Data Compression. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_compression
As usual, I thought this was a good explanation for anyone who doesn't fully understand 'data compression.' Although I had a pretty good understanding of the term before, it was helpful to read and gain a more thorough comprehension. If there was one part I did not fully follow, it was the part regarding information theory and rate distortion-theory...although they are probably not essential for an understanding of data compression.
Data compression basics (long document, but covers all basics and beyond):
http://dvd-hq.info/data_compression_1.php
The worst thing about this document was how extremely long it seemed; on the other hand, one of the great things about it was that it was written to be easily understood, with language that most average people can easily follow. An interesting vocab word I gained is "lossy"--which describes when the recovered information is not guaranteed to be exactly identical to the original. I definitely learned more from this document than from wikipedia (such as things like run-length encoding, which I had never heard of before). After reading this, I felt I had an even better understanding of how exactly data compression works.
Edward A. Galloway, “Imaging Pittsburgh: Creating a shared gateway to digital image collections of the Pittsburgh region” First Monday 9:5 2004 http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_5/galloway/index.html
What a great site! I think every town/city/community should compile similar sites with their own historical photos, information, and documents. I noticed how all of the contributers had to be consistent and use Dublin Core for their metadata... which we just learned about! I was also thinking that many people would be interested in purchasing copies of such compilations in book form. When older photographs and related documents are stored somewhere to preserve them, it is just a start. When they are put on the internet for anyone in the world to see, then we are truly preserving them in the best way for the most good--a historical preservation that even our posterity can benefit from.
Paula L. Webb, YouTube and libraries: It could be a beautiful relationship C&RL News, June 2007 Vol. 68, No. 6 http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2007/jun07/youtube.cfm
This article seemed to have some great ideas:
"Why couldn’t a library film its various services, load them to YouTube, and then make the link available on its Web site for its patrons? It is not hard to imagine how beneficial this could be to a variety of patrons: students who need help when the library is unavailable, an instruction method for distance education students, and another method of directing possible patrons back to the library catalog."
Their suggestions could be used to improve the services of any library, whether school, public, academic, or other. Personally, I prefer to be taught in person... but for those who don't have that option, these are ways that they could be reached and taught as well.
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2 comments:
Jean,
I too thought I had a better understanding of data-compression when I was done.
I learned an important lesson with this article as well...when it is that long...don't try and do it all in one sitting. Because after a while all of the acronyms became difficult to remember.
I would not be able to remember all the acronyms even I read a sentence a day:) I agree that the Wikipedia article was a good introduction, but the Data Compression Basics article gave a better over all understanding. While it was long and involved and I won't be able to verbalize most of it, I do have a better understanding of how and why data compression can work. Also, I better understand why some data compressions are lossy or lostless.
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