Nearly all search engines on the internet are susceptible of providing false and misleading information. However, as I searched through other search engines other than Google and Wikipedia, I couldn’t help questioning the reliability of the source. It’s strange as I have come to trust and rely on Google for everything else and I felt like I was in an unknown country. I actually ended up cross-checking my answers in the scavenger hunt below with other sources from Google because I felt the ranking of the information on ‘AltaVista’ a little peculiar.
The search engines rank the information found on the internet by relevance to the words and concept in the query. It can also be distinguished through its overall link popularity and its advertisers and sponsor are also given higher priority in the rank. This is why the first page is usually more useful than the rest. As a potentially large number of pages can be retrieved by a search, good relevancy ranking is important. Most search engines use various criteria to construct a relevancy rating of each hit and will present your search results in this order. For example, the ranking will be based on; the presence of the search terms in the title, URL, first heading, number of times the search term appears in the document, search terms appearing early in the document, etc.
Although we are recommended to explore and use other search engines other than Google, I would have to agree it is my favourite search engine. Google is a top search engine for a reason. The millions of people who use it each day are proof of its greater advantages over other smaller and obscure web sites like ‘AltaVista’. It is the easiest and most efficient way to look up information, therefore stating why it is actually by home page on my personal computer.
I am Pro-Google! :)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Scavenger Hunt
Just a few questions that will spark your curiosity!
1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
Onel de Guzman, 24, a computer school student from the Philippines, admitting writing the password-stealing program known as ‘lovebug’ as a school project.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/29/philippines.lovebug.02/index.html
2. Who invented the paper clip?
Johan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor with a degree in electronics, science and mathematics, invented the paperclip in 1899.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The virus was named after the Ebola River in Zaire, where in 1976 the virus spread to more than 55 villages located along the river's edge after an initial outbreak in the city of Yambuku.
http://www.mayaparadise.com/ebola.htm
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
In 1960, Chile suffered the world's largest recorded earthquake which resulted in thousands of deaths.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7311945.stm
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
The terms kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte refer to a collection of bytes stored in a computer. There are 1024 bytes in kilobyte, 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte, 1024 megabytes in a gigabyte and 1024 gigabytes in a terabyte. So therefore 1024 x 1024 x1024 equals 1,073,741,824.
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/c/carusor/web219/hardware_terms.htm
6. Who is the creator of email?
Computer engineer, Ray Tomlinson invented internet based email in late 1971. It was sent between two computers that were actually sitting besides each other.
http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/email.htm
7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
The Storm worm is a Trojan horse that opens a backdoor in the computer which then allows it to be remotely controlled, while also installing a root kit that hides the malicious program. The compromised computer becomes a zombie in a botnet. This particular worm also has the ability to update itself, so that updated infections can be fed into the compromised computer.
http://kb.iu.edu/data/avmm.html
Most experts say there's no way to know how many recipients of Storm spam clicked through and became infected, and therefore the actual size of the Storm botnet is unknown. (However antivirus company F-Secure believes the botnet is at least 1 million PCs strong). http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1243287731;fp;2;fpid;2
8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
Mailing is the most efficient way to made contact with the Prime Minister. The old fashioned way of mailing a letter is adviced incomparison to emailing as it is not a recommended secure medium to transfer information. A postal address is provided:
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
Stephen Stockwell played keyboard for Brisbane punk band, the Black Assassins, which wrote many satirical articles for the Cane Toad Times and had his documentary Big Things shown at festivals in Berlin, London and New York.
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Web_2_point_0.html
1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
Onel de Guzman, 24, a computer school student from the Philippines, admitting writing the password-stealing program known as ‘lovebug’ as a school project.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/29/philippines.lovebug.02/index.html
2. Who invented the paper clip?
Johan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor with a degree in electronics, science and mathematics, invented the paperclip in 1899.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm
3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The virus was named after the Ebola River in Zaire, where in 1976 the virus spread to more than 55 villages located along the river's edge after an initial outbreak in the city of Yambuku.
http://www.mayaparadise.com/ebola.htm
4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
In 1960, Chile suffered the world's largest recorded earthquake which resulted in thousands of deaths.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7311945.stm
5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
The terms kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte refer to a collection of bytes stored in a computer. There are 1024 bytes in kilobyte, 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte, 1024 megabytes in a gigabyte and 1024 gigabytes in a terabyte. So therefore 1024 x 1024 x1024 equals 1,073,741,824.
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/c/carusor/web219/hardware_terms.htm
6. Who is the creator of email?
Computer engineer, Ray Tomlinson invented internet based email in late 1971. It was sent between two computers that were actually sitting besides each other.
http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/email.htm
7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
The Storm worm is a Trojan horse that opens a backdoor in the computer which then allows it to be remotely controlled, while also installing a root kit that hides the malicious program. The compromised computer becomes a zombie in a botnet. This particular worm also has the ability to update itself, so that updated infections can be fed into the compromised computer.
http://kb.iu.edu/data/avmm.html
Most experts say there's no way to know how many recipients of Storm spam clicked through and became infected, and therefore the actual size of the Storm botnet is unknown. (However antivirus company F-Secure believes the botnet is at least 1 million PCs strong). http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1243287731;fp;2;fpid;2
8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
Mailing is the most efficient way to made contact with the Prime Minister. The old fashioned way of mailing a letter is adviced incomparison to emailing as it is not a recommended secure medium to transfer information. A postal address is provided:
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
Stephen Stockwell played keyboard for Brisbane punk band, the Black Assassins, which wrote many satirical articles for the Cane Toad Times and had his documentary Big Things shown at festivals in Berlin, London and New York.
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm
10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Web_2_point_0.html
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Communicating with family and friends
New Communication Technologies are forever increasing and advancing in numbers. Starting from when I was in grade seven the program msn (instant messenger) became extremely popular within friends at school. Feeling as if I was being isolated and left out from gossip by not using this new means of communication outside school I signed on and gave it a try. I suppose it was societal pressure and influence that initially contributed to my urge to use it when I think about it, but it started a means to talk to friends outside school and my sister who was living overseas in Edinburgh for FREE. How cool. As time went by and technology advanced I discovered the world of MySpace and Face book. However I must admit I was hesitant to use it at first as I didn’t want to conform to crowd just because everyone was using it. How silly was I though. I can now confirm I am addicted. It is a wonderful way to catch up with old friends and exchange photos without much effort at all. This on the contrary raises issues of privacy as strangers could view my photos and details to my ignorance which I quickly added security precautions after random people were trying to add me. Also how could I forget my mobile phone? The one thing that I carry around almost everywhere I go. It is my means of instant connection to family and friends regardless of where I am and I can honestly say I feel lost without it. This brings me to think. How did our parents live before the internet and mobile phones? It amazes me sometimes.
Introduction
Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. My name is Lauren Madsen and i will be guiding you through the course of New Communication Technologies this semester. After graduating in 2006 i decided to take a year off to work and figure out what i wanted to study and eventually make a living out of. So here i am enrolled in my first year of a Bachelor of Communication at Griffith University, majoring in Marketing and Communication Media. You might ask what i can get out of this degree. Well i have decided i would like to work for a fashion magazine company preferably down in sydney. However, you should keep up to date with me on this page as you never know i might change my mind. :) Stay in tune for more to come.
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