In this information age we have so many opportunity’s to create documents and files via electronic media. For instance how many e-mails do you send, receive, or have waiting in your in-box? How many of those files are vitally important to your job or even to your everyday life? Living in the digital age requires more than for us to just write a letter, we must know how our computer works in order to script the e-mail and send it. We do not simply sit down at a desk with a sheet of paper and a pen and put ideas into words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs. We create a “doc,” assign a sub-folder, give it a title, and then we save the doc and rewrite it multiple times before actually using it. Entire books and biography’s that have been written about famous historical persons have been based off of letters and personal correspondence of these individuals with their family’s, peers, and colleagues. These documents allowed the author to have a view into the life and personality of the person they were writing the book about. How many of your personal emails do you save? How many separate email accounts do you have? And where is all this information backed up? Is it floating around in space or in “the cloud”? No, there are massive data warehouses of information. And everyday in the news you read more about how giant internet servers are being put into place for internet giants like Google, or Yahoo, or Face Book Yes there is a need to archive historical data for future generations of our youth. But who decides what information to store? Where will this information be stored at? At what cost to the consumer or even the tax payer? How will this affect the ease of use and access to the millions of internet users that are out there tod... ... middle of paper ... ...ds are what enables the host site to charge for the ad space, thus funding their ability to upgrade their systems so as to provide you with what you were searching for more efficiently(Shulman). In Conclusion, Humans have the inalienable right to access to information and knowledge. Digitizing historical documents and information and making it available to everyone is the only way our society will continue to thrive. With today’s technological advancement we can digitize all the old books, recordings, and media of the past in ever smaller and smaller files. These systems are built with accessibility in mind and are able to bring you what you need right now at the click of a button instead of fumbling around with a card index system, trying to find a single book in a library of millions of books, only to find out the information you seek is not printed in those pages.
We now accept the sharing and digital storage of our personal information as a necessary evil. We continue to incorporate, into our lives, technology that uses this data. Microsoft and Google are envisioning and developing ways to commercialize the use of even more of our stored personal information.
Since every form of representation is migrating to electronic form and all the world’s computers are potentially accessible to one another, we can now conceive of a single comprehensive global library of paintings, films, books, newspapers, television programs, and databases, a library that would be accessible from any point on the globe. It is as if the modern version of the great library of Alexandria, which contained all the knowledge about the ancient world, is about to rematerialize in the infinite expanses of cyberspace. (84).
In the United States of America, over 85 percent of people use the internet more than once in a single day (Internet Society). Why is it that this sensation called the internet is becoming such a phenomenon? Simply because all the services that the internet has to offer, but how could this fantastic internet be composed of only positive services? Here’s what is kept in the dark. The internet, also known as cyberspace or interweb, has an impeccable memory. With this said, this means that the internet stores every piece of information ever logged in the depths of the web. The web catches everything that comes in contact with it like a spider’s web, hence the name web. At first thought, this may not seem bad, but this information is permanent and powerful. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, he clearly portrays a negative reputation to this supreme power. Even in the Orwellian society, the documentation of information is highly maintained: "It was another copy of the photograph . . . which he had chanced upon eleven years ago and promptly destroyed" (Orwell 246-247). When someone deletes an email or document, does it truly go away? The fact that the document or email can be restored must bring some uncertainty into play. Companies, thieves, even the government is taking advantage of this concrete memory of the internet. Because of society's increasing dependency on technology, the internet contains more information that allows the invasion of individuals' privacy to occur, leading the U.S. government closer to an Orwellian society and resulting in higher crime rates and the restriction of freedom.
The internet is a medium used to access almost any information at any time, and...
In the world of preservation and library science the common focus is on preserving content, ensuring its longevity, findability, and a stable consistent metadata and technology solution, However we live in an age where everyone is a publisher of some form, and more consistently the content they produce will be in a digital rather than analogue form. Within that content there will always be varying amounts of metadata, some will be populated with an immense detail and granularity, some content will have been created with no human intervention to add additional information to it. In fact much of the digital material produced will have been done so by people who have no concept of metadata, and no inclination to know about it or time to use it. The question raised by Smiths statement highlights many of the issues around data preservation and digital content, with metadata only being a part of those issues, but integral to the ongoing management of the massive influx of digital content being produced.
The "pervasive, invasive information infrastructure...is as much a part of our lives as religion was for medieval surfs" (Tetzeli 1994, p. 60). But is it too much? We've all seen the mind-numbing statistics about the exponential growth of information and of technological means of distributing and accessing it. However, some people question whether the problem really is one of overload. One source of the problem is actually the multiplicity of communication channels. Unlike earlier eras, such as when printing presses replaced manuscript copying, new technologies are not replacing older ones but are adding to the host of media choices (Davidson 1996). With these multiple channels the information flow is now simultaneous and multidirectional. However, most traditional information management practices are too linear and specific: they were pipes developed for a stream, not an ocean (Alesandrini 1992). The sheer quantity of information and the speed with which it can be acquired give an illusion of accomplishment (Uline 1996).
When asked to think of a kind of 20th century technology, the majority of people today would automatically picture the computer. The computer has surpassed all other types of machines before it. In approximately two decades, the computer has managed to contact almost every aspect of our lives. From small businesses who rely on PCs to Macintosh's famous Apples for students to promote computers in the classroom. Much of our lives have been recorded somehow on computer databases somewhere. Bank accounts, hospital records, and tax records are all kept on databases in the computer. Computers and computer programs have allowed for improvements in telematics, robotics and have allowed for the development of the CAD (Computer Aided Drafting ) program for architects. This machine has also invaded the artistic world.
...and stored and recorded for the person that is storing in it for whatever reason. Which is an improvement because I knew that databases were important but I didn’t properly understand how much work went in to performing one action in a system from entry to the final stage of the information be stored in a violent medium and then transfer to a more stable server And how databases are usually thought of as not important part of how a system works. But they are and it is
Today is an era of information explosion. In the past few years, many newly invented technological devices and software are now tightly integrated with our everyday lives. Today, people can look up almost any kind of information, make friends, communicate with others, and express ourselves with the simple touch of a button on a device we usually keep within arm’s reach. “Widespread use of technology is changing the way we work, learn, and communicate – even the way we carry out our regular, daily activities.”(Seifer and Mihalynuk) These devices not only benefit our livelihoods and increase our happiness, but they are also integral in advancing education, technology, development, and, in general, human evolution. The children of today, who have been raised in this era of information explosion, will undoubtedly reap such benefits and, in turn, advance society towards a better generation.
While trying to fill his own mind and introduce new ideas, Lyndon Johnsons supported the extensive advances of technology in the 1960’s. He had dedication for learning, and strongly encouraged research that is currently known as STEM; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Technology is defined as “knowledge branching from creation and use of technical means and how it relates with life, society, and environment using industrial arts, engineering, applied science and real science” (Dictionary). The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, the Space Program, and the Highway Safety Act were all technological progresses of Lyndon Johnson's era.
Computers; they are a part of or in millions of homes; they are an intricate part of just about every if not all successful businesses, the government, and the military. Computers have become common place in today’s society and the lives of the people who live in it. They have crossed every national, racial, cultural, educational, and financial barrier, which consequently ushered in the information age. A computer is a programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve and process data, and they come in all shapes, and sizes. They can be used for and in just about anything. As stated before, they are used in just about every aspect of modern society. They are so fundamental to modern society that it would be disastrous to society without them. As stated before, there are many areas in modern society that are run by computers. They play an intricate part of millions of homes in the world. Office workers in business, government and the military may use them to write letters, keep rosters, create budgets, find information, manage projects, communicate with workers, and so on. They are used in education, medicine, music, law enforcement, and unfortunately crime. Because computers have become such a part of the world and how it operates, there is a tremendous responsibility for those who are in control of these computers and the vital information that they carry, to manage and protect them properly. This is management and protection is vital because any loss or damage could be disastrous for the affected entity. For example, a mistake or intentional alteration of a personal credit file could affect ones ability to buy a car or home, or can lead to legal actions against the affected person until the mistake or intentional alteration has been corrected. Therefore, with the advent of computers in the information age, and all of the intentional and unintentional violations against them, comes the need to safeguard them and the information they carry with strong systems and policies of computer security.
People acquire large amounts of information daily, such as E-Mail, Bookmarks, Contacts, Photos etc. & they must decide which to keep & which are irrelevant & should be disposed of. But people find it difficult to make a decision whether to keep or to dispose information. A theory of why people rather want to keep information is because it might prove useful in the future.
That’s important to preserve the digital information because to ensure that information still reliable and authentic for the future. This is because the information in archive has enduring value and act as evidence for some events. However, it’s not easy to preserve digital information because they need specialist to manage it and will face several problems.
The year is 1987, a young man by the name of Vincent Williams is involved in a car accident on an old highway in the middle of the desert, and he has no way to call for help. The driver of the car he hit is trapped in the smoldering metal which was previously an automobile. There is nothing young Vincent can do to save the driver. He has no cell phone and it will be hours before another car passes. He is left with only two choices; sit and wait or start walking in the direction of the nearest town. If only cell phones were more popular and affordable at the time he may have had one in which he could have called for help and possibly saved the drivers life.
At just a quarter of a century in governing regulations, listening to complains and making recommendations, while maintaining the standards of the laws of Jamaica as it is concerned with the media. There is one inevitable aspect the Broadcasting Commission has to continuously keep abreast with, and that is change.