will always sees a silver lining but I do have a level of acceptance of what will be will be.
Ultimately the future of the Internet with regard to security, bandwidth, wifi, web 2 and 3.0 and everything else we can ponder is just so difficult to pin down. I am all for change and would embrace it whatever it may be but I just think that it is a case of rolling with the punches for now. Future shock in my opinion will be a good thing, nothing stays the same and with the growth of the Internet we are bound to rediscover better, faster, smaller, bigger, easier ways to do everything.
Internet2 was good to look at, and I was really pleased to discover more on GENI. The National Science Federations experimental network. The update on this page was made on the 31 July 2008 so it doesn't get more recent than that! Impressive. It is comforting to know that there is research being done and that it is being done successfully. Planetlab is similar and they are also conduction their own research and nutting out ways to improve our connectivity.
Preparation? I think we are in good hands and the only preparation I plan to do is lots of reading. Information is key and the only way I can better understand what will/won't happen is by simply remaining informed. The changes I make will be more of a personal nature I think and I am already seeing the beginnings of it. Interest being taken on a subject where before there was none.. the first step to feeling powerful is to be educated. I'm on my way in an academic sense so I won't be building a bunker in the backyard anytime soon and I will be ready for any shocking future developments that will descend upon me. Hopefully I will be up to date and know it when I see it. I think that is all I can do at this point.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Future Shock
I just came across this podcast of an interview with Dr Vint Cerf. It is quite good, and he has a sense of humour which I liked. It accompanies a blog that I stumbled across that the interviewer (Tom Raftery) keeps and he has logged his questions and the minutes as they occur so you can navigate through it if you want to.
On further investigation I noticed a few other interesting podcasts including a weblog one which I might listen to next.
On further investigation I noticed a few other interesting podcasts including a weblog one which I might listen to next.
Is the Internet Broken?
"Clark argues that it's time to rethink the Internet's basic architecture, to potentially start over with a fresh design -- and equally important, with a plausible strategy for proving the design's viability, so that it stands a chance of implementation. "It's not as if there is some killer technology at the protocol or network level that we somehow failed to include," says Clark. "We need to take all the technologies we already know and fit them together so that we get a different overall system. This is not about building a technology innovation that changes the world but about architecture -- pulling the pieces together in a different way to achieve high-level objectives."(Talbot 2005)
This is a paragraph from the David Talbot review of David D Clarke's research for the MIT lab on the future of the Internet. I think this is a very insightful view into Internet security and other flaws that are concentrated on within the site.
This was written in December of 2005 and the National Science Federation (NSF) states that a large amount of funding has afforded them the possibility of devising "a five to seven year plan... to develop clean-slate architectures". Three years on I would love an update... hold that thought.
Ok, here is an update for all of you on the NSF's research. This is actually a really good read, I enjoyed it. It is an unusually positive upbeat approach to the future which I have come to learn by now that those types of articles are rare. Most things written on the Internet are not very optimistic. This was..read into it what you will.
Three Wishes for a Future Internet
GENI Project Will Soon Be At Your Command
Written and released on the 21st May 2007.
The GENI network
"The Global Environment for Network Innovation, or GENI, is envisioned as a set of components including optical substrates, forwarders, storage, process clusters, sensor fields, and wireless regions combined with a software management framework. That configuration will allow researchers to run thousands of experiments simultaneously."(Fuller, 2007)
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
"GENI will give scientists a clean slate on which to imagine a completely new Internet that will likely be materially different from that of today. We want to ensure that this next stage of transformation will be guided by the best possible network science, design, experimentation, and engineering," said principal investigator and project director Chip Elliott of BBN.
Once again I have digressed a little but in my exploration of the future of the Internet I have come out feeling all warm and fuzzy instead of filled with dread that 'net neutrality' and a million other terrible things lie in store for us.
I feel comforted by the fact that the NSF have got it under control to a degree and I have faith that it will all work out. I have now bookmarked the NSF site and know that with NET11 closing in on me this is the deciding factor that I needed to be aware that I have become the Internet nerd I always knew was within.
References:
Talbot, D. (2005) Technology Review: The Internet Is Broken. Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16051&ch=infotech&pg=2
Fuller, N. (2007) The National Science Federation: Three Wishes for a future Internet Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=109589
This is a paragraph from the David Talbot review of David D Clarke's research for the MIT lab on the future of the Internet. I think this is a very insightful view into Internet security and other flaws that are concentrated on within the site.
This was written in December of 2005 and the National Science Federation (NSF) states that a large amount of funding has afforded them the possibility of devising "a five to seven year plan... to develop clean-slate architectures". Three years on I would love an update... hold that thought.
Ok, here is an update for all of you on the NSF's research. This is actually a really good read, I enjoyed it. It is an unusually positive upbeat approach to the future which I have come to learn by now that those types of articles are rare. Most things written on the Internet are not very optimistic. This was..read into it what you will.
Three Wishes for a Future Internet
GENI Project Will Soon Be At Your Command
Written and released on the 21st May 2007.
The GENI network"The Global Environment for Network Innovation, or GENI, is envisioned as a set of components including optical substrates, forwarders, storage, process clusters, sensor fields, and wireless regions combined with a software management framework. That configuration will allow researchers to run thousands of experiments simultaneously."(Fuller, 2007)
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
"GENI will give scientists a clean slate on which to imagine a completely new Internet that will likely be materially different from that of today. We want to ensure that this next stage of transformation will be guided by the best possible network science, design, experimentation, and engineering," said principal investigator and project director Chip Elliott of BBN.
Once again I have digressed a little but in my exploration of the future of the Internet I have come out feeling all warm and fuzzy instead of filled with dread that 'net neutrality' and a million other terrible things lie in store for us.
I feel comforted by the fact that the NSF have got it under control to a degree and I have faith that it will all work out. I have now bookmarked the NSF site and know that with NET11 closing in on me this is the deciding factor that I needed to be aware that I have become the Internet nerd I always knew was within.
References:
Talbot, D. (2005) Technology Review: The Internet Is Broken. Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16051&ch=infotech&pg=2
Fuller, N. (2007) The National Science Federation: Three Wishes for a future Internet Retrieved 11th August 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=109589
Little Miss Contradiction
Oh, typical of me really. I have just posted and read back my first "future shock" post. I guess I will have egg on my face... All of the predictions I thought more on the ridiculous side if looked at from a literal point of view can kind of be meshed in with the whole "cyber" thing I guess.
I just read the quotes and took it from a complete physical realistic sense, and well, lets face it there isn't going to be a medium provided by the Internet that will allow time travel will there??Will there??? Maybe I will be shocked by "future shock"! Maybe I have been too hasty in my judgement of the predictions. Really, the only one I think deserves some slack is the one by Deb.
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
Those of you reading this who have done or are doing NET12 will know what I mean.. I have to say that again, I took this to mean in the literal sense ie teleporting, but it could also mean to quote William Gibson, "consensual hallucination". So Deb I will cut you some slack but I still think it is a little presumptuous, which really is what the site is all about so I am thoroughly confused by myself.
Hmmm.
References:
Gibson, W. (1984) Neuromancer, Ace Books
I just read the quotes and took it from a complete physical realistic sense, and well, lets face it there isn't going to be a medium provided by the Internet that will allow time travel will there??Will there??? Maybe I will be shocked by "future shock"! Maybe I have been too hasty in my judgement of the predictions. Really, the only one I think deserves some slack is the one by Deb.
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
Those of you reading this who have done or are doing NET12 will know what I mean.. I have to say that again, I took this to mean in the literal sense ie teleporting, but it could also mean to quote William Gibson, "consensual hallucination". So Deb I will cut you some slack but I still think it is a little presumptuous, which really is what the site is all about so I am thoroughly confused by myself.
Hmmm.
References:
Gibson, W. (1984) Neuromancer, Ace Books
Preparing For Future Shock
Predicting the outcome of the Internet is a difficult thing to do as there are so many individual users that could alter the 'ecology' of the Internet but also big businesses that have their own ideas about the path it should take. Thinking about a bottom line, I wonder what are the strongest motivations for users.
There is the monetary minded, the social and political aspects and also of course, the communicative and information spheres. Will any one of these become overly more dominant than the other in time? As an advanced user, I am now obligated to keep my finger on the Internet pulse and keep up with all of the newer trends that arise.
I considered the term 'shock' and came to think that it is a slight exaggeration. I don't think that the future of the Internet will 'shock' anyone. Whichever way is goes, there will be many for and against but ultimately we will all conform. Those of us with advanced skills will be able to use our knowledge for bettering the situation where we think it is necessary and of course take advantage of those areas that are more exposed.
The following areas for discussion found on the Module 5 curriculum page were:
I just loved the "bit of fun" link Imagining the Internet the predictions are from the sublime to the ridiculous and I enjoyed a few of these which I will quote below, for more just click the link but be warned, you cannot stop at reading just one...
"The internet will extrapolate … dimensions…??We will be able to get in touch with our relatives, our friends and other people who had passed away." - Marco Veado
"Human consciousness will be encoded. Space travel is as simple as beaming out copies of your consciousness. Cloning won't be a problem; copying your brain will." - Stuart
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
"Quantum computing will allow a limited form of time travel that allows information to move through time. In other words, we will be able to develop a form of computer memory that retains data before it has been written. I could e-mail a librarian 300 years away and get a response instantly." Steve Swiller (armchair philosopher and a dreamer)
There is the monetary minded, the social and political aspects and also of course, the communicative and information spheres. Will any one of these become overly more dominant than the other in time? As an advanced user, I am now obligated to keep my finger on the Internet pulse and keep up with all of the newer trends that arise.
I considered the term 'shock' and came to think that it is a slight exaggeration. I don't think that the future of the Internet will 'shock' anyone. Whichever way is goes, there will be many for and against but ultimately we will all conform. Those of us with advanced skills will be able to use our knowledge for bettering the situation where we think it is necessary and of course take advantage of those areas that are more exposed.
The following areas for discussion found on the Module 5 curriculum page were:
- Further penetration of broadboand
- Increasing delivery of multimedia – video, voice etc;
- Increasing security & authentification – smartcards, digital signatures etc
- Wifi / portable computing / communication devices
- Intelligent agents
- Semantic web
I just loved the "bit of fun" link Imagining the Internet the predictions are from the sublime to the ridiculous and I enjoyed a few of these which I will quote below, for more just click the link but be warned, you cannot stop at reading just one...
"The internet will extrapolate … dimensions…??We will be able to get in touch with our relatives, our friends and other people who had passed away." - Marco Veado
"Human consciousness will be encoded. Space travel is as simple as beaming out copies of your consciousness. Cloning won't be a problem; copying your brain will." - Stuart
"The internet will transport us to any location we'd like, regardless of our geographical location." - Deb
"Quantum computing will allow a limited form of time travel that allows information to move through time. In other words, we will be able to develop a form of computer memory that retains data before it has been written. I could e-mail a librarian 300 years away and get a response instantly." Steve Swiller (armchair philosopher and a dreamer)
I am going to have serious egg on my face if any of this comes into fruition. Thankfully most of the predictions are going to take place in a hundred years or so, so I won't be here to see it anyway...unless someone predicts that eternal life will be possible on the internet in well, a hundred or so years...
This site doesn't just highlight the way out there stuff, some of the predictions have been really close and the edgier ones are a good read. I have to admit though that I spent the majority of my time looking for the most far out one.
On a more serious note, the UCLA Internet report on Surveying the Digital Future by J.I. Cole PhD is an interesting read. I took particular interest in the section titled "View About Online Contacts and Friendships", I found some of the results there surprising. You can find them on page 38 of the linked document if you are interested in it.
Well, I am off to read up on David Talbot's "The Internet is Broken".
References:
Allen M (n.d) Net 11 Curricullum Module 5. Retrieved August 10th 2008.
http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home
Cole J. I., Surveying the Digital Future. Retrieved August 10th 2008
http://www.digitalcenter.org/pdf/InternetReportYearOne.pdfMonday, July 28, 2008
Jail Time for iPirates?
iPirates risk jail time in customs frisk
"MUSIC fans might soon have their iPods searched by Customs officers at airport checks and face jail if a large amount of pirated music is found on them."(Gilchrist, 2008)The headline in todays paper that grabbed my attention having just read and written about this subject.
I can't help but think that our customs officials are busy enough without having to randomly check iPods for pirated songs. How ridiculous is this idea!
iPirates puhlease..
Gilchrist, Inga. (2008, 28th July) The Daily Telegraph
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,24089084-5013414,00.html
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Camtasia.. Camtastic!
I have myself a new tool and it is lots of fun.
Ever since Zeak opened with the video for his telnet blog entry way back in the beginning of this course I have been wanting to have a crack at it. This was my gazillionth attempt because I kept getting the codes wrong. It is hard when doing it 'live', the pressure! When I didn't get the codes wrong or make spelling errors I was paranoid that my typing wasn't quick enough.. In the end I tried to convince myself that I wouldn't be made fun of, and now none of that nonsense matters because I feel very triumphant that it is here, slow typing and all..
Ever since Zeak opened with the video for his telnet blog entry way back in the beginning of this course I have been wanting to have a crack at it. This was my gazillionth attempt because I kept getting the codes wrong. It is hard when doing it 'live', the pressure! When I didn't get the codes wrong or make spelling errors I was paranoid that my typing wasn't quick enough.. In the end I tried to convince myself that I wouldn't be made fun of, and now none of that nonsense matters because I feel very triumphant that it is here, slow typing and all..
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Case Study: Peer to Peer
So most of us have heard of it and many of us utilise the capabilities afforded through file sharing, but how much of what we are doing is legal and how many of us feel guilty about downloading using Bit Torrents and then sharing our files with other users?
P2P as Software/technical network
Piracy is Good?
Considering the illegality of peer to peer (P2P) when listening to the Mark Pesce's lecture on file sharing television programs is almost baffling. Here we have a system that will distribute your program faster and more efficiently than ever before and the reaction is to prevent it from happening. I understand the workings of media and I know the implications that this style of file sharing imposes, but would the producers of Dr Who or Battlestar Gallactica be celebrating such success if their programs had not been available for download prior to the actual release date.
I think of file sharing as cyber word of mouth. The ability to have your product widely distributed and appreciated is key when establishing a product. Some would argue that P2P is destroying the money making abilities of the artist in the case of music or producers for television programs, but that really isn't the case in my opinion. Yes, I am playing the Devils advocate and supporting the view that free downloads do not rob the creative industries.
Downloading songs and TV shows using Bit Torrents these days are common occurrences. Friends divulge their dirty secret not in hushed tones reserved for regular criminal activity but rather unabashedly. While I am not an advocate for piracy or theft of any kind and do not normally condone breaking the law, I do not think the example of downloading a song for personal use should be akin to a major DVD burning and bootlegging syndicate, and actually believe that the home user may be doing the artist a favour.
Many home users who do use Bit Torrents for downloading music, shows and movies have been to many live gigs and bought t-shirts, sought out TV box sets of favourite shows and purchased additional software to accompany what had been downloaded using P2P. All things that without having been exposed to them first using P2P maybe would not have been done. Monies generated by the add-on purchases by going to see live music or buying the box set for the extra features is substantial and artists and producers really have file sharing to thank for the extra marketing that the exposure is earning them. It makes music/shows/movies etc aimed at a small demographic more widely distributed and the likelihood of your work being seen is increased when released in this format.
Coldplay and Radiohead and two recent bands that released their new albums online. Radiohead launched a "pay what you think its worth" campaign that became widely accepted and people loved that, without fully realising it was in itself a marketing ploy to further expose the music. Coldplay launched their album Viva La Vida (Death and all of his friends) exclusively on iTunes for a similar reason. Both of these sat at the top of the charts for weeks and were talked about endlessly. When either band tours, the exposure will have done them a favour and their money will be awarded in merchandise and ticket sales.
I also think that the product has a bit of exclusivity about it and makes it more special because there is no hard copy. Many diehard music buffs will tell you that they buy the CD for the cover, when there isn't one it drives the fans to research the album more. Doing that is increasing awareness which is great for the band. It's really a very smart way to go.
Information Transfer and Community
Information transfer within this type of establishment was anything but the controversial topic it is today, and is in fact still used to transport information that is not copyright and therefore not illegal. P2P is an established way to communicate and as a decentralized network invites all to join in. It tends to be a collaborative exercise individuals want to be a part of.
‘Henry Jenkins, Playing Our Song? Henry Jenkins discusses the napster community.
Peer-to-peer excites people because they can participate and make a difference. Even something as impersonal as SETI@home, where users downloaded software that performed calculations in the background, attracted millions of volunteers. And many said they did it because they felt like they were part of something. Just think how much more sense of ownership and pride can evolve around systems where you share ideas and content that have personal meaning to you.
(Andy Oram, editor O'Reilly P2P. openp2p.com)
Security and Privacy
In the article titled "Is Your Computer Talking to Strangers?" by Gene and Katie Hamilton, we have a brief lesson in good versus evil. The MAD magazine analogy of Spy Vs Spy used to describe the dangers of file sharing because we do not know who we are dealing with was a great way to catch my attention at the perfect time. Nothing like a comic strip to get the message across after a day of reading and researching.
Basically, the dangers of other peers spreading adware and spyware is nothing new. We have all at some stage received spam emails or looked at dodgy sites. It's keeping your wits about you and having in place some good software to combat these nasties.
Spychecker is a link provided in the curriculum that provides information and lists on available downloads that will help with things like privacy and security associated with P2P.
Socio-political Considerations
We now know that the impact P2P has on creative industries is not good. I would like to explore the notion that it could be great but isn't because of narrow minded individuals in very high places who dislike change and are scared about the adaptation that will inevitably take place.
The evolution of the Internet pairing up the likes of P2P file sharing and Web 2.0 communities is slowly emerging properly. Coupling the best aspect of entertainment, that you can share it and love it and talk about it with your friends.
To discover a new band that isn't played on the radio or like a television program that isn't shown in prime time or worse yet has been pulled mid season is very frustrating. Not making these things available to people is ridiculous when the platform is there waiting to be exploited in the best possible way.
References
Devonshire, Annette. 27 Oct 2004 (EST) M/Cyclopedia: Peer-to-Peer - Other Uses
http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Peer-to-Peer_-_Other_Uses
Retrieved 19 July 2008
P2P as Software/technical network
- ‘How the old Napster worked’
- An Introduction to Peer-to-Peer Computing - David Barkai (Intel)
- Youtube version of "Piracy is Good?" by Mark Pesce
Piracy is Good?
Considering the illegality of peer to peer (P2P) when listening to the Mark Pesce's lecture on file sharing television programs is almost baffling. Here we have a system that will distribute your program faster and more efficiently than ever before and the reaction is to prevent it from happening. I understand the workings of media and I know the implications that this style of file sharing imposes, but would the producers of Dr Who or Battlestar Gallactica be celebrating such success if their programs had not been available for download prior to the actual release date.
I think of file sharing as cyber word of mouth. The ability to have your product widely distributed and appreciated is key when establishing a product. Some would argue that P2P is destroying the money making abilities of the artist in the case of music or producers for television programs, but that really isn't the case in my opinion. Yes, I am playing the Devils advocate and supporting the view that free downloads do not rob the creative industries.
Downloading songs and TV shows using Bit Torrents these days are common occurrences. Friends divulge their dirty secret not in hushed tones reserved for regular criminal activity but rather unabashedly. While I am not an advocate for piracy or theft of any kind and do not normally condone breaking the law, I do not think the example of downloading a song for personal use should be akin to a major DVD burning and bootlegging syndicate, and actually believe that the home user may be doing the artist a favour.
Many home users who do use Bit Torrents for downloading music, shows and movies have been to many live gigs and bought t-shirts, sought out TV box sets of favourite shows and purchased additional software to accompany what had been downloaded using P2P. All things that without having been exposed to them first using P2P maybe would not have been done. Monies generated by the add-on purchases by going to see live music or buying the box set for the extra features is substantial and artists and producers really have file sharing to thank for the extra marketing that the exposure is earning them. It makes music/shows/movies etc aimed at a small demographic more widely distributed and the likelihood of your work being seen is increased when released in this format.
Coldplay and Radiohead and two recent bands that released their new albums online. Radiohead launched a "pay what you think its worth" campaign that became widely accepted and people loved that, without fully realising it was in itself a marketing ploy to further expose the music. Coldplay launched their album Viva La Vida (Death and all of his friends) exclusively on iTunes for a similar reason. Both of these sat at the top of the charts for weeks and were talked about endlessly. When either band tours, the exposure will have done them a favour and their money will be awarded in merchandise and ticket sales.
I also think that the product has a bit of exclusivity about it and makes it more special because there is no hard copy. Many diehard music buffs will tell you that they buy the CD for the cover, when there isn't one it drives the fans to research the album more. Doing that is increasing awareness which is great for the band. It's really a very smart way to go.
Information Transfer and Community
- P2P Networking: An Information-Sharing Alternative Parameswaran, Susarla & Whinston
- Peer-to-Peer for Academia – Andy Oram
Information transfer within this type of establishment was anything but the controversial topic it is today, and is in fact still used to transport information that is not copyright and therefore not illegal. P2P is an established way to communicate and as a decentralized network invites all to join in. It tends to be a collaborative exercise individuals want to be a part of.
‘Henry Jenkins, Playing Our Song? Henry Jenkins discusses the napster community.
Peer-to-peer excites people because they can participate and make a difference. Even something as impersonal as SETI@home, where users downloaded software that performed calculations in the background, attracted millions of volunteers. And many said they did it because they felt like they were part of something. Just think how much more sense of ownership and pride can evolve around systems where you share ideas and content that have personal meaning to you.
(Andy Oram, editor O'Reilly P2P. openp2p.com)
Security and Privacy
In the article titled "Is Your Computer Talking to Strangers?" by Gene and Katie Hamilton, we have a brief lesson in good versus evil. The MAD magazine analogy of Spy Vs Spy used to describe the dangers of file sharing because we do not know who we are dealing with was a great way to catch my attention at the perfect time. Nothing like a comic strip to get the message across after a day of reading and researching.
Basically, the dangers of other peers spreading adware and spyware is nothing new. We have all at some stage received spam emails or looked at dodgy sites. It's keeping your wits about you and having in place some good software to combat these nasties.
Spychecker is a link provided in the curriculum that provides information and lists on available downloads that will help with things like privacy and security associated with P2P.
Socio-political Considerations
We now know that the impact P2P has on creative industries is not good. I would like to explore the notion that it could be great but isn't because of narrow minded individuals in very high places who dislike change and are scared about the adaptation that will inevitably take place.
The evolution of the Internet pairing up the likes of P2P file sharing and Web 2.0 communities is slowly emerging properly. Coupling the best aspect of entertainment, that you can share it and love it and talk about it with your friends.
To discover a new band that isn't played on the radio or like a television program that isn't shown in prime time or worse yet has been pulled mid season is very frustrating. Not making these things available to people is ridiculous when the platform is there waiting to be exploited in the best possible way.
References
Devonshire, Annette. 27 Oct 2004 (EST) M/Cyclopedia: Peer-to-Peer - Other Uses
http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Peer-to-Peer_-_Other_Uses
Retrieved 19 July 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Information Ecologies
In learning about the Internet we realise that the tool for communicating is located within an information powerhouse. As an ecology, it is shaped by the way in which people (mis)use it. The Internet as a resource needs to be considered with much trepidation as its ability to mould society and indeed undergo transformation itself is an aspect that when explored can be frightening.
Rafael Capurro, Towards an Information Ecology. In: Irene Wormell (Ed.): Information and Quality. London: Taylor Graham 1990, 122-139.
Information Ecologies by Felix Stalder
These two readings were given to Net 11 students to use when thinking about the following questions. I related the readings to the questions asked, but more simply thought about the term "Information Ecology" and tried to determine what that meant for me and how it influenced my experience using the Internet. Also how I would describe the Internet in this way to a less advanced user. The readings helped to point out some areas for deeper discussion but for the purpose of this blog today, I will address the questions and maybe come back to the deeper issues at a later date.
This reading I love and wanted to add it here because I drew upon it when thinking about this topic. Net 12 students will recognise it as part of the required reading in that curriculum.
Neil Postman, 'Informing Ourselves To Death' (1990)
* How might the metaphor of an ‘ecology’ impact on the way you think about, understand or use the Internet?
Ecology - the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.
Dictionary.com
Using metaphors to describe the Internet has an impact on the person you are describing it to and using "ecology" is leading one to believe that the system is reliant on all users to co-inhabit the space and indeed impact the way each user relates to one another. It is my understanding that in an ecology, if an organism was to stop participating/interacting with the environment, the environment will adapt to that change and growth is achieved. Likewise when an organism(s) are added.
The nature of the Internet is to adapt and change with its environment and when organisms (users) are added and subtracted this is invariably what happens. The new pages that spring up everyday and disappear, the programs that cease to become popular and the the ones that soar all contribute to the "ecology" of the Internet and the way the growth of it occurs organically.
My thoughts here are directed to Web 2.0 and how a new generation of younger more tech savvy people who are what has been reported as "digital natives" because of their never having been exposed to a world without the Internet are the ones who change and manipulate the online environment. Web 2.0 is borne organically from a need in this younger generation to utilise what they deem important and value most highly.
* How are the concepts ‘information’ and ‘communication’ understood within the
framework of an ‘information ecology’?
Where information is concerned I really am unsure as to whether or not the Internet is doing a (dis)service. The negatives have been discussed in the readings and the notion of knowledge as power seems to be diluted when the Internet makes information so readily available.
Information and communication work as a team to ensure that the availability of resources on the Internet is accessible to most. Unfortunately with all new developments there are instances where the technology is not available to some, and that creates a hole in the society. As that particular section of society is not represented online, their presence cannot be felt and the ecology is unchanged because of a lack of contribution on their part.
This isn't an isolated case that only targets the Internet and printing suffered the same ridicule many years ago when it became popular. New media as it is called is exactly that and will therefore undergo much scrutiny before it is embraced as a powerful tool.
A large aspect to new media is communication and the ability to take advantage of that. The influx of new users because of the ability to communicate via the Internet really is its strong point and the reason why most cannot imagine life without the personal computer.
Within the framework of the information ecology, information and communication often intersect and are equally as important to each other as they are individually. The nature of the Internet is to inform ourselves and pass on that knowledge. We send links to friends, and share experiences had on the Internet all the time, passing on information to each other in a fashion that is reliable and instantaneous which in today's fast paced society is of paramount importance not only for business but also socially.
* Why don’t we talk of a ‘communication ecology’?
Communication ecology would take on the assumption that all forms of communication are ecological in nature and so are environmentally changed when contributed to or left stagnant. Not only is this not the case in most forms of communication as the nature of the relationship normally stays solid even without regular imput from parties concerned but when applied to the Internet the ability to communicate asynchronously and synchronously changes the ability to communicate and the rules of etiquette.
Rafael Capurro, Towards an Information Ecology. In: Irene Wormell (Ed.): Information and Quality. London: Taylor Graham 1990, 122-139.
Information Ecologies by Felix Stalder
These two readings were given to Net 11 students to use when thinking about the following questions. I related the readings to the questions asked, but more simply thought about the term "Information Ecology" and tried to determine what that meant for me and how it influenced my experience using the Internet. Also how I would describe the Internet in this way to a less advanced user. The readings helped to point out some areas for deeper discussion but for the purpose of this blog today, I will address the questions and maybe come back to the deeper issues at a later date.
This reading I love and wanted to add it here because I drew upon it when thinking about this topic. Net 12 students will recognise it as part of the required reading in that curriculum.
Neil Postman, 'Informing Ourselves To Death' (1990)
* How might the metaphor of an ‘ecology’ impact on the way you think about, understand or use the Internet?
Ecology - the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.
Dictionary.com
Using metaphors to describe the Internet has an impact on the person you are describing it to and using "ecology" is leading one to believe that the system is reliant on all users to co-inhabit the space and indeed impact the way each user relates to one another. It is my understanding that in an ecology, if an organism was to stop participating/interacting with the environment, the environment will adapt to that change and growth is achieved. Likewise when an organism(s) are added.
The nature of the Internet is to adapt and change with its environment and when organisms (users) are added and subtracted this is invariably what happens. The new pages that spring up everyday and disappear, the programs that cease to become popular and the the ones that soar all contribute to the "ecology" of the Internet and the way the growth of it occurs organically.
My thoughts here are directed to Web 2.0 and how a new generation of younger more tech savvy people who are what has been reported as "digital natives" because of their never having been exposed to a world without the Internet are the ones who change and manipulate the online environment. Web 2.0 is borne organically from a need in this younger generation to utilise what they deem important and value most highly.
* How are the concepts ‘information’ and ‘communication’ understood within the
framework of an ‘information ecology’?
Where information is concerned I really am unsure as to whether or not the Internet is doing a (dis)service. The negatives have been discussed in the readings and the notion of knowledge as power seems to be diluted when the Internet makes information so readily available.
Information and communication work as a team to ensure that the availability of resources on the Internet is accessible to most. Unfortunately with all new developments there are instances where the technology is not available to some, and that creates a hole in the society. As that particular section of society is not represented online, their presence cannot be felt and the ecology is unchanged because of a lack of contribution on their part.
This isn't an isolated case that only targets the Internet and printing suffered the same ridicule many years ago when it became popular. New media as it is called is exactly that and will therefore undergo much scrutiny before it is embraced as a powerful tool.
A large aspect to new media is communication and the ability to take advantage of that. The influx of new users because of the ability to communicate via the Internet really is its strong point and the reason why most cannot imagine life without the personal computer.
Within the framework of the information ecology, information and communication often intersect and are equally as important to each other as they are individually. The nature of the Internet is to inform ourselves and pass on that knowledge. We send links to friends, and share experiences had on the Internet all the time, passing on information to each other in a fashion that is reliable and instantaneous which in today's fast paced society is of paramount importance not only for business but also socially.
* Why don’t we talk of a ‘communication ecology’?
Communication ecology would take on the assumption that all forms of communication are ecological in nature and so are environmentally changed when contributed to or left stagnant. Not only is this not the case in most forms of communication as the nature of the relationship normally stays solid even without regular imput from parties concerned but when applied to the Internet the ability to communicate asynchronously and synchronously changes the ability to communicate and the rules of etiquette.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Module 4: Evaluating the Web
For this task I chose to concentrate on Lee Ratzan's paper on the Internet as a metaphor. I found it to be of some use when trying to wrap my head around the idea of the metaphorical concept of the Internet.
The main ideas and subjects discussed in the article are quoted below. The Internet Metaphor Project presents specific results within this article. Statistics and graphs feature heavily and the article is result based.
My annotated, analytical description of the site as written above would be beneficial to many. The information is a thorough and concise overview of what is contained in the site and states the general content matter and the credibility of the source.
All I really want to know when accessing a site however is whether the author is credible and the content useful. This would be obvious to me with just the blurb I wrote on the site in the previous post (re-posted at the top for easy access) however maybe that is because I wrote it. If I were to visit a site that I was unfamiliar with and got a small blurb on the content and a brief outline of the author, I would be prompted to further investigate the site.
- URL http://informationr.net/ir/6-1/paper85.html
- AUTHOR Lee Ratzan
- INSTITUTION Making Sense of the Web: A Metaphorical Approach
- This paper is dedicated to the Internet Metaphor Project. A research into using metaphors to describe the Internet and how it affects us as users. It is focused on the way in which we find out how, what advanced and basic Internet users describe the Internet as. The real information is in the last section of the paper where Lee Ratzan concludes his findings and opens them up for discussion. The content overall is informative and useful. A clinical and fact driven paper for the Rutger's University that is more for those who like a numbers based survey type reference.
The main ideas and subjects discussed in the article are quoted below. The Internet Metaphor Project presents specific results within this article. Statistics and graphs feature heavily and the article is result based.
The nature of the World Wide Web is unfamiliar to most people. In order to make sense of this foreign environment people describe the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar. Metaphors are often used for this purpose. Since it is important to use the Web effectively it is important to acquire insight on user perceptions. Preliminary results of the Internet Metaphor Project are presented.The article was written for the purpose of the Internet Metaphor Project. A project that focuses on Internet metaphors, what metaphors are most common for what level of Internet user and whether the gender of that user comes into play. Does the use of a metaphor contribute to confusing people about what it is the Internet actually does. Lee Ratzans interest in this topic is purely for research purposes within the university.
My annotated, analytical description of the site as written above would be beneficial to many. The information is a thorough and concise overview of what is contained in the site and states the general content matter and the credibility of the source.
All I really want to know when accessing a site however is whether the author is credible and the content useful. This would be obvious to me with just the blurb I wrote on the site in the previous post (re-posted at the top for easy access) however maybe that is because I wrote it. If I were to visit a site that I was unfamiliar with and got a small blurb on the content and a brief outline of the author, I would be prompted to further investigate the site.
Module 4: Organising Search Information
Being a Virgo, I am a fairly organised person. Something that has been bugging me over the past few weeks is not knowing what to do with all of the web pages I had found that were useful to me. My bookmark list was as long as my arm, I had hand written annotations on some of them that I hadn't labelled properly so were useless, basically, I was all over the place. I did sign up to Connotea when I saw that somebody else had in the discussion forum at the beginning of this course. At the time I had nothing to put in it, but I was very glad that I had it there for when something came up.
In the last week it has been used and abused by me. I have stored a whole lot of information like a chipmunk stores nuts--frantically. For some reason I have become obsessed that the information will dry up and I will never be able to access it again. Connotea is my friend, but before that I tried Diigo. In fact, I still have the little guy sitting at the top of my browser and I can't get rid of him.. Diigo was very bloated with profile photos, friends lists and personal information, the ability to highlight a page and put a sticky note on it. The list was endless and way too much for me. All I wanted was somewhere to store all of my info for the concepts assignment and the essay I am doing for Net12. Connotea was perfect and I deleted my account with Diigo.
Now I have the URL, the author, the institution, and a brief description of the site in my library on Connotea. When I need to retrieve the information required for referencing it will all be ready for me. I'm very excited by this.
It is two days after I started this post and I am now back to it to add the following information on the three sites I found most useful when searching.
In the last week it has been used and abused by me. I have stored a whole lot of information like a chipmunk stores nuts--frantically. For some reason I have become obsessed that the information will dry up and I will never be able to access it again. Connotea is my friend, but before that I tried Diigo. In fact, I still have the little guy sitting at the top of my browser and I can't get rid of him.. Diigo was very bloated with profile photos, friends lists and personal information, the ability to highlight a page and put a sticky note on it. The list was endless and way too much for me. All I wanted was somewhere to store all of my info for the concepts assignment and the essay I am doing for Net12. Connotea was perfect and I deleted my account with Diigo.
Now I have the URL, the author, the institution, and a brief description of the site in my library on Connotea. When I need to retrieve the information required for referencing it will all be ready for me. I'm very excited by this.
It is two days after I started this post and I am now back to it to add the following information on the three sites I found most useful when searching.
- URL http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6545435.html
- AUTHOR Anna Adam and Helen Mowers
- INSTITUTION School Library Journal
- This site is the web version of the magazine that is circulated for schools, students and librarians. This particular article is of an instructional and educational variety about the use of search engines and provides links to several different ones. They favour Google, and explain how to search effectively using it but also include positives of Ask, Yahoo etc. The importance of the search engine is talked about and how it can be utilised to your best advantage. Heavily focused on kids and search engines that are most beneficial for them.
- URL http://informationr.net/ir/6-1/paper85.html
- AUTHOR Lee Ratzan
- INSTITUTION Making Sense of the Web: A Metaphorical Approach
- This paper is dedicated to the Internet Metaphor Project. A research into using metaphors to describe the Internet and how it affects us as users. It is focused on the way in which we find out how, what advanced and basic Internet users describe the Internet as. The real information is in the last section of the paper where Lee Ratzan concludes his findings and opens them up for discussion. The content overall is informative and useful. A clinical and fact driven paper for the Rutger's University that is more for those who like a numbers based survey type reference.
- URL http://smg.media.mit.edu/papers/BeingReal/BeingReal.html
- AUTHOR Judith S. Donith
- INSTITUTION Being Real MIT Media Lab
- An article written by Judith S. Donith that has been published. The title of the journal is "The Robot in the Garden: Telerobotics and Telepistemology in the Age of the Internet". This is all about our identity on the Internet and how we chose to represent ourselves. Who we trust online and why, why and how can we believe what we are seeing and who we are talking to and what motivates individuals to create an identity different to their own. It also delves into AI and the ability for us as users to be fooled by programs posing as people. The author prompts us to consider if machines can think and impersonate human behaviours and even wonders if it matters whether they do or not. The social aspect of communication and the structure of the developing relationships between users is the conclusion and the paper.
Module 4: Boolean Search Task
My goal here is to search for Internet Communication again using Boolean methods to get results for the following three things as stated by the Net 11, module 4 task page.
Well, there you have it. The biggest listing was for internet OR communication, but does it give me anything that will help me on my quest for concept information.... ahh no. I will have to be more specific I'm afraid. I'm wanting to research Human Computer Interfaces for concept 23 so I will try to narrow it down.
Human Computer Interface typed into the search bar led me very simply to what I was looking for and I found some quality references that will help me, but I hit the motherload when I searched in Google Scholar and Universities. Most books and citations here are from university sources, theses etc and are exactly what I am looking for. I think that searching this way sifts out a lot of the rubbish, using Google Scholar/universities means that I will find (hopefully) reputable websites and book excerpts that are reliable sources of information for the concepts assignment. A slight problem has been that in many of the sites you have to pay to view the PDF. There is a way around this and in most cases and you can find the content without logging in and supplying your credit card details.
- the biggest number of hits relating to these key words
- information most relevant to what you ACTUALLY wanted to look for!
- information coming only from university sources
| Internet | 2,540,000,000 |
| Communication | 425,000,000 |
| Internet OR communication | 3,320,000,000 |
| Internet AND communication | 51,800,000 |
| Internet NOT communication | 249,000,000 |
Well, there you have it. The biggest listing was for internet OR communication, but does it give me anything that will help me on my quest for concept information.... ahh no. I will have to be more specific I'm afraid. I'm wanting to research Human Computer Interfaces for concept 23 so I will try to narrow it down.
Human Computer Interface typed into the search bar led me very simply to what I was looking for and I found some quality references that will help me, but I hit the motherload when I searched in Google Scholar and Universities. Most books and citations here are from university sources, theses etc and are exactly what I am looking for. I think that searching this way sifts out a lot of the rubbish, using Google Scholar/universities means that I will find (hopefully) reputable websites and book excerpts that are reliable sources of information for the concepts assignment. A slight problem has been that in many of the sites you have to pay to view the PDF. There is a way around this and in most cases and you can find the content without logging in and supplying your credit card details.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Module 4: Searching the Web
After reading Using Web Search Tools and Specialised Databases and doing the pop quiz at the end of each page, I was wanting to put searching into practise. I knew of advanced search options, but wasn't sure how they operated. Time and again in the past, I would either use too many words or have to change the order they came in to see different results. Now I'm a little more informed as to how I get my answers when using a search engine, I want to see the difference in using the new areas.
Figure 1 
Figure 2
The two search trees above were such a simple way to think about search engines, I had to add them. That way, I didn't need to keep referring to the tutorial. The first one is an outline of search engines, the second is for specialised databases.
As instructed, I used my normal search engine (Google) to look for "Internet Communication", a broad topic that I need extra information on anyway, and then search for the same words in a variety of engines using Copernic. These were the first five of 89,100,000 results for internet communication through Google.
A massive amount of hits using Google didn't surprise me. Using these very common words to search for through Google basically leaves you with a lot of sifting to do before you would get to any information that is specific to your need. However, lots of information relating to a topic that I want to know more about can be beneficial. I have the ability here to broaden my thinking as there is more to browse, I may stumble across something that is relevant unintentionally. Google takes a very generalised approach when searching the web and grabs anything with the keywords in the title and the content.
I also became aware that Copernic is a meta search engine. The top five of 93 hits were:
Ok, so obviously we are a lot lower on the hit rate for the words internet communication using Copernic. What did come up was of no use to me really and I found that more words were needed to specify what I was looking for. In the column on the right in the picture you can see that Copernic prompts you to help minimise the search. I opted for internet and social effect which gave me some useful sites to visit. This was a much better way of searching for a specific topic.
Interestingly, to me, were the results I found searching the database at the Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC). The same two words I had used previously internet communication
gave me a list of 3195 results. I felt like I had hit information jackpot! Here were some journalistic excerpts that focused on the Internet. Most were recent and relevant to my purpose. I now have some journals that I can reference for my concepts assignment and I am very pleased with the way all of this searching has turned out.
I searched deep web search engine Complete Planet and got 586 hits for Internet communication. The first 5 hits were of no use to me but more research into what the best way to appoach that style of search engine is necessary. I will definitely be using my new found searching skills from now on. Previously, I had felt frustrated by my inability to find any relevant information that I could use to reference my concepts assignment, now not only have I done that, but I have blogged the search task! This task was a very efficient use of my morning, and couldn't have come at a better time.
Figure 1 
Figure 2The two search trees above were such a simple way to think about search engines, I had to add them. That way, I didn't need to keep referring to the tutorial. The first one is an outline of search engines, the second is for specialised databases.
As instructed, I used my normal search engine (Google) to look for "Internet Communication", a broad topic that I need extra information on anyway, and then search for the same words in a variety of engines using Copernic. These were the first five of 89,100,000 results for internet communication through Google.
A massive amount of hits using Google didn't surprise me. Using these very common words to search for through Google basically leaves you with a lot of sifting to do before you would get to any information that is specific to your need. However, lots of information relating to a topic that I want to know more about can be beneficial. I have the ability here to broaden my thinking as there is more to browse, I may stumble across something that is relevant unintentionally. Google takes a very generalised approach when searching the web and grabs anything with the keywords in the title and the content.
Next I used Copernic to search for the same words. To do this, I clicked on the world icon which linked up to the web and a new search page appeared not unlike the Google page. I was wondering how to change the settings to make the program search three different engines, but realised on getting my results that it searches a broad range of engines anyway.
I also became aware that Copernic is a meta search engine. The top five of 93 hits were:
Ok, so obviously we are a lot lower on the hit rate for the words internet communication using Copernic. What did come up was of no use to me really and I found that more words were needed to specify what I was looking for. In the column on the right in the picture you can see that Copernic prompts you to help minimise the search. I opted for internet and social effect which gave me some useful sites to visit. This was a much better way of searching for a specific topic.
Interestingly, to me, were the results I found searching the database at the Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC). The same two words I had used previously internet communication
gave me a list of 3195 results. I felt like I had hit information jackpot! Here were some journalistic excerpts that focused on the Internet. Most were recent and relevant to my purpose. I now have some journals that I can reference for my concepts assignment and I am very pleased with the way all of this searching has turned out.
I searched deep web search engine Complete Planet and got 586 hits for Internet communication. The first 5 hits were of no use to me but more research into what the best way to appoach that style of search engine is necessary. I will definitely be using my new found searching skills from now on. Previously, I had felt frustrated by my inability to find any relevant information that I could use to reference my concepts assignment, now not only have I done that, but I have blogged the search task! This task was a very efficient use of my morning, and couldn't have come at a better time.
Module 4: Tools for Using the Web
1. Adobe's pdf reader
I already have Adobe reader 8 installed, so I didn't have to download this. It is useful to have, but I am only just beginning to understand why.
2. Flash/Shockwave Players
No Flash or Shockwave for me...what a sad existence. I now have both thanks to the people at Adobe. My Internet experience made that much more enjoyable now.
3. Media Players
I have both Quicktime and Windows media player installed, so I downloaded the one I didn't have, Real Networks Real One (Real Player) I'm keen to see what the difference is to the other two. As it is, I prefer Quicktime to Windows and use it often for mp4 videos. I like it so far, if Real Player works as good as it looks this could be interesting.4. Search Manager/Combiners
As a Windows user, I took the option of downloading Copernic Meta for PC. I wasn't aware of this tool before downloading, and will take some time figuring it all out. At first glance it appears a helpful tool. A one stop shop for all search queries, history search is always interesting and I will keep on eye on that too.5. Bookmark Manager
Bookmark Buddy for Windows was an option here, but I have used Diigo and Connotea and I'm deciding which to go with out of those two so didn't want to confuse things further by downloading Bookmark Buddy.6. Offline Browser/Copier
I decided to go for Webcopier over Pagesucker despite its cool name. I opted for the 15 day free trial and I will use this time to see what it is all about. It sounds like a good tool to have. To be able to copy websites and store them locally on my computer for viewing anytime sounds like something I would use.Saturday, June 28, 2008
Module 3: Web 2.0
Do yourself a favour and check out this youtube clip.
Web 2.0..The Machine is Us/ing Us
So those of you who regularly check in here will not be surprised to learn that this is another topic which I never knew existed. Web 2.0, I thought was going to be a program I had to learn and comment on, what I discovered, of course is very different.
Basically, Web 2.0 is an "umbrella term" that has been given to the next phase of the Internet. Linking people together by social networking, Chats, Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, a collaborative system that allows us the user to be fundamental in the way we use the Internet and access each other.
I found this Web 2.0 cloud on Wikipedia
Although the term Web 2.0 suggests (at least to me) a new version of the WWW, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications. Changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the internet is what it is all about.
What is the difference between Internet Communications Blinklist, and the HTML version of the same site? What are the benefits for each?
The major difference to me at first look is the way that the HTML version is presented. To be honest, it took about 2 minutes for me to recognise that it was the same as the previous page I had visited. I liked how easy the information was to follow on the HTML page, and could see myself using this format to search for a particular piece of information.
The first page however is much more my style, but I don't know why. I can see now why the WWW was referred to as "bloatware" in the beginning of this course in reference to telnet. It does fatten the information out with sponsered links, a friends list... but I think that could be used to an advantage with some users.
Had I have searched for a page and come across the html version first, I would have clicked the few topics I needed, gotten the information and moved on. The WWW version I would browse and perhaps stay a while to read at my own leisure, if for no other reason than to find out why particular links had been "blinked" more often than others.
Is it easier to use? More enjoyable to use? Is the layout more functional? When the information contained within both sites is the same, why is it that I prefer to use the more modern looking WWW site? Maybe because its what I am used to, and what I started with. Html is still foreign to me in a way, but that will change with more use.. Firefox took some getting used to, but now I prefer it to Internet Explorer.
In short, I think I like the html version for locating the precise information needed, the advantage to the other, is that in browsing, maybe I would come across some information I would have missed otherwise.
Web 2.0..The Machine is Us/ing Us
So those of you who regularly check in here will not be surprised to learn that this is another topic which I never knew existed. Web 2.0, I thought was going to be a program I had to learn and comment on, what I discovered, of course is very different.
Basically, Web 2.0 is an "umbrella term" that has been given to the next phase of the Internet. Linking people together by social networking, Chats, Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, a collaborative system that allows us the user to be fundamental in the way we use the Internet and access each other.
I found this Web 2.0 cloud on WikipediaAlthough the term Web 2.0 suggests (at least to me) a new version of the WWW, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications. Changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the internet is what it is all about.
What is the difference between Internet Communications Blinklist, and the HTML version of the same site? What are the benefits for each?
The major difference to me at first look is the way that the HTML version is presented. To be honest, it took about 2 minutes for me to recognise that it was the same as the previous page I had visited. I liked how easy the information was to follow on the HTML page, and could see myself using this format to search for a particular piece of information.
The first page however is much more my style, but I don't know why. I can see now why the WWW was referred to as "bloatware" in the beginning of this course in reference to telnet. It does fatten the information out with sponsered links, a friends list... but I think that could be used to an advantage with some users.
Had I have searched for a page and come across the html version first, I would have clicked the few topics I needed, gotten the information and moved on. The WWW version I would browse and perhaps stay a while to read at my own leisure, if for no other reason than to find out why particular links had been "blinked" more often than others.
Is it easier to use? More enjoyable to use? Is the layout more functional? When the information contained within both sites is the same, why is it that I prefer to use the more modern looking WWW site? Maybe because its what I am used to, and what I started with. Html is still foreign to me in a way, but that will change with more use.. Firefox took some getting used to, but now I prefer it to Internet Explorer.
In short, I think I like the html version for locating the precise information needed, the advantage to the other, is that in browsing, maybe I would come across some information I would have missed otherwise.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Module 3: Weblogs
Or a "blog" as it is more commonly known these days is what you are reading now. Anyone can start one, and you can just about write on anything you see fit.
I have seen journalistic, political, business, educational and personal blogs. Blogs for personal promotion and blogs for those of us who need one for Net 11. My favorite type of blog is a funny, entertaining one that has some good content.
There are many differences between the various types of blogs and bloggers. It takes some time to "warm" to a certain one and start to check in there regularly. What develops is a type of relationship where you communicate with the reader. You allow some of your personality to shine through, they in turn leave you a comment on what was good, or not..the give and take between author and reader is important for this type of communication to be successful.
Using this forum has turned gossip king a self proclaimed "bloggerazzi" Perez Hilton into a celebrity. I think this was an entertaining use of blogs initially. When he first blogged about celebrities online, we knew little about what a blog was and who could write one. His type of blogging has also attracted lawsuits relating to slander and copyright, so far no charges have been made. Is that because of the fuzzy legal lines when it comes to blogging?
There is an article from the LA Times here for you to see how his notoriety came about. And just to clarify, I have never read a blog by Perez Hilton, I'm just aware of his infamy. Much like I am aware of Paris Hilton, but have never seen a movie of hers..Don't cast judgement!
Journalistic blogging is interesting. One man and his blog is Adam Tinworth's blog on journalists and bloggers. His view is that journalists have a role to play here as "fact finders, assumption challengers and question setters". A role they rarely take up, more often than not the blog becomes opinionated and biased, two things that shouldn't get in the way of good journalism.
Blogs that are designed with the hard sell in mind don't usually stay on my favorites list. A business blog is a good read, but something I browse for and stumble across when I need advice on a product I want to buy, or come across when researching a subject.
I will not continue the blog when my study is done. It is just too time consuming, but I can see how if you love it and want to do it, you also want to make it worth your while. Either you want a widely distributed circulation and lots of readers, so you feel like you are contributing to society. Or you are motivated by making money out of it and turning it into a career.
I now have a blog that I like and visit sporadically. If you are keen on restaurants and like to eat out, you will love Grab Your Fork, the latest post is about Gordon Ramsey.
I have seen journalistic, political, business, educational and personal blogs. Blogs for personal promotion and blogs for those of us who need one for Net 11. My favorite type of blog is a funny, entertaining one that has some good content.
There are many differences between the various types of blogs and bloggers. It takes some time to "warm" to a certain one and start to check in there regularly. What develops is a type of relationship where you communicate with the reader. You allow some of your personality to shine through, they in turn leave you a comment on what was good, or not..the give and take between author and reader is important for this type of communication to be successful.
Using this forum has turned gossip king a self proclaimed "bloggerazzi" Perez Hilton into a celebrity. I think this was an entertaining use of blogs initially. When he first blogged about celebrities online, we knew little about what a blog was and who could write one. His type of blogging has also attracted lawsuits relating to slander and copyright, so far no charges have been made. Is that because of the fuzzy legal lines when it comes to blogging?
There is an article from the LA Times here for you to see how his notoriety came about. And just to clarify, I have never read a blog by Perez Hilton, I'm just aware of his infamy. Much like I am aware of Paris Hilton, but have never seen a movie of hers..Don't cast judgement!
Journalistic blogging is interesting. One man and his blog is Adam Tinworth's blog on journalists and bloggers. His view is that journalists have a role to play here as "fact finders, assumption challengers and question setters". A role they rarely take up, more often than not the blog becomes opinionated and biased, two things that shouldn't get in the way of good journalism.
Blogs that are designed with the hard sell in mind don't usually stay on my favorites list. A business blog is a good read, but something I browse for and stumble across when I need advice on a product I want to buy, or come across when researching a subject.
I will not continue the blog when my study is done. It is just too time consuming, but I can see how if you love it and want to do it, you also want to make it worth your while. Either you want a widely distributed circulation and lots of readers, so you feel like you are contributing to society. Or you are motivated by making money out of it and turning it into a career.
I now have a blog that I like and visit sporadically. If you are keen on restaurants and like to eat out, you will love Grab Your Fork, the latest post is about Gordon Ramsey.
Module 3: FTP
Uploading to the webct proved to be a pain for me.
What I thought would be the easiest part of the exercise was actually time consuming. With the help of Kylie and Narelle I soon got it loaded. The issue we discovered was that I had named my file instead of having it named "index"..Once that little error was corrected my page was viewable, but Kylie informed me my pictures were not. Grrr....
I used Photobucket to give my pictures a different location to that of my PC, and yes, finally there they were.
So it was just a few small issues really, and as a first timer I kind of expected to have to tweak something. The link to my page is here. Be kind..
http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group65/index.html
What I thought would be the easiest part of the exercise was actually time consuming. With the help of Kylie and Narelle I soon got it loaded. The issue we discovered was that I had named my file instead of having it named "index"..Once that little error was corrected my page was viewable, but Kylie informed me my pictures were not. Grrr....
I used Photobucket to give my pictures a different location to that of my PC, and yes, finally there they were.
So it was just a few small issues really, and as a first timer I kind of expected to have to tweak something. The link to my page is here. Be kind..
http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group65/index.html
Module 3: Legal Issues
"Copyright protects expression. The Copyright Act of 1976 states that the items of expression can include literary, dramatic, and musical works; pantomimes and choreography; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; audio-visual works; sound recordings; and architectural works. An original expression is eligible for copyright protection as soon as it is fixed in a tangible form."
Copyright website
Oh the irony, copying a copyright document to my page..hmmm. I hope this is fair use.
We copyright so that any work or ours that is plagiarised, and profitted from, can be shown to be rightly ours. We are covered and eligible to sue, and be compensated for statutory damages.
Now, rather than focus on what copyright protects, I thought it would be easier to look at what it doesn't.
- Names
- Ideas
- Facts
- Titles
- Short phrases and
- Blank Forms
There are many different copyright forms that cover everything from music to graphics, literary works and sculpture. However "fair use" of someone elses work may be justified by using it for educational purposes, critisism, news reporting, research and many more.
The "fair use" treeI found this page, Parody: Fair Use or Copyright Infringement, when looking up the 2 Live Crew copyright infringement case for their song Pretty Woman which bore a remarkable resemblence to the Roy Orbison hit Oh Pretty Woman. 2 Live Crew got off the charges because of the fair trade law. In this case parody is fair use of other peoples work.
Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?
So first off what we know is that the Curtin logo is owned by the creator, Curtin. Assuming that the use of the logo is unauthorised, would I be accused of copyright infrigement? I found this site on Copyright from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland helpful, but this is where I found the answer.
At the top of page 5 we see the answer relating to using Curtin's logo. It is quite simple really. Just ask permission first. Permission needs to be sought in writing (email is acceptable), and you need to "comply to any conditions imposed". It is recommended to keep all corresponding emails should you need them if questions are asked at a later date, and lastly, in your assignment you would have to state that permission had been granted for use of the logo.
I also found this site very useful to have bookmarked. Australian Copyright Council
Module 3: WWW Standards
In my opinion, usability is of the utmost importance. A simple, easy to use layout is best. I'm not particularly fond of lots of graphics, but at the same time I don't like an entire page of text either. It's a hard balance, but one I will strive to achieve.
This is D.G. Jerz's "top 5 conventions of web pages"
I am inclined to agree with all of them. Leading with your best stuff is smart. It ensures that you engage the visitor to your site within the supposed 6 second time frame marketers tell us we have before interest is lost.
Meaningful links would have to be a biggie. I'm not alone when I say I love a link, the tangent you can get on while looking up a simple recipe for example is wonderful, but that is also how I live my life. Go to the shops for bread and milk, come home with a puppy... It is the very reason I came to study this course also. A link to Open Universities Australia had me wondering if I could do that, the next day I was enrolled in this. How lucky for me! The downside of course is pointless links. Links that lead you to other links that are unrelated to your topic. I also hate the website devoted to being a menu for all different kinds of links, it is just annoying.
Employ consistent navigation. Fairly straight forward really and surprising that quite often forgotten. Make sure your user can be anywhere on the page they need to be. Use a table of contents for the different subjects that you are covering, that will take them directly to the subject needed. A link back to your home page is a good idea too. This should be included on all linked pages within your site.
I cannot stress enough how important simple designs are for me. I don't like flashy, glittery pages or anything that takes too long to download (smaller images are best). I like to get in, find what I need and get out. If an image helps me select a bouquet of flowers I want to send to a loved one, sure, add it, but I really don't care for images that have no purpose. I do love graphics but they have to be within the context of the page.
Scannable text, web writing, eye tracking, and the "F-shaped reading pattern" was interesting, and I found it to be true for me. I wonder if the "F" shaped pattern only occurs when reading English. Other languages may result in a different pattern as English reads left to right, but not all languages do.
An "F" shaped heat map pattern, proving the theory
Blah-blah text.. Oh dear, I could be in trouble. I do tend to waffle on a bit. On a blog, acceptable, but on a web page that's a no-no. I will have to curb my enthusiasm when writing and remember that quick and to the point is best. Moving on...keep to bulleted points, short chunks of information and subheadings where required.
This is D.G. Jerz's "top 5 conventions of web pages"I am inclined to agree with all of them. Leading with your best stuff is smart. It ensures that you engage the visitor to your site within the supposed 6 second time frame marketers tell us we have before interest is lost.
Meaningful links would have to be a biggie. I'm not alone when I say I love a link, the tangent you can get on while looking up a simple recipe for example is wonderful, but that is also how I live my life. Go to the shops for bread and milk, come home with a puppy... It is the very reason I came to study this course also. A link to Open Universities Australia had me wondering if I could do that, the next day I was enrolled in this. How lucky for me! The downside of course is pointless links. Links that lead you to other links that are unrelated to your topic. I also hate the website devoted to being a menu for all different kinds of links, it is just annoying.
Employ consistent navigation. Fairly straight forward really and surprising that quite often forgotten. Make sure your user can be anywhere on the page they need to be. Use a table of contents for the different subjects that you are covering, that will take them directly to the subject needed. A link back to your home page is a good idea too. This should be included on all linked pages within your site.
I cannot stress enough how important simple designs are for me. I don't like flashy, glittery pages or anything that takes too long to download (smaller images are best). I like to get in, find what I need and get out. If an image helps me select a bouquet of flowers I want to send to a loved one, sure, add it, but I really don't care for images that have no purpose. I do love graphics but they have to be within the context of the page.
Scannable text, web writing, eye tracking, and the "F-shaped reading pattern" was interesting, and I found it to be true for me. I wonder if the "F" shaped pattern only occurs when reading English. Other languages may result in a different pattern as English reads left to right, but not all languages do.
An "F" shaped heat map pattern, proving the theoryBlah-blah text.. Oh dear, I could be in trouble. I do tend to waffle on a bit. On a blog, acceptable, but on a web page that's a no-no. I will have to curb my enthusiasm when writing and remember that quick and to the point is best. Moving on...keep to bulleted points, short chunks of information and subheadings where required.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Module 3: HTML Tags
I suffered some embarrassment a few days prior to starting this Module. I was chatting with a friend on Skype and asked the question, "What is the purpose of HTML? What does it do?". The response I got was "Sorry?!"... Immediately I regretting showing my ignorance, and felt foolish for asking. My pal wrote back something to the effect of it being the language that makes the web page all pretty. He followed that message with a picture of my blog in HTML form, and I was shocked. Before me was a page that I had seen countless times before and not known what it was or what it was for. We talked for a while about "the ghost in the machine", and suddenly it all made sense.
After reading the Module, I started on the HTML tags task. Joe Barta took me through 26 steps of the most basic of information (what I needed) concerning HTML. Firstly on his recommendation I got myself Note Tab Light, followed by Firefox. Well, needless to say that afternoon had to be written off, I was very keen to familiarise myself with all of the new tabs I had seen in the tutorial.
The following morning I got right back into it and was pleased that I had remembered the page layout and some of the more basic tags. My first web page was made up of a picture and a background colour, some text and few links, one to my email address, the other to this blog.
Blogging or HTML? Not a very difficult choice here. HTML. Although both offer the freedom of creation... I think HTML offers more control over the page which is appealing to me. Either way, I most definitely feel a sense of achievement with both.
I found the language very self explanatory and once I got used to the basic layout, I was fine. For some of the more complex codes I had to keep referring to the tutorials and for things like the picture resizing I installed Ifranview. Of course, this is all trial and error so I will have to spend lots of hours at the computer to iron out most of the issues. I ended up with this as my first attempt.
My very basic first attempt at creating a web page
After seeing some other pages, I feel the same way my 3 year old son does when he shows me a drawing he has done. "Look!" He gets praise for his mediocrity because he is 3, and that's just what you do. The praise I am giving myself here runs in the same vein. I'm celebrating my mediocrity... at least it works! And, it can only get better...
After reading the Module, I started on the HTML tags task. Joe Barta took me through 26 steps of the most basic of information (what I needed) concerning HTML. Firstly on his recommendation I got myself Note Tab Light, followed by Firefox. Well, needless to say that afternoon had to be written off, I was very keen to familiarise myself with all of the new tabs I had seen in the tutorial.
The following morning I got right back into it and was pleased that I had remembered the page layout and some of the more basic tags. My first web page was made up of a picture and a background colour, some text and few links, one to my email address, the other to this blog.
Blogging or HTML? Not a very difficult choice here. HTML. Although both offer the freedom of creation... I think HTML offers more control over the page which is appealing to me. Either way, I most definitely feel a sense of achievement with both.
I found the language very self explanatory and once I got used to the basic layout, I was fine. For some of the more complex codes I had to keep referring to the tutorials and for things like the picture resizing I installed Ifranview. Of course, this is all trial and error so I will have to spend lots of hours at the computer to iron out most of the issues. I ended up with this as my first attempt.
My very basic first attempt at creating a web pageAfter seeing some other pages, I feel the same way my 3 year old son does when he shows me a drawing he has done. "Look!" He gets praise for his mediocrity because he is 3, and that's just what you do. The praise I am giving myself here runs in the same vein. I'm celebrating my mediocrity... at least it works! And, it can only get better...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Module 2: Group Task
As a group, I so far have participated in the Skype chat room, individual discussion groups on Skype, and met with Kylie on IMVU (is two people a group?).
As a preffered chat service, have a guess... yes, yes, it's Skype for me. I have chatted with Net11er's past and present within this environment courtesy of the internet studies group. It is a fantastic way to follow a group discussion. The messages are put in order of time and the conversation mostly stays on track.
I have also been added, courtesy of members of this class, to conversations which they are having individually. Last time this took place there were four of us, and the smaller group environment was helpful in getting different opinions on tasks at the same time. Conversing this way saves time by not having to individually message others and asking the same questions again and again.
The major difference between text based chat on Skype and virtual chat on IMVU, is that the messages are not timed on IMVU. They appear as speech bubbles which float above you. They eventually disappear after a while, and if you have left the computer for minute or looked away, you may miss the conversation. If there were a group of people taking all the speech bubbles, even though they are different colours for each person, would get confusing.
I'm being a little unfair here, because they do have a text function that you can use similar to Skype and it is all put on order. Problem for me was, I found myself looking at that and not the people on screen. So, what's the point?
IMVU does have its place in my world. It was fun and I enjoyed it for the short time I was there, but for more serious study based discussion, I will stick to the graphic free text based chat of Skype. Maybe this is why...
Guns and Roses fan? Wants to chat as I am typing this blog, so he earns a spot to help me make a point.
As a preffered chat service, have a guess... yes, yes, it's Skype for me. I have chatted with Net11er's past and present within this environment courtesy of the internet studies group. It is a fantastic way to follow a group discussion. The messages are put in order of time and the conversation mostly stays on track.
I have also been added, courtesy of members of this class, to conversations which they are having individually. Last time this took place there were four of us, and the smaller group environment was helpful in getting different opinions on tasks at the same time. Conversing this way saves time by not having to individually message others and asking the same questions again and again.
The major difference between text based chat on Skype and virtual chat on IMVU, is that the messages are not timed on IMVU. They appear as speech bubbles which float above you. They eventually disappear after a while, and if you have left the computer for minute or looked away, you may miss the conversation. If there were a group of people taking all the speech bubbles, even though they are different colours for each person, would get confusing.
I'm being a little unfair here, because they do have a text function that you can use similar to Skype and it is all put on order. Problem for me was, I found myself looking at that and not the people on screen. So, what's the point?
IMVU does have its place in my world. It was fun and I enjoyed it for the short time I was there, but for more serious study based discussion, I will stick to the graphic free text based chat of Skype. Maybe this is why...
Guns and Roses fan? Wants to chat as I am typing this blog, so he earns a spot to help me make a point.Would you trust this man? Gunrose... At least on Skype I don't get stalked!
Module 2: IMVU
I'll keep this short.
IMVU was exciting to install, I loved picking my avatar and mood, hairstyle etc.. but the real fun began when I met Kylie in the garden for a chat.
MsFi playing the air guitar
IMVU was exciting to install, I loved picking my avatar and mood, hairstyle etc.. but the real fun began when I met Kylie in the garden for a chat.
Meet MsFi
Until then, I was alone in a loungeroom (mine?) and being requested for a "chat". Being very naive, I click on ok and the first sentence out of my new friends mouth is "Lets go upstairs". With that I closed the window and Skyped Kylie..
She showed me the amazing stuff you can do in a virtual world. We danced to the Hoodoo Gurus, took a trip to an exotic location, ice-skated and much more. I had fun.
As a place where I would go to have a converstion, I'm not sure. I'm really attached to Skype. For me the text chat is more important than the graphics. Having said that, if the Unlikely Angel wanted a second date I would probably meet her. It is in my opinion, more fun with a friend than on your own.
MsFi playing the air guitar
Module 2: Chat
For this I downloaded ICQ. (I seek you)
http://www.icq.com/download/
Immediately you are greeted with a young, friendly looking screen. ICQ's logo is a flower and the motto "everyone, everywhere" is catchy. The download took 10 minutes for me, installation was hassle free.
The opening screen
I chose the "Custom Option", which means I gave up the opportunity to have an ICQ toolbar, default browser and whatever else they were pushing. ICQ doesn't seem to mind though and when I agree to their set of terms and conditions, installs when I hit "next".
ICQ then tries to befriend me. Apparently we are deciding the age-old debate of "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Everyone knows the chicken came first, so I click that.
ICQ's ice-breaker
Having used Skype until now, I saw the main problem with wanting to use ICQ exclusively for text chat, is they try and do too much. Its got everything. Not only text chat, SMS and call, but blog, and search, forums, even dating. I had a look at these functions and didn't find them to be as good as the programs I'm using at present, with exception of the dating, which I am not using at all. And not being into chat rooms, I am only interested in messaging people I know, either for studying or to catch up with existing friends.
This is good as a one stop shop, but do I really want/need a one stop shop for all of these things or do they function better seperately? Personally, I like it all seperate. I am distracted enough with Skype's pop-up messages, imagine if I had forums and blogs which I could also browse while working. I would never have gotten this blog written.
http://www.icq.com/download/
Immediately you are greeted with a young, friendly looking screen. ICQ's logo is a flower and the motto "everyone, everywhere" is catchy. The download took 10 minutes for me, installation was hassle free.
The opening screenI chose the "Custom Option", which means I gave up the opportunity to have an ICQ toolbar, default browser and whatever else they were pushing. ICQ doesn't seem to mind though and when I agree to their set of terms and conditions, installs when I hit "next".
ICQ then tries to befriend me. Apparently we are deciding the age-old debate of "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Everyone knows the chicken came first, so I click that.
ICQ's ice-breakerI put in a set of bogus details (I have made myself younger by 2 years..looks like I'm not 30 this year after all) and when I'm done, I'm presented with three windows. A mini tutorial in the corner of my screen, the "Welcome" page, the start up screen..where to go first?
I decide to look up Janettes number. I puts me through, I then add her as a contact and send a message. The chat screen is very playful and colourful, it also has annoying advertising at the bottom, which distracts me. While chatting to Janette, I can't help but look at the flashes at the bottom of the screen.
Having used Skype until now, I saw the main problem with wanting to use ICQ exclusively for text chat, is they try and do too much. Its got everything. Not only text chat, SMS and call, but blog, and search, forums, even dating. I had a look at these functions and didn't find them to be as good as the programs I'm using at present, with exception of the dating, which I am not using at all. And not being into chat rooms, I am only interested in messaging people I know, either for studying or to catch up with existing friends.
This is good as a one stop shop, but do I really want/need a one stop shop for all of these things or do they function better seperately? Personally, I like it all seperate. I am distracted enough with Skype's pop-up messages, imagine if I had forums and blogs which I could also browse while working. I would never have gotten this blog written.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Module 2: Newsgroups
Alright. I posted a cranky paragraph on Newsgroups over the weekend which I have since deleted. I have gotten over the grumpiness I have felt doing this Newsgroups task and now I am ready to blog it in its entirety.
After watching a few groups, joining a couple (only to discover they hadn't been visited in over a year) and finally posting on one I can celebrate that I have finished with Newsgroups. Never to return!
I thought Google Groups was good, until I ventured into a few topics and was bombarded with spam. And not the kind of spam a lady such as myself appreciates. If I want smut, I'm well aware that it's just a click away. I don't need it advertised to me in between gardening tips for the vegetable grower and how to control aphids.
These last few days, I felt like I never really gave newsgroups a chance. I honestly cannot see the point, it just isn't for me. I was so frustrated that I had to post something, I chose a mundane field and just wrote a few sentences. I hope this is sufficient.
It is here that I will thank both Kylie and Vicki for their help. Vicki offered me some very sound advice regarding security and Kylie sent me a link that was excellent. http://www.usenet.com.au/index.php Without this help, I fear my cranky post from the weekend would have stuck around and I wouldn't have even come back to it.
Originally I thought the differences between Email Lists and Newsgroups was the threading, I now know that there is more. Email Lists are more controlled groups, and there is a moderator. You, as the moderator can remove people if you wish. Newsgroups are in most cases, open to anyone. There was the rare group that was restricted or moderated, but most were open when I looked.
I didn't find following particular groups very helpful. They tend to get off topic very easily and the style of communication didn't agree with me. I will keep an eye on what happens in my little family group and see what people add over the next few weeks, but long term, I can't see myself as a joiner.
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