Week 6 Muddiest Point

This may be a rudimentary muddy point but I'm just curious as to what the traceroute information generated from that website would be useful for. I used CMU's link from www.traceroute.com and am curious about what the list means. the IP address I used is from my laptop that I was using on my home wireless network.

Here's what I got from CMU:

traceroute Results

Results from: /usr/sbin/traceroute 136.142.64.121:

traceroute to 136.142.64.121 (136.142.64.121), 30 hops max, 38 byte packets
1  POD-C-NH-VL4.GW.CMU.NET (128.2.4.44)  0.247 ms  0.214 ms  0.204 ms
2  CORE255-VL908.GW.CMU.NET (128.2.255.194)  0.317 ms  0.285 ms  0.272 ms
3  POD-I-CYH-VL987.GW.CMU.NET (128.2.255.250)  0.490 ms  0.397 ms  0.417 ms
4  bar-cmu-ge-4-0-0-2.3rox.net (192.88.115.185)  124.024 ms *  133.533 ms
5  pitt-cl-i2.3rox.net (192.88.115.151)  0.497 ms  0.457 ms  0.472 ms
6  cl2-vlan712.gw.pitt.edu (136.142.2.162)  3.056 ms  0.839 ms  0.633 ms
7  cl-wan5-cl-core-2.gw.pitt.edu (136.142.9.18)  1.300 ms  1.328 ms  1.281 ms
8  nb-cl.gw.pitt.edu (136.142.253.30)  112.341 ms  10.279 ms  106.211 ms
9  * * *
10  * * *
11  * * *
12  * * *
13  * * *
14  * * *
15  * * *
16  * * *
17  * * *
18  * * *
19  * * *
20  * * *

Error!

Timed out while processing: /usr/sbin/traceroute 136.142.64.121.

---

It appears the route goes from CMU to Pitt and then eventually to me (unfortunately, it kept timing out). Neat stuff!

Week 6 comments

http://randhall2600.blogspot.com/2008/09/week-6-readings.html

http://kirstenbell.blogspot.com/2008/09/week-6-readings-and-muddiest-point.html

http://petersblog-landark.blogspot.com/2008/09/reading-notes-week-6.html

Week 5 Muddiest Point

The one thing I was kind of confused about was how/why compression was developed for fax transmission and what type of compression it uses even now.

Week 6 readings

Computer Networks & LAN articles

The first article was helpful in describing the different types of networks since I had only ever heard of local area networks previously. Also helpful was the explanation of intra- and extranet since these are used by my department at Pitt but I never quite understood what they were.

The LAN article brought up an interesting point that networks started basically to save money since at that time, disk space and printers were much more expensive than they are now.

RFID

It doesn't appear that RFID would be that useful in a library setting. For reasons mentioned in this article, it is unclear whether the hassles/problems outweigh the benefits. The article is from 2005 and I wonder what, if anything, has changed since then.

Assignment 3

Hi - here's my link to my 40 articles on citeulike:

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

For my elderly and libraries topic, I had to tweak it a little to be able to find articles on citeulike since the searching on there is a bit difficult.

Week 5 comments...

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7036399065753048748&postID=6474850926400396154&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=9004604055760573247&postID=382369493207682627&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6887347751761325191&postID=836221725702419076&page=1

Week 4 Muddiest Point

The one thing I was a little confused about (and maybe I just missed something) was when discussing meta data harvesting and combining various collections and the ability to search regardless of the metadata format, is this the ideal or is this able to be done now? I wouldn't think so since things like the Dublin Core and other standardization methods haven't really been able to come to fruition yet.

Week 5 Readings

Data Compression - Wikipedia article

I know a bit about data compression because I download a lot of movies and tv shows and they come in .rar files that need to be extracted. My only knowledge, though, was that these files were 'rar-ed' to make them easier to transfer, but didn't really know how compression worked. My question would be when using, for instance, WinRar to extract compressed files, does it detect what kind of files it is extracting and then choose lossless or lossy automatically? Another thing I was surprised about was that data compression was being discussed/theorized about 50 years ago. The mention that 'the idea of data compression is deeply connected with statistical inference' makes it a lot easier to understand now.

Data Compression Basics

This article was quite interesting. The examples of RLE and the discussion of when actual compression will and will not work made the this whole concept easier to digest. I didn't really understand the discussion of entropy encoding and will probably have to give it another read.

Imaging Pittsburgh

This article did a great job of explaining in detail the whole process of creating and bringing to reality this imaging project. This project will only increase access to rare and/or hard to find images of our great city for the general public and for researchers. The article explained the rationale behind many of the decisions made regarding the project, such as what controlled vocabulary to use (LCSH), the use of different data bases for the different groups involved. It clearly laid out the problems and solutions when tackling large digitization projects with multiple organizations.

YouTube and Libraries

The one thing I took away from this article was the idea that using YouTube could be especially good for college students who, like myself, didn't have to take a freshman orientation class. I stumbled around Hillman in undergrad and was not aware of MANY resources that could have been useful for me. Using YouTube may also be helpful for training/instruction in public libraries of our growing aging population. I think that older people will become more and more savvy with computers but may need more training. It could also benefit their health if, for instance, a public library had YouTube instructions on how to search appropriately on MedlinePlus (a consumer health information site). This is just one example off the top of my head but there are countless other ways YouTube could be used to reach out to the aging population.

Link for flickr assignment

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83679611@N00/
My two sets of photos are on the right column and are marked 'master/screen display' and 'thumbnails'.

Week 3 Muddiest Point

I'm glad there was a detailed discussion of open source software because I was always curious about Firefox. It is worlds better than IE--takes up less space on computers, has support, more security, etc. The people who developed it must have been highly motivated, along with the people who contribute to it by developing all of the great add-ons and themes (Foxmarks being my favorite). I always wondered how something like this could be free. Does this mean that the developers don't make any money from it or maybe they do from advertising or something? Perhaps this is a goofy question, but I really am curious and am surprised that these developers who make open source software that is so great are doing it for no monetary compensation.

Week 4 Readings

Database article

While I found most of the article a bit above my grasp, it was interesting to learn about the different types of models and think about which model would work for a specific user need. I would have liked the article to have contained some pictures of how these databases actually look on the screen, since I have not worked with them directly. Also, the section on applications could have been longer and I hope there is some discussion of this in class.

Metadata & Dublin Core articles

It seems that the structure of metadata is very important. The more structured an information object is, the better for searching and manipulating that object. This also comes into play when thinking about increased accessibility and expanded use of information internationally (metadata being able to adjust to different end users, i.e. teachers versus school children). This cannot happen if the structure of metadata is not as consistent as possible. The article mentions the different practices for different professional and cultural missions when it comes to creating metadata.

This article was very helpful in pointing out the different ways that the term 'metadata' is used and the different types of metadata with 'real world' examples (Table 1). For someone new to this field, this is very helpful. In the Understanding Information course, we learned about the life cycle of information. It was interesting to learn how layers of metadata are added with every step through the life cycle.

Going back to consistency, this is where the Dublin Core comes into play. While the Miller article was OK, I could not get my head around it and searched for a more consumable (and more current) article. Luckily, I found a great Dublin Core Metadata Tutorial from 2007. Here's the link: www.oclc.org/research/presentations/weibel/20070709-brazil-dctutorial.ppt

This tutorial is from the OCLC Online Computer Library Center and does a great job of discussing metadata, the different properties of Dublin Core metadata, and also discusses syntax alternatives in Dublin Core (HTML, RDF/XML, etc) and their different advantages and disadvantages. Towards the end of the presentation (around slide 70), it provides a history of the Dublin Core and various landmarks. While I am not questioning the use of the assigned reading, it is a draft document from 1999 with numerous errors and after reading these slides I feel like I understand substantially more about metadata and the Dublin Core than from reading the Miller article.

Also, I found a list of terminology which helped me read through the tutorial:
http://dublincore.org/documents/abstract-model/#sect-7. (you may have to scroll down a little ways to #7) I did not know what some of the acronyms stood for that Weibel was used, such as URI (uniform resource identifier).

Week 3 Comments on Other Blogs

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1128670142701200699&postID=4096064720955609588&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1139180432200060758&postID=6110816629353320847&page=1

Week 3 Readings

Linux
Before reading this article, I knew very little about Linux other than it was an operating system. I was surprised to learn that it started to be developed in 1969.

Some other thoughts:

• The introduction wasn't very helpful so I read some of Chapter 1
• The idea that it recycles code (and the chapter provides a good explanation of what this is) is what makes it so appealing and pretty cool.
• Surprising that "Linux is the only OS in the world covering such a wide range of hardware". I did not know it was so widespread.
• It still seems like it is more useful for programmers and not "desktop users" but it is becoming more user friendly
• The chapter has a great explanation of Open Source and why it's so important in the creation of better software faster.

Mac OS X

1st article

• This article contained a good definitely for people who do not know what it is and the fact that you need to be familiar with operating systems in general to use it.
  

• What are the 'OS religious riots' the author mentions?

• The rest of the reading was too technical

Wikipedia article

• The Leopard desktop screenshot is incredible looking and I want it for my computers.
• The Prominent Features section shows the neat Dashboard and desktop widgets and I notice a similarity with Vista (which I have on my laptop) but it's not nearly as neat and doesn't have nearly the functionality, it seems.
• The Criticism section was absent and this would have been a useful section to read. What are some criticisms of MAC OS X?

Windows Roadmap

• I read the letter and the comments (the ones I could understand anyway). Now I guess I understand why the IT guys in my department at Pitt haven't bothered installing Vista on our machines. If it is working fine and Windows 7 comes out in less than 2 years, just wait on it. Of course, if they do not know how to work with Vista, this could be a problem. I was worried about my refurbished Dell coming with Vista (I couldn't "downgrade" to XP like I wanted to), but I've had no problems with it and am enjoying using it.
  

Week 2 Muddiest Point

The one thing I was wondering about concerned the discussion of how a CD works when it is spinning in a machine and how it can be damaged, apparently pretty easily, by a hair, dust particle, etc. Why couldn't there be some type of protective coating or CDs be made from a different type of material that isn't so easily damaged? Perhaps using other materials to make a CD would be cost prohibitive but they have been around for quite some time now, so the technology probably shouldn't be as volatile as it is.