The howstuffworks.com reading was actually very interesting to me. A lot of us take for granted that the internet "just works." We often don't think about how or why it works. I've learned what all of the acronyms (HTTP, IP, DNS, URL, etc.) stood for long ago, but I've forgotten them as the years have gone by. As our last set of readings showed us, networks are everywhere now, and are completely simple to set up in one's own home. This reading reminded me what a network really was, and what it really takes to make it work.
The ILS reading was interesting for me, as a library employee. I've had experience working with a few of the ILSs that the article mentions, Sirsi Dynix and Millenium. Right now I work a lot with the Voyager ILS. The article is correct in that librarians often don't think about the ILS, because it is generally not viewed by the public. Most of the librarians in the library that I work for wouldn't even know how to use one, to be quite honest. They have, for the most part, very ugly GUIs and aren't very flexible. But, I do think that they do the job that are tasked to them. They make MARC records very easy to read, and make editing and adding/subtracting record easy as well. I don't know enough about the innovations in the ILS world to comment on that part, but I do understand the need because, as I said, they are very clunky and unintuitive.
The Brin and Page talk was very interesting to listen to. Probably the most interesting part to me though, was thinking about how much has changed in the last 6+ years that this was filmed. Google was a relative baby in the internet game at this point, but was already huge. I'd like to see an updated version of a talk with the two founders.
Hello Marc,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you also appreciated the HowStuffWorks site. As I mentioned in my blog (and to other classmates), the site is always worth looking into. I do agree that we take our connection to the internet for granted, but the sad part is, understanding it enough to not take it for granted is not an easy feat.
As for ILS: I do agree that they tend to be clunky and unintuitive, yet still somehow get the job done. I currently use Sirsi Dynix while at the workplace, and in the past I used Voyager (and, for some cases, I wish I was still using Voyager). Both have their own advantages and disadvantages, of course, but intuitive design is something I wish to be a priority with the next generation of systems.
Do you think there is ever going to be a simple, catch-all solution (like the open source approach), or do you believe there's always going to be competing companies hoping to get it right?
Marc,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we as a society seem to take the Internet for granted. We don't think about the mechanics behind the Internet that allow us to swiftly navigate from website to website. The howstuffworks.com article is great because it teaches us a lot of the history behind the Internet.
I like the thought of comparing then-and-now Google videos. The social-networking site they hawked hasn't caught on in the States like they hoped it would, but I bet most of their ideas have flown well.
ReplyDeleteLarry and Sergey would probably show in solid platinum suits too bright to focus on without protective eyewear, and would hover above the stage being cooler than the rest of us as they explained how they had just completed the program to botton-up that troublesome world-peace problem.
I sound bitter, but they came across as likable....
if they thought about it a bit more, they might realize many ILS are a gigantic boondoggle and a privacy nightmare, destroying civil rights. check 2600 magazine for more info.
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