week7 readings

How Internet Infastructure Works

The article starts out by mentioning that the internet is a global collection of both networks big and small. When you connect to your isp you become part of their network and that isp may collect to part of a large network so the internet is a network or networks. They mention something called POP that I have never heard of. "The POP is a place for local users to access the company's network, often through a local phone number or dedicated line" (Tyson). "...there are several high-level networks connecting to each other through Network Access Points or NAPs (Tyson ). The router has two jobs. 1. it ensures that information doesn't go where it's not needed. This is crucial for keeping large volumes of data from clogging the connections of "innocent bystanders." and 2. It makes sure that information does make it to the intended destination. Next it describes network backbone as "fiber optic trunk lines " (Tyson). Another term in the article is IP address which stands for internet protocol and is a unique number indentifying every machine on the internet. In 1983 the Domain name system was created because of the over abundance of IP addresses. When ever you use the web or send an e-mail you are using a domain name. URL which is a uniform resource locator contains a domain name. Another important part of the internet is the server and client. Internet servers make the internet possible. The artilce defines both servers and clients "The machines that provide services to other machines are servers. And the machines that are used to connect to those services are clients" (Tyson). Lastly the article mentions ports and HTTP. "Any server machine makes its services available using numbered ports -- one for each service that is available on the server" (Tyson). " Every Web server on the Internet conforms to the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) (Tyson).

Inside the Google Machine

This video took the viewer inside the Google machine. In the beginning it showed a globe of the world and shows dots on it. The dots represent people and their search query. It showed how people in Africa did not use the computers as much. It then showed a second of searches and it seemed so crazy as there was so many people searching at one time. They also metioned Google grants that serves charities throughout the world and how they were setting up the Ggoogle foundation. They also mentioned there socially networking site that one of the Google employees created called orkut. Google said they have a policy that 20% of your time working at Google should be spent doing things you want to do. Google answers is a service they have where you pay to ask a question and someone goes off to find answer for you. Froogle is there way to search for shopping. I was interested to find out that blogger was a Google thing. Lastly they talk about Ad sense where they put ad's on site that are relevant to what you are looking for. One ending thought they leave us with as that Google is free for people all over the world and does not charge for their search results.

Dismantling Integrated Library Systems
The article starts out by telling us that no one intended to dismantle the ILS. "

For 25 years, the ILS proved a trusty tool for solving everyday library problems. First loosely integrated, then more fully so, it finally arrived at a plateau of innovation, until the early 1990s, when librarians cautiously embraced the web as their new gateway to information. Inevitably, the old technology of the ILS clashed with new web technologies." The article then mentions how hard it is to choose a new integrated library system from a vendor.

To maintain a competitive advantage so people will choose your IlS takes work.

"Endeavor Information Systems took the research library world by storm in the mid-1990s with its Voyager system that worked with the Oracle RDBMS. Before long, Oracle was in almost every academic RFP."

"Jerry Kline, president and CEO of Innovative Interfaces, argues that achieving the "same intellectual logic" that went into older systems is the key." However ILS cannot always do everything. As the article mentions ". When libraries try to meet new needs with technology, such as federated searching, their ILS can rarely answer the call. Libraries are forced to look at new technology and create a solution themselves or purchase a standalone product." The article then mentions how new systems now dominate the library world. "Portals, metasearch tools, reference linking software, radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs), and digital asset management systems now dominate the world of library automation."

Some of these products will be able to be sold to non traditional customers such as the government and museums. The problem for libraries though is that better costs more. "Several well-intentioned research libraries attempted over the past decade to build web-based solutions to the problems ILS didn't satisfy." "

However impractical as a complete solution, the open source movement has demonstrated the value of open standards and protocols. Through XML, web services, OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative--Protocol for Metadata Harvesting), librarians believe they can create interoperability among systems, whether vendors' or their own.

" "Before interoperability can rescue libraries, however, the vendors need to redirect their efforts. Not only has ILS technology reached its plateau, but the market itself is almost completely saturated:" We are left at the end with a final thought. "

Library vendors have two choices. They can continue to maintain large systems that use proprietary methods of interoperability and promise tight integration of services for their customers. Or, they can choose to dismantle their modules in such a way that librarians can reintegrate their systems through web services and standards, combining new with the old modules as well as the new with each other."