Internet and WWW Technologies (Reading Notes)
How Internet Infrastructure Works
The article on http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/internet-infrastructure11.htm on how the internet works was very imformative. It did not sacrifice clarity by overusing technical jargon like some of the previous articles. One thing I found really fascinating was the amount of processes involved when a person did a search query on the internet. In particular the manner in which the browser contacts a DNS server to get an IP address (for a particular URL or website), the way that DNS server goes about locating root servers that would have that kind of information and the information gets to the user. Not to mention these processes happen in milliseconds. It definitely made me much more aware of the series of actions involved when doing online research or just leisurely browsing. The functioning of the DNS servers reminded me of the way an ant colony works. Even though there is interpendency where everything performs its role, if one fails there are others to handle the request.
When you look at the evolution of the internet, one realizes that it has reached to this point of efficiency through trial and error. When one method for accomodating increased communication has reached its capacity (for example the Domain Name Systems and the NSFNET T1 and T2 Mbps lines), technology paves the way for the internet to handle any additional demand. This means that the capacity of the internet just eveolves and augments with the demand of clients and users. I was not aware that there was a body, the Internet Society, which was established to oversee the formation of policies and protocols that defined how persons used the internet. However I wonder if they exist as an authoritative body or if they are an activist group seeking to promote ethical practices.
Inside the Google Machine
The video offers an introduction into Google and its operations. The owners, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, give some insight into what drives the company to do what it does best. Some points mentioned in the video stood out for me:
Articles
Dismantling Integrated Library Systems
Interoperability seems to be the future and is seen as the next logical step for libraries and vendors when it comes to the development of automated systems and computerized databases. Some librarians are creating their own ways of dealing with the shortcomings of relying on old formats. For instance, at the University of Buffalo Mark Ludwig, a library systems manager used a MARC converter and the TextML indexer to index two million records in a day. He has been also able to generate relevancy ranking and sorting options which many other automated library systems could not achieve.Again the internet provides serious challenges to librarians and vendors causing them to reassess the systems, databases, and business models they have relied on for years. A more innovative approach is needed to exploit the opportunities the internet presents as well as stay in touch with the demands of patrons. Hybrid systems, which integrate old modules with new ones, need to be discovered by vendors and demanded by librarians. As such there must be some collaborative effort by both parties in order to achive individual gains as well as to drive both the profession and the ILS market forward.
References
Andrew K. Pace “Dismantling Integrated Library Systems” Library Journal, vol 129 Issue 2, p34-36. 2/1/2004 http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA374953.html
Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Inside the Google machine. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sergey_brin_and_larry_page_on_google.html
Tyson, Jeff. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-infrastructure.htm/printable
The article on http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/internet-infrastructure11.htm on how the internet works was very imformative. It did not sacrifice clarity by overusing technical jargon like some of the previous articles. One thing I found really fascinating was the amount of processes involved when a person did a search query on the internet. In particular the manner in which the browser contacts a DNS server to get an IP address (for a particular URL or website), the way that DNS server goes about locating root servers that would have that kind of information and the information gets to the user. Not to mention these processes happen in milliseconds. It definitely made me much more aware of the series of actions involved when doing online research or just leisurely browsing. The functioning of the DNS servers reminded me of the way an ant colony works. Even though there is interpendency where everything performs its role, if one fails there are others to handle the request.
When you look at the evolution of the internet, one realizes that it has reached to this point of efficiency through trial and error. When one method for accomodating increased communication has reached its capacity (for example the Domain Name Systems and the NSFNET T1 and T2 Mbps lines), technology paves the way for the internet to handle any additional demand. This means that the capacity of the internet just eveolves and augments with the demand of clients and users. I was not aware that there was a body, the Internet Society, which was established to oversee the formation of policies and protocols that defined how persons used the internet. However I wonder if they exist as an authoritative body or if they are an activist group seeking to promote ethical practices.
Inside the Google Machine
The video offers an introduction into Google and its operations. The owners, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, give some insight into what drives the company to do what it does best. Some points mentioned in the video stood out for me:
- Google staff spends time keeping up with traffic loads, website hits, and analysing search patterns. This is done to offer the assistive and efficient search engine service Google has become reknowned for.
- The Google foundation as a charity venture dedicated to sponsoring humanitarian projects globally. In return for funding, the Google brand is promoted and advertised.
- Google's innvoation and popularity came in its simplicity. The Google homepage ,unlike many other search engines, had a basic design which included their logo and a single search box.
- They implemented the "20 Percent Time" employee initiative allowing employees to use 20% of their work time to contribute to the organisation in anyway they see fit. The initiative brought about projects such as Orkut, Googlette, Google News, Froogle, Google Answers and E-Blogger.
- They encourage a fun culture at Google to keep staff motivated.
- Google earns its revenue mainly through advertising.
Interoperability seems to be the future and is seen as the next logical step for libraries and vendors when it comes to the development of automated systems and computerized databases. Some librarians are creating their own ways of dealing with the shortcomings of relying on old formats. For instance, at the University of Buffalo Mark Ludwig, a library systems manager used a MARC converter and the TextML indexer to index two million records in a day. He has been also able to generate relevancy ranking and sorting options which many other automated library systems could not achieve.Again the internet provides serious challenges to librarians and vendors causing them to reassess the systems, databases, and business models they have relied on for years. A more innovative approach is needed to exploit the opportunities the internet presents as well as stay in touch with the demands of patrons. Hybrid systems, which integrate old modules with new ones, need to be discovered by vendors and demanded by librarians. As such there must be some collaborative effort by both parties in order to achive individual gains as well as to drive both the profession and the ILS market forward.
References
Andrew K. Pace “Dismantling Integrated Library Systems” Library Journal, vol 129 Issue 2, p34-36. 2/1/2004 http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA374953.html
Tyson, Jeff. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-infrastructure.htm/printable
Comments