I am distressed that I have posted numerous times on the concept topic 25. All but one post has any content worth reading, and then when you try and read it, it will require great concentration for it is all over the place.
It is said that a bad tradesman blames his tools, and this is no different. But can I just say that I have been massively let down by webct and its "no delete" function..also its HTML function which I have inexperience with, as you will see by the post. Probably not HTML's fault there. I merely wanted to attach an article I had read. If I had've known the outcome would have been catastrophic I wouldn't have bothered!
My tools with which to operate the post format are foreign to me (obviously) and I will make it a priority to amend my failure as an informative poster.
I have asked for all offending "panic posts" to be deleted so they will not litter what is supposed to be an important subject.
Sorry to those who are angered by my blatent stupidity.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Module 2: Lists
I don't want to forget that my first impression of Email Lists was underwhelming. I chose to try it out with the class because after looking up some random groups on Yahoo and http://www.blogger.com/www.newzbot.com/ , I just really didn't want to get involved. Is that wrong? Some of the groups looked dated, some were filled with junk, others were on topics that just didn't grab me.
The group that is created for us as a student body, http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/internetstudies/ was swiftly picked up by a few of us. Really, I have no reason to visit here, other than to compare it with the webCT discussion board. So far I have exchanged a few messages with the other members of the group and will check in from time to time to see what other think of the forum. I already know however, that once I have completed the task, I may not visit back.
Email Lists VS Discussion Boards
Email List Pros
The group that is created for us as a student body, http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/internetstudies/ was swiftly picked up by a few of us. Really, I have no reason to visit here, other than to compare it with the webCT discussion board. So far I have exchanged a few messages with the other members of the group and will check in from time to time to see what other think of the forum. I already know however, that once I have completed the task, I may not visit back.
Email Lists VS Discussion Boards
Email List Pros
- Exposure- Good from a marketers perspective
- Asynchronys communication- Like email, this is handy because of global time differences
- More Personal- The groups may be small, you can reply with ease to an individual
Email List Cons
- Junk/Spam Emails- this can be a positive, but from a personal perspective, a big negative
- Privacy- Even when you reply to an individual, the entire group can see the message
- Clumsy- Opening different windows to read/reply to messages feels disorganised
Discussion Board Pros
- Easy to Navigate- The ability to scroll through all messages and see the thread on one screen.
- No Junk Mail- Discussion boards are closed forums, not just anyone can get an invite
- Threads- Good for seeing how a "discussion" develops like a conversation.
Discussion Board Cons
- Regular Check-in- Fear of 100's of posts to read if you miss a day
- Participation- Loitering isn't good netiquette, and the pressure to participate is high
- Impersonal- Keeping threads "on topic" steers us away from making "real" contact
Email Lists are more suited to your business venture. There are many avenues for which to pass on information about a product you are trying to sell and get feedback on in this way. If I wanted popular opinion on something I had patented and was trying to sell online, this may be a viable way to do that.
On a personal level, I can understand the closed groups being useful. However, I still don't like that all members can see my post to an individual, and therefore would have to send a personal email message to that person. Feels a bit like double handling the information. I also found the screen switching tedious at times.
It's no secret that we are all using the Discussion Board. Like many others, it is my first time doing so, and I really enjoy the various twists and turns a topic takes. The easy scroll down screen is fantastic and the numbered posts are a terrific way to navigate where you are up to. I have very little to complain about here, even the impersonal nature of our discussion board is at times appealing.
Most who I have wanted to know on a more personal level because we are more "like-minded" study wise, I have chatted to using Skype or Facebook. Even so, the posts by those obviously more knowledgable than I, at this stage, are the reason why I love the discussion board. Such a vast array of opinion in a what is a safe forum.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Module 2: Email Task
1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took can you glean from an email message?
An email message contains firtsly, the email address of the recepient. Usually seen as "username@domain" Here we learn the user's name, which can be first or last name and in some cases a nickname.
And the domain name, which can be either a place of work, a university, a webmail address, or simply the home service provider (bigpond, iprimus, optusnet).
It is in the last few letters of the address we can see its origin. Commercial identities use .com, government uses .gov, education uses .edu, and so on.
Lastly, the address may or may not end with the country of origin. Iprimus addresses use the "iprimus.com.au", Bigpond however, just use "bigpond.com".
So in the address, we learn a lot about the sender. Importantly, when we recieve an email, we can usually spot bogus addresses if we apply some common sense. Spammers wouldn't be so lucky as to have us open their emails if we took a little more time decifering where they came from.
2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the "cc", "bcc", and "reply all" to all functions of email?
CC: Sends a "carbon copy" to someone. This could be useful if you are addressing a group of people on the one topic. An example is if you were organising a dinner party and sent all those invited an email of the venue, and what time to arrive.
BCC: Is known as a "blind" copy. Other recipients of the same email are unaware that this person in the "bcc" field has received the message. Maybe someone was delberately uninvited to the party, and one of the attendees sent the "blind" email to the snubbed friend. Useful if the person who you have in bcc doesn't want their email address forwarded on with all the others for view. Also handy if passing on jokes and chain emails, which end up anywhere and everywhere.
REPLY ALL: This is commonly used to reply to a message on the same thread. I recieve the dinner party invite and reply to all that "I wouldn't miss it and that I will be there". It's also useful because the recipient can refer to the previous email message, as it appears below the newest one. Its handy to refresh their memory of the details in the email.
3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment that you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
Compatible programs. It's handy to know that the recepient can open the file because they are running like programs. If you are sending a Word 2007 document, the recipient has to be running that program in oreder to open it.
Popular formats should be used to increase the chances of the recipient being able to open the file. Rich text file (RTF) is widely useable, as is JPG and PDF.
It's also useful to "name the file and program or operating system used". In addition to the attachment, a note with what is attached and how should appear in the text box so the recipient knows what they are opening, and if they can open it at all.
Compress larger files, or "zip" them into a folder.
And I guess, if all else fails, ask the recipient to reply when they have looked at the attachment or if they are having trouble with it.
4. What sort of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
The only filter/rule I have set up is that spam is forwarded to the "Junk Email" box. At times that means I miss certain emails that have been wrongly seen as spam by the computer, but I check it regularly now, to make sure I don't miss anything. Most of the time it's very useful.
5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
I don't really have a huge amount of emails sent to me.. at least nothing of value that I would store for future reference as most are unimportant. But for the sake of the task, I did set up a folder for all of my sister's emails. They are usually diary-like and would be interesting to look at at a later date. I just drag and drop all of her messages in her folder now after I've read them.
I love the idea of being able to sort emails by category. If I had an immediate use for this, I could see myself spending quite some time naming folders and organising my email. Much like with a CD collection, it's nice to know where certain things are when you need them in a hurry.
An email message contains firtsly, the email address of the recepient. Usually seen as "username@domain" Here we learn the user's name, which can be first or last name and in some cases a nickname.
And the domain name, which can be either a place of work, a university, a webmail address, or simply the home service provider (bigpond, iprimus, optusnet).
It is in the last few letters of the address we can see its origin. Commercial identities use .com, government uses .gov, education uses .edu, and so on.
Lastly, the address may or may not end with the country of origin. Iprimus addresses use the "iprimus.com.au", Bigpond however, just use "bigpond.com".
So in the address, we learn a lot about the sender. Importantly, when we recieve an email, we can usually spot bogus addresses if we apply some common sense. Spammers wouldn't be so lucky as to have us open their emails if we took a little more time decifering where they came from.
2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the "cc", "bcc", and "reply all" to all functions of email?
CC: Sends a "carbon copy" to someone. This could be useful if you are addressing a group of people on the one topic. An example is if you were organising a dinner party and sent all those invited an email of the venue, and what time to arrive.
BCC: Is known as a "blind" copy. Other recipients of the same email are unaware that this person in the "bcc" field has received the message. Maybe someone was delberately uninvited to the party, and one of the attendees sent the "blind" email to the snubbed friend. Useful if the person who you have in bcc doesn't want their email address forwarded on with all the others for view. Also handy if passing on jokes and chain emails, which end up anywhere and everywhere.
REPLY ALL: This is commonly used to reply to a message on the same thread. I recieve the dinner party invite and reply to all that "I wouldn't miss it and that I will be there". It's also useful because the recipient can refer to the previous email message, as it appears below the newest one. Its handy to refresh their memory of the details in the email.
3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment that you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
Compatible programs. It's handy to know that the recepient can open the file because they are running like programs. If you are sending a Word 2007 document, the recipient has to be running that program in oreder to open it.
Popular formats should be used to increase the chances of the recipient being able to open the file. Rich text file (RTF) is widely useable, as is JPG and PDF.
It's also useful to "name the file and program or operating system used". In addition to the attachment, a note with what is attached and how should appear in the text box so the recipient knows what they are opening, and if they can open it at all.
Compress larger files, or "zip" them into a folder.
And I guess, if all else fails, ask the recipient to reply when they have looked at the attachment or if they are having trouble with it.
4. What sort of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
The only filter/rule I have set up is that spam is forwarded to the "Junk Email" box. At times that means I miss certain emails that have been wrongly seen as spam by the computer, but I check it regularly now, to make sure I don't miss anything. Most of the time it's very useful.
5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
I don't really have a huge amount of emails sent to me.. at least nothing of value that I would store for future reference as most are unimportant. But for the sake of the task, I did set up a folder for all of my sister's emails. They are usually diary-like and would be interesting to look at at a later date. I just drag and drop all of her messages in her folder now after I've read them.
I love the idea of being able to sort emails by category. If I had an immediate use for this, I could see myself spending quite some time naming folders and organising my email. Much like with a CD collection, it's nice to know where certain things are when you need them in a hurry.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Simplicity is Under-rated
Consider this. A letter that never gets replied to, a phone call with only one person talking, the carrier pigeon that only delivers messages but doesn't have it in his job description to bring home a response... how frustrating for the sender! Well, good news readers, File Transfer Protocol is here.
I like FTP's arrogance. It doesn't deliver it's information per se, it's more self assured, it knows it is "the best example of how the Internet enables files to be sent to and from clients". You want to find something, you come to me.. A little like Morgan Freemans character "Red" in Shawshank Redemption, "I'm the guy who knows how to get things." Yes, we can send AND recieve things, just so long as you know where to look, and who to ask.
I apologise for going off on a tangent here, but the above was saved as a draft yesterday and things have changed a bit.
It's 3:30am, my 3 year son is asleep next to me cuddling his Hot Wheels case (his choice of cuddle toy) with 40+ cars inside when he rolls over and the case hits the floor. His cars are scattered all over the place, and the sound of a 40 car pile up on my bedroom floor has me jumping out of bed before I have properly woken up. I'm so startled, that at 3:45am, when the hazmat team has cleared up the carnage of the crash, and I am climbing back into bed with the case once again fully stocked and I can't get back to sleep.
I know this Internet thing has gotten into my head, because as I lay there in the dark, eyes closed, my thoughts drift to Telnet and FTP. I remember something I had read weeks earlier with regard to Telnet, FTP and an email system being the first Internet uses. Is it really that obvious I wonder. Is it that simple? I have been thinking of so many angles with which to approach this idea of "concepts", and it now (at 4am) feels like I have been trying too hard.
Perhaps I have made a mountain out of a molehill. Is it really as simple as Telnet was invented because it performs the function of contacting other terminals and passing on information? Followed by FTP, which was concieved because of the need to retrieve files, allowing a "two-way street"? The email application, which was very popular, was to allow the professors and military to be able to talk to one another about their work... This was a lightbulb moment for me. I'm not sure if its correct, but it absolutely laid to rest some confusing thoughts I have had recently when thinking about Module 1. With that sorted (in my mind), I fell into a deep sleep... only to be woken at 5:30am by Master 3 who was now, upon waking, playing car races on the bed.
I like FTP's arrogance. It doesn't deliver it's information per se, it's more self assured, it knows it is "the best example of how the Internet enables files to be sent to and from clients". You want to find something, you come to me.. A little like Morgan Freemans character "Red" in Shawshank Redemption, "I'm the guy who knows how to get things." Yes, we can send AND recieve things, just so long as you know where to look, and who to ask.
I apologise for going off on a tangent here, but the above was saved as a draft yesterday and things have changed a bit.
It's 3:30am, my 3 year son is asleep next to me cuddling his Hot Wheels case (his choice of cuddle toy) with 40+ cars inside when he rolls over and the case hits the floor. His cars are scattered all over the place, and the sound of a 40 car pile up on my bedroom floor has me jumping out of bed before I have properly woken up. I'm so startled, that at 3:45am, when the hazmat team has cleared up the carnage of the crash, and I am climbing back into bed with the case once again fully stocked and I can't get back to sleep.
I know this Internet thing has gotten into my head, because as I lay there in the dark, eyes closed, my thoughts drift to Telnet and FTP. I remember something I had read weeks earlier with regard to Telnet, FTP and an email system being the first Internet uses. Is it really that obvious I wonder. Is it that simple? I have been thinking of so many angles with which to approach this idea of "concepts", and it now (at 4am) feels like I have been trying too hard.
Perhaps I have made a mountain out of a molehill. Is it really as simple as Telnet was invented because it performs the function of contacting other terminals and passing on information? Followed by FTP, which was concieved because of the need to retrieve files, allowing a "two-way street"? The email application, which was very popular, was to allow the professors and military to be able to talk to one another about their work... This was a lightbulb moment for me. I'm not sure if its correct, but it absolutely laid to rest some confusing thoughts I have had recently when thinking about Module 1. With that sorted (in my mind), I fell into a deep sleep... only to be woken at 5:30am by Master 3 who was now, upon waking, playing car races on the bed.
Conceptual notes about Telnet
Ok, immediately I want to ask you to define "conceptual". For this is the first question I asked myself. Yes, I know what a concept is, I know how to use it in a sentence, and I can even give you some other words to use instead of concept a la Roget's Thesaurus.
The concept for Telnet for example was/is fantastic. To be able to contact remote computers and give them information and instruction. Great. Then I read point 23 in the booklet of concepts and I am thrown.
The "Human-computer interface" has me questioning who I am talking to here. I am merely conversing with a machine? It begs the question, why do we do this at all if it is so impersonal and "machine-like"?
The concept for Telnet for example was/is fantastic. To be able to contact remote computers and give them information and instruction. Great. Then I read point 23 in the booklet of concepts and I am thrown.The "Human-computer interface" has me questioning who I am talking to here. I am merely conversing with a machine? It begs the question, why do we do this at all if it is so impersonal and "machine-like"?
I also think that Julia the robot who fooled so many into thinking she was human has since found empolyment. She now works as a telemarketer...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Concepts
It has come to my attention that for the concepts assignment I should be adding notes, and like, in here as I go along. So far I am just reading it all over again, and paying much more attention this time! Stay tuned for some conceptual insights into the Module 1 task.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Module 1: Telnet, FTP and Internet Tools
This task was exciting for me as I had never heard of any of the applications, and therefore never used any of the applications. I found educating myself from scratch on these subjects very rewarding, and enjoyable. What I discovered by doing this task, and probably most importantly, was that I was absolutely capable. I had previously feared many things concerning the Internet and I don't think that is uncommon. I am ultimately happy that being a novice didn't mean that I was going to be lost in the task. I have new found confidence.
Telnet
Being a Windows Vista user meant that I had to install telnet. It was a very straight forward operation and was completed in no time at all. However, typing telnet:/// into my URL didn't work, so I went to my start button and typed "telnet" in the search area. That seemed to do it, and immediately I was looking at what appeared to be the screen I learnt to type on in 7th grade! I was attracted to its simplicity, but maybe I have been spoilt by the www, as I was frustrated by the lack of choice and rudimentary layout. Imagine my surprise when I wasn't presented with any advertising, bright colours, and the ability to "click" on something.
Telnet's opening page
Upon completion of Task A, it was my opinion that Telnet was useful as a medium with which to reach remote area computers. A no fuss way to use the Internet and is reliable. I think it has all but become obsolete for the everyday user like myself. I can appreciate the speed with which telnet served me as it was quite quick, but I found it to be much less "user friendly" than the www that I am used to. That is not to say I would not use it again in the future, just that it would not be my choice to. The outcome was of course, the the following email in my inbox.
Not content to box up Telnet and send it off just yet, I wanted to see if anyone still used it, and why they would choose to over the web.
Filezilla's FTP page
My traceroute results using centralops.net
My traceroute results using network-tools.com
Above are the results of the traceroute using centralops.net and network-tools.com respectively. I typed the curtin.edu.au address and I found out the IP is 134.7.179.53. The number of hops from centralops was 20, and it was done in 249 ms. At network-tools it was 18 hops in 268 ms.
I found the whole concept of the traceroute fascinating. That I can see where the connections are made and where they are really appealed to me. It made clear the path that the message travels and helped me to better understand the workings on the Internet at a deeper level.
After paying a visit to Telstra, I was informed that they could reach Curtin in just 14 short hops and in 44.071 ms. Better than either centralops or network-tools. Impressive. I wonder if they could now please just amend my phone bill like promised all those months ago.
My traceroute results using Telstra
Telnet
Being a Windows Vista user meant that I had to install telnet. It was a very straight forward operation and was completed in no time at all. However, typing telnet:/// into my URL didn't work, so I went to my start button and typed "telnet" in the search area. That seemed to do it, and immediately I was looking at what appeared to be the screen I learnt to type on in 7th grade! I was attracted to its simplicity, but maybe I have been spoilt by the www, as I was frustrated by the lack of choice and rudimentary layout. Imagine my surprise when I wasn't presented with any advertising, bright colours, and the ability to "click" on something.
Telnet's opening pageUpon completion of Task A, it was my opinion that Telnet was useful as a medium with which to reach remote area computers. A no fuss way to use the Internet and is reliable. I think it has all but become obsolete for the everyday user like myself. I can appreciate the speed with which telnet served me as it was quite quick, but I found it to be much less "user friendly" than the www that I am used to. That is not to say I would not use it again in the future, just that it would not be my choice to. The outcome was of course, the the following email in my inbox.
An email form Deakin Library appearing in my inbox.
Then I decided I would "do myself a favour" as suggested for Task B, and take in the cute little Star Wars animation. While it obviously took a lot of skill, and is to be admired for the amount of work gone into it, I was left wanting more. I fear I will be unpopular here, but give me sound, the ability to Stop/Pause/Fast Forward, a timer to see how long it goes for. Gee, we really have come a long way haven't we. But I think C3PO said it best in this scene:
C3PO "What a desolate place this is"
Not content to box up Telnet and send it off just yet, I wanted to see if anyone still used it, and why they would choose to over the web.
I found a site that informed me of many, many positives to using Telnet. The overwhelming positive response to Telnet's speed was expected. To discover others found it easier to control, and that they thought the web was "bloatware" was surpising to me, but I understood the reason behind it. Telnet is anything but bloated. Another great positive I thought, and an application I would indeed use was, and I quote, "when the web is 'down', Telnet is 'up'". Here is a great aspect to Telnet and now when my connection fails me, I will turn to my new friend for help.
The telnet graph with speed listed as the best reason for using it.
FTP
FTP
So after getting halfway through the WS FTP download provided, I visited the discussion forum and changed my mind. I too went with to Filezilla to download my client. Once again, very easy and fast and I was soon looking at this screen.
Filezilla's FTP page Very easy task really, type the address, search the files and there it is, the readme.txt file I was looking for. I did, however, have difficulty opening it but with a right click, I was there. The outcome? Capitalisation matters. It would seem that "THIS" isn't the same as "this". Overall, it's a useful way to file transfer I would say.
Internet Tools
This, I really liked. I found myself pinging and tracerouting far longer than I needed to. I tracerouted from a university in Athens, a router in Hong Kong and even good old Telstra. Here is what I found out.
My traceroute results using centralops.net My traceroute results using network-tools.com Above are the results of the traceroute using centralops.net and network-tools.com respectively. I typed the curtin.edu.au address and I found out the IP is 134.7.179.53. The number of hops from centralops was 20, and it was done in 249 ms. At network-tools it was 18 hops in 268 ms.
I found the whole concept of the traceroute fascinating. That I can see where the connections are made and where they are really appealed to me. It made clear the path that the message travels and helped me to better understand the workings on the Internet at a deeper level.
After paying a visit to Telstra, I was informed that they could reach Curtin in just 14 short hops and in 44.071 ms. Better than either centralops or network-tools. Impressive. I wonder if they could now please just amend my phone bill like promised all those months ago.
My traceroute results using TelstraSo in my attempt to analyse all of the information I gathered I have come up with the following. If a router based in Hong Kong (http://stat.qwest.net/looking_glass_asia.html ) can reach Curtin in 14 hops and 191.306 ms and a U.S server (http://all-nettools.com/) can reach it in 19 hops and 301.03 ms, does it make a difference where you are geographically? Well, our Aussie Telstra managed a substantially faster connection (44.071 ms), but was in 14 hops, same as Hong Kong, so no for the hops but a definite yes for the time frame.
I will have to investigate further as to whether on not the size of the server makes a difference to the speed of the connection. I think at this point it must because of the results, but further reading and trying some more pings and traceroute may be required. Or maybe I just like doing it...
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