Week 4

Lecture Overview :-

This lecture was about using the World Wide Web (WWW). On the net you find computers, on the web you find documents, sounds videos and information. On the net connection is made with cables between computers, on the web connections are hyperlinked text. The web would not exist without the net and is an abstract virtual space of information that made the net useful because of all the information and media it provided. It was developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 to facilitate sharing research information. He has done this by developing a network of servers that are linked together by a common protocol. Some of the WWW protocols are :-

• TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
• HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol
• DNS - Domain Name System
• URL - Universal Resource Locator

The TPC converts binary signals into telephone like signals to transfer information to another computer through a telephone line. Once at its destination that computer will use TPC to convert the telephone signal back to binary. HTTP then uses the binary to instruct the computer how to display the data on the screen. The WWW is the visible part of the internet that shows this information. URL's find the information. The following codes will help you recognise the resource of a URL

• .com - commercial or of a commercial nature
• .net - network, used when .com isnt available
• .org - non profit organisation
• .gov - government
• .edu - education

Web browsers are the programs that people use in order to access the World Wide Web. The three main ones are internet explorer, neoplanet and firefox. Browsers are quiet similar in the way they offer the same tools for searching, navigating and saving snapshots of the WWW. Web address is where you type the URL. The back and forward buttons navigate between pages visited in your current session. The home button is used to return to the homepage at any time. History is what you click to view a list of previously visited webpages. If you like a webpage for some reason all browsers allow you to bookmark the page so you can return to it whenever you would like.

Tutorial Overview :-

1. Have a look at the sites: http://www.haggishunt.scotsman.com/ and http://www.molossia.org/ and discuss their authenticity

Haggis Hunt

How has this website attempted to appear authentic?
This website has attempted to appear authentic by having a proffesional layout, providing the viewer with a date to show its recent, and showing names of people that have won the prizes in the past.

Four clues that give this site away as a spoof:-

.com = it is a commercial site and has many adverts throughout its pages.

Haggis = Everyone knows that it is impossible to find a Haggis because it is a fictional creature and haggis is in fact a traditional scottish meal comprising of a sheeps stomach that has been stuffed with meat and oatmeal.

Cams = These are being provided by a completely different website and obviously have not been put on that website for the purpose of searching for the "haggis" creature.

Publisher = There is nowhere that states the publisher, author or directors involved in the making of this site and competition.

Screenshot:-


By danijolly22 at 2008-04-18


Molossia

How has this website attempted to appear authentic?
This website has attempted to appear authentic by using the .org in the URL. Most people will see any site ending in this as authentic because it stands for organisation and an organisation is generally seen as trustworthy. the site also includes a logo and the supposed language of the country of Molossia, making it seem real.

Four clues that give this site away as a spoof:-

.org = although organisation is seen as trustworthy if this really was a country the URL would end in .gov for government.

Note to teachers = before you enter the webpage you able to click on this button and although it states that this is a real place it is obvious that this site is used for teaching kids the difference between authentic and non-authentic sites.

Government = the pictures are all of the same person but dressed up differently according to character

Language = The whole site is written in english when the apparrent language seen at the start is the countrys main language. If it was a real country the whole site would be written in the countries main language with the option of changing it to other languages

Screenshot:-


By danijolly22 at 2008-04-18


2. Consider the following Web address: http://www.martinlutherking.org/, what do you expect to find at the website based on the URL?

Based on th URL i expect the site to be authentic as it is from a non for profit organisation. Organisations are usually a trustworthy source to get information from. Also, by the URL, i can see that the site is going to be in someway about martin luther king. He is a famous black activist and he lead the fight in america for human rights. It is because of him that the black american people are seen as equals today. This site will probally contain a bibliography of his life and achievements as well as various pictures of him and his campaigns.

3. Now visit the website and write down your first impressions.

When first looking at the web page it is not what i expected it would be like. It is not as formal as i thought it would be, more like an amateurs attempt at a good webpage. It has links to articles about him but it also has a link to lyrics from a rap. this doesnt seem a very appropriate thing to put on a Martin Luther King webpage. There is a quote next to his picture that sounds very ANTI-Martin Luther King.

Screenshot of Website:-


By danijolly22 at 2008-04-18


4. Finally, spend some time looking at the articles etc. If you knew nothing about Martin Luther King before today, Google him to get a few more opinions. What you think of the website now?

When reading some of the linked articles, it seems the author has gone to the effort to show that King had plagerised his speeches, and they were not his own. The authors do not believe Martin was a good thing to america but was infact fake and only in it for himself. The site goes on to explain why there shouldnt be a King holiday and that he raped and beat three woman the night before his assasination. I went on google to search up other sites about him such as http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html and all of these seemed more reliable and unbiased; showing him to be a good man and included biographies, pictures, quotes, and information on his life. after seeing this i believe that the webpage http://www.martinlutherking.org/ is unreliable, very biased and contains more theories than fact.

Screenshot of another Martin Luther King website:-


By danijolly22 at 2008-04-18

This activity has taught me that .org may not be as credible as it seems. Anybody can create a web address ending in this and can write anything in it. So it is advised that all websites must be looked at to see how credible they are before taking information from them.

Reading Overview :-

1. History of the Internet

This was a very long webpage about where the internet originated from and how it got to where it is today.

2. History of the WWW

This website explained the Development of Computers up until the 1960's, from ARPANET to World Wide Web, History of Electronic Mail, Search Engines and Basic Net Data.