Intro to Information Technology

Assignment 2

Computer Hardware Article

I thought that this article was a well written comprehensive way to get an overview of the generally used computer lingo. I, not being very computer savoy, felt that I actually sort of knew a good bit of these definitions and there application in the technical world.

Moore's Law

As I just stated I am not very good with computers, and after reading this article, I might as well have been reading something written in a foreign language. I believe I understand the general theory of the law that things being produced inexpensively will increase at some point and the smaller the object the more can be put in, like pixels for digital camera's, but that is it. Unfortunately I am totally old school when it comes to these things and prefer solid books, but I do understand that digital technology is here and therefore in order to be successful I need to get my head around the whole thing. The other thing I was curious about, although might be irrelevant, is I thought scientific laws were proven fact that stand the test of time unlike theories that are hypothesized? The way the article was written, it would seem that it is more a theory than a law. Then again, maybe I missed that day in 6th grade science.


Computer History Museum

I thought this website was pretty neat. A museum dedicated to preserving computer history. I played around a bit with the online interactive exhibits and found them to be both informative and happy that they are in layman's terms. I also thought the computer restorations section was really neat as well. I wonder where the find all the parts for these dinosaurs?

Assignment 1

OCLC Information Format Trends Content, Not Containers

I thought this article to be rather interesting, but incredibly wordy, so I might have missed a few main points. With the world of information changing as quickly as it is, I thought it interesting that the author suggested the possibility that libraries try to find a way for deliver quality content to cell phones or other devices. Many of the people I see at the library are rather elderly and need help looking up a book anyway. I also, after having massive problems finding the Vaughan article for free, feel that social publishing is a pretty good idea as long as it is well monitored by the individual publishing. We have all been there, looking up a research topic and getting something bizarre you did not expect in the first place. It seems though we are a long way from getting quality content for all that is out there, but I rather like the idea. It would save so much time when doing research.

New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture

I admit I had a bit of a difficult time with this article on what point the author was trying to make. I agree that the content of communication is very important, but does that leave it open to interpretation? I also liked the part in the article questioning that if technology is not your area of expertise, why put so much stock into learning the systems? I know the reason why I need to learn this but, it does make a valid point.

Lied Library @ four years: Technology Never Stands Still

I really liked this article. It was comprehensive and I did not feel like my head was spinning after I had finished. I thought Vaughan brought up some very interesting points about the use of the library in terms of academics versus patrons. It seems that the student get amazing benefits from using this library and the system employed is state of the art. An aspect that was brought up that I never even thought about was the issue of space. That with more employees and more students that it would pose a problem. It obviously would, but the thought never crossed my mind. I want to check Lied Library out after reading this article. It sounds incredible.

Muddiest Point

I was not sure because we have two assignments due, if we are to have one muddiest point for each or not

1. What is the difference between my feed and URL?
2. It took me three days to finally access the Vaughan article. I found it with the help of many others who also had problems. If we have a future article like that, do you think we could go over in class how to access it?