Perhaps I am just now noticing this or maybe it is new. Anyway, google now has a new link right under the search field which reads, “New! Google Desktop: Personalized info anywhere on your desktop.” I haven’t had time to play around with it, but I wanted to point it out for anyone like myself just noticing it. I am not really sure what it does, but I figure it might fit in with our discussion last week of piling vs. filing on desktops.
Archive for February, 2006
some general comments
Monday, February 20th, 2006This weeks chapter in Digital History was extremely helpful. It gave me a better understanding of the basic technical aspects of the web. While it is true that to use the web you really do not have to know anything about how websites are created. After reading this chapter, I would think that being knowledgeable about how websites are created and why would better enable a user to get more out of a website.
I really enjoyed the chapters discussion of openness in regards to knowledge within the digital history community. Cohen and Rosenzweig suggest that after you have down your web review that you contact the creators of the sites you thought were the best. It reminded me of our frequent discussions in Public History about contacting similar historic house museums to gather information and advice. It is just good to see that people would be willing to help others out.
multimedia
Monday, February 20th, 2006It was also interesting to learn that three main multimedia products (Real Media, Windows Media, and QuickTime) all have different advantages for creators and also for users. And that both the needs of creator and audience must be considered when thinking about a project. This was totally new to me. I was aware of the various devices and that each is widely used, but I was not really aware of why a website would use one over the others. Cohen and Rosenzweig point out that Dan Arthurs of StreamingCulture, recommends historians use Windows Media, because it most people have it pre-installed on their computer. While I can understand the availability aspect of this, which I will go into a little more detail below, I cringe at the thought of choosing Windows Media because Microsoft already installed it on your computer. Especially when it seems that QuickTime may provide overall better quality to the viewer. Most websites have a link to a free download of any necessary programs anyway.
What I liked most about the discussion of video and multimedia was the authors reminder to think about the audience. They noted that there are still tens of millions of internet users who use dial up service, which greatly hinders their ability to download files quickly. It is so easy to think of how the computer has become a staple in many American homes that one can quickly over look the fact that many Americans still cannot afford a computer, let alone an expensive computer or monthly internet fees. So I think it is really important designers remember to think about all internet users, which is why perhaps it maybe worth considering Windows Media Conversely. However, what if this means possibly sacrificing the quality of your product? What is more important the quality or the accessibility of the product?
Project ideas
Tuesday, February 14th, 2006
Okay, for my topic I am thinking of either creating a webpage on John Adams and how there is no national monument for him, let alone a statue in Washington, DC. There was a push for a monument for Adams (including Abigail and John Quincy) in 2001, but from what I have been able to find online that seems to have failed. So, for this project I would create a website which discusses previous attempts to have an Adams monument, as well as the difficult process of getting a monument on the Mall, and also a bio of John Adams. Those are just a few thoughts to start.
So here is a picture of the Jefferson Memorial, which I took over the weekend. I played with the contrast and brightness, as well as sharpened the waves some. I also edited out a tree branch in the top right corner and then colored it to match the rest of the sky. Obviously, Washington and Jefferson are two of the four presidents to have monuments on the National Mall.
where was that file located again?
Monday, February 13th, 2006Donald Owen Case’s article reminded me of my current job at a law office. At my current job we scan numerous documents and place them on our network. Also when we close a client’s file we scan pretty much everything from the file onto the network. While it is easy to find current client information on our network; it can be difficult to locate closed files on the network. This is mainly due to the fact that my boss is the person who decides the naming criteria. The problem is my boss tends to be highly irregular in file names and locations. While she does tend to save by document form, we have files back to the mid 1990’s and she has changed how she saves things numerous times. So it can be rather difficult to find files from lets say five years ago. I took me about a half hour to find one file about two weeks ago. Also, I think this issue is very much related to the issue of searching databases we discussed a few weeks ago.
Paper overflow in the office
Monday, February 13th, 2006I really do not have any questions for this week. Rather I have a few examples and thoughts on the readings from my experience in the wonderful world of work.
Steve Whittaker and Julia Hirschberg’s article The Character, Value, and Management of Personal Paper Archives made me think a lot of my work in my current and previous offices. I used to work for a fairly large law firm in Boston. I worked there for two years and during that time the V.P. would always talk about how we were “going digital.” All legal and court documents would be scanned and placed on the network for easy access and that the originals would be kept on site but rarely used. It was wishful thinking and it never happened. Needless to say we often had problems with misplaced documents. Thinking back it was actually really bad. We were supposed to make copies of all legal documents, because if we had to send a document back to the court we would have a copy. Well, not everyone did this. So we would send the original back, then need to look at a copy, which we did not have. Not the best scenario. So having a digital archive of all legal documents would have been extremely helpful.
This article also made me think of how people tend to keep more paper than they probably need to. At my old job my desk was filled with documents I may have looked at once and just stuffed in the drawer. So I was not very surprised with the counterintuitive findings of holding onto documents. I was also guilty of having numerous copies of manuals or instructions in my desk that I look at infrequently. When I would clean my desk I would think do I have a use for this, more often I would say yes, even if I rarely referred to something. So my desk was usually filled with documents I really did not need. I guess people have a tendency to save things, which in the corporate world can take up a lot of space and time as well. After all cleaning your desk while it is useful, it is also a waste of the company’s time. Ideally one would know right away what to do with a document i.e. save it or throw it out.
reflection on last week’s discussion
Monday, February 6th, 2006The point about marketing your site to get more visitation was very helpful. I had been wondering how do some of these sites attract visitors. Obviously, sites like the 9/11 site and the Hurricane site are going to be very active. However, I did not expect to see much activity on sites about videostores and home pregnancy tests. Definitely something to remember for any collecting site.
The ability to search is very important to historic research and I think I definitely got a lot out of last weeks class. Usually I will just type in a few search terms into a database and see what I get. If that does not work, it is time to try something else. Last weeks discussion has made more aware that I should be more mindful of what I am typing when searching. It is very important to use different search techniques and names in order to maximize results. However, although it is unlikely to happen, I still feel as though it would be easier if databases were more user friendly. But learning how to better search will be very useful in the future. One of the best points I gained from the discussion was to think back to terminology from the time period you are interested when searching historic databases. For example searching for shell shock or battle fatigue. Also, that you can search for numerous related subjects, as the example from class of showed (“shell shock” or battle fatigue” or “post traumatic stress disorder”).
readings week 3
Monday, February 6th, 2006Although I still have questions about some of the terms used in the reading this week, overall I found the reading for this week to be very helpful and informative. I was thought the discussion of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) versus typing was very interesting. Never would I have imagined that having a professional typist retype a document would be more accurate than OCR. Of course it is more complicated than that, as Cohen and Rosenzweig recommend typing over OCR mostly for smaller projects (mainly due to costs). I also was amazed that some sites, such as J-STOR do not correct any errors found in machine readable text document. Rather they have that version and then have a scanned version available without any errors. Not only did I think this was interesting, but I wondered are people aware of the different options available to them on databases such as J-STOR? Do people actually cut and past from the machine readable text files? I do not. I will usually skim through the article and then decide if I want to print it out. So this made me think of a more general question. I imagine databases and websties sometimes find that visitors use the site differently than from what it was originally intended? Should they then try to alter the site to better serve visitors? Should certain features of a database or website be removed if they are not being frequently used?
I guess this is sort of an ethical question. The outsourcing of jobs to other countries has been one of the more important issues in the United States in recent years. As the chapter points out, there is a big difference paying workers competitive wages in the United States to complete parts of or the whole digitization process. Compared to sending the work to foreign countries that pay workers two dollars an hour. I was sort of surprised by this. For when you usually when we think of outsourcing we think of large corporations and particularly the auto industry. I really got a kick out of the Ford Motor Co. commercial during the Super Bowl, which had one member of the family talking about the future of the company being “innovation”. Of course this was aired just weeks after the company announced it will be cutting 30,000 jobs. With this in mind and seeing how most people working in the field of history are mindful of such as outsourcing. Is it right to send a job overseas, when you know the people making the product are not getting paid what they should be? Should you also be mindful that this may be costing Americans jobs? Or should keeping the project to as low a cost as possible be the determining factor?