Reading Notes, Week 6

Local Area Network

The wikipedia article was basic enough I could understand it. Besides, if you've used the internet at any time in your life, you should probably have an idea of what LAN means. Of course, being literate enough to take this class and do well only takes you so far; I wasn't aware of the technologies encompassing LANs. For example, I've used Ethernet and WiFi, but I've never even heard of Token Ring or how it works. I assume that it's similar, in some way, to internet access afforded to those using Ethernet and WiFi (Okay, it does. I just read the link).

The history covered in this article was interesting, but I would wanted to read more about the future of LANs.



Computer Network

This article doesn't seem to differ too much from the prior article in the sense that we're still discussing a connected system. The connection systems appear to be very much the same. The differentiation between the area networks (e.g. PAN, LAN, CAN, etc) was helpful because it gave us a sense of how varied connected networks can be.

The "basic hardware components" were a little less clear, but I attribute that to the terminology. For example, I know what a router is (you need to if you have internet at home), but I never understood it in the detail given by wikipedia - and I'm not sure that I should.



Common Types of Computer Networks

Interesting - Instead of PAN, I thought LAN would be the most common type of network. Of course, this makes sense. I didn't really think of it on the level given by the man in the youtube video. But, of course, my computer transferring information to my printer is an example, although I still think I use my LAN more than my PAN since I'm using the internet probably more than anything else on my PC.



Management of RFID in Libraries

RFID is an acronym I'm familiar with, mostly because of the paranoia that seems to inherently follow it's name and purpose. After all, any time radio waves are used to track something (hopefully not free adults unless, of course, they want that), then people tend to scared.

Anyway, it's good to know that RFID is used for many reasons, which Coyle presents here in her article. For example, "to identify drugs and counterfeiting" or "to track animals on farms or identify lost pets," but what we're talking about here is RFID's usefulness in libraries. Not surprisingly (see rest of blog), there are privacy concerns here as well. Coyle makes a key and, I think, appropriate comparison barcodes. Barcodes are now, and have been for years, the way we pay for almost anything. I'm sure about the tracking system of the bar codes (or if there even is one, which I don't think there is), but it's worth mentioning that there was a subgroup of citizens fearful of barcodes for exact reasons they are fearful of RFID - privacy. Is this just another "sky is falling" reaction?

Maybe it is, but Coyne gives us the distinction in cost. RFID might not be used to purchase anything as a result of cost (again, though, paranoia. Some think we'll be chipped with RFID in order to buy anything, but that's another story), yet it would be cost-efficient, perhaps, in libraries since books are checked out and returned. I'm not so sure, though. Many books stay on the shelves for years, which would probably offset any of the cost savings of implementing RFID. Inventory, however, should be considered.

RFID may be convenient, but, as Coyle states, it could cut out the "human factor" that I think we need.