week 2- Reading Notes

1. Computer Hardware
I realize that I forget about the most common types of computers and have a tendency of immediately thinking about pc's when I hear the work "computer". I forget about the myriad of other common devices that have computers in them. I agree with the article that floppy disks are becoming more and more obsolete. I'm not sure if it is a reflection on the slowness of many libraries to come around to new technology or not, but the system I work in still sells floppy's to library patrons. Since these disks are so outdated, and our own library computers don't have a space for the floppy disks that we sell, we let patrons check out external floppy drives so they can use the disks we've just sold them. Odd, no? I have a friend who is obsessed with convincing the world that blu-ray discs are the better choice over dvd's. I see that the article tends to agree with her. I also think it's interesting that with the rise of webcams, my library does not have a policy about appropriate usage within the libraries. We have a system-wide policy of no cell phone usage in respect for customers who enjoy a quiet library experience, but not a policy on people conversing via webcam.

2. Moore’s Law
It is interesting to hear the theory that the original concept may have been somewhat triggered by a lecture from another engineer. It’s also interesting that while the transistor size continually gets smaller, the cost of producing the item gets bigger. I was encouraged by the part that says that bandwidth will continue to increase by “50%” each year. The video was nice- especially the illustrations using cars and the newspaper. Who wouldn’t like a car to perform better at a much cheaper price? We’d probably have flying cars by now. It was also cool that the computer industry as a whole considers Moore’s Law a kind of challenge to maintain quality and excellence within the field. While all good things must come to an end, which has been noted in this case by just about everyone it looks like, it is remarkable that this phenomenon exists in the computer world.

3. Computer History Museum
This fantastic site piqued my interest in the computer field more than I thought it could be piqued. It was revealing to see how the museum itself grew from sharing a space with a children’s museum to silicone valley. I was impressed with the museum’s commitment to stay relevant and up-to-date with current trends and important persons by holding events and by their publications. The pliability was refreshing – as most history museums are almost frozen in time and do not have new developments impacting their content on a regular basis. I noticed that a “sense of humor” was listed as a job requirement for a few of the open positions posted on the website. This museum is definitely not your typical one. I found the transformation from technical company ads to mass consumer marketing rather interesting as the way people viewed computers changed over the years. I also found the openness of the invitation to donate relevant artifacts to the museum novel and refreshing. The website was fun and not condescending.