This week we learn't how to use Photoshop.
I took a pic of Brian Dawkins and added it to an image of a Mushroom Cloud.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Week 4 - Search Engine Questions
What is a search engine?
A search engine is a searchable online database of internet resources. It has several components: search engine software, spider software, an index (database), and a relevancy algorithm (rules for ranking). The search engine software consists of a server or a collection of servers dedicated to indexing Internet Web pages, storing the results and returning lists of pages to match user queries. The spidering software constantly crawls the Web collecting Web page data for the index. The index is a database for storing the data. The relevancy algorithm determines how to rank queries. Examples of major search engines are Google, AOL, MSN and Lycos, etc.. Examples of major directories are Yahoo!, LookSmart and ODP.
(http://www.virtechseo.com/seoglossary.htm)
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Pages listed are ones which contain text matching the search term. These are sorted in some kind of relevance order, usually based on the number of times the search terms appear, and whether they're in a title or header.
(http://hayleyshollers.blogspot.com/)
Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?
To get a top spot on the search engine your site must be "optimised" for the search engine. Optimization used to mean adding "keyword metatags" to your site header.
This practice is virtually ignored by most search engines. You now need to use sentences to describe what the page is about. A picture is worth 1000 words, but of the search engine cannot see your picture, then it is not worth a thing.
Optimising your website using search engine optimization means that you must make your website easily navigable by humans, so that humans can find what they are looking for quickly. The search engine algorithms, or programs, are built to promote sites that do this, and they do this using search engine rules.
(http://www.computerengineering.ca/getting_started_with_web_hosting/)
What are some of your favourite search engines? Why do you like one more than others?
I use Google exclusivly. No other reason than it is my homepage.
Can you find some current news stories about search engines?
Google buys Youtube!
A search engine is a searchable online database of internet resources. It has several components: search engine software, spider software, an index (database), and a relevancy algorithm (rules for ranking). The search engine software consists of a server or a collection of servers dedicated to indexing Internet Web pages, storing the results and returning lists of pages to match user queries. The spidering software constantly crawls the Web collecting Web page data for the index. The index is a database for storing the data. The relevancy algorithm determines how to rank queries. Examples of major search engines are Google, AOL, MSN and Lycos, etc.. Examples of major directories are Yahoo!, LookSmart and ODP.
(http://www.virtechseo.com/seoglossary.htm)
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Pages listed are ones which contain text matching the search term. These are sorted in some kind of relevance order, usually based on the number of times the search terms appear, and whether they're in a title or header.
(http://hayleyshollers.blogspot.com/)
Who, or what, makes one page (that you might get in your search results) more useful than another one, so that it is put at the top of your search results?
To get a top spot on the search engine your site must be "optimised" for the search engine. Optimization used to mean adding "keyword metatags" to your site header.
This practice is virtually ignored by most search engines. You now need to use sentences to describe what the page is about. A picture is worth 1000 words, but of the search engine cannot see your picture, then it is not worth a thing.
Optimising your website using search engine optimization means that you must make your website easily navigable by humans, so that humans can find what they are looking for quickly. The search engine algorithms, or programs, are built to promote sites that do this, and they do this using search engine rules.
(http://www.computerengineering.ca/getting_started_with_web_hosting/)
What are some of your favourite search engines? Why do you like one more than others?
I use Google exclusivly. No other reason than it is my homepage.
Can you find some current news stories about search engines?
Google buys Youtube!
Week 4 - Scavenger Hunt
Complete the Scavenger Hunt questions by using a search engine that isn't Google, and post your answers in your blog:
1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin?
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?
3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
4. How would you define the word 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean ?
5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film?
6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
7. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
1. 1061 pounds (reference - http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plmay99.htm)
2. Miami Swimming ClubPO BOX 2461BURLEIGH QLD 4220 (reference -http://granthackettonline.free.fr/?page_id=107)
3. A giraffe can extend its tongue for as much as 45 cm (18 in) (reference - http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561060/Giraffe.html)
4. Ontology can be said to study conceptions of reality (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology)
5. Stereo (1969) (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg#Filmography_as_Director)
6. January 8, 1986. (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Manifesto)
7. In 1994, the North American Numbering Plan Administration began accepting applications for nationwide 555 numbers (outside the fictitious 555-01XX range). This would mean that a consumer from any area code could dial a seven-digit number such as 555-TACO, and the owners of that number could connect the call to the taco vendor nearest to the consumer. However, according to a 2003 New York Times article, the desired functionality requires the cooperation of local phone authorities, and most phone vendors have been reluctant to cooperate, perhaps wary of undermining the lucrative business of selling toll-free telephone numbers. Despite the fact that the service is virtually unavailable so far, most of the available 555 numbers have already been reserved. (reference - http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/16094)
8. By Ferry (reference - http://www.athensguide.com/ferries.html)
9. I'll Never Find Another You - The Seekers (reference - http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm)
10. Black Assasin's (reference - http://www.brisbanewritersfestival.com.au/2005/content/standard.asp?name=StockwellS)
1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin?
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?
3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
4. How would you define the word 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean ?
5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film?
6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
7. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
1. 1061 pounds (reference - http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plmay99.htm)
2. Miami Swimming ClubPO BOX 2461BURLEIGH QLD 4220 (reference -http://granthackettonline.free.fr/?page_id=107)
3. A giraffe can extend its tongue for as much as 45 cm (18 in) (reference - http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561060/Giraffe.html)
4. Ontology can be said to study conceptions of reality (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology)
5. Stereo (1969) (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg#Filmography_as_Director)
6. January 8, 1986. (reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Manifesto)
7. In 1994, the North American Numbering Plan Administration began accepting applications for nationwide 555 numbers (outside the fictitious 555-01XX range). This would mean that a consumer from any area code could dial a seven-digit number such as 555-TACO, and the owners of that number could connect the call to the taco vendor nearest to the consumer. However, according to a 2003 New York Times article, the desired functionality requires the cooperation of local phone authorities, and most phone vendors have been reluctant to cooperate, perhaps wary of undermining the lucrative business of selling toll-free telephone numbers. Despite the fact that the service is virtually unavailable so far, most of the available 555 numbers have already been reserved. (reference - http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/16094)
8. By Ferry (reference - http://www.athensguide.com/ferries.html)
9. I'll Never Find Another You - The Seekers (reference - http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm)
10. Black Assasin's (reference - http://www.brisbanewritersfestival.com.au/2005/content/standard.asp?name=StockwellS)
Week 4 - Library Database Exercises
Alrighty, week 4 rolls around and we are actually doing work, albiet basically a 'keep busy' exercise. Here is what we had to do:
1) The first task is for library searches: search the library catalogue and find a resource that will help you formulate your essay topic.
2) Go to the full-text database search via the library website and find three academic articles that relate to the topic of your first essay. Write a report to post in your blog that summarises the key points in the articles, and comment on how this task has helped you formulate your topic.
3) For the Mailing List part, find some academic mailing lists that are related to the kinds of things we study in Communication and Digital Technologies (internet studies, new media studies, etc). Find out the names and websites of two academic lists and write a post about them.
4) Complete the Scavenger Hunt questions by using a search engine that isn't Google, and post your answers in your blog.
Exercise 1:
eBook found by searching the Library database on the subject the history of the internet, which my essay may be on: A brief history of the Internet [electronic resource] : the bright side : the dark side / by Michael Hart and Maxwell Fuller.
Exercise 2:
- A brief history of the Internet [electronic resource] : the bright side : the dark side / by Michael Hart and Maxwell Fuller.
For the first time we actually have an opportunity for a whole world's population to share not only air or water, but also to share the world of ideas, of art or of music and other sounds. Think of the time and effort people save simply by being able to consult a dictionary, an encyclopedia, thesaurus or other reference book, a newspaper or magazine library of vast proportions, or a library of a thousand books of the greatest works of all history without even having to get up and go to the bookcase. There is no longer any reason to "do it the hard way" as you will see below, and on the Internet. (sourced from the above url)
- Inventing the Internet / Janet Abbate.
Between the 1960s and the 1980s, computing technology underwent a dramatic transformation: the computer, originally conceived as an isolated calculating device, was reborn as a means of communication. But in the early 1960s, when computers were scarce, expensive, and cumbersome, using a computer for communication was almost unthinkable. A scientist who needed to use a distant computer might find it easier to get on a plane and fly to the machine's location to use it in person. Founded by the Air Force in 1946 as an outgrowth of operations research efforts initiated during World War II, Rand (originally RAND, derived from "research and development") was a nonprofit corporation dedicated to research on military strategy and technology. Strangelove turns to "the Bland Corporation'' when he needs advice on nuclear strategy. Because its approach to systems analysis emphasized quantitative models and simulation, Rand was also active in computer science research (Edwards 1996, pp.)
- Online timeline
An article by David Carlson, including a description of work on his timeline, begins on page 68. The Online Timeline from which this is adapted can be found at http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/carlson/timeline.shtml. (sourced from this website)
By using the Griffith online database to do this exercise I have learn't how to use the library database, which will come in handy when I have to start writing all my assesments for this and other courses. Also, by finding some eBooks on the topic that I may write my essay on I have been able to gain a little more of an understanding on the history of the internet and its development.
Exercise 3:
Mailing list 1 - http://www.inms.umn.edu/about/contact.htm
The Institute for New Media Studies is a center for creation, innovation, and examination of content and messages and the affects of new media technologies and techniques on their forms and functions. The goal is the imagining and testing of innovative forms, development of new knowledge about functions, and generation of greater understanding of the impacts of these changes in the media landscape. (sourced from http://www.inms.umn.edu/about/mission.htm)
Mailing list 2 - http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
The Association of Internet Researchers is an academic association dedicated to the advancement of the cross-disciplinary field of Internet studies. It is a member-based support network promoting critical and scholarly Internet research independent from traditional disciplines and existing across academic borders. The association is international in scope. ( sourced from http://www.aoir.org/)
1) The first task is for library searches: search the library catalogue and find a resource that will help you formulate your essay topic.
2) Go to the full-text database search via the library website and find three academic articles that relate to the topic of your first essay. Write a report to post in your blog that summarises the key points in the articles, and comment on how this task has helped you formulate your topic.
3) For the Mailing List part, find some academic mailing lists that are related to the kinds of things we study in Communication and Digital Technologies (internet studies, new media studies, etc). Find out the names and websites of two academic lists and write a post about them.
4) Complete the Scavenger Hunt questions by using a search engine that isn't Google, and post your answers in your blog.
Exercise 1:
eBook found by searching the Library database on the subject the history of the internet, which my essay may be on: A brief history of the Internet [electronic resource] : the bright side : the dark side / by Michael Hart and Maxwell Fuller.
Exercise 2:
- A brief history of the Internet [electronic resource] : the bright side : the dark side / by Michael Hart and Maxwell Fuller.
For the first time we actually have an opportunity for a whole world's population to share not only air or water, but also to share the world of ideas, of art or of music and other sounds. Think of the time and effort people save simply by being able to consult a dictionary, an encyclopedia, thesaurus or other reference book, a newspaper or magazine library of vast proportions, or a library of a thousand books of the greatest works of all history without even having to get up and go to the bookcase. There is no longer any reason to "do it the hard way" as you will see below, and on the Internet. (sourced from the above url)
- Inventing the Internet / Janet Abbate.
Between the 1960s and the 1980s, computing technology underwent a dramatic transformation: the computer, originally conceived as an isolated calculating device, was reborn as a means of communication. But in the early 1960s, when computers were scarce, expensive, and cumbersome, using a computer for communication was almost unthinkable. A scientist who needed to use a distant computer might find it easier to get on a plane and fly to the machine's location to use it in person. Founded by the Air Force in 1946 as an outgrowth of operations research efforts initiated during World War II, Rand (originally RAND, derived from "research and development") was a nonprofit corporation dedicated to research on military strategy and technology. Strangelove turns to "the Bland Corporation'' when he needs advice on nuclear strategy. Because its approach to systems analysis emphasized quantitative models and simulation, Rand was also active in computer science research (Edwards 1996, pp.)
- Online timeline
An article by David Carlson, including a description of work on his timeline, begins on page 68. The Online Timeline from which this is adapted can be found at http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/carlson/timeline.shtml. (sourced from this website)
By using the Griffith online database to do this exercise I have learn't how to use the library database, which will come in handy when I have to start writing all my assesments for this and other courses. Also, by finding some eBooks on the topic that I may write my essay on I have been able to gain a little more of an understanding on the history of the internet and its development.
Exercise 3:
Mailing list 1 - http://www.inms.umn.edu/about/contact.htm
The Institute for New Media Studies is a center for creation, innovation, and examination of content and messages and the affects of new media technologies and techniques on their forms and functions. The goal is the imagining and testing of innovative forms, development of new knowledge about functions, and generation of greater understanding of the impacts of these changes in the media landscape. (sourced from http://www.inms.umn.edu/about/mission.htm)
Mailing list 2 - http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
The Association of Internet Researchers is an academic association dedicated to the advancement of the cross-disciplinary field of Internet studies. It is a member-based support network promoting critical and scholarly Internet research independent from traditional disciplines and existing across academic borders. The association is international in scope. ( sourced from http://www.aoir.org/)
Week 3 - Communication Types Exercise
I have to talk about how I communicate with my friends and family through communication technologies.
The tech that I generally use is email, instant messaging and Xbox Live.
I don't generally talk to family members using internet technologies, I talk to them over the phone, be it landline or mobile or in person, as most of my family though does live away (not immediate though) I use the phone.
Friends though I generally talk to via Instant Messaging services and email, as well as Xbox Live.
I use Windows messenger to talk to mates via the internet, the IM confersations are very casual just as if i was talking to them in person, though we do very often share links with each other.
Email I don't use as much to talk to friends, I generally use email for online newsletters, keeping in touch with the university and info from sporting teams, websites I am a member of etc.
Xbox Live however is very different. I play video games with people (generally those who I have never met, sometimes from overseas) and have the ability with the right periphials to talk to them and even see them, though to see them you need an Xbox webcam, which I don't have as I don't think its worth the money as it isn't fully used yet by game developers.
Speaking to people that I don't know over Xbox Live isn't that different to people that I do know as you very quickly become 'friends' with the people, you also know their basic likes and dislikes due to the profile on their gamercard.
I don't talk to people I don't know over IM, but I do on things such as forums, but generally these forums are specialist (i.e. Sydney Roosters forums) so we all know we like at least one thing the same.
I have been using IM, email and forums for a long time, probably since I started using the net, but due to not having broadband until recently I have only had Xbox Live since the 1st of Feb 07.
Basically I started using this tech cause my mates were (in regards to IM, email, forums, etc) but I always wanted to use Xbox Live because I love the idea of online gaming, plus games have a MUCH longer life span when you can use multi-player.
The tech that I generally use is email, instant messaging and Xbox Live.
I don't generally talk to family members using internet technologies, I talk to them over the phone, be it landline or mobile or in person, as most of my family though does live away (not immediate though) I use the phone.
Friends though I generally talk to via Instant Messaging services and email, as well as Xbox Live.
I use Windows messenger to talk to mates via the internet, the IM confersations are very casual just as if i was talking to them in person, though we do very often share links with each other.
Email I don't use as much to talk to friends, I generally use email for online newsletters, keeping in touch with the university and info from sporting teams, websites I am a member of etc.
Xbox Live however is very different. I play video games with people (generally those who I have never met, sometimes from overseas) and have the ability with the right periphials to talk to them and even see them, though to see them you need an Xbox webcam, which I don't have as I don't think its worth the money as it isn't fully used yet by game developers.
Speaking to people that I don't know over Xbox Live isn't that different to people that I do know as you very quickly become 'friends' with the people, you also know their basic likes and dislikes due to the profile on their gamercard.
I don't talk to people I don't know over IM, but I do on things such as forums, but generally these forums are specialist (i.e. Sydney Roosters forums) so we all know we like at least one thing the same.
I have been using IM, email and forums for a long time, probably since I started using the net, but due to not having broadband until recently I have only had Xbox Live since the 1st of Feb 07.
Basically I started using this tech cause my mates were (in regards to IM, email, forums, etc) but I always wanted to use Xbox Live because I love the idea of online gaming, plus games have a MUCH longer life span when you can use multi-player.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Blog week 2 - lecture screenings, the office and 1 week till footy!!
Monday has rolled around again, and so it means that I am once again updating my blog. In terms of NCT, the week was productive, in terms of other things in my life quite slow.
The Friday lecture of NCT was interesting to say the least. As required for the course I had spent all day Thursday reading my newly acquired text book up to the end of chapter 4 to get ready for the lecture. The term dialectic was pretty easy to understand and it seems pretty integral to the course.
Basically it means the process especially associated with Hegel of arriving at the truth by stating a thesis, developing a contradictory antithesis, and combining and resolving them into a coherent synthesis. That was taken from the text book, Communication and New Media by Martin Hirst and John Harrison.
In the lecture itself we looked at the evolution of media (Media Theory) and how it differed in the US, Europe and then UK. Prof. Stockwell also showed us the paper that hen wrote on Media Theory, and suggested we check it out, but also said that he doubted we would find it useful as we won’t understand it.
In the second half of the lecture we watched a screening of a French New Wave movie (the name of which I forget, lol) It was about the third world war and the underground experiments of trying to communicate with the past and present in the hopes of saving the human race. It was a black and white still frames film, but it was nonetheless enjoyable.
I assume that the point of the screening was to show that communication is available in many ways, even though the film was obviously science fiction.
In the Tute for NCT, which I had today we just added friends to our blog from the class and updated it. Heaps of 'work' hey! :)
As for the rest of the week I have basically been taking it easy, I downloaded seasons 1 and 2 of the US version of the Office and have been watching that, as well as playing Gears of War on Xbox Live.
The NRL season kicks off on Friday night with two games on Channel 9, but what I am waiting for is next Monday when the Roosters kick off their season vs. South Sydney, GO EASTS!!
That’s it for this week, link dump:
http://www.gearsofwar.com/
http://www.nrl.com.au/
http://www.theoffice.com/
The Friday lecture of NCT was interesting to say the least. As required for the course I had spent all day Thursday reading my newly acquired text book up to the end of chapter 4 to get ready for the lecture. The term dialectic was pretty easy to understand and it seems pretty integral to the course.
Basically it means the process especially associated with Hegel of arriving at the truth by stating a thesis, developing a contradictory antithesis, and combining and resolving them into a coherent synthesis. That was taken from the text book, Communication and New Media by Martin Hirst and John Harrison.
In the lecture itself we looked at the evolution of media (Media Theory) and how it differed in the US, Europe and then UK. Prof. Stockwell also showed us the paper that hen wrote on Media Theory, and suggested we check it out, but also said that he doubted we would find it useful as we won’t understand it.
In the second half of the lecture we watched a screening of a French New Wave movie (the name of which I forget, lol) It was about the third world war and the underground experiments of trying to communicate with the past and present in the hopes of saving the human race. It was a black and white still frames film, but it was nonetheless enjoyable.
I assume that the point of the screening was to show that communication is available in many ways, even though the film was obviously science fiction.
In the Tute for NCT, which I had today we just added friends to our blog from the class and updated it. Heaps of 'work' hey! :)
As for the rest of the week I have basically been taking it easy, I downloaded seasons 1 and 2 of the US version of the Office and have been watching that, as well as playing Gears of War on Xbox Live.
The NRL season kicks off on Friday night with two games on Channel 9, but what I am waiting for is next Monday when the Roosters kick off their season vs. South Sydney, GO EASTS!!
That’s it for this week, link dump:
http://www.gearsofwar.com/
http://www.nrl.com.au/
http://www.theoffice.com/
1st blog, enjoy the fun
And so it begins.
While Uni actually started last week for me, this is my first actual piece of work I have done for Uni so far. Crazy isn’t it. The interesting thing is that many people do this in their free time for themselves, so this can harldy be called work, lol.
The main aspect of this blog is to pass my New Comm Tech course, but that dosen’t mean that we cannot have fun along the way now does it!
So I’ll get the boring part out of the way for you now. Bascially I have to say what I learn’t in New Comm Tech (now to be reffered to as NCT) each week. Well, I will start with my first lecture (which was actually last week, but meh, I’ll update you guys anyways).
I met Prof. Stephen Stockwell and he ran through the outline of the course and what we will be doing for the next 13 weeks. I was told about the assesments I will have to do and the structure of the course. The course itself seems pretty interesting, and as I said to a friend in the lecture, this hands down looks like it will be the best course I take in this 1st semester.
The assesments that I will have to do are actually not that bad, one being this very blog, updated every week. The other two being a 1000 word essay about one of the topics from the lectures and finally a 100 multiple choice exam in the last week.
Now, when I heard that the exam will be ALL MULTIPLE CHOICE (!!!!) I rejoyced as multiple choice (imo) is the easiest form of question to not only answer, but study for! Each week there will be a new topic to go through in the lecture and then in the Comp Lab, with week 1’s being simply an outline in the lecture, and then the creation of this blog in the Comp Lab.
After the lecture I was left to ponder why we have to write a blog for University, but soon decided to just go with it. So come Monday I showed up at my 1st Comp Lab interested to see what would go about and how much work this blog will be, and as it turns out it will be pretty simple to update each week. But I suppose the fact that I do know what I am doing when it comes to the internet can’t hurt.
In the Comp Lab I met my tutor, Jules Sholer who seems like a laid back, easy to get along with guy (flattery should get me some better marks *nudge*, lol). Well, thats basically it for the NCT part of the blog, the 1st week was pretty basic, but I suppose that is so that we are not overwhelmed with everything.
So, what else happened this week you ask, as I know you are all hanging on my every word now that I told you all about the wonderful world of Griffith!
Well, the final week of the NRL trials commenced with my team the Sydney Roosters playing an almost full strenght squad for their final hit out before the Rd. 1 match vs. rivals South Sydney. Fullback Anthony Minichiello and lock Braith Anasta made comebacks from injuries suffered last season, in Mino’s case he hadn’t played since May 2006, so to make his comeback was a very welcome occurance indeed.
I am happy to report that the outcome of the match was a win for the Roosters 30-22 over Parramatta and a very promising return for Mino and Anasta, bring on Round 1 (March 19).
So bascially that is my week, though I did forget to mention that I did go home almost everynight and play Xbox Live, other than Saturday night when I went out with my mates for a few (*many*) drinks. It was tip top. :)
Links etc:
www.sydneyroosters.com.au
www.xbox.com.au
http://profile.mygamercard.net/dimorphic
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