Week 10 - UPC0004 *pro's/con's meant to be numbered

Lecture:

This week in UPC0004 the lecture focused on information managment. We were introduced to both atom-based and bit-based infromation as well as both their pro's and con's.

Atom-based information includes:

• Books


• Papers


• Reports

Bit-based infromation includes:

• Digital reproductions


• Electronic content

Atom-based information, pro's:

1. We can see it


2. We know where it is


3. We can hide it


4. Easy to protect


5. Difficult to chage and copy

Atom-based information, con's:

1. Bulky


2. Costly


3. Difficult to edit


4. Difficult to distribute
   
5. Inflexible

Bit based information, pro's:

1. Very flexible


2. Very cheap


3. Easy to edit


4. Easy to mass produce and broadcast

Bit-based information, con's:

1. Privacy


2. Authenticity


3. Unsolicited broadcast

Tutorial:

In this weeks lecture we were instructed to complete a tutorial on how to bookmark and add websites to our favourites.

Task 1:

We were asked to visit http://www.inette.com/aibtinette/favoritesI.html and follow the bookmarking instructions.

1. Firstly we had to click the add favourites button at the top of the page and select "organise favourites":


2. We then had to select the new folder option:



3. Then create three folders:



4. And click and drag internet link of your choice into the three folders:

Task 2:

We were then asked to visit http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/nn/bdcont.htm: And focus mainly on the "D.N.A. of Information":



Summary:

Having read the article I believe that Negroponte's ideas are still valid even today, 13 years later. The internet, atoms and bit based information will take over from everyday physical things such as videos (now DVD's), the cinema and all other media. Whereas things such as package delivery or "fedex" services will not be completely replaced but there usefullness will certainly be reduced.

Extra Reading:

We were asked to visit http://www.fno.org/text/grazing.html and summarize our findings. The website discusses the use of the internet in school across north America. It questions the effectiveness and teh reliablity of the information found. Website such ans wikipedia for example, do not have editors and anyone with a wiki account can edit the material posted. This is all well and good if the people publishing and editing are professors or authors with cridible backgrounds and well resourced information but this is not alwoays the case and therefore the information cannot always be trusted. It concludes taht unless students are given the right tools to resource and uncover who the editor is and wether or not they are trustworthy, the internet is simply too big and full of too much questionable information.