Encarta's article on computer networks offers a shorter, more authoritative definition of LANs and other networks than anything available on Wikipedia. Most of this information I already knew: LANs handle small distances, WANs (like the Internet) handle huge distances, and Ethernet is used to wire everything together. The YouTube video was helpful for its brief descriptions of PANs and MANs, neither of which I had noticed before. In sum, this was all pretty basic information, and I'm sure it will be covered almost identically in our next lecture.
The article on RFID tags in libraries was actually a really interesting one. I'd read about the technology's applications for fast transactions and package tracking, but I hadn't thought about its potential applications in our field. The several limitations noted - for example, size and cost - are a little discouraging, but the technology is improving all the time. I was most impressed with the idea that RFID tags could prove helpful even when books aren't going anywhere, just by facilitating inventory sweeps. Shelf reading, we hardly knew ye!
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I agree with you that the RFID article was interesting. The cost issue (I work in public education so that is always high on my list of concerns)was a bit discouraging for me as well. However, I have my cats microchipped. The cost was not great when you think of 1 pet, but I have 5 so it was a bit spendy (about $25 per pet). Putting that into perspective, it is a lot for a library card or when you think of each book. OUCH! Hopefully, with time, the cost will decline.
I have 2 indoor cats but often wonder if I should microchip them too. You just never know what can happen. Anyway, the other downside of RFID mentioned in the article was the possibility of the information on the tags being lost because of the close proximity to other tags. The author mentioned this problem with magazines as an example but I could imagine the same thing could happen with some books. Of course, like you mentioned on my blog, the technology could have improved a lot since the article was written.
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