31 May 2007
NET12 The Machine is Us/ing Us
This is an excellent movie produced by Professor Wesch, it has been used to describe Web 2.0 technologies and the semantic Web. It demonstrates how we, the users both drive and fuel the Web.
It lead to an interesting discussion on WebCT with Helen, about how computers were expected to create a paperless society, but we are instead inundated with more paper. I made the comment that the faster technology helps us to work, the more work we seem to do - who is the slave, us or our technology?
26 May 2007
REA11 is over!
Well I managed to get my final assignments handed in on time last night (just), and I'm very pleased that the aggravation is now over. In hindsight it has been a very useful unit, but it just about wore out my brain!
I don't want (and don't expect) to top the class, I just want to pass. I am kind of pleased with my final topic-of-choice essay Web Accessibility and Developers though, considering this final version was dashed off in the space of two or three hours. Even I can see it's a huge improvement on the version I submitted for my first assignment.
Those analytical structures really do work! That sucker took the best part of a day (it helped to have previously worked on the topic in other assignments), while the other analytical structure exercise we had to do must have taken me all week. Worth the effort, although it would have been less stressful if I had allowed myself a more leisurely pace (ie. not wasted so much bloody time with texts that weren't required reading!)
I don't want (and don't expect) to top the class, I just want to pass. I am kind of pleased with my final topic-of-choice essay Web Accessibility and Developers though, considering this final version was dashed off in the space of two or three hours. Even I can see it's a huge improvement on the version I submitted for my first assignment.
Those analytical structures really do work! That sucker took the best part of a day (it helped to have previously worked on the topic in other assignments), while the other analytical structure exercise we had to do must have taken me all week. Worth the effort, although it would have been less stressful if I had allowed myself a more leisurely pace (ie. not wasted so much bloody time with texts that weren't required reading!)
13 May 2007
REA11 Universal knowledge
One of the fiery debates at REA11 has been about the existence of a universal knowledge which holds true for all.
The modernist take is that universal truth exists once you screen out elements of bias and get to a purely objective view.
The post-modernist belief is that it is impossible to be completely objective, there is no one truth, but that truth exists in many forms according to social context.
Some students felt this challenged certain religious beliefs, but it doesn't need to be so. If one holds that knowledge is but a perception of reality, one can still believe in an absolute reality yet hold that knowledge exists in context.
The modernist take is that universal truth exists once you screen out elements of bias and get to a purely objective view.
The post-modernist belief is that it is impossible to be completely objective, there is no one truth, but that truth exists in many forms according to social context.
Some students felt this challenged certain religious beliefs, but it doesn't need to be so. If one holds that knowledge is but a perception of reality, one can still believe in an absolute reality yet hold that knowledge exists in context.
12 May 2007
Prepare for SP2
Doing two units next SP:
Have heard a lot of good feedback on NED11, students from my NET11 class last SP LOVED it.
According to somewhere I was reading (OUA site I think) it was recommended to have Photoshop and Dreamweaver for NED11. I ended up getting a pretty good deal ($235) on the student edition of Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 from a software dealer Berlin Wall. Getting the serial number from Adobe was a bit of a pain. I had to send them a claim with a copy of my student ID to prove I was a student. It took about a month with a few phone calls and emails to finally get anything from them.
The only set text I have to worry about next SP is for NED11 - HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide by Elizabeth Castro. The publisher, Peach Pit Press has an e-book version which offers a quick and inexpensive way to buy it. I'll shop around a little more and come back and get this if I can't find it anywhere cheaper. At least with the e-book I wont have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.
- NET12 The Internet: A Socio-technological Introduction
- NED11 Internet Design - Introduction.
Have heard a lot of good feedback on NED11, students from my NET11 class last SP LOVED it.
According to somewhere I was reading (OUA site I think) it was recommended to have Photoshop and Dreamweaver for NED11. I ended up getting a pretty good deal ($235) on the student edition of Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 from a software dealer Berlin Wall. Getting the serial number from Adobe was a bit of a pain. I had to send them a claim with a copy of my student ID to prove I was a student. It took about a month with a few phone calls and emails to finally get anything from them.
The only set text I have to worry about next SP is for NED11 - HTML, XHTML, and CSS, Sixth Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide by Elizabeth Castro. The publisher, Peach Pit Press has an e-book version which offers a quick and inexpensive way to buy it. I'll shop around a little more and come back and get this if I can't find it anywhere cheaper. At least with the e-book I wont have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.
REA11 coming to an end
Well there are two weeks left of this unit and it looks like I'll be busting a gut again to hand in assignments on time!
So much reading in this unit. Thank goodness I only took the one unit this SP (study period) or I'd be going crazy.
This SP has been SO different to the last one when I did NET11; not everyone has been enjoying the subject, and there has been disappointment with marks on our assignments. There have been some very opposed views expressed on the discussion board which have become heated to the point where our tutor had to shut it down and delete threads.
Despite this, I think the course is well designed and interesting. The amount of material we are getting through, it seems too much is compacted into the time we have. Feeling a bit stressed.
Couple of students I've spoken to all agree - will be glad to have REA11 behind us!
So much reading in this unit. Thank goodness I only took the one unit this SP (study period) or I'd be going crazy.
This SP has been SO different to the last one when I did NET11; not everyone has been enjoying the subject, and there has been disappointment with marks on our assignments. There have been some very opposed views expressed on the discussion board which have become heated to the point where our tutor had to shut it down and delete threads.
Despite this, I think the course is well designed and interesting. The amount of material we are getting through, it seems too much is compacted into the time we have. Feeling a bit stressed.
Couple of students I've spoken to all agree - will be glad to have REA11 behind us!
3 May 2007
Free domain/hosting for students
Here are details of this offer I found from Hostess Web Hosting. Only available to uni students (you must register with email address ending in .edu.au) it includes a free .au.com domain name and free web hosting. Check it out on the Hostess web site (click "Uni Students" from the menu).
No php support but does offer a cgi-bin for perl scripts. My free site? http://www.mja.au.com/
No php support but does offer a cgi-bin for perl scripts. My free site? http://www.mja.au.com/
7 April 2007
REA11 - Halfway through
Taking a breather from assignment two to record a bit of info about this unit before I leave it too late.
The unit outline from OUA:
I'm enjoying this unit, it is really well organised and the subject material is getting the grey matter ticking. I'm in with a handful of students from last SP NET11 - I think some of us were a little bit nervous after feedback from students who took REA11 last SP. I was; the main reason I took this unit on its own instead of taking two units this SP. It certainly has taken the pressure off.
Our REA11 tutor Wendy Sahanaya (I can't help thinking "sayonara") is very helpful. She exercises a bit more control over the discussion board than Cynth did, but I think it's a good thing as it helps keep us on track. There also seems to be a more sensible approach to the submission of assignments - 'if you're late, you might not get as much feedback but we're all adults here'.
This SP is going quickly! I've enrolled in two units next SP - NED11 and NET12. It'll be upon me before I know it.
The unit outline from OUA:
Expand your skills in critical thinking. This unit provides you with an introduction to the practical application of concepts and analytical procedures associated with reasoning. It aims to develop your abilities and confidence to think clearly and analyse effectively, teaching better techniques of reasoning. You will develop an understanding of the need for a critical attitude, how to conduct research and analyse and communicate more effectively and flexibly. This unit is useful to students from any discipline or any degree but particularly those studying arts, business, law and information technology.
I'm enjoying this unit, it is really well organised and the subject material is getting the grey matter ticking. I'm in with a handful of students from last SP NET11 - I think some of us were a little bit nervous after feedback from students who took REA11 last SP. I was; the main reason I took this unit on its own instead of taking two units this SP. It certainly has taken the pressure off.
Our REA11 tutor Wendy Sahanaya (I can't help thinking "sayonara") is very helpful. She exercises a bit more control over the discussion board than Cynth did, but I think it's a good thing as it helps keep us on track. There also seems to be a more sensible approach to the submission of assignments - 'if you're late, you might not get as much feedback but we're all adults here'.
This SP is going quickly! I've enrolled in two units next SP - NED11 and NET12. It'll be upon me before I know it.
21 March 2007
NET11 Officially over!
Well I have most of my grades back for NET11 - which included an essay on how a conceptual understanding of the Internet could help deal with information overload (very appropriate!) and an assessment of this blog.
So now I have to make a decision about what to do with my blog. I'm inclined to keep it going, to help me track my subjects as I work through my degree.
At the moment I am in Week 4 of REA11 - Applied Reasoning, with my second assignment due in two weeks. Enjoying it so far!
UPDATE: Final grade in for NET11 was pleasing - 92 (HD). One unit down, 23 to go.
So now I have to make a decision about what to do with my blog. I'm inclined to keep it going, to help me track my subjects as I work through my degree.
At the moment I am in Week 4 of REA11 - Applied Reasoning, with my second assignment due in two weeks. Enjoying it so far!
UPDATE: Final grade in for NET11 was pleasing - 92 (HD). One unit down, 23 to go.
26 February 2007
Social bookmarking
I'm in a quandary.. I have social bookmarking overload! Thanks to Yani at NET11, I have become hooked (finally) on del.icio.us but Greg had to go and push ma.gnolia at us! :)
So for the moment I am using both, but it is highly impractical. I'm tossing up the idea of going back to one (but which one!) or using both for different contexts of links - for example, one for uni links, one for fun links.
Decisions, decisions!
So for the moment I am using both, but it is highly impractical. I'm tossing up the idea of going back to one (but which one!) or using both for different contexts of links - for example, one for uni links, one for fun links.
Decisions, decisions!
10 February 2007
NET11 - Module 5: Info-Communication Concepts
A little bit of reading material for Module 5: my reflections on each subject are presented in italics.
Information ecology
P2P as software/technical network. I am approaching this topic from the culture of working for an ISP, where P2P is largely frowned upon as a piracy technology used by bandwidth 'leechers' and copyright infringers, and thus subject to general suspicion. In saying this though I am aware of its innocuous uses, such as sharing open source software such as Linux 'distros'.
The 'big bad wolf' in the P2P case is presented as the production companies who claim to be protecting artists rights and are terrorising Internet service providers and individuals; there is a case for the distribution of material (with permission) in providing exposure for the artist and increasing sales through non-corporate channels (consider the emergence of independent artists like Sandi Thom through webcasts, and 'discovery' of new artists through showcase services like MySpace).
The next corporate war may well be against the Google-owned Youtube (sharing of video formats), with dissatisfaction in the way Google is handling copyright material.
Preparing for 'future shock'
Information ecology
- Towards an information ecology, by Rafael Capurro
- Information ecology, by Felix Stalder
- NET11 iLecture notes
The Internet is not simply a communication tool, a storehouse of information - it is a resource that has the potential to empower or pollute the ecology in which it operates, according to the uses put to it by the people who use it. In light of modern environmental concerns, use of this resource carries a responsibility to apply careful consideration of the effects on society and culture.
P2P as software/technical network. I am approaching this topic from the culture of working for an ISP, where P2P is largely frowned upon as a piracy technology used by bandwidth 'leechers' and copyright infringers, and thus subject to general suspicion. In saying this though I am aware of its innocuous uses, such as sharing open source software such as Linux 'distros'.
- How the old 'napster' worked, by How Stuff Works
- An introduction to peer-to-peer computing, by David Barkai
- An introduction to peer-to-peer networks, by Vinod Musuthamy
- Wikipedia entry on file sharing
- P2P networking: An information sharing alternative, by Parameswaran, Susarla and Whinston
- Peer to peer goes corporate, by David Lipschultz (not available, alternate article sourced below)
- Peer to peer for academia, by Andy Oram
- Peer to peer goes corporate, snapshot by Peter O'Kelly from WSJ.com subscription-only article by Bobby White
- Playing our song?, by Henry Jenkins
- "Copying is Theft ..." And other legal myths in the looming battle over peer-to-peer, by Mark Rasch
- Rip, Mix, Burn: The Politics of Peer to Peer and Copyright Law, by Kathy Bowrey and Matthew Rimmer
- Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Since Napster, by Magdalena Heim-Smith
- PCStats Beginners Guides: Spyware protection and removal
- Is your computer talking to strangers, by Gene and Katie Hamilton
- Spychecker.com
- p2pnet.net - p2p news
- The Internet debacle - an alternate view, by Janis Ian
The 'big bad wolf' in the P2P case is presented as the production companies who claim to be protecting artists rights and are terrorising Internet service providers and individuals; there is a case for the distribution of material (with permission) in providing exposure for the artist and increasing sales through non-corporate channels (consider the emergence of independent artists like Sandi Thom through webcasts, and 'discovery' of new artists through showcase services like MySpace).
The next corporate war may well be against the Google-owned Youtube (sharing of video formats), with dissatisfaction in the way Google is handling copyright material.
Preparing for 'future shock'
- Internet2
- PlanetLab
- PlanetLab builds test bed for new Internet services, by Peter Sayer
One of the problems emerging from the Internet is the rapid pace of change and the inability of technology to keep up with the new and expanded uses found for it. Existing Internet technology is (as cited in Sayer's article above) becoming "harder to change and easier to break". Technological advancement for the Internet must be developed alongside existing technologies however, it is not a case of simply switching over from one system to another. Advancement is not necessarily more complex than current technologies - one example is the development of OWAMP a "one way ping" tool. The traditional ping measures a return trip between two fixed points (two trips), the one way ping simplifies this even further by measuring the latency in a single direction, thus helping to more accurately pinpoint network congestion.
- What the Net did next, by Mark Ward BBC, interview with Vint Cerf
Prior to this unit the real significance of TCP/IP hadn't really struck me, the concept that data is data, in all shapes and forms, interchangeable with any system, any network. The Net works so well that it is easy to disregard the technologies that make it work. In this interview even Cerf mentions that the great potential of a common protocol between all networks and systems did not occur to him immediately. I also listened to a podcast interview with Cerf in which he discusses future Internet trends. He believes the Internet will come to play a large part in mobile communications - from geographical map indexes to standardised communications for interplanetary exploration. - The UCLA Internet report: Surveying the digital future
This report compiled from 2000 statistics, checked the subsequent reports and the trends confirm what I already believe - increasing numbers of people accessing the Internet; email, web browsing the most popular activities; growth in broadband use accompanied by increase in time spent online; growing number of users publishing information. The latest report has the Internet ranked ahead of television and mobile phones as the technology people could least do without; perhaps reflective of the multiple uses the Internet is put to in terms of information, communication and entertainment. - The Internet is broken, by David Talbot
There are different conceptions of what the Internet should provide as a technology. One belief is that the Internet has already reached its potential, allowing a neutral, free flow of data in all forms. Any control of data flow is then implicit upon the user, to apply various patches/programs to employ security measures and the like. The argument propounded here by Talbot is that the Internet should incorporate levels of authentication and security to protect the user. However, it is very difficult to see how a new Internet platform could permanently plug security holes, when the development of spam and virii seem to stay neck-in-neck with current security technology. It may in fact create a new set of problems - the objections and challenges faced by developers of new Internet technologies includes selling change to those who believe "it it aint broke, why fix it?".
- Imagining the Internet: Predictions Database
It is fun to imagine what might emerge from the Internet, as use of the Internet expands it seems the possibilities are endless, they are only limited by our imagination. The most practical predictions however are based on what the Internet is capable of now, and the ability to expand that capability - particularly when you think of the Internet in terms of an 'information ecology', capable of evolution. One prediction is that the Internet may evolve into a form of artificial intelligence, not that far-fetched when you consider the human-like response of bots. Another prediction, mentioned above is fast becoming a reality, Cerf's discussion of Internet technologies into space exploration.
17 January 2007
NET11 - Module 4: Tools for using the Web, Searching the Web, Evaluating the Web
Downloading tools/plug-ins task
In your learning log record which programs you downloaded and note which (if any) facets you think might prove useful.
The two programs I downloaded were Copernic Agent Basic - a search engine client; and URL Organiser from Bookmark Buddy.
Copernic has a couple of features which could make it useful, such as saving searches, verifying links and integration with Internet Explorer. I'm not yet convinced on the benefits of using this tool over accessing other search engines via their websites, it will need a good test run to prove its search capabilities.
URL Organiser is a very simple tool but already I can see how useful it might be for maintaining large lists of website links. The interface is more open and flexible than the link manager in a browser, links can be easily sorted and annotated. This is a good example of the important relationship of data to meta data, particularly in cases where there is a large volumes to manage and utilise.
Search engine task
1. Choose your most commonly used internet search engine and do a search for the words: advanced internet users
A search for the exact phrase from Google Advanced Search produced around 13,300 listings, the first (and second) in the list was the 'Advanced Internet User Tutorial' at the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE).
2. Using copernicus or similar, set it up to search at least three search engines (including one that will search the 'deep web') and repeat exactly the same search
For the same search most surprisingly, Copernic produced just 38 listings in its results even though it had been set to retrieve results from eleven search engines and directories. The CIESE site ranked high in the listings here also.
Boolean searching task
How I would best search for the following:
Organising search information task
From the above task I saved the following sites in "URL Organizer", the software I installed earlier. The software makes it very easy to organise URLs into categories and sub-categories, and allows an annotation to be saved with the record.
As much as I like this piece of software, I have since been introduced (by another NET11 student) to an online bookmarking service located at http://del.icio.us which uses a system of "tags" to categorise URLs. I prefer this online service to URL Organiser because it makes it possible to access my bookmark list from anywhere, not just my computer. Also, the service encourages sharing of bookmark lists with other users. The resultant directory of URLs is another great resource for searching the Web.
I chose to evaluate the World Wide Webfoot Press web site because some of the articles incorporate concepts we are studying in NET11 - such as asynchronicity, effective use of email communication, reflective communicative practice, non-speech communication through text and automation.
I think a good annotation will include some signal of the source's credibility, such as stating the author's occupation or the nature of their interest in the material.
In your learning log record which programs you downloaded and note which (if any) facets you think might prove useful.
The two programs I downloaded were Copernic Agent Basic - a search engine client; and URL Organiser from Bookmark Buddy.
Copernic has a couple of features which could make it useful, such as saving searches, verifying links and integration with Internet Explorer. I'm not yet convinced on the benefits of using this tool over accessing other search engines via their websites, it will need a good test run to prove its search capabilities.
URL Organiser is a very simple tool but already I can see how useful it might be for maintaining large lists of website links. The interface is more open and flexible than the link manager in a browser, links can be easily sorted and annotated. This is a good example of the important relationship of data to meta data, particularly in cases where there is a large volumes to manage and utilise.
Search engine task
1. Choose your most commonly used internet search engine and do a search for the words: advanced internet users
A search for the exact phrase from Google Advanced Search produced around 13,300 listings, the first (and second) in the list was the 'Advanced Internet User Tutorial' at the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE).
2. Using copernicus or similar, set it up to search at least three search engines (including one that will search the 'deep web') and repeat exactly the same search
For the same search most surprisingly, Copernic produced just 38 listings in its results even though it had been set to retrieve results from eleven search engines and directories. The CIESE site ranked high in the listings here also.
Boolean searching task
the biggest number of hits relating to 'advanced internet users'
Of the three Boolean logical operators, results are least filtered by OR therefore I would use 'advanced OR internet OR users' to obtain the greatest number of hits in my searchsources relating to skills-based information on 'advanced internet users'
I would first define the skills-based information I was seeking, for example the XHTML markup language. My entry into the search engine would be for the exact phrase 'advanced internet users' with the logical operator 'AND xhtml'. This would search for pages which contain the phrase 'advanced internet users' and filter out those pages which did not contain the word 'xhtml'.information on 'advanced internet users' coming only from university sources
Some search engines provide an option to search within specific domain name addresses. To utilise this option for searching university sources you need to know the characteristics of university domain names. In Australia, these typically end with 'edu.au'. In the US it is just 'edu'. In the UK it is 'ac.uk'. My search on Google allowed me to combine the results of all three of these as follows: "advanced internet users" AND site:.ac.uk OR site:.edu OR site:.edu.au
From the above task I saved the following sites in "URL Organizer", the software I installed earlier. The software makes it very easy to organise URLs into categories and sub-categories, and allows an annotation to be saved with the record.
As much as I like this piece of software, I have since been introduced (by another NET11 student) to an online bookmarking service located at http://del.icio.us which uses a system of "tags" to categorise URLs. I prefer this online service to URL Organiser because it makes it possible to access my bookmark list from anywhere, not just my computer. Also, the service encourages sharing of bookmark lists with other users. The resultant directory of URLs is another great resource for searching the Web.
- http://www.webfoot.com (linked from "Internet Guidebooks", Google search)
- Kaitlin Duck Sherwood
- World Wide Webfoot Press
- This is a site dedicated to educating internet users about the effective use of email communication. The author, Kaitlin Duck Sherwood has also published a couple of books on the subject. She explains the concepts which make email different from other forms of communication, provides guidelines for understanding how email addresses are formed, how to find email addresses for people you wish to correspond with and how to effectively write email messages. There are links to another site produced by Sherwood at http://www.overcomeemailoverload.com which deals with the organisation and management of email messages. Both sites are a little dated but the information is still useful and quite relevant to several of the concepts we are studying in NET11.
- http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html (from "advanced internet users" + search, from Google)
- Joe Barker
- University of California, Berkeley
- "This tutorial presents the substance of the Internet Workshops ... offered year-round by the Teaching Library at the University of California at Berkeley. The content on this site has been updated to reflect the latest trends in search engines, directories, and evaluating web pages. The title reflects our belief that there is a lot of great material on the Web - primary sources, specialized directories and databases, statistical information, educational sites on many levels, policy, opinion of all kinds, and so much more - and we have better tools for finding this great stuff." (Barker, 2006)
Barker, J (2006). Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from The Library - University of California, Berkeley Web site: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
- http://www.newcommreview.com (from "advanced internet users" + electronic communications, from Google)
- Society for New Communications Research
- The New Communications Review web site is produced by a non-profit group who study electronic communication and emerging technologies, and the effect on business, society and traditional media. The latest articles take an indepth look at the blogging phenomena and their impact on news media.
I chose to evaluate the World Wide Webfoot Press web site because some of the articles incorporate concepts we are studying in NET11 - such as asynchronicity, effective use of email communication, reflective communicative practice, non-speech communication through text and automation.
- http://www.webfoot.com
- Kaitlin Duck Sherwood
- World Wide Webfoot Press
- In determining the credibility of this particular web site one needs to look beyond its appearance - it is basically just content with very little style and not the best navigation. The author, Kaitlin Duck Sherwood tells us she is a computer sciences post-graduate student, an early end-user of email, a code developer, author and trainer. World Wide Webfoot Press is her own publishing company, which has published two email-related books. The two books are now out of print, and Sherwood seems to have moved onto other things - there has been very little work done on the site for a few years (although I noticed one of the articles had been updated this year).
There is little doubt of the credibility of this source when you search for back links - the site is linked from about 597 other pages, some of them university/college sites. Astoundingly there are over 16,000 pages which reference the author "Kaitlin Duck Sherwood". One of the pages contained an internet radio recording with her which was quite interesting - www.lets-talk-computers.net/guests/webfoot/overload
The content of the site is informational, although Sherwood's opinion emerges in some topics, particularly about how email clients should work, and how existing commercial clients miss the mark. The site includes quite a good bibliography with wide coverage of the topic. Interestingly one or two of the web sites listed quote extensively from Sherwood's writings. She explains that her material was placed in the public domain, another signal to the purpose of her writing.
I think a good annotation will include some signal of the source's credibility, such as stating the author's occupation or the nature of their interest in the material.
13 January 2007
NET11 - Module 3: HTML tags, standards, ftp & blog
HTML tags
Using content from one of my own posts on a discussion forum I followed the instructions to create a HTML 3.2 document as per the tutorial.
I am familiar with later HTML standards and noted that some of the tags in HTML 3.2 such as <b> and <i> are now deprecated (not included in later versions). Since HTML 4.0 there has been a move for semantic markup to completely separate style and layout from page elements, through the use of cascading style sheets (CSS).
An excellent article recommended by Keith (a fellow NET11 student), Bulletproof HTML: 37 Steps to Perfect Markup by Tommy Olsson answers common questions about the most current markup standards and why validation is important.
Standards
As well as HTML markup standards there are standards for online content. 'Usability' of a web site has become a common benchmark as a way to ensure effective communication in the digital environment:
W3C validation
My first page did not pass W3C validation because no character encoding had been specified in the document. I uploaded a second page which includes a meta tag specifying character encoding of ISO-8859-1 and it passed validation.
In my browser these two pages look identical, but this particular tag is important for accessibility across different languages and platforms. If the character encoding is not specified there may be unpredictable results. A good article about character encoding by Tommy Olsson is The Definitive Guide to Web Character Encoding.
Copyright
Have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?
On my WebCT presentation space I have used an image of a smiling coffee cup which I obtained from a clip art web site claiming the material was 'free for personal use'. If a copyright dispute arose I would at least be able to demonstrate that I had acted in good faith, and that my use of the image was not commercial.
Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?
In this circumstance I believe use of the Curtin logo would be allowable under the 'fair dealings' provisions of the Australian Copyright Act, since it is being used for academic purposes. This provision is mentioned in the copyright statement on the Curtin web site.
FTP
The url to the page I uploaded via FTP is mod3task.html
FTP is a tool I am very familiar with, and I used space on my own server so I did not experience any problems with this task - although I note some of the other students were having problems uploading to web space on OASIS. I believe the problem related to students being unaware of the requirement for specific security settings to access the OASIS server. This information was found in the relevant OASIS Help page. I later did a test connection to my OASIS space and uploaded a file at http://www.student.curtin.edu.au/~13713634/
Blog
The task calls for pasting a screenshot of my blog, which seems a little redundant since this learning log is being written on a blog provided by blogger.com!
Blogger.com, now owned by internet behemoth Google has been around since the early days of blogging and shares credit for the popularity of blogging today. It is a hosted, easy to use, free service and users don't have to worry about any of the technical aspects of running a web site.
Top five tips for new bloggers
I love blogging. I use a wonderful app called WordPress on my own personal site mja.blog. Even though I know how to create webpages 'from scratch', building and maintaining a website through blog or CMS software is so much quicker and easier. WordPress and other applications like it are quite flexible and dynamic, with support from a large developer community and multitude of plugins available to extend functionality.
Using content from one of my own posts on a discussion forum I followed the instructions to create a HTML 3.2 document as per the tutorial.
I am familiar with later HTML standards and noted that some of the tags in HTML 3.2 such as <b> and <i> are now deprecated (not included in later versions). Since HTML 4.0 there has been a move for semantic markup to completely separate style and layout from page elements, through the use of cascading style sheets (CSS).
An excellent article recommended by Keith (a fellow NET11 student), Bulletproof HTML: 37 Steps to Perfect Markup by Tommy Olsson answers common questions about the most current markup standards and why validation is important.
Standards
As well as HTML markup standards there are standards for online content. 'Usability' of a web site has become a common benchmark as a way to ensure effective communication in the digital environment:
- Text must be easily scannable - concise, main points accessible. People tend to 'scan' text on the screen, instead of reading it word for word so it is easy to miss information that is buried within a wordy document.
- Consistent navigation - as a non-linear form of writing, readers will arrive and end at different points, and take entirely different paths. Navigation needs to be easily grasped without requirement for specific instruction, and consistent. This is probably one of the most obvious and important standards for web page authoring - consider 'back', 'next' and 'home' links on a web page.
- Write in the language and style of the reader - the text should be easily and quickly understood without having to decipher its meaning.
- Effective use of links - make them meaningful. Links can be a distraction - or they can be used to help highlight important points. A page should not be overloaded with links and they should not be gratuitous - they should fulfill the purpose of pointing to where further information is to be obtained.
- Chunking - segment information to make it easily accessible, may be repeated on each page to make it 'portable' for non-linear reading. Apparently chunking is a concept that dates back to the 50's. It was put forward by a Harvard psychologist George A. Miller and describes the capacity of short term memory. Miller's theory states that by grouping similar items into a small collection or 'chunk', short term memory can be expanded.
W3C validation
My first page did not pass W3C validation because no character encoding had been specified in the document. I uploaded a second page which includes a meta tag specifying character encoding of ISO-8859-1 and it passed validation.
In my browser these two pages look identical, but this particular tag is important for accessibility across different languages and platforms. If the character encoding is not specified there may be unpredictable results. A good article about character encoding by Tommy Olsson is The Definitive Guide to Web Character Encoding.
Copyright
Have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?
On my WebCT presentation space I have used an image of a smiling coffee cup which I obtained from a clip art web site claiming the material was 'free for personal use'. If a copyright dispute arose I would at least be able to demonstrate that I had acted in good faith, and that my use of the image was not commercial.
Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?
In this circumstance I believe use of the Curtin logo would be allowable under the 'fair dealings' provisions of the Australian Copyright Act, since it is being used for academic purposes. This provision is mentioned in the copyright statement on the Curtin web site.
FTP
The url to the page I uploaded via FTP is mod3task.html
FTP is a tool I am very familiar with, and I used space on my own server so I did not experience any problems with this task - although I note some of the other students were having problems uploading to web space on OASIS. I believe the problem related to students being unaware of the requirement for specific security settings to access the OASIS server. This information was found in the relevant OASIS Help page. I later did a test connection to my OASIS space and uploaded a file at http://www.student.curtin.edu.au/~13713634/
Blog
The task calls for pasting a screenshot of my blog, which seems a little redundant since this learning log is being written on a blog provided by blogger.com!
Blogger.com, now owned by internet behemoth Google has been around since the early days of blogging and shares credit for the popularity of blogging today. It is a hosted, easy to use, free service and users don't have to worry about any of the technical aspects of running a web site.
Top five tips for new bloggers
- Decide a purpose or theme of your blog!
- Commit to regular posts - nothing worse than a dead blog
- Look at other blogs, participate, leave your url with comments
- Get to know your blog software/service - know the possibilities
- Observe blogging 'etiquette'
I love blogging. I use a wonderful app called WordPress on my own personal site mja.blog. Even though I know how to create webpages 'from scratch', building and maintaining a website through blog or CMS software is so much quicker and easier. WordPress and other applications like it are quite flexible and dynamic, with support from a large developer community and multitude of plugins available to extend functionality.
NET11 - Module 1 & 2: Self-evaluation
I thought I would include here the questions I answered incorrectly for two reasons. Firstly, to help me remember the correct answers and secondly, to remind myself to pay attention!
Q1 - Which of the following is NOT an example of email metadata? a) Body, b) Subject, c) From, d) To, e) All of the above, f) None of the above.
I answered f) None of the above. WRONG. What is metadata? data about the message. The body is the message.. ALTHOUGH one of the concepts we've been studying (No. 6 - Reading the difference between 'surface' metadata and 'implied' metadata) suggests that sometimes we need to look at the body of a message to verify its suitability from various signals that are provided in the content.
Q16 - What program, still in use today, is widely referred to as the 'first' internet application?
I answered "email". WRONG. How could I forget about telnet?
A third question was marked incorrect also, although I was on the right track with my answer.
Q14 - The Usenet is a distributed system of messages and is divided into ...?
I answered "groups". I should have been more specific and used the correct term "newsgroups".
Q1 - Which of the following is NOT an example of email metadata? a) Body, b) Subject, c) From, d) To, e) All of the above, f) None of the above.
I answered f) None of the above. WRONG. What is metadata? data about the message. The body is the message.. ALTHOUGH one of the concepts we've been studying (No. 6 - Reading the difference between 'surface' metadata and 'implied' metadata) suggests that sometimes we need to look at the body of a message to verify its suitability from various signals that are provided in the content.
Q16 - What program, still in use today, is widely referred to as the 'first' internet application?
I answered "email". WRONG. How could I forget about telnet?
A third question was marked incorrect also, although I was on the right track with my answer.
Q14 - The Usenet is a distributed system of messages and is divided into ...?
I answered "groups". I should have been more specific and used the correct term "newsgroups".
31 December 2006
NET11 - Module 2: Email, Lists, Newsgroups & Chat
Email
1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?
An email address is in the format 'username'@'domain' and there are a few things we can learn from this. Firstly, the domain is the mail server address and can tell us the name and type of organisation the email address belongs to, for example .edu for an educational facility or .com for a commercial entity. In many cases you can extract this part of the email address and type it into the address bar of a web browser to learn more about the organisation as in many cases there will be a web site using the same domain.
The username component of the email address can sometimes provide a clue as to the context of the message. The use of a particular email address will usually be based on the situation in which it is used - for example for personal communications with friends I use my personal email address (username is based on my name or nickname), for business/work I use a business email address (username is an alias - "sales" or "info").
Examining a sender's email address can sometimes provide an indication as to whether the email is legitimate or spam. Spammers often use automated software to generate a 'from' address using random words and letters in an attempt to bypass spam filters, these can usually be quite easily detected when compared to 'legitimate' email addresses.
2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?
In the case of 'cc' (carbon copy) I would find it useful where I wanted to send the same information to a group of people - for example, the minutes of a meeting at work. The 'reply all' function would be useful if I received such an email and wished to pass along further information to the same group of recipients. I would find 'bcc' (blind carbon copy) useful where my message was addressed to one particular person, but I wanted another person to see the message discreetly without the original recipient knowing - such as a communication with a client that I want my boss to see. Another common use of 'bcc' is the sharing of jokes and funny stories to all one's friends without letting them all see each other's email addresses, hiding the email addresses in this case is more a case of etiquette than discretion.
3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
Well the obvious answer is to ASK the person you intend to send the file to, since you cannot assume they run exactly the same platform/software setup. This isn't always possible though of course, so it is a good idea to be aware of the more popular file formats - RTF, PDF, JPG etc and use these in preference to more specialised formats.
Worth mentioning here is that some file formats such as PDF have only become popular because of the distribution of freely available file "viewers". PDF was a format developed by Adobe, who offer free download of the Adobe Acrobat Reader (they also made the format available for use in other programs). Microsoft have also released viewers for applications in their Office Suite, however these do not seem to enjoy the same popularity as PDF - possibly due to the ongoing development and changes of the DOC format.
4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
One of the primary purposes for sorting mail with filters and rules is to aid in retrieval of information. With the quantity of information exchanged by email it is not possible to memorise everything, it is more effective to categorise information and know where and how it can be retrieved.
I have several email accounts which are used for different purposes - business, work, study, personal interests. I have all my mail forwarded to my account with Gmail which, as a web based email service offers greater convenience to me. I have several rules set up in Gmail to apply various labels to items of mail. For example, messages to my work address are labelled with the name of the company I work for, messages from a particular client are labelled with that client's name.
Another tool I use with my email is applying a flag (in Gmail it is a star) to specific messages where follow-up action is required. I can pull up a list of all my "starred" messages like a "to do" list and "un-star" them when I have completed the required task.
5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
As mentioned above, I use Gmail which has its own method for storing mail without using folders, mail can be categorised with labels and is retrieved through filtered searches. One advantage to this method over using folders is it is possible to assign more than one label to a message if it fits into more than one category.
Over time I have used several email clients - Pegasus, Eudora, Outlook, Outlook Express, where I used folders similarly to how I now use labels with Gmail. One of the reasons I switched to a webmail system is the number of occasions I have lost email archives due to a software or hardware failure. With Gmail my archives are stored on the web and accessed from any computer (I also have a backup in Outlook - just in case Gmail breaks!)
There are two main concerns with using a web based email service. Firstly is the risk of identity theft, if some nasty person guesses my password, logs in and "steals" my account. Regular, obscure password changes help guard against that. Secondly is the possibility that the service provider may experience technical problems or go out of business (I'm taking a calculated risk with Gmail!)
There are pros and cons with both types of email access but I think the important thing is to be aware of these and have a contingency plan.
Lists
1. What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?
Of the two my greater preference is for discussion boards. My main gripe with email lists is the format - whether I subscribe to receive posts individually or compiled in a daily digest, opening each email to read the contents is tiresome; and might be particularly so for anyone who processes a high volume of incoming mail each day.
On the other hand, an email message is more of a "keeper" if it contains something important or useful, it can be filed or labelled for later retrieval.
Threads in an email lists have a greater tendency to lose continuity, since there is a lot of screen switching as each email post is opened to be read. Additionally poor quoting and short replies to a thread sometimes make little sense, particularly if you've started reading the thread halfway.
On the other hand, the discussion board displays all the posts on a single page (or sometimes if the thread is long, multiple hyperlinked pages); it is easier to locate the first post in a thread and scroll down the screen to read through its entire contents.
Email lists (particularly moderated ones) seem to have a tendency to remain more on topic than discussion boards. I think this has a lot to do with the format - emails versus posts on a web page. Email lists seem to be a lot more specialised whereas discussion boards cover a broader area, and individual threads seem more prone to posts that are off-topic.
2. Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?
Where the content is useful, relevant to work or studies and well-moderated to exclude junk mail I think mailing lists are a good way of disseminating information and keeping up to date with changes in an industry or study.
Discussion boards, particularly busy ones are more suited to less formal communication - brainstorming, and open discussion. The format is more conducive to conversation.
Newsgroups
These have many similarities to email lists, in fact with many of the lists and newsgroups I encountered it was difficult to see the difference - particularly since both are now commonly accessed via the web as well as the traditional mail and news reader clients.
When searching through the newsgroups for topics that interested me it was offputting to encounter so much spam and junk. I finally joined a group that had very restricted access - I had to apply to join by telling a little about myself and my reasons for being there. I was accepted, and this was my first post:
The group I joined "Messy Mamas" is part of Googlegroups and is a group of housewives (mostly from the US) trying to bring order to their homes! I also subscribed to some other groups including aus.culture.true-blue and aus.tv. These last two use the traditional hierarchical form of address in their name.
Googlegroups has introduced some good features to newsgroups; one of these is in the threading of posts, there is a flag that lets you know if the subject has changed (it is still part of the same thread but has branched off to a related topic).
I subscribed to many newsgroups in my early days on the internet, over ten years ago. I have since graduated to forums and instant messaging, and think of newsgroups as "old hat" - but I like the way Googlegroups has "webified" them.
Chat
I've used ICQ off and on for many years. It is a very useful tool at work, particularly where telecommuting is involved. It can be tempting to carry on chatting and gets counter-productive sometimes, so I tend not to use it a great deal.
I've added a few NET11 students to my chat list and had a chat with Melissa G on the weekend. One thing we commented on was the practice of using nicknames - made it difficult to know who you were chatting to (my nickname is "mejane"). One of the main reasons I use a nickname is for privacy, only people I choose to tell know who I am.
I participated in a WebCT chat also and it was quite pleasant to chat to the other students and our tutor about the course and other things - it broke the ice.
As a communication tool online chat definitely has its uses. As a means to disseminate information it is probably not as effective, due to its informal nature.
IRC
This form of chat is reminiscent of Telnet in that it is command line based, it doesn't have the same "bells and whistles" and intuitive interface of other chat clients like ICQ or Messenger. It has fewer tools also - for example there is no contact list management. IRC, like Telnet is an important internet application but rather a relic of the past in terms of client use.
1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?
An email address is in the format 'username'@'domain' and there are a few things we can learn from this. Firstly, the domain is the mail server address and can tell us the name and type of organisation the email address belongs to, for example .edu for an educational facility or .com for a commercial entity. In many cases you can extract this part of the email address and type it into the address bar of a web browser to learn more about the organisation as in many cases there will be a web site using the same domain.
The username component of the email address can sometimes provide a clue as to the context of the message. The use of a particular email address will usually be based on the situation in which it is used - for example for personal communications with friends I use my personal email address (username is based on my name or nickname), for business/work I use a business email address (username is an alias - "sales" or "info").
Examining a sender's email address can sometimes provide an indication as to whether the email is legitimate or spam. Spammers often use automated software to generate a 'from' address using random words and letters in an attempt to bypass spam filters, these can usually be quite easily detected when compared to 'legitimate' email addresses.
2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?
In the case of 'cc' (carbon copy) I would find it useful where I wanted to send the same information to a group of people - for example, the minutes of a meeting at work. The 'reply all' function would be useful if I received such an email and wished to pass along further information to the same group of recipients. I would find 'bcc' (blind carbon copy) useful where my message was addressed to one particular person, but I wanted another person to see the message discreetly without the original recipient knowing - such as a communication with a client that I want my boss to see. Another common use of 'bcc' is the sharing of jokes and funny stories to all one's friends without letting them all see each other's email addresses, hiding the email addresses in this case is more a case of etiquette than discretion.
3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
Well the obvious answer is to ASK the person you intend to send the file to, since you cannot assume they run exactly the same platform/software setup. This isn't always possible though of course, so it is a good idea to be aware of the more popular file formats - RTF, PDF, JPG etc and use these in preference to more specialised formats.
Worth mentioning here is that some file formats such as PDF have only become popular because of the distribution of freely available file "viewers". PDF was a format developed by Adobe, who offer free download of the Adobe Acrobat Reader (they also made the format available for use in other programs). Microsoft have also released viewers for applications in their Office Suite, however these do not seem to enjoy the same popularity as PDF - possibly due to the ongoing development and changes of the DOC format.
4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
One of the primary purposes for sorting mail with filters and rules is to aid in retrieval of information. With the quantity of information exchanged by email it is not possible to memorise everything, it is more effective to categorise information and know where and how it can be retrieved.
I have several email accounts which are used for different purposes - business, work, study, personal interests. I have all my mail forwarded to my account with Gmail which, as a web based email service offers greater convenience to me. I have several rules set up in Gmail to apply various labels to items of mail. For example, messages to my work address are labelled with the name of the company I work for, messages from a particular client are labelled with that client's name.
Another tool I use with my email is applying a flag (in Gmail it is a star) to specific messages where follow-up action is required. I can pull up a list of all my "starred" messages like a "to do" list and "un-star" them when I have completed the required task.
5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
As mentioned above, I use Gmail which has its own method for storing mail without using folders, mail can be categorised with labels and is retrieved through filtered searches. One advantage to this method over using folders is it is possible to assign more than one label to a message if it fits into more than one category.
Over time I have used several email clients - Pegasus, Eudora, Outlook, Outlook Express, where I used folders similarly to how I now use labels with Gmail. One of the reasons I switched to a webmail system is the number of occasions I have lost email archives due to a software or hardware failure. With Gmail my archives are stored on the web and accessed from any computer (I also have a backup in Outlook - just in case Gmail breaks!)
There are two main concerns with using a web based email service. Firstly is the risk of identity theft, if some nasty person guesses my password, logs in and "steals" my account. Regular, obscure password changes help guard against that. Secondly is the possibility that the service provider may experience technical problems or go out of business (I'm taking a calculated risk with Gmail!)
There are pros and cons with both types of email access but I think the important thing is to be aware of these and have a contingency plan.
Lists
1. What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?
Of the two my greater preference is for discussion boards. My main gripe with email lists is the format - whether I subscribe to receive posts individually or compiled in a daily digest, opening each email to read the contents is tiresome; and might be particularly so for anyone who processes a high volume of incoming mail each day.
On the other hand, an email message is more of a "keeper" if it contains something important or useful, it can be filed or labelled for later retrieval.
Threads in an email lists have a greater tendency to lose continuity, since there is a lot of screen switching as each email post is opened to be read. Additionally poor quoting and short replies to a thread sometimes make little sense, particularly if you've started reading the thread halfway.
On the other hand, the discussion board displays all the posts on a single page (or sometimes if the thread is long, multiple hyperlinked pages); it is easier to locate the first post in a thread and scroll down the screen to read through its entire contents.
Email lists (particularly moderated ones) seem to have a tendency to remain more on topic than discussion boards. I think this has a lot to do with the format - emails versus posts on a web page. Email lists seem to be a lot more specialised whereas discussion boards cover a broader area, and individual threads seem more prone to posts that are off-topic.
2. Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?
Where the content is useful, relevant to work or studies and well-moderated to exclude junk mail I think mailing lists are a good way of disseminating information and keeping up to date with changes in an industry or study.
Discussion boards, particularly busy ones are more suited to less formal communication - brainstorming, and open discussion. The format is more conducive to conversation.
Newsgroups
These have many similarities to email lists, in fact with many of the lists and newsgroups I encountered it was difficult to see the difference - particularly since both are now commonly accessed via the web as well as the traditional mail and news reader clients.
When searching through the newsgroups for topics that interested me it was offputting to encounter so much spam and junk. I finally joined a group that had very restricted access - I had to apply to join by telling a little about myself and my reasons for being there. I was accepted, and this was my first post:
From: "Liss"
To: "Messy Mamas"
Subject: Girl from Oz
Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2007 04:54:03 -0000
Message-ID: <1168232043.051078.238440@11g2000cwr.googlegroups.com>
User-Agent: G2/1.0
X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.9) Gecko/20061206 Firefox/1.5.0.9,gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi my name is Liss and I'm from Australia. This looks like a lovely, friendly, chatty place and I look forward to getting to know the other members here.
As it says in my bio I'm 37 years of age, married to Herman and not a mommy (we say "mummy" in Australia). I work from home for an internet provider company and I am also studying part time at university. I am very interested in all things internet, and one of the reasons I joined this newsgroup was to help meet a requirement for the course I'm currently doing. Our task was to learn more about how newsgroups work, by joining a group that interested us personally.
I am probably not the most well organised housewife in the world. Where I fall down most is planning and shopping for meals. I never seem to remember to write a list and as a result my pantry is crammed full of canned tuna, tomatoes and crackers. Hopefully some of the other girls here will be able to give me some tips :-)
Best wishes,
Liss
The group I joined "Messy Mamas" is part of Googlegroups and is a group of housewives (mostly from the US) trying to bring order to their homes! I also subscribed to some other groups including aus.culture.true-blue and aus.tv. These last two use the traditional hierarchical form of address in their name.
Googlegroups has introduced some good features to newsgroups; one of these is in the threading of posts, there is a flag that lets you know if the subject has changed (it is still part of the same thread but has branched off to a related topic).
I subscribed to many newsgroups in my early days on the internet, over ten years ago. I have since graduated to forums and instant messaging, and think of newsgroups as "old hat" - but I like the way Googlegroups has "webified" them.
Chat
I've used ICQ off and on for many years. It is a very useful tool at work, particularly where telecommuting is involved. It can be tempting to carry on chatting and gets counter-productive sometimes, so I tend not to use it a great deal.
I've added a few NET11 students to my chat list and had a chat with Melissa G on the weekend. One thing we commented on was the practice of using nicknames - made it difficult to know who you were chatting to (my nickname is "mejane"). One of the main reasons I use a nickname is for privacy, only people I choose to tell know who I am.
I participated in a WebCT chat also and it was quite pleasant to chat to the other students and our tutor about the course and other things - it broke the ice.
As a communication tool online chat definitely has its uses. As a means to disseminate information it is probably not as effective, due to its informal nature.
IRC
This form of chat is reminiscent of Telnet in that it is command line based, it doesn't have the same "bells and whistles" and intuitive interface of other chat clients like ICQ or Messenger. It has fewer tools also - for example there is no contact list management. IRC, like Telnet is an important internet application but rather a relic of the past in terms of client use.
2 December 2006
NET11 - Module 1: Telnet, FTP & Internet Tools
Telnet
I am familiar with telnet from managing web sites hosted on a Linux/Apache server platform. Not only is it useful for performing various file management functions, it is also a very quick way to make small changes to web pages - directly on the server instead of transferring files back and forth between server and client. To do this I use a simple little text editor tool residing on the server called Pico. The telnet client I have used in the past is called Putty, but for the purposes of this exercise I used Windows' built-in client.
Compared to search on a web page, the command interface of telnet is more awkward to navigate, and the appearance is less 'friendly', but the server response time seems faster. It was fascinating to watch the Star Wars 'movie' over telnet, probably the most creative use of telnet and ascii I have encountered.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol
My favourite client at the moment is Filezilla. The thing I have always liked about windows-based FTP clients is their similarity to Windows Explorer and the ability to 'drag and drop' files. The default set up for most FTP clients is to display local files on one side of the window and remote files on the other side, making it very easy to compare folder contents and files.
Internet Tools
I began with a traceroute from All Net Tools, a server based in the United States which reached Curtin in 18 hops in an average of 305.55ms.
Results from US server 18 hops; average 305.55ms
I then performed a traceroute from an Indonesian server which reached the Curtin server in 23 hops with an average of 445ms.
I compared these results with a traceroute performed from my own internet connection in Queensland and reached the Curtin server in 14 hops, and an average of 110ms. The best result overall was a trace from the Telstra server, reaching Curtin in 13 hops in an average of 43.98ms.
Results from Telstra server 13 hops; 43.98ms
What do my results tell me? My connection and the Telstra server are both located in Australia, yet Telstra reached the Curtin server at more than twice the speed. From the international tests, although Indonesia is geographically closer to Australia than the United States, it produced a slower result indicating that geographical location is not a decisive factor in traceroute results. Telstra is the largest network in Australia and is the backbone to many smaller networks including my internet provider, so it is possible the size of a network influences traceroute results.
I then used the Windows built-in Ping utility to contact webct.curtin.edu.au as suggested in the exercise. Request timed out! I tried pinging curtin.edu.au and and had a better result, the average round trip time was 110ms (same as my traceroute). I am aware that some servers block ping to prevent DOS (denial of service) attacks; this could be what is occurring with the WebCT server.
I am familiar with telnet from managing web sites hosted on a Linux/Apache server platform. Not only is it useful for performing various file management functions, it is also a very quick way to make small changes to web pages - directly on the server instead of transferring files back and forth between server and client. To do this I use a simple little text editor tool residing on the server called Pico. The telnet client I have used in the past is called Putty, but for the purposes of this exercise I used Windows' built-in client.
Compared to search on a web page, the command interface of telnet is more awkward to navigate, and the appearance is less 'friendly', but the server response time seems faster. It was fascinating to watch the Star Wars 'movie' over telnet, probably the most creative use of telnet and ascii I have encountered.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol
My favourite client at the moment is Filezilla. The thing I have always liked about windows-based FTP clients is their similarity to Windows Explorer and the ability to 'drag and drop' files. The default set up for most FTP clients is to display local files on one side of the window and remote files on the other side, making it very easy to compare folder contents and files.
Internet Tools
I began with a traceroute from All Net Tools, a server based in the United States which reached Curtin in 18 hops in an average of 305.55ms.
Results from US server 18 hops; average 305.55ms
I then performed a traceroute from an Indonesian server which reached the Curtin server in 23 hops with an average of 445ms.
I compared these results with a traceroute performed from my own internet connection in Queensland and reached the Curtin server in 14 hops, and an average of 110ms. The best result overall was a trace from the Telstra server, reaching Curtin in 13 hops in an average of 43.98ms.
Results from Telstra server 13 hops; 43.98ms
What do my results tell me? My connection and the Telstra server are both located in Australia, yet Telstra reached the Curtin server at more than twice the speed. From the international tests, although Indonesia is geographically closer to Australia than the United States, it produced a slower result indicating that geographical location is not a decisive factor in traceroute results. Telstra is the largest network in Australia and is the backbone to many smaller networks including my internet provider, so it is possible the size of a network influences traceroute results.
I then used the Windows built-in Ping utility to contact webct.curtin.edu.au as suggested in the exercise. Request timed out! I tried pinging curtin.edu.au and and had a better result, the average round trip time was 110ms (same as my traceroute). I am aware that some servers block ping to prevent DOS (denial of service) attacks; this could be what is occurring with the WebCT server.
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