Week 6 Reading Notes

Wiki LAN
The other day I used the LAN at my local McDonalds to research for an essay. Next week I may try to use the internet at my local grocery store, or possibly the nearest Home Depot. I guess the necessity to connect to the internet everywhere we go has made it possible to do so…. At some point, after everyone has a LAN, and we have all learned to violate each others’ password protections, we will have blanket coverage wherever we go. I saw a commercial for a cell phone that creates a portable LAN for other devices to use wherever it goes. This whole thing is getting out of control.

Wiki Networks
I appreciated the diagrams on this page; networks make more sense to me when they can be mapped, Lombardi-style.
In my current terrible position I use a VPN network to access the home office’s network while in “the field.” It seems to be a secure enough way to share sensitive information over distance while maintaining access to the databases in the office. It also fails to work properly fairly often.
My previous employer used a local network with a twisted-pair connection that was far more reliable, but limited my ability to run through the halls with my machine, which is never truly necessary, but nevertheless often daydreamed-about.
It makes sense that the internet was initially (and still is in places) an overlay network for the phone system. I guess that matrix will continue to be used as overlay networks layer one another in the future. Elmo on Sesame Street told me the other day that high speed internet is a basic right of all children in the US (akin to life liberty, etc.). I assume that at some point we will all have access to free connectivity wherever we go, and that separate overlaid networks will ensure the security of private firms and institutions.

YouTube Networks
I should have watched this before I read the wiki article. Basically the same information abridged for the ADHD crowd, and with almost no technical jargon or instruction: I approve wholeheartedly!
I would also like to speculate that if Mr. Klein were to lower his sweater zipper by even a couple of teeth, his head might fall off. For the record I hope that I am wrong, or that at least this does not happen.

RFID in Libraries
I think that RFID applications are a natural fit for libraries. RFID tags could handle some of the tasks which needy and overly-hip undergrads typically perform in libraries, making good economical sense. Additional savings in lost and damaged materials and collection movement analysis makes RFID tough to challenge.
Privacy issues are justified, but I'm not sure they are prohibitive. Apparently current library RFID tags are too weak to usefully track materials that accompany me to my seediest haunts. I've always assumed that the bar-code on my library card enabled librarians (and, hypothetically, Big Brother) to research my borrowing history. In an age when our web footprint is traceable and when every citizen could be packing a (GPS enabled) video recorder, worrying about which library materials I check out seems...quaint.
I think RFID improvements for library usage may be more policy- than technology-driven: Educating the public about the uses and limitations of the tags, and encouraging transparency amongst institutions, the public, and the courts.
Note: This last bit was taken from my previous Blackboard Discussion Board post.