Data Compression (Wiki)
Data compression seems like slippery work. The article gives the example of compressing the number 25.888888 to 25.9 or 26. The difference seems small, but there are many situations where a small discrepancy between numbers equates to a huge difference, like currency conversion or NASA calculations. Also, this may be a future muddiest point, but I am a bit confused: Since digital pieces of information contain countless bits, one can argue that a few missing bits does not do any harm. But are all bits created equal? Or are there some bits of information that are absolutely vital? How does the compression tell the difference?
Data compression basics
The most intriguing point this article raises, or what I noticed the most, is how much data compression relies on substitution. Colors can become a collection of numbers, as can letters and entire words. As the author points out, our own language uses substation quite a lot. Acronyms are compressed substitution of longer phrases. Words themselves are compressed concepts agreed upon by speakers of the same language to mean the same thing.
Imaging Pittsburgh: Creating a shared gateway to digital image collections of the Pittsburgh region
It is always interesting to see new developments in technology aiding elements of the past to become more accessible. The photographs the article mentions will be a tremendous source of knowledge and entertainment to the public. The writer says “One of the most exciting challenges that still remains is developing creative ways to help users explore the collections.” I predict that the curators of this collection will benefit greatly from other technological advances like photo tagging to achieve this goal.
YouTube and libraries: It could be a beautiful relationship
I think instructional videos about library resources is a very good idea. First, however, patrons (or potential patrons) would have to know that such videos existed. I, for one, did not know that my hometown library, Cincinnati Public, had videos on Youtube. I did a search and they have a video tour, advertisements for several programs summer reading programs.
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In addition to using YouTube, many libraries are beginning to add blogs, wikis, Facebook pages, and other online resources to their web pages to reach out to their patrons. I think this is a necessary step for libraries to stay competitive with the ever-changing methods of obtaining information.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder about all bits being created the same. While I get that compression takes out all the "unnecessary" bits, is it possible that this will be taken too far and corrupt or cause the file to collapse? Maybe I'm just being really thick about how this works.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment of the Imaging Pittsburgh project that taging and other advancements will improve the quality of their website.
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point about words being a type of compression. I hadn't thought of language like that before, but it's certainly true - before language developed (written or spoken), someone would have had to take the time to draw a picture to get their point across. And then there was a time that drawing a picture was compression.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your point about YouTube - if no one knows it's there, no one will look it up. I guess that means the library would need advertising for their YouTube, which would, presumably, be advertising some things taking place at the library... which makes me wonder if it would be worth it. I guess that depends on the specific library, and what they actually do with it.