Data Compression (Wiki)
Essentially,
Data compression is a trade-off on some level. A user must sacrifice some information in order to transmit the whole in a smaller, simpler bundle. Lossy compression shaves off the edges to make the information fit better, while lossless compression changes the information to describe it in fewer bits.
From what I understand, another trade-off is financial: a user can opt to pay for specialized equipment or software that does the heavy lifting of compression without losing any information in the process.
Is the “buffering” process a side-effect of data compression?
DVD HQ
This was difficult to get through. I’ll be honest: it’s tough to care about the details of data compression. I would like to be able to compress and decompress information, so I suppose the back-story will be helpful at some point.
I’m impressed that so much goes into breaking down every bit of information that we transmit, and that it works so smoothly most of the time.
What I did take away from this is the complexity and intricacy of this applied technology. I fully appreciate the investment in programming that allows this to work. The idea of adding a difference image between video frames (and individual blocks within each frame) is a bit fascinating. It supplies a good example of problems and solutions that build upon one another as our understanding of the potentials and limitations of programming reveal themselves.
Imaging Pittsburgh
This is a great database. Every city should have something comparable, though there is a limited audience for such things. Whenever I browse collections like this I grow nostalgic for people and places I have partnership with.
I agree that one of the big challenges of the program will continue to be finding avenues for users to explore the collection. I think that a clickable city map would really be helpful. Interestingly enough (depending on your whatever), access to a social history—for any type of community—is one of the best ways to unify it and to mobilize it. This database could be valuable to promote community organization.
You Tube in the Library
I agree with the author, that You Tube could make library education easier for librarians. Hosting a library education or orientation channel would also put the onus on students, rather than libraries, to demonstrate the services of a library. Video hosting sites also promote community; as video hosting becomes easier, library users could be encouraged to post their own relevant videos.
I agree with all of your postings. I thought that you described the Wiki article very well, and I have to agree with you that it is hard to get into the details of data compression (unless of course that is what you do for a living!).
ReplyDeleteAs you say, every city should have something comparable to this website so that we can showcase our history and keep it as a reminder of where we've been.
The idea of hosting a library education or orientation channel is a really good one, especially if library users are encouraged to post their relevant videos and share their ideas.
I agree with your post. The details about data compression I found less than fascinating. I like your idea of a clickable city map with photos and information about places. It would be really interesting if you could have is go by decades so you can see how the area has changed over the years.
ReplyDeleteI think there are a lot of things that libraries could do via YouTube and other Internet services. There's a lot of room for creativity. A clickable city map would be awesome. Exploring cities is always fun but not always possible because of lack of good information. I see that as a project libraries could be involved in.
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