MODULE 5

Information Ecologies.

Here we are provided with a few readings discussing "information ecology" and are asked to reflect on the following questions regarding the metaphor of the "ecology":

• how might the metaphor of an ‘ecology’ impact on the way you think about, understand or use the Internet?


• how are the concepts ‘information’ and ‘communication’ understood within the framework of an ‘information ecology’?


• why don’t we talk of a ‘communication ecology’?

The idea of "ecology" when speaking of the internet is an interesting one. If we first consider the definition of the word ecology, the way the internet has evolved along with the way pepople use it can in fact be related to as an ecology.

The internet is made up of various communities, whether it be social communities or our own NET 11 community, these communities are ever changing. Ecology depends on shared knowledge to aid in evolution, take our little community as an example; many of us have a varying degree of expertise or knowledge in a particular area. To enable our other classmates to understand our own individual strengths, it is vital that the information be shared amongst those less knowledable than yourself. By providing the knowledge you have, it enables others to expand on their own skills and knowledge, thereby, eventually leading to that knowledge being added to as well as passed along to yet more members of the community.

This passing of knowledge allows new users to adapt more easily to how they understand the internet, and perhaps, down the track add to or develop new ways of internet use or information. Within our Net 11 community there are many people who are knowledable or have expertise in the area of web page design or html, css etc. With their knowledge being passed on to the rest of us, we are better able to understand how coding and web page design works. Without expertise, but more importantly, shared knowledge, the internet as an ecology would not exist. It would be unable to evolve without the contribution and implementation of new ideas. As I related to in my concepts assignment, updates are vital in protecting your computer from Malware etc. Security programs and anti-virus software etc, would not be able to be improved upon unless there were new viruses etc to protect our computers from, so in other words, the more malicious the virus, the better able we are to come up with a superior protection service.

From this we can determine that information is ever changing, although the information is passed on via communication, it is not the communication that changes, rather the way we communicate, whether it be by phone, face to face, e-mail etc, it is the technology and the iformation which evolves which is why I think we do not refer to communication as an ecology.

Module 4

Evaluating The Web.

In this task, we were asked to firstly follow a tutorial on web evaluation and then choose a site from the last task to reflect on according to the tips and pointers in the tutorial.

I decided to use Lee Ratzen's journal article on internet metaphors. Based on the above image, I evaluated this site accordingly.

The purpose of this article is an information research paper for a information and library studies course from Reutgers University which looks at various case studies about uses of metaphors related to the internet. Lee Ratzen's article was submitted to a peer review based site called Information Research.net, which publishes informative journal articles. Articles are only published if passed by the editors in a review. The editors decide if the papers are informative enough to warrant publishing. The information contained in the article is unbiased and the coverage of the topic is extensive and easy to comprehend.

The paper was last updated in July 2000, so is relatively current. The site is cited by 13 people in del.ici.ous and 12 people according to google scholar, which indicates the quality of the article.

CONCEPTS ASSIGNMENT

Concept #7 Netiquette
Good communication practice on the Internet is not something one “learns”, but something one “practices” so as to teach others, less familiar than yourself, how it is done.(Allen, n.d)


So what is Netiquette? As the word suggests, it is etiquette on the internet. There are certain “rules” when communicating via the internet, whether it is communication via e-mail, discussion boards or instant messaging. This is because when we are communicating online, the recipient doesn’t have the ability to see the facial expressions we use or hear the tone in our voices, all they see is the text we send them. Rules vary from community to community; however, the basic rules are generally all the same.


“The Core Rules of Netiquette:

Rule 1: Remember the Human
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behaviour online that you follow in real life.
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
Rule 4: Respect other people’s time and bandwidth.
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online.
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge.
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control.
Rule 8: Respect other people’s privacy
Rule 9: Don’t abuse your power.
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes.”(Shea, 1994)



Let’s look a little closer at some of these rules; we do at times seem to forget that we are actually communicating with another human, not an inanimate object, so before sending your communication, ask yourself if that is what you’d say to the person’s face. A great idea for getting across your mood or tone is to use emoticons when you can.

Keeping your behaviour the same online as you do in real life is something a lot of people do not follow, we teach our children from a very young age to treat others as they would want to be treated. It is no different on the internet. If you do not engage in criminal activity in real life, don’t engage in criminal activity online, yes there are crimes you can get into serious trouble over, for example, downloading music, which is costing artists and record companies millions of dollars in losses every year.
Before deciding to jump right in and participate in a group or community, have a look around first, listen to others who are already there, or read the archives. Acceptable behaviour varies from group to group, so become familiar with the respective behaviours and then you will fit right in with other members.

One of my pet hates is chain mail; they are a complete waste of time and never work anyway. As soon as I get an e-mail that says “pass this on to 10 friends or you will have a bad life” I straight away click the delete button. Not only are these e-mails annoying, they are a complete waste of time. In today’s society, people are very busy and their time is limited, it’s polite to keep that in mind. I know I have better things to do than send 10 e-mails to friends who will probably do the same as I do and delete them.

Basically, Netiquette is simply using manners to get along with others you communicate with online, something that we are taught from a very young age. The idea of chat groups and the like is to make friends isn’t it? Sometimes in real life, there are people we don’t get along with, but do we antagonize those people? Usually the answer to this question is no, most of us keep our distance from such people, do the same online. As long as you follow these simple guidelines and behave in an appropriate manner, your online experience should be a pleasant one.

Site 1:
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html (retrieved June 26, 2008)

This site is the home of Albion books, the publishers of Virginia Shea’s “Netiquette”. I found this site to be a wealth of knowledge on Netiquette. Although Shea’s book was published in 1994, the basic rules still apply. The information gives great insight for new internet users on what’s acceptable online and what’s not. When I first started using the internet, and in particular chat sites, I was quite confused about some of the terminology, things like: asl, lol, brb, ttyl, ty, yw, bbs, and rofl. Had I known of Netiquette, and researched first, I wouldn’t have found it so confusing.

Site 2:
http://www.propertytraining.com.au/rsg/g_netiquette.html (retrieved June 25, 2008)

This site was a more technical one, explaining more about netiquette for a number of areas, such as e-mail skills, web skills, discussion skills and general skills. This explains things such as notifying people upon receipt of an e-mail, how to write, read, and check e-mail before sending it. When I first started using e-mail, I stuck to the format we use for writing letters and sending them via the post or “snail-mail” as people now refer to it. Basically, we were taught at school how to write a letter in the proper manner, writing e-mail is basically the same principal.

Concept#17:The Impact of Text-based Real-Time Chat.
Communicating in real-time with text enables a form of ‘authoring of the self’ that is similar to the processes of face-to-face speech but which is much more amenable to authorial control, experimentation and reflection. Further, text-based communication carries with it the possibility for multiple, differing conversations occurring simultaneously, relying on the ability of the human brain to deal with text much better than speech.(Allen, n.d)

Text-based chat as we know it today began its popular rise in the mid 1990’s with the introduction of ICQ in 1996. Since then, the appearance of similar programs has increased, but is not limited to strictly text-based chat, recently, ‘virtual worlds’ such as ‘IMVU’ and ‘Second Life’ have emerged. So why are they so popular and can they have an impact on our lives, either positively or negatively?

Some reasons why this type of communication has become popular may be:
*the ability to communicate synchronously
*the ability to hold multiple conversations at the same time
*no matter how many conversations you hold at the one time, it doesn’t cost you any extra.
*conversations can be carried out with multiple users, known as conferencing, which saves the user time by not having to re-type their conversation to each separate contact.
* the ability to ‘interact’ with fellow chatters, especially those which provide ‘avatars’ in virtual worlds.
* the ability to create ‘fantasy lives’, perhaps participating in activities one wouldn’t participate in, in the real world.
* the ability to save conversations to re-visit at a later date

But is this type of communication healthy for us? There are numerous studies and articles speaking of Internet addiction, though some believe it is real, others do not. Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, principal author of the study on internet addiction says they decided to undertake the study because of “an alarming rise in patients seeking treatment for excessive computer use”. He goes on to say that "We don't definitively know right now if it is clinically addictive, but it certainly seems that (computer compulsion) problems are widespread." Many psychologists believe that spending too much time on the internet, whether it be surfing or engaging in social interaction, can have a detrimental effect on our personal lives and mental well being, however, it is not known if the internet is contributing to this or the user was predisposed to mental health issues prior to engaging in online activity. It is known though that when the time spent on the internet is starting to effect real-life relationships, that there is definitely a problem. Conversely, there are studies showing that real time chat improves the way people interact socially in the real world. Being able to speak freely as an “anonymous” user, gives that person the confidence required to interact more capably in a face-to-face situation. Interacting online also aids in a user being able to overcome shyness, thereby increasing their social circle.

Since the introduction of instant messaging, some believe that the English language has diminished due to “web speak”, while others see IM language as a shortened form of English. Because of the number of conversations held at one time, IM language has made it easier to hold more and more conversations, thereby improving one’s ability to multi-task.

The way we communicate today is obviously different to the way our parents communicated, and will continue to change with the advancement of technology, which is hurtling along at a great rate.

Site.1.
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf01313/research.htm. (retrieved July 2, 2008)
This article is from National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Studies in Arlington. I found this article quite informative and non- biased as it documents both positive and negative aspects of information technology in the home, there is a wealth of resources included at the end of the article which enabled me further reading and research. Along with citations from other studies, articles and papers, I found this article credible, easy to read and comprehend. This article looks at different aspects of the way technology can impact on our day to day lives, from time displacement to psychological well-being.

Site.2.
http://im.about.com/od/resources/a/imdebate.htm (retrieved 16 July, 2008)
This article was written by Brandon De Hoyos for About.com. Brandon has written for a number of newspapers and magazines about instant messaging and internet technology. This particular article focuses on instant messaging language or “web –speak” offering references to articles and papers regarding differing opinions on the credibility of instant messaging language and whether it will destroy the English language. While this article is non-biased, I found myself leaning towards a certain opinion of my own. It may be a good thing that I didn’t write this article, as I wouldn’t have written the article in such an unbiased manner.

Concept#15: Metaphors of Use and Communication Differentiation.
Internet communication technologies draw for their appeal and legibility (i.e. how they are understood) on metaphors and practices from non-internet communication. We use them, we understand them as versions of the latter, finding or creating differences between them that are not actually technically there since the net reduces all information flows to an identical format(with small variations) as it actually works. (Allen, n.d)

We use metaphors to help us understand something that is unknown or unfamiliar. For first time users, the internet can be overwhelming. By using metaphors to help visualize tasks, the internet has become a less intimidating environment. Metaphors allow us to compare the internet and computer use to things which we know or use in our everyday lives.

From the moment we turn our computers on, we have examples of metaphors, once the computer is running, we are brought to our “desktop” which contains visual metaphors in the form of icons: “folders”, “recycle bins”, “files”. By clicking on these icons, we open “windows” which enable us access to the information we have “stored” within the files or folders. Does this sound familiar? Most of these metaphors relate to an office and the tasks we undertake within an office.

There are varying kinds of metaphors spoken of when referring to the internet, however the most common relate to the internet as a tool or a place. Take e-mails for example, a tool to send mail, which happens a lot more quickly than the regular postal service. Using e-mail programs saves us time and money and we have come to expect a timely reply from the recipients. Many users refer to the internet as being “conduit” (Markham, 2003), whereby information is transmitted from one location to another, or a “highway” a way of travelling from one place to another. The internet is in fact a kind of conduit as it does transfer information from one place to another.

Another common metaphor for the internet is “virtual library”. Many students, in particular teen students, have come to think of the internet as a library and take this for granted. Before the emergence of the internet, a student had to actually visit the library, walk up and down the isles of books scanning the contents of those books for the relevant information. Upon finding that information, they would either take notes or use a pocketful of 20c pieces to photocopy the information they needed. Today, all they need do is type in a keyword and search the directories and numerous sites for information. Once they have what they need, it is a simple matter of “bookmarking” the pages they need. They then use a word processing program to write the information into; there is even a program to help them with their spelling. Once completed, the work is simply printed out via their printers, job done.

The internet has opened many doors which would not normally be available to us, it bring people from all over the world closer to one another, shortening distance, this is done by way of chat programs or instant messaging services, users envision others as being closer than they really are. Someone in Boolaroo Australia can talk to someone from Ontario Canada like they are just around the corner. The way we see the internet determines the way we use it, whether it be for work, study or communication and metaphors play a crucial role in this.

Site.1.
http://faculty.uvi.edu/users/amarkha/writing/MarkhamTPWwebversion.htm (retrieved July 7, 2008) This is an article written by Annette Markham, PhD, University of Illinois. The article talks about the different ways that people visualize the internet and how they use it. Although this is a draught of a larger document, I found it to be very informative and it gave me a clearer idea of the use of metaphors regarding the internet and the way we use the internet for communication. Until reading this article, I was struggling to come to terms with this concept; this article really helped me to get started on this particular task.

Site.2.
http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1995/jan/lastlink.html (retrieved July 20, 2008) This is an interesting site I came across, which contains communication between two editors of Computer Mediated Communication Magazine; Mick Doherty and Kevin Hunt. It really gives an insight into how different people view the internet and the way it’s used, both conceptually and metaphorically. I found it quite interesting and it allowed me to think about metaphors and the internet in a different way. To be able to “see” into the minds and opinions of others is quite intriguing.

Concept# 26: Privacy and Security.
The internet is a profoundly ‘open’ system and advanced internet users are cautious about either accepting or sending material from and to unknown sources and are careful in releasing information about themselves in any form. Conceptually, the internet challenges us to take greater responsibility for the protection of privacy and security than perhaps we are used to when dealing with the media. (Allen, n.d)

When it comes to Internet security, many novice users aren’t aware of the risks that come with internet use. The internet has become an integral part of our lives but also comes with the risk of having our privacy invaded, control of our computers taken away or astonishingly, the total devastation of our hard drives, rendering it totally disabled.

The following are just a few examples of what threats are out there:
· Adware
· BOT
· BOTNET
· Hoax
· Malware
· Phishing
· Spyware
· Trojan Horses
· Worms
· Viruses

Let’s explore a few of these threats to try to give us an idea of what they are and what they do.
Adware:
This is a type of advertising display software whose main aim is to deliver advertising to our computers, usually in an unwanted manner. These can sometimes contain tracking abilities. Specifically a marketing tool, however can affect the performance of your computer.
Malware:
Malware is the conjunction of the two words Malicious and software. Whilst threats such as BOTS, Trojans, and worms have specific meanings, malware is simply a word used to describe any kind of malicious software no matter what its purpose.
Phishing:
Phishing is an attack whose sole purpose is to try to obtain sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers. These attacks usually come in the form of an e-mail masquerading as a trusted person or company. For example the e-mails some staff and students received from Oasis requesting password confirmation.
Trojan Horses:
Also known simply as Trojans. These programs are meant to do one thing, but actually do another. They are usually in the form of a game file or similar. The purpose of the Trojan is to delete files, overwrite hard drives or in extreme circumstances, allow remote access to your computer in order to attack other sites, for example government sites. Using your computer, the culprit is untraceable.

So with all these threats out there, what can we do to protect ourselves? Firstly, we must install some type of security program on our computers. There are a great variety of programs available such as Bullguard, Kaspersky or Norton. Before deciding on a program, it might be a good idea to speak to other users first as sometimes viruses and the like appear in the form of anti-virus software.

Never give out your password or personal details, no matter who is asking. As explained previously, such requests contain threats. A trusted company such as your bank or pay pal would never ask you for those details.

Make sure your computer is fully updated at all times, it might get annoying at times, but the updates are crucial in that the software providers are constantly finding weaknesses in their programs and fix these weaknesses. By installing the updates, you are ensuring that you have no weaknesses in your program.

Regularly run your windows tools, disk clean up etc, to remove cookies which may contain any number of threats. Basically, internet security is a matter of common sense, unfortunately, we can take every precaution to protect ourselves, but as with home security, it will only keep the honest people out.

Site.1.
http://www.eset.com/download/whitepapers/NetLivingDead(20080225).pdf. This whitepaper was written by David Harley and Andrew Lee. Both authors are well respected security researchers. This paper opened my eyes to how damaging bots and the like can be. I had no idea of the havoc such threats could create. The paper describes everything about bots and how they work, from e-mail fraud to denial of service attacks. A very interesting and informative read by two of the world’s most leading experts in computer protection.

Site.2.
http://www.privacy.gov.au/internet/internet%5Fprivacy. This is an information site for first time internet users, provided by the Australian government. It describes all kinds of threats and the best way of protecting yourself from those threats. I’m not sure how long ago this was written, however, it would have been of enormous benefit to me when I first started using the internet. Had I known of its existence when I first started, I definitely would have read it before launching into the internet experience. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Module#4

Organising Search Information
Choose the best three sources found in the previous task (and be aware all these sources and information can be contributing to your resource bank assignment!)
Using whatever software or tool you think appropriate, record the following information about those sites:
URL.
author,
institution,
blurb/ summary / screen shot (this can be a direct copy of an appropriate abstract or introductory paragraph on the site: but make sure you record and reference it as such)
Again, using any useful software you have downloaded, or utilising your existing software, record this information on your computer in the way that you think will be most useful to you in terms of preparing for your third assignment (that is, in terms of how easy you will find it to access, retrieve, understand, contextualise and recall why you saved it - and with what!).
Source.1.
URL: http://lii.org
Title: Librarians' Internet Index
Institution:The Califa Library Group
Summary: This site is a directory rather than a site, it featires lists of the best websites for particular topics or subjects. You are able to suscribe to receive a weekly newsletter as well as being able to browse the directory to help you find articles or sites you are looking for.
Source.2.
URL:http://informationr.net/ir/6-1/paper85.html
Author:Lee Ratzan
Institution:School of Communication, Information and Library Studies
Summary:This site is an information research paper, entitled "Making Sense Of The Web: a Metaphorical Approach" written by Lee Ratzan. The idea here is to enable people to use the web more effectively, thereby understanding how the web works, how metaphors are used to make using the web easier by relating tasks to objects or tasks we use in the real world, eg: "surfing" the net or using the information "highway".
Source.3.
URL:www.zdnet.com.au
Author:Brian Haverty, Editorial Director;Munir Kotadia, Editor;Liam Tung, Senior Journalist ;Alex Serpo, Reviews Editor;Suzanne Tindal, Journalist
Institution:ZDNet Australia
Summary:This site features, reviews, articles, newsletters, whitepapers etc on varying topics from technology to film and music. Helpful information is available on just about anything you're looking for, I found it particularly useful when researching internet security.
I stored these sources at diigo, I also use connotea, but found diigo more suited to my needs. It provides the option of adding sticky notes to the actual web page, highlights specific parts of the text, which I found easy to retrieve. One click and you can record your site/article in diigo with the addition of a great little toolbar. Once bookmarked, I can easily access my bookmarks again with the use of the toolbar. Being taken to my bookmarks page, brings up a list of all sites I have added, by clicking on the links, that site is opened and appears just the way you left it, sticky notes and highlighting still there.

IRONY

How Ironic
This past week has been a nightmare, and that's not an understatement! Living in a illness infested household was bad enough, but to feel well enough to get back into my studies and discovering my computer was infested with trojans and viruses brought me to tears.
It's ironic that up until now, I have never had trouble with any such problems, now that I am aware of all aspects of internet security, to find them lurking on my computer left me feeling defeated and deflated. Perhaps it was because I myself had been feeling unwell contributed to my deflation, I felt like giving up.

This week however, I am feeling much better and although I need a new computer (currently using my mum's) I thought about the options available to me and no longer feel like everything is too overwhelming. I was fortunate to come across a government initiative which offers computers at a drastically reduced price. I am in the process of waiting for a refurbished pentium iv with 40GB HDD which I was able to purchase for $350. Feeling grateful and looking forward to completeing this unit (and on time) ;)

Module 4

Boolean Searching.

For this task, I used Dogpile advanced search options, adding specific "keywords", which I thought appropriate to what I was looking for. I used this task to help me towards my concepts assignment, keeping this in mind, i typed in "Internet Metaphors" and added the keywords "communication" "differentiation" and "use" which gave me the results below:

As you can see, this search tells me which search engines the respective sites were found, but doesn't tell me how many hits there were. I decided to use Google advanced search options as well, here are the results:
This search brought about basically the same results, however, the search enginesw aren't noted, but there is a hit count. Boolean searching brings about more options for searches, by using specific keywords or in fact omitting some words enables a search to bring you closer to the exact type of article or site you are looking for. I already had experience with this type of searching, however didn't know it was called "boolean searching"

Searching the Web

Search Engine Task.

For this task, we were asked to do a search using words of our own choosing, using our regular search engine as well as a meta search engine and record the results.

My regular search engine is google, I did a search using the following words "Internet Metaphors", here is a screenshot of the results:

As you can see, there were many hits,1,920,000 to be exact. The first hit is titled "making sense of the web:a metaphorical approach"

Using a meta search program, specifically MetaCrawler, I conducted a search using the same words. Again I have a screenshot of the results:

Using meta crawler brought 54 hits, the first hit is the same as that using google "making sense of the web:a metaphorical approach" There are alot less hits using metacrawler, I think this is based on the fact that it is a more specific search. For me, at first glance, meta crawler provided the more promising of the two, from what I first saw, the information offered by the hits in web crawler seemed more relevant to my search.

MODULE 4 Tools for using the Web

Downloading Tools/Plugins
For this task, we were given a list of tools/plugins to download, ideally, tools we were unfamiliar with.

1. Adobe's pdf Reader:
I already had this tool downloaded. PDF stands for portable document file, and abode is the only tool capable of reading all pdf files.
2. Flash/Shockwave Players
There was a link provided to enable us to check if we had a flash/shockwave player, I clicked the link, knowing I already had a player installed on my computer. Although no the latest version, I do have Adobe Macromedia Flash player. This tool enables me to view Flash elements contained on some web pages.
3.Media Players:
Apple Quicktime- I have this player installed on my computer specifically for the kids i-pods and the synchronisation of those. It is not my default player.
Windows Media Player- I also have this installed on my computer, it is my default player, useful for not only listening to music i have saved to my computer, but I also watch alot of video tutorials for various programs such as blender.
Real Networks Real One- I don't have this player, although I do have Winamp, which was recommended by a friend. I use this player exclusively to listen to a music stream belonging to the same friend.
4. Search Manager/Combiner
I downloaded copernic, the download process was simple and easy to follow. This tool is quite helpful for not only providing an alternate search tool, but also for storing my searches in one place, easily retrievable.
5.Bookmark Manager.
I chose to download Bookmark Buddy for windows, I didn't even know these tools were available, it's going to be helpful with keeping track of the sites of visited and when, saving me the trouble of noting when I accessed the sites, valuable for the concepts assignment.
6.Offline Browser/Manager
I downloaded Pagesucker , what a great name. Anyway, this will enable me to view web pages without having to open IE. Great time saver.
All downloads were very straight forward and posed no problems.

MODULE 3 TASKS

Web 2.0
Simply put, Web 2.0 is another name for "the Internet". It is basically a search engine which uses tags or keywords to find what we're looking for. It is characterised as using user-generated content. Web 1.0 on the other hand, does not support user interactive applications.
That being said, we were provided with 2 examples of link lists. The first "blinklist" features all characteristics of a web 2.0 application, tags and keywords used for searches. This application also provides the ability to create an account enabling you to contribute to the contenet, thereby allowing access to other users. It is also possible to add "friends" to your account whereby you can view their links.
The second link provided for this task was "live file store", this is a simple list of links. Although both contained the same links, this application doesn't allow user interactivity so there is less freedom to contribute.
After comparing both, I have to say that I prefer the blinklist because I am given the freedom to search in a way I am used to. If I have another thought for a keyword which might produce links to similar information, blinklist allows this. We all have different ways of thinking about things, something which blinklist takes into consideration, for example, when searching for information about "cats", one person might type in the keyword "kitten", while another person might use "cute" and yet another person might use "musicals" Live file store doesn't allow this kind of freedom.

MODULE 3 TASKS

Blogs
Having never experienced blogging before creating this one, I had no idea of the different types of blogs out there. From personal blogs, such as this one, albeit for study purposes, to podcasts. During my time exploring blogs, I have come across many interesting blogs. Here are a few examples:

Photoblog: http://www.montmartrephotoblog.org/ This is a blog belonging to photographer/artist Amanda Gilligan. This site features some amazing photos taken by Amanda, she wanted the blog to depict creative artistry. I think she succeeded.

Artlog: http://straythoughtsart-yamadoggirl.blogspot.com/ I was unable to find out the name of the artist. One thing I can say about her though, is that she is enormously talented. A gift that she is truly grateful for.

Vlog: http://www.archive.org/vlog_meredith This video blog I think is a fantastic idea as it's sign language. It is a series of different blogs, all signed in American sign language. Perhaps I might search for any video blogs which use Australian sign.

Business: http://djacobson.typepad.com/ This blog features everything you need to know about business management, ethics, planning, advertising, risk management forAustralian Businesses. Very helpful for one starting their own business

Political: http://andrewbartlett.com/blog This is a web diary belonging to Andrew Bartlett, a senator from Queensland and member of the Australian Parliament.

As you can see, there are a great variety of blogs in the "blogosphere" Whilst blogging is not the same as creating a web site, I am enjoying blogging and i think I just might continue blogging on a personal level, perhaps share some of my skills in the coaching area, or techniques on preventative taping. Who knows what I'll choose to blog about, the future will tell.

MODULE 3 TASKS

FTP
Because I had already uploaded my web page to the presentation area, when I tried to upload it via FTP, I was told that the file already existed and was asked if I wished to overwrite it. I chose to overwrite. I then went to the presentation area to check that the file was still accessible and it was :) YAYYYYYY MEEEEE!!! Here is the URL:-
http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group21/index.html

MODULE 3 TASKS

Legal Issues
In looking at the legal issues invovled in the creation of my web page, I have contravened none. As I created all the images myself, I am in no breach of copyright laws. The association's logo is not my design, but I did receive permission to use the logo from the association.
There were other legal issues I had to consider before submitting my page. Because there will be images of the girls included on the site, I would need permission from their parents to publish any photos on the site. This will come through the association providing handouts for the parents to sign, either allowing or denying the publication of photos of the daughters. So for the purposes of uploading my page to Curtin, I used images of my daughter, including the page's banner (which is subject to change once permissions are known). There is one photograph of my daughter warming up, which shows a couple of the other team members as well, because these girls are friends of my daughter and I know their parents, I was given verbal permission by the parent's of those girls to include this photo.
One question we were ask to contemplate was would we be in breach of any copyright laws if we were to put the curtin logo at the top of the web page for an assignment. After reading (and comprehending) as much as I could, I still found this issue to be a little blurred. The fair use policy states that a student can copy a little information for study purposes, it's difficult to know exactly what you can and can't use because most of the laws revolve around what teachers can and cannot use in a classroom situation. I think the safest thing to do would be not to use it, I mean, is there any need to use the Curtin logo for assignments? I say no. Err on the side of caution and you should be fine.

MODULE 3 TASKS

HTML Tags.
For this task, we were asked to complete a tutorial on HTML. Being a real novice with HTML, I found this task enormously beneficial. Whilst I had a little knowledge, I learned vastly more by following this tutorial. In the past, I would search for a code for a particular function, eg disabling right-click on my homepage or my space page. Having found the code for that, I would simply copy and paste the code, not fully understanding what all the tags meant.
After following the tutorial, and writing the code myself in notepad, my understanding of the tags and how they worked, and what each tag related to, grew immensely. I absolutely loved doing this task as this is the area of employment I am striving for.
Comparing this to blogging, HTML wins hands down, there is no comparison for me. Although I designed the background images for this blog, all i had to do was add the link to the images into the pre-built functions provided here. Designing the images myself gave me a sense of achievment, yes, though nowhere near as much compared to designing your own site from scratch. From here, I have done some reading on CSS and Javascript, to further my knowledge.
Before I end this post, I would like to offer my thanks to Kate, Fiona and Vernon:
To Kate, for her invaluable help, her knowledge is vast and she doesn't find it too much trouble to offer ideas on how to add elements etc.
To Fiona, for helping me de-stress, halping me to realise that this was just a task, not an assignment. My blood pressure dropped back to normal after she reminded me of that fact.
To Vernon, for helping me upload my file to the presentation area, something I was becoming frustrated with. Turns out I had named my index html just that so when it uploaded it became index.html.html. Isn't it amazing how it is humans who detrmine how things work, not the computer ;)

CHAT TASK

CHAT TASK
Welcome to the world of Virtual Chat.
For my chat task, I chose to use IMVU, a site where i have been a member for around 1 year. For this task, I met up with Fiona (MsFi), JT (Magellina) and Penny(DigitalMyrth). We tried to add Chris (BartiusCromwell) to our chat, however, we had trouble keeping everyone in the room at the same time, which is one of the most common problems with such a program, due to individual computer speeds etc.

Meet UnlikelyAngel

The following pictures show just a few of the activities available in IMVU, there are so many more, these are just a taste:
My Garden:

Hang Gliding
Dancing

Ride a Harley

Stumbling across this site just over a year ago was a major factor for me deciding to get into web design etc. Not only is this a chat site, it provides the opportunity to delve into the world of "developing"
With some great advice from people I met in chats, I became a developer, making products to sell in the shopping catalog. I found this so much fun, and read everything I could about designing my own graphics and textures, as well as learning a little about html, which enabled me to make my own banner and pass the code for my banner on to those who wanted to display it on there home pages. The banner is clickable and links straight to my products page.
This form of communication opened up a world to me which I was unaware existed. It can become addictive, sometimes to the point of people spending every waking minute on the site, as it can provide a real "fantasy life" for some.
Compared to say MSN, this form of chat provides more than just text -based communication. In my opinion, IMVU is used most commonly for people who want to create a "fantasy life" , where MSN etc, allows a synchronous form of chat more commonly used to keep in touch with people you actually know.
In my experience, I use MSN to communicate with family members who live inter-state or some distance from me. It allows me to keep in touch without having a huge phone bill at the end of the month. Whereas IMVU for me was just a way of meeting new people from other countries, enabling me to learn about the cultures of people in other countries. Of course there are nasty sides to chat in whichever form you prefer, however, with the proper behaviour and security measures, this nastiness can be avoided.

NEWSGROUPS

For this task, we were asked to explore Newsgroups. I joined usenet.com.au and became involved in a group called aus.sport.cricket. Once opening the groups page, I saw a number of interesting post titles, and started with this one:-

I thought this was an interesting question so replied, here is my reply:-

E-MAIL LISTS

For this task, we were asked to experiment with E-Mail lists and compare the differences between E-Mail lists and discussion boards, thinking about some of the pros and cons of one v's the other.
So, lists V's discussion boards. Basically, they are both forms of asychronous communication, which is really helpful for keeping up with the latest posts at your own pace, regardless of your time zone. While both lists and discussion boards are similar in function, discussion boards are much more pleasureable for myself personally. Lists bombard your e-mail account with e-mails from every member who posts, which I found myself deleting right away, as I could go to the List site at a later date to read any posts which peeked my interest.

In our newly created internet studies group in yahoo, i had the opportunity to experience a Moderator status, which enabled me to "thread" posts into a particular order or topic, to help keep the posts in some kind of order. A freedom not afforded to me in the discussion board.Another down side of the discussion board, is the inability to edit posts or delete them at a later date.
I found both lists and the discussion board very time consuming, and I honestly don't see myself keeping up my involvement in any of the e-mail lists i have subscribed too. It may be just my personal opinion, but I much prefer the synchronous communication.

E-MAIL

E-Mail Task # 1

In this task we were asked to complete an Email Tutorial and then answer the following reflective questions:-



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?

From an e-mail message, I can assertain the senders username, e-mail address,whether or not the user is using a free web mail server, or one provided with their computer Eg Outlook Express. I can also tell how many other people received this message. For example, if the sender recieves an e-mail and chooses to forward to all, the names and e-mail addresses of all the recipients are included.Also, you are able to determine who sent the message originally by looking at the "FROM" line.

2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?

CC FUNCTION: this function is useful when you want to send a copy of a message to someone, using this function can save you time as you don't have to rewrite or copy the message.

BCC FUNCTION: this function is very useful for sending multiple copies of messages, however it allows the identity of the other recipients to be unknown to all other recipients of the message. Great for protecting privacy

REPLY ALL: This function is a great time saver if you wish the message to be replied to every recipient listed. Rather than send mutiple e-mails containing the same message, you only need reply once.

3.In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

Most importantly, you must be aware of what type of software or computer the recipient uses and save your file in a format that can be read by their computer before you send the file.

If however, you are unsure of what type of software or computer your recipient has, the best thing to do is to send your file as plain text or ASCII. Alternatively, use a format which can be read by many apllications eg: rich text file (RTF). In this way, you can be sure that your attachment is able to be opened. Another helpful hint is to include in your file what system created it eg: Word or Excel, which allows the recipient to see what kind of file they are opening, thereby being able to determine if they themselves have that particular software.

4.What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

Because one of my children is heavily involved in representative sports, i regularly receive e-mails from the respective associations informing me of changes to training times, or venue changes etc, I have my e-mail set up to highlight any e-mails received from Cricket NSW , Netball NSW and Hunter Academy of Sport. In this way, I know that I need to read these e-mails pretty well right away.

5.How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

My folders are set up in the traditional way, Inbox, Outbox etc, however, I do have folders which i added. I have a folder specifically for usernames and passwords for sites which I have registered for. If I should forget my login detalis for a certain site, i know they are easily accessible. I also have a folder set up specifically for reports on my sales from a virtual chat site, this is an easy way to keep track of my "virtual income" knowing they are in one place and I don't have to go searching for them saves me alot of time.



I found the tutorial straight forward, although there was nothing in it which I didn't already know. I think however, that it is a fantastic tutorial, especially for absolute beginners. I had a little bit of fun playing the match the smiley game :)

TRACEROUTE

TASK#4 TRACEROUTES

In this task, we were asked to firstly choose a site with which to access the traceroute/ping tools. I chose to use network-tools. Upon entering the site, I then typed in curtin.edu.au. This is the result of that submission

From the results we were asked to determine the following:-

"How many ‘hops’ are there?"

"what is the average time in milliseconds from the tools site to the curtin server?"

"find out the IP NUMBER of the hostname curtin.edu.au"

As you can see from the screenshot, there were 18 hops, and the average time from the tools site to the curtin server was 267ms.

The IP Number for curtin is 134.7.179.53. These results also tells us where in the world this site is "134.7.179.53 is from Australia (AU) in region Oceania.

I found this task quite fascinating, and it answered a few questions I had regarding how a friend of mine could possibly know my IP address. Let me explain.... A friend of mine has a remote computer repair service, as well as his own web site, I stream his music playlist at times. One day whilst talking with him, he knew I was listening, he also knew which other people were listening. When I asked him how he knew that particular IP address was mine, he smugly replied "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you". So thanks to this task I can be smug in return and let my friend know that I am becoming more knowledgable, it will not be for much longer that he can hide his "secrets" from me.

FTP (FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL)

Task#3 FTP

In this task, we were asked to download an FTP client for our computers. I chose Filezilla, as did the majority of the class. After downloading the client, we were asked to FTP to recall.curtin.edu.au.

Upon opening the client, the screen above is what appeared

Next, I typed in the address and logged in as an anonymous user, which then allowed me access to folders and files, as shown above. Our objective was to find the README file and answer the following question:-

"according to the readme file, '_______ MATTERS' - what word goes in the blank?".

Opening the readme file, the answer to the question is:-

"CAPITALIZATION MATTERS"

I found this task rather straight forward, nothing too overwhelming. I did come across a small issue, which I posted help for on the discussion board. I managed to resolve the issues, it turned out that using quick connect could only be done once so i added the site to my server list and was able to acces it after I had done that. Also after reading, i found out that filezilla is sometimes disabled by firewalls, so I also checked the settings in there, and added Filezilla as an exception. From there, it was all smooth sailing. Now on to tracerouting.

LOG ENTRY 2- BLINKINLIGHTS

TASK# 2 ......BLINKINLIGHTS
This task was really an add on from the previous task, an extra to show the various capabilities of Telnet. After completing the Telnet task, were then asked to Telnet to towel.blinkenlights.nl. When connected, on the screen appeared a bit of information about the author/artist, then……low and behold!!!! A mini Star Wars movie!!! A really cute animation which I found quite humorous and entertaining. Here are some screenshots:-

After being entertained by this clever little show, I still didn’t get why people would want to use Telnet, it seemed sooooo old fashioned. I decided I would do a search on Telnet and find out anything extra I could.

Okay, here's some of what I discovered:-

Today, the most common uses for Telnet are gaming sites, or gaining access to government databases, such as libraries (just as we have done in these tasks). Other than these 2 options, it is rare that we would have a use for Telnet.

As an interesting addition, I had a look at the top 10 MUD sites at http://www.mudconnect.com/. Take a look for yourself at what games are available out there, and decide for yourself. As for me, other than accessing libraries, I can't (at this point in time) see myself using Telnet very often at all, however, as we progress through our studies, I may change my mind.

LOG ENTRY TASK#1 TELNET

MODULE 1

TASK#1.....TELNET

In this task, we were asked to telnet Deakin University library and search for book written by authours with the surname Bennahum. In order to do this, I first had to establish whether or not I had a telnet client already installed on my computer. In the address bar, i typed in the following address:- telnet://library.deakin.edu.au/. Luckily for me, I was connected right away, which meant i didn't have to install a client.Once connected, this is the screen that appeared. After choosing what type of terminal I was using, I was asked to verify my selection

Once verified, the screen above appeared, which asked me to choose how I would like to search, of course I used the Author optionWhich brought up the screen above, I then typed in the name Bennahum
2 results came from that search. I typed in each selection and chose to print both to my curtin email annnnnnnddd........................... TADAAAA, the information I had requested was sent to my curtin email inbox :) YAYYYYY for me!!!!!!

I found this task pretty straight forward. Having no idea that telnet even existed, I was impressed to know that there are other ways to find information online. And nowwwww on to the blinkies :p

Top Five Tips For New Bloggers

Success!!!!! I have managed to create my very first blog.Although I have been using the internet for around 2 years, blogging is something I have never done, so from an absolute blogging rookie, here are my top 5 tips for creating a blog.

• RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!!!

If, like me, you have never experienced blogging previously, read and read and read. Find out everything there is to know about blogging. Take a look at other blogs for ideas on inspiration and creativity, even search for blogging tutorials.

• FIND A SITE THAT SUITS YOU.

There are many blogging sites out there, the trick is to find one that suits your needs, some are more difficult to operate than others. Try each site out, practice makes perfect. Fiddle and tweak, explore the available features until you feel confident and comfortable with your chosen site.

• CREATE YOUR OWN STYLE

Set your blog up to show your own creative style, look at other blogs to gain ideas on how you can edit your own space, being creative will increase the hits you may have on your blog. Eg: use your own graphics to add to your headers, change fonts and font colours, change background colours and later down the track, you may even change the background to an image.

• DECIDE ON THE CONTENT OF YOUR BLOG

Make a decision on what you want your blog to focus on and stay on topic.The heading of your post should let people know what is in the post. If you veer off topic, create a new post with a new heading relating to that particular topic. Keep your posts interesting, you can add images relating to each post to act as a visual attraction, add concise keywords which will make it easier for people to search out your blog.

• POST REGULARLY

A blog is considered to be a virtual or online diary, so posting regularly will keep people interested in what you might be blogging about next. It is important to remember however, that anybody can gain access to your blog, unless you set it so that only people known to you can view it. Even if you set your blog as private, it is still possible for others to gain access to it, people such as family members, teachers, prospective employers etc. So just think about what it is you are writing before you actually publish a post...... would your mother be horrified if she were to stumble across your blog? Keep this in mind and you will never need to be worried about anything coming back to hurt you in the future.

These are my top 5 tips for new bloggers, hopefully, this has helped you in some way. Soooooo what are you waiting for?????? GET BLOGGING PEOPLE!!!!!! :)