Friday, October 31, 2008
Muddiest Point #8
HTML: so, if I were composing an html document in my notepad (almost as if I were doing some sort of assignment for this class or something), how could I see what it will look like on the web before I upload it?
Week 9 Readings
Introduction to XML
XML is a markup language with clearer boundaries than HTML -- each piece or entity is defined. The example of the memo, with the To and From fields encoded in the tags, seems to me like the metadata is already included? Later on the author says XML files are perfect for databases and I assume that this is why.
I wish this included an example of how an XML document displays on a screen.
Survey of XML Standards
Yes, article, I agree that this is intimidating for newcomers. I'm gonna wait for Prof. He to explain this stuff I think.
Interesting that ISO is involved in XML standards! Mostly I have heard about them in my preservation class.
Nice that there are a lot of links to other tutorials, though.
Extending Your Markup
I cannot get this one to work, even searching the e-journal from on campus. sorry.
XML Schema Tutorial
This website wants me to vote McCain-Palin, by the by.
XML schemas are better than DTD, and will probably replace DTD. So I am not going to have to learn DTD, that's good news.
XML restrictions: is this so new entries into a database will fit the correct format of all the other entries and be searchable/usable?
XML is a markup language with clearer boundaries than HTML -- each piece or entity is defined. The example of the memo, with the To and From fields encoded in the tags, seems to me like the metadata is already included? Later on the author says XML files are perfect for databases and I assume that this is why.
I wish this included an example of how an XML document displays on a screen.
Survey of XML Standards
Yes, article, I agree that this is intimidating for newcomers. I'm gonna wait for Prof. He to explain this stuff I think.
Interesting that ISO is involved in XML standards! Mostly I have heard about them in my preservation class.
Nice that there are a lot of links to other tutorials, though.
Extending Your Markup
I cannot get this one to work, even searching the e-journal from on campus. sorry.
XML Schema Tutorial
This website wants me to vote McCain-Palin, by the by.
XML schemas are better than DTD, and will probably replace DTD. So I am not going to have to learn DTD, that's good news.
XML restrictions: is this so new entries into a database will fit the correct format of all the other entries and be searchable/usable?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Muddiest Point #7
We talked a little about persistent urls. But even those seem in danger of vanishing at any moment. Besides the internet archive/wayback machine, is there any way of making info on the web permanent?
Week 8 Reading
Ok, back from vacation...
HTML Tutorial & HTML cheatsheet
Well, there isn't a whole lot to take notes on here. Obviously these will be great references for the next assignment. The tutorial especially is helpful because it has visual examples of what everything will look like (at first I wasn't sure what they meant by "forms" but I figured it out).
(Incidentally, the url for the cheatsheet is listed incorrectly in the syllabus. It should be http://www.webmonkey.com/reference/HTML_Cheatsheet.)
Do people still use frames? They seem so...old fashioned.
CSS Tutorial
Less familiar territory here. But the explanation makes a lot of sense: it's a way to separate design from content (on a practical level...whether or not they can be separated on a philosophical level is a different issue) as well as save time and maintain consistency.
The CSS can be internal or external. If external, you link to your style sheet within your webpage's html and it applies the design html from the style sheet. Is the css document just saved on your computer or does it have to be uploaded to the web? I can't find an explanation of this on the tutorial, it just says create the sheet in any text editor and save as a .css file.
Goans, Leach and Vogel: Beyond HTML
Here the web librarian uses CSS to make the library's website more consistent, and navigation and use easier. It's just one component of the overall content management system.
Interestingly, the university created this system in-house instead of using commercial or open-source software. This is clearly ideal because the system can be designed specifically for the purposed of the university. But not all libraries will have the luxury of the IT personnel to do this for them. Oh...maybe that's why we are reading this.
Beyond the technical aspect, this article emphasized the importance of getting input from all quarters - tech staff, librarians, students, even peer libraries to see what their experience has been like.
HTML Tutorial & HTML cheatsheet
Well, there isn't a whole lot to take notes on here. Obviously these will be great references for the next assignment. The tutorial especially is helpful because it has visual examples of what everything will look like (at first I wasn't sure what they meant by "forms" but I figured it out).
(Incidentally, the url for the cheatsheet is listed incorrectly in the syllabus. It should be http://www.webmonkey.com/reference/HTML_Cheatsheet.)
Do people still use frames? They seem so...old fashioned.
CSS Tutorial
Less familiar territory here. But the explanation makes a lot of sense: it's a way to separate design from content (on a practical level...whether or not they can be separated on a philosophical level is a different issue) as well as save time and maintain consistency.
The CSS can be internal or external. If external, you link to your style sheet within your webpage's html and it applies the design html from the style sheet. Is the css document just saved on your computer or does it have to be uploaded to the web? I can't find an explanation of this on the tutorial, it just says create the sheet in any text editor and save as a .css file.
Goans, Leach and Vogel: Beyond HTML
Here the web librarian uses CSS to make the library's website more consistent, and navigation and use easier. It's just one component of the overall content management system.
Interestingly, the university created this system in-house instead of using commercial or open-source software. This is clearly ideal because the system can be designed specifically for the purposed of the university. But not all libraries will have the luxury of the IT personnel to do this for them. Oh...maybe that's why we are reading this.
Beyond the technical aspect, this article emphasized the importance of getting input from all quarters - tech staff, librarians, students, even peer libraries to see what their experience has been like.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Muddiest Point #6
How can RFID technology be useful if it can only work at such a close range? Is there much development going on to make it stronger?
Jing Assignment
Here is my video.
(http://www.screencast.com/users/mecmec/folders/Jing/media/711c8f2d-ff83-4afa-8dea-82afd7f609f6)
Flickr photo set.
Individual image links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2910347528/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2910369410/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2909533777/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2909541233/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2910408330/
(http://www.screencast.com/users/mecmec/folders/Jing/media/711c8f2d-ff83-4afa-8dea-82afd7f609f6)
Flickr photo set.
Individual image links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2910347528/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2910369410/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2909533777/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2909541233/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellinor/2910408330/
Week 7 Readings
Tyson -- How Internet Infrastructure Works
I am intrigued by this Internet Society. Tysons says they oversee policies and protocol for how we use the internet, but I am reminded of a quote from a reading for LIS2000 in which Terrence Brooks calls the internet "a lawless meaning space." But maybe their policies are more about the technical side of things and less about meaning and/or morality. How powerful is The Internet Society? Are they like the Masons?
I clicked over to the page on how routers work. That explanation makes them seem even more important -- there would be no way to deal with the massive amounts of information zooming around. It has some pictures of gigantic industrial-sized routers. Are those really the same thing as what I think of as my wireless router in my apartment?
IP addresses: So, my computer gets assigned a new IP address every time I connect to a different wireless network. Is the old IP permanently erased or is it stored somewhere? If it were permanently erased, it would be much harder for internet activity to be traced back to one computer/user (ie for the government to spy on us). Right now I'm in a coffee shop but if I go home or to campus I'll be connected to a completely different network.
Pace -- Dismantling Integrated Library Systems
If this article is to be believed, libraries are at a dramatic juncture (or were 4 years ago). Old systems have been rejected but the new ones aren't up to the same standards.
Searching on PittCat, for example, isn't at all as intuitive as Google. If only it had that "Did you mean _____?" misspelling fuction! Now that most people are used to natural language internet searching, library systems need to catch up to that level of sophisitication.
Of course, the need for new systems means more profits for vendors, so they are less intersted in supplying products that are just a one-time purchase. This article makes open source sounds appealing (even if the costs balance out -- why NOT spend the money on tech staff rather than expensive software? Seems like a better use of funds to me). I'm sure advances have been made since 2004 -- I believe we looked at some of them in class.
Brin and Page: Inside the Google Machine
Not to sound like a PC jerko, but is anyone else slightly uncomfortable with the whole "Africa = the Dark Continent" thing? Is there a way to talk about access disparities without sounding like missionaries/colonialists? It seems self-evident now that increased access to technology benefits everyone; I just hope history bears us out on that one.
Google incorporating principles of Montessori education is pretty fascinating. Sounds like a great workplace, anyway. I honestly think some of Google's success is due to that somewhat playful attitude -- the logo changing, etc. Obviously their product is the main draw, but I think the non-intimidating yet non-condescending (unlike yahoo and aol, which seemed to be designed for 80 year old using the internet for the first time) feel really helps.
I am intrigued by this Internet Society. Tysons says they oversee policies and protocol for how we use the internet, but I am reminded of a quote from a reading for LIS2000 in which Terrence Brooks calls the internet "a lawless meaning space." But maybe their policies are more about the technical side of things and less about meaning and/or morality. How powerful is The Internet Society? Are they like the Masons?
I clicked over to the page on how routers work. That explanation makes them seem even more important -- there would be no way to deal with the massive amounts of information zooming around. It has some pictures of gigantic industrial-sized routers. Are those really the same thing as what I think of as my wireless router in my apartment?
IP addresses: So, my computer gets assigned a new IP address every time I connect to a different wireless network. Is the old IP permanently erased or is it stored somewhere? If it were permanently erased, it would be much harder for internet activity to be traced back to one computer/user (ie for the government to spy on us). Right now I'm in a coffee shop but if I go home or to campus I'll be connected to a completely different network.
Pace -- Dismantling Integrated Library Systems
If this article is to be believed, libraries are at a dramatic juncture (or were 4 years ago). Old systems have been rejected but the new ones aren't up to the same standards.
Searching on PittCat, for example, isn't at all as intuitive as Google. If only it had that "Did you mean _____?" misspelling fuction! Now that most people are used to natural language internet searching, library systems need to catch up to that level of sophisitication.
Of course, the need for new systems means more profits for vendors, so they are less intersted in supplying products that are just a one-time purchase. This article makes open source sounds appealing (even if the costs balance out -- why NOT spend the money on tech staff rather than expensive software? Seems like a better use of funds to me). I'm sure advances have been made since 2004 -- I believe we looked at some of them in class.
Brin and Page: Inside the Google Machine
Not to sound like a PC jerko, but is anyone else slightly uncomfortable with the whole "Africa = the Dark Continent" thing? Is there a way to talk about access disparities without sounding like missionaries/colonialists? It seems self-evident now that increased access to technology benefits everyone; I just hope history bears us out on that one.
Google incorporating principles of Montessori education is pretty fascinating. Sounds like a great workplace, anyway. I honestly think some of Google's success is due to that somewhat playful attitude -- the logo changing, etc. Obviously their product is the main draw, but I think the non-intimidating yet non-condescending (unlike yahoo and aol, which seemed to be designed for 80 year old using the internet for the first time) feel really helps.
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