LAN article (Wikipedia)
This was a pleasant enough introduction to local area networks. Anecdotally, it reminded me of the days in high school when a group of my tech-savvy friends would get together for LAN parties. Frankly, I had no idea what they were talking about at the time…
The most interesting aspect of this article for me was the history it provided. As is usually the case for me, I had no idea that this type of technology goes as far back as it does.
Networks article (Wikipedia)
‘Terrestrial microwaves use earth-based transmitter and receiver [sic].’ I love that we’re studying something that necessitates the use of the phrase ‘earth-based.’ I keep waiting to hear the Twilight Zone theme… But seriously, I found the introductory discussion of the various types of wireless technologies to be pretty helpful.
Networks (Youtube video)
Very simply put. Not much to say about it, really. I thought it was summed up a little bit better in the Wikipedia article on networks, but I certainly appreciated the brevity of it.
RFID article
These things are everywhere, and I guess I don’t have anything against a library using them. They’re functional, can be designed to be unobtrusive, and just because a library decides to use them doesn’t necessarily mean that they (or anyone else) will gather information (e.g., your whereabouts, etc.) about you. (That concern seems a little ‘Bladerunner’ to me, anyway, but I suppose that’s the greater concern about RFID.) As with many new technologies, the potential for ‘creepy’ uses is there, but as with any new technologies we just need to have faith that they’ll be used in courteous, respectful (relative to privacy) ways. I say, bring on the RFID— I’ve already got one in my car, why not have them in my library?
Hello John,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see I'm not the only one who was thinking of "LAN parties" after reading these articles. I was also a bit thrown off by the history of the technology, I just assumed it was recent (for the time) advancement to technology.
As for your thoughts on RFID: with your statement on RFID, I have to wonder if you see this as the new and best way to do things, or if you believe there is a darker side besides the note on privacy?
What is a LAN party??? Sorry to be out of the loop -- sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteI, too, stopped to think when I read "earth-bound" because the fact that we have to differentiate is kind of cool. But really, many networks are wireless now. I'm working wireless right now! Because so wireless is everywhere (it seems) now, especially with 3G phones, I wonder if there are any pros to earth-bound connections?
@ Lost Scribe: my biggest concern relative to RFID isn't necessarily one of malignant usage, but rather one of information organization.
ReplyDeleteThe world of information organization and retrieval is already so cluttered with different standards that I can't help but think it would be necessary to settle on some kind of agreeable universal standard before we go RFID-crazy. If everything is tagged with these devices, then everything is carrying electronic metadata around just waiting for devices to read it. If that's the case, it seems like the world of metadata will just become even more cluttered and unwelcoming than it already is.
@ Kristen: as i understand it, a LAN party is when a bunch of people used to get together, their computers in tow, and play video games together over the same network. I never went to one (I wasn't really a video gaming kid), but I understand they were a lot of fun. I'm not sure if they're as relevant as they once were now that people can play video games together online...
@John: I think I see your point. If the ways of classifying information could be clearer, do you think RFID would become a better choice? And wouldn't RFID, with the option of setting up the metadata digitally (to allow even more metadata), allow for a better way to find and organize books? Just trying to get a better grasp of your line of thought.
ReplyDelete@Kristen: A LAN party is very much how John described it. You set up all of the computers on the same network and set up a variety of games. Smaller LAN parties were just close friends joining up to play a single game together, while larger LAN parties could have a variety of games being played by different groups at the same time. Some tournaments were held that way as well from my experiences, as speed can be better on a closed network than the internet.
John does bring up a good point that they aren't as relevant as they once were, but some of us are still social enough to network together and play our games in person instead of relying on things offline.
Hope that all makes sense!
--Anthony
I don't know... the jury's still out for me. I feel like "we just need to have faith that they’ll be used in courteous, respectful (relative to privacy) ways" is like saying hopefully Google will never turn evil. I mean, hopefully they won't, but if they ever do, will we be kicking ourselves for having not done something earlier... and with the case of RFID, would we not be kicking ourselves that we joined onto something voluntarily that led to a problem?
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand the privacy concerns about RFID in general, I think that it borders on silly to think that a library, of all places, is apt to use the technology in nefarious ways. Besides the fact that librarians are some of the most gung-ho privacy types I know, they're already dealing with having too much information to properly manage; I doubt that they'd jump at the chance to add another database of user-tracking information into the mix even if there were some kind of intrinsic benefit to it (which I'm not convinced of either).
ReplyDeleteJust something random that may bring about a laugh, especially after Amy's post:
ReplyDeletehttp://xkcd.com/792/
It's a webcomic, along a similar idea as Amy's comment, primarily about Google being evil. Hopefully that will brighten someone's day.