Week 5 Reading Notes

Wikipedia: Local Area Network

• My first thought: are local area networks a sort of primal Internet (or Internet-like) connection? But after looking at the Wikipedia article for Internet, it appears that local area networks are simple one of many types of networks that come together to create the Internet.
• Interesting to note: even though the Wikipedia article says Cambridge Ring was never developed into a successful commercial product, if you select the hyperlink, you learn that Apple actually copied and used the technology’s (unpatented) architecture.
• On a side note, I like the idea of “tunneling across the Internet.” Feels very Doctor Who-esque, though that could be because I’m currently re-watching Doctor Who episodes.
• Question: are there standards that differentiate a local area network from a metropolitan area network from a wide area network? Specific measured standards?

Wikipedia: Computer Network

• Question about “Internet map” image: is this a physical or theoretical image?
• I would be interested to know for what/whom and where Thomas Merrill and Lawrence Roberts created the first wide area network.
• I found the “library network” image to be very useful.
• Who/What owns networks? If I get my Internet from Comcast, would Comcast own the network? Or is there some “greater” (or lesser?) force?
• Is it just me, or is it off-putting that it appears that the US Department of Defense is a key player in the Internet’s technology history? It all seems very “Big Brother” and against what sort of privacy ideals we librarians should hold dearly.
• In simple terms, this is how my partner explained computer networks to me:
• A bunch of computers connect wired or wirelessly to a switch, which is much like a splitter for telephones.
• That switch allows the computers to talk to each other locally.
• If they want to go to the Internet, they go through a router, which takes all the traffic from the switch and sends it out through a single line.
• That line goes to a modem, which is what converts the data from Ethernet (local networking cable) to cable/satellite/phone line.
• That goes to your Internet service provider, then from them to other providers, through routers all over the world depending on where your info is going to/coming from.
• The language they (computers, switches, routers, access points, everything on the network) talk to each other in is TCP/IP (transmission control protocol and internet protocol).
• That data is sent in little containers. Chopped up into pieces on one end and reassembled in the other. The pieces are stored in containers called packets.
• As for virtual private networking, it’s a virtual secure connection to a local network over the Internet. It’s like running a cable from your computer to your school (Pitt).

Management of RFID in Libraries (Coyle, K)

• I find RFID tags fascinating! Here’s the “Top 10 Reasons Why Canadian Public Libraries Implement RFID.” Also, an ALA TechNotes article titled “RFID Technology for Libraries.”
• I did not know that RFID tags can be shielded by aluminum foil. This should be addressed before too many libraries adopt this technology.
• When I worked on a bookmobile, one of my more time-consuming tasks was to scan every single book on the truck one day because over the year we had trouble with the scanner (things weren’t always being properly checked out or checked in). Having RFID tags would’ve made this much less time-consuming (and not as unbearably hot since it was during the summer).
• Also, having RFID tags would allow libraries to explore different ways to categorize/organize the tagged items.
• In response to some libraries wanting to become 100% self-check-out: is this something the patrons would want? Both options should be available since patrons may vary in their desires (the quick and dirty self-check-out or also needing to ask a question while checking out materials).