Databases, DCMI and Metadata...oh, my!

Finally, articles that I can understand. Well, sort of?! The Wikipedia article on databases was pretty prosaic and well, I guess this is an instance when I actually knew a little more about the subject matter.

The Metadata piece was very helpful because I have heard the term thrown around by librarians but nobody actually explained it in terms that I could comprehend. Well, let me take that back a bit. I understood what the term "meta" meant as a term, in and of itself. I could certainly derive the literal meaning of the term "metadata" to mean "data about data." In the past, I never quite understood how librarians used this term and the context with which they used it. It was like asking somebody to explain the meaning of a word and then having them use the word, in question, to describe its meaning...kind of like a metadefinition, ha!

As I am just now learning the vocabulary in the archival profession, the section in this article on metadata and the archival usage was of particular interest to me. The idea of "preserving context" is extremely important when creating finding aids and cataloguing materials. Metadata provides a framework within which this kind of work can be improved, if I understand the meaning of this activity.

I think that the process of developing standards to apply to data for better descriptive purposes is essential...the question it raises (leading me to the next article) is how does one actually reach consensus, especially on a global level, for this kind of standardization.

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative must be the electronic resource management equivalent to the UN?! How can anybody reach consensus on this level, given the varied cultural, language and idiomatic factors at play. Standardization in this level must require an inordinate amount of patience. One has to wonder, if librarians and other information professionals can reach consensus on descriptors and semantic classifications shouldn't they be brought into resolve international crises?

The DCMI is fascinating to consider for ease of searching on the web. The article was also useful for providing additional information or illumination on other associated metadata organization, like Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Warwick Framework (WF).

Comments wk 3, #2

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Comments Wk 3

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Muddiest point - wk 3 readings..not meant for the laypeople

I would like to say that I really didn't get, as I may have stated several times in my reading notes, the jargon used in the article on LINUX.  I understand that it is written in C and that C is a programming language, like C++, etc.  What is the relationship between the OS and the hardware/software.  Is LINUX firmware, in that it is no hardware but also not software, either?  Is LINUX the vehicle that the software uses to deliver command info to the hardware?  Please, please would somebody explain this connection to me.  Translation is required.

Buena vista, baby

The article about the Microsoft Vista program read a little better than the other articles covering MAC OS X and Linux.  I am still a little bit fuzzy about the interactions between the OS and hard ware or do these systems only interact with the soft ware that runs on them/by them.  I will expand on it in my muddiest point piece because I need clarification.  

I guess many people were unhappy with the performance of Vista.  It seems to me, as a MAC person, that Microsoft just wanted to recreate the features that place MAC ahead of PCs, like security and better graphic/design capabilities...this last sentence will no doubt open a kettle of worms?!

MAC OS X, now we're talkin'

Ok, so this article was a little better. I still had to look up several terms but after the LINUX article, I was ready (more or less). I have used the MAC OS X, so I was sort of familiar with some of the jargon. I am pleased to say that I remembered what "firmware" was and I was all over the discussion on "booting." I am also familiar with the use of LDAP as that was how we authenticated at the library where I was once employed. Is this progress, on the road to computing/technology mavenship...God, I hope so. I did learn about the term "Open Source" which seems to me to be a fabulous way to share information and allow broader access to operating systems that are customizable...is that a word?!