Workshop 4 - Using the WWW

Lecture

Out of class from lecture notes talked about the World Wide Web. The overview of the lecture notes talks about internet vs. web, Historical perspective of the web, Defining WWW, Web Protocols and Web browsers/ interface.

Main components of the lecture that I had found interesting, useful and educational include the following:

Differentiating between Net vs. Web

On the Net : find computers and connections are cables between computers.
On the Web: Find information such as documents, videos and connections are hyperlink texts.

History of the Net/Web
Net
1961 The packet switching theory was first published in.
1965 A computer in mass California using a low speed dial up telephone. This becoming the first wide area network built.
By 1969, Four University host computers were connected together into ARPANET.


Web
The Web, first developed by Tim Berners - Lee a CERN researcher in 1989.
The purpose of the web was to facilitate sharing research information.

Defining WWW,

WWW : The World Wide Web is a universe of accessible information stored on computers throughout the world, available through a gigantic network the Internet.
Network of servers linked together by a common protocol, allows access to millions of hypertext resources.

WWW protocols

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol) - TCP allows data/binary signals to be converted into telephone like signal and transferred long existing telephone cables. These are converted back to data at the destination computer.
IP – (Internet Protocol) – IP enables data to be routed from one network to another over the internet.
HTML/HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). As the WWW is the visual part of the internet it uses HTTP or HTML to instruct the computer on how to display and/or exchange data information between computers.
DNS (Domain Name System) Domain name system conventions such as .com or .org etc.
URL (Uniform/Universal Resource Locator)

Web Browsers/Browser Interfaces
Web browsers are programs that allow users to access and explore pages of the WWW. Containing browser interfaces in internet explorer which as with technology has progressed with more efficient and effective information searching functions such as Tabs and specific shortcut buttons.


Some common browser interface shortcuts include.
Ctrl S Saves Webpage onto PC
Ctrl D Adds current page to bookmark/favourites
Ctrl P Prints current Webpage
Ctrl F Finds the next occurrence of the word
F5 Refreshes/reloads current page.

Tutorial

In the tutorial Gary gave us a brief overview off what to do in workshop 4. We Firstly visited the two websites listed in the workshop and describe in our Bloggs how the sites do not appear authenthic and are just there for a joke, naming four mistakes. Then Gary showed the second task on the prjector screen which was to then analyse the Martin Luther King website and suggest its authenticity. At the end of the brief overview of the tutorial Gary gave us time to work on our Bloggs

Workshop - 4 Using WWW

Task 1: you must view the sites http://www.haggishunt.scotsman.com/ and http://www.molossia.org/ then discuss there authenthicity.

In the learning log explain how these websites attempted to appear authenthic, by listing four clues which demonstrates the site is unrealistic.

Haggis hunt website clues

• Haggis is not an animal but is a traditional Scottish dish made from the lung, liver and heart of a sheep.
  
• The supposed Haggis Cams do not show any pictures of a Haggis, because they are not real and just pictures of locations.
  
• They are fake Haggis hunting tips under the link Haggisclopedia, part 6 Hunting Tips.
  
• Fake general facts of Haggis under ther link Haggisclopedia, part 2 Facts such as the Haggis is showeproof but not waterproof.
  
  

Molossia website clues

• Supposed weather times and temperatures.
  
• News headlines such as “Navy Goes Gangbusters” the news headline you assume doesnt represent a real story just a funny made up one.
  
• The pictures on the governenment are all the same, how is that possible?
  
• Made up webpage article history of the War bettwen the Molissan’s and Mustachains in 2006.

Task 2: Was to type into the URL the website http://www.martinlutherking.org/

Document expectations before looking at it

• Information about Martin Luthers King (MLK) history, achievements.
• Links to other informative search websites.
• Picture galleries
• No advertising being a .org site funded by an organisation.
  

Task 3: was to now visit the Martin Luther King website and write down my first impressions

• The site does not contain any real historical information of Martin Luther King’s (MLK) life neither his achievements just a racist site against white people. The site taunts the white population and how white people have allegedly been copying the work of MLK.

Task Four is to look at other sites on Martin Luther King and reflect in the log what I feel about the website now.

• Other sites that contain information on Martin Luther King just present the right facts from a neutral perspective and race is not a factor. The true facts such as Martin Luther King is regarded by all people a pivotal part of American civil rights history bringing equality to all, stopping the racial segregation and discrimination.

• Compared to the other Martin Luther King site as said before the information and facts are not true and race is an issue in the documentation of these facts.
• Such as the information hyperlink “Truth about Martin Luther King JR” talks about how white people allegedly said that MLK papers and beliefs were stolen from other scholars. Making black people feel as if that they have been cheated.
• The rap lyrics an irrelevant part of the MLK site suppose to be focusing on the life of MLK. All the raps are about the topic of calling all black people to kill and rape all whites.

Readings

The first reading of week 4 is the Internet Society (ISOC) webpage on the history of the internet http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml%23Origins . The website talks about how the internet was introduced to society and where it originated from. How it originated from the small networking system used only at universities to research information, to become a worldwide infrastructure that has revolutionised the way we function in daily life. The webpage also talks about the Internets proposed plans for the future.

The second reading of week 4 is the University Leiden webpage http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh/frame_theorie.html. The webpage provides hyperlinks to take an in depth look of the history of the net and what it has become today. The first hyperlink of the webpage is it firstly starts explaining the development of computers in the 1960’s. The second hyperlink talks about the move from APARANET used only at universities for research only, to the World Wide Web used by anyone . The third Hyperlink talks about the history of receiving electronic mail (email), when and how it started and its importance and high common use today. Hyperlink 4 title takes an in depth look to the development and utilisation of search engines. The 5th Hyperlink talks about the basic internet data commands of sending and receiving information.