RAD = Rapid Application
Development in the context of development applications
software. The term is used in the context of object
oriented (oo), component-based and vissually-aided
software that allows for faster development of applications
software. For example, Netscape Corporation in 1997
introduced a component-based Visual Java-Script
intended to be for the web what Microsoft's Visual
Basic software was for earlier applications development.
Visual Java Scrip also licensed TV-Objects from
TV-Objects Corporation in Princeton,
N.J. for translating Visual
Basic applications into JavaScript for RAD. In 1997
Apple Corporation bet the farm on Rhapsody
for RAD.
Radio = Internet and satellite radio delivered by non-traditional
media.
Question:
What is XM Radio?
Answer:
Stallite radio such as XM Radio will soon give traditional
AM and FM radio stations daunting competition. Most
General Motors cars will soon be equipped with XM
receivers. In addition, dealers will be able to
install XM receivers in other makes of cars.
XM Radio is featured in a Barron's cover
story on February 17, 2003.
You can read the following
at http://www.xmradio.com/
It's easy
to get XM in your new car, right at the dealership.
For the 2003 model year, many vehicles are now available
with XM as a manufacturer-supported option, including
25 models from GM. Select one of the brands below
for more information. We're adding new models all
the time so be sure to keep checking back. If you
don't see your desired model, ask your dealer about
how to add XM to any radio.
One big
idea can change everything. And XM Satellite Radio
is one big idea: Radio to the Power of X. America's
most popular satellite radio service gives you the
power to choose what you want to hear - wherever
and whenever you want it. XM offers 70 music channels
- more than any other satellite radio service. Plus
30 channels of news, talk, sports and entertainment.
100 basic channels in all, for a low $9.99 monthly
subscription. And now, XM is the first satellite
radio service to offer a premium channel for an
additional monthly fee.
It's our
passionate commitment to program quality that will
give you more of the listening you enjoy most, including
many commercial-free channels. XM's radios for the
car and home offer you freedom - from static, from
distortion, from that frustrating feeling when you
drive out of range in the middle of an exclusive
interview or a new song you've been waiting to hear.
So if you're
a music devotee, a sports fanatic or a news hound,
come share our passion for the new power of radio.
Join us in a listening partnership as we capture
the soundtrack of your imagination. Our job is to
push radio beyond traditional limits and win you
as a fan. Your job? To sit back, listen, and open
yourself to the excitement of radio as you've never
heard it before.
Oh Goodie
Sexy Stories and Surprises --- http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch
=205
Based on
Playboy TV's hit show Night Calls, join your hosts,
Juli and Tiffany, for a romp on the wild side. Hear
stories, get advice and join their special guests
for some playful adult fun.
During select
hours you'll even be able to call-in live. Don't
be shy - these experts are always open to getting
a few helpful hints for themselves.
For a limited
time, a one-time transaction fee of $4.99 will be
waived for current subscribers who wish to add our
Playboy Radio premium channel.
Monthly
premium service charge of $2.99 required. Only account
holders may activate this channel.
So what's a better "Oh
Goodie?"
Educational programming. For example, investors
might one day tune into investing tutorials as well
as commentaries on different investing alternatives
and risks. There may be poetry readings and
tutorials about writing poetry. Old and new
novels might be read and analyzed. Eventually,
continuing education courses may even be delivered
over commercial-free radio by paying monthly service
charges.
Jensen Added Note:
What's the downside to having all this commercial-free
music and other programming?
Commercial-cluttered
traditional radio stations and even donation-supported
PBS and campus radio stations will have to scramble
to compete. Classical music lovers may prefer
a larger variety of classical music choices on satellite
radio and Internet radio. Country music fans
may prefer to listen to bluegrass even if they're
driving across Utah rather
than Kentucky. I think you probably get the point
that XM radio will probably have a much better growth
market than Internet radio. Internet radio
has much less potential in moving vehicles, hotel
rooms, and other places where hooking up a computer
is too much bother.
However, Internet radio
recently got a huge boost --- http://www.saveinternetradio.org/
In a stunning
victory for webcasting, both the Senate and
the House of Representatives unanimously passed
a revised version of H.R. 5469 late last night that
clears the way for copyright owners to offer webcasters
a percentage-of-revenues royalty rate, essentially
allowing the parties to mutually agree to override
the CARP decision of last spring.
The Senate passed the bill at 10:32PM ET
and the House passed it at 2:44AM. It now goes to
President Bush for his signature.
The bill was actively supported by virtually
all players on both sides of the debate this year,
including the record industry, artist representatives,
large webcasters, small webcasters, college radio
representatives, and religious broadcasters.
In what was viewed as a surprise by some
observers, the legislative staff in the office of
retiring Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) (pictured)
apparently played an active and valuable role in
crafting what the parties concluded was a much
better piece of legislation than the one Helms
blocked at the last moment late last month (here).
President Bush signed
H.R. 5469 just before Christmas in 2002.
For an example of streaming
media, see http://www.streamingmediaworld.com/
Also see Web Media
RAID = Redundant Arrays
of (Independent or Inexpensive) Discs
refers to storage products with speed and capacity
for large quantities of data, especially graphics,
video, and audio data for multimedia computing.
There are six RAID levels starting with RAID 0 available
for Mac computers. Most PC disc array systems are
designed for Novell NetWare
software. Different levels of RAID are explained
at Advanced Computer & Network Corporation at
http://www.acnc.com/raid.html
RAM = Random Access
Memory portion of a computer. The term "memory"
typically refers to RAM as opposed to hard disc
and optical disc storage of files that cannot be
randomly accessed without searching by sectors.
RAM stores instructions and other files potentially
needed for immediate processing of a task at hand.
Memory usually can be accessed "randomly"
at relatively high speeds. Files stored on computer
tape, floppy discs, hard drive, optical drives,
etc. are not available in RAM until they are "loaded"
into RAM. Four important types of RAM in PCs running
DOS are conventional memory, high (upper) memory,
expanded memory, and extended memory. When DOS first
was designed, 640 Kb of memory seemed like a lot,
so out of the then standard 1 Mb of base memory,
640 Kb was designated as conventional memory reserved
for DOS and the remaining 360 Mb was high (upper)
memory available for other internal system computing
functions. Later, memory managers and the Windows
HIMEM.SYS file made some of the high memory available
for software usage. Another gimmick entailed use
of peepholes of size 64 Kb swapping of chunks of
memory. However, today the 1 Mb base memory utilized
in the most efficient way is not sufficient to run
most newer types of software. Memory SIMM chips
can be added to raise the RAM to higher levels such
as 64 Mb currently popular in multimedia authoring.
Upper limits for extended memory options vary with
types of PCs. Extended memory is much more important
than expanded memory. Often the term extended memory
applies to all RAM above the 640 Kb of conventional
RAM, although from a technical standpoint it applies
to RAM above the 1 Mb base. The term "RAM cache"
refers to a section of RAM set aside to serve as
a buffer between the central processing unit and
auxiliary disc drives. At the present time it is
not uncommon to pay in the neighborhood of $200
for each 16Mb of RAM added to computers. (See also
Cache, SIMM, VRAM, Hard drive,
Flash
memory, and CD)
Random access memory = (See RAM)
RARP
Bob:
Below is something that might make a good entry
into your Technology Glossary. (Text below from
What is.com) Ever since I got a DSL line I have
been unable to log onto Temple
University's primary mail server. I receive an abrupt and annoying
message "The TCP/IP connection was unexpectedly
terminated by the server." It happens that
Temple has security procedure in place for this server that traces
my IP address back to my ISP to verify my name when
I try to log on to get my mail. However, my ISP
uses a newer system called "Reverse Address
Resolution Protocol" (RARP), which does not
keep a list of names on a name server for immediate
verification. (Maintaining an up-to-date list of
client names on a name server apparently is an expensive,
labor-intensive process.) I doubt if my ISP is the
only one using this technology. This is an interesting
clash of old fashioned security procedures and newer
technology.
Steve Fogg
Reverse
Address Resolution Protocol
RARP (Reverse
Address Resolution Protocol) is a protocol by which
a physical machine in a local area network can request
to learn its IP address from a gateway server's
Address Resolution Protocol (Address Resolution
Protocol) table or cache. A network administrator
creates a table in a local area network's gateway
router that maps the physical machine (or Media
Access Control - MAC address) addresses to corresponding
Internet Protocol addresses. When a new machine
is set up, its RARP client program requests from
the RARP server on the router to be sent its IP
address. Assuming that an entry has been set up
in the router table, the RARP server will return
the IP address to the machine which can store it
for future use. RARP is available for Ethernet,
Fiber Distributed-Data Interface, and token ring
LANs.
Stephen
L. Fogg, Ph.D., CPA,
Chair Department of Accounting Fox School of Business
and Management
Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122 Phone:
215-204-1915 Fax: 215-204-5587 URL: http://www.sbm.temple.edu/~fogg
RAW = Rutgers
Accounting Web informational retrieval
system (funded with a grant from NCAIR) for a variety
of free materials for accounting educators. The
main purpose of the system is to share materials
developed in connection with the Accounting Education
Change Commission (AECC). Materials include lectures,
cases, assignments, examinations, syllabi and course
outlines, and reports of projects at various AECC
sponsored sites. The World Wide Web address for
the Lynx program for text only is <http//www.rutgers.edu/Accounting/raw.htm>.
Lynx only transfers text. For graphics, a Mosaic
option is available. Contact Professor Alex Kogan,
Accounting and Information Systems, Faculty of Management,
Rutgers University, 180 University Ave., Newark,
NJ 07102-1905. Phone: 201-648-1064 and Fax 201-648-1283
and email kogan@andromeda.rutgers.edu. (See also
ANet, International
Internet Association, and PIC- AECM)
RAW = A file format for digital photographs that is uncompressed and largely unmodified
by the camera's chips, and therefore includes every
detail of the color and image. It is prized by professional
photographers and serious amateurs, who look for
cameras and photo software that can handle the RAW
format. But it produces enormous files, so most
users should ignore it and stick with the very good,
very common compressed photo format, called JPEG
or JPG.
RDS = (See Database.)
Real time = (See Operating
system and Web
steaming.)
RealAudio = (See Audio and
Web
steaming.)
Reengineering = Computerized automation of a "production"
system (factory, education, information, etc.) that
entails radically redesigning the way work is done
and the intended performance of the system.
Relational database management = A database system that stores data in two-dimensional
data tables at the same time such that the program
can work with two tables at the same time. It is
"relational" if one table defines the
relation between entries in rows (data records)
and columns (fields). Not all database software
claiming to be relational meet the "true"
relational database mathematical theory developed
by Edgar Codd in 1970. For example, dBASE and FoxPro
can link two databases through a common field but
are not true relational database programs. One of
the most widely selling relational database management
systems is the Unix-based system from Oracle Corporation
(415-598-8000). Microsoft introduced two very popular
systems called Microsoft Access and Visual Fox Pro.
Most traditional database packages such as Paradox
and dBase also upgraded to relational database systems.
See ODBC.
Also see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/260wp/260wp.htm#ODBC.
A language which provides
a user interface to relational database management
systems, developed by IBM in the 1970s, is called
a Structured Query Language (SQL). Development is
still underway to enhance SQL into a computationally
complete language for the definition and management
of persistent, complex objects. This includes user
defined data types, support for knowledge based
systems, recursive query expressions, and additional
database query tools. It also includes the specification
of abstract data types (ADTs), object identifiers,
methods, inheritance, encapsulation, and all of
the other utilities associated with object data
management.
"Microsoft delivers
first Maestro beta Server-based package works with
Office," by Ed Scannell, InfoWorld,
May 10, 2005 --- http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/05/10/HNmaestro_1.html
Claiming
it represents a significant step forward in its
business intelligence strategy, Microsoft (Profile,
Products, Articles) on Tuesday is selectively introducing
the first beta of Maestro, a code name for a server-based
application that helps corporate users build scorecards
to monitor and improve company performance.
The strategic
intent of Maestro is to drive down business intelligence
capabilities to the desktop so customers can use
the applications associated with Microsoft's Office
System to better track their company's performance
relative to the overall goals they have set for
themselves, company officials said.
"It
[Maestro] basically moves business intelligence
from being report-centric to being more metric-centric,
meaning managers and their workers who want to view
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) can do it via
a Web page," said Chris Caren, General Manager
at Microsoft's Office Business Applications Group.
"And because it is built into the Office System
and SharePoint, it has collaboration capabilities
that let users analyze performance with their peers,"
he said.
Microsoft
officials said Maestro represents its ongoing commitment
to business intelligence, which they see as a crucial
piece of technology for its Information Worker Business.
That group specializes in helping individuals, teams,
and organizations to be more productive through
the various pieces that make up the Microsoft Office
System.
Explaining
how the product works, Caren said Maestro sits on
top of the company's SQL Server database, which
is commonly used for building data warehouses and
for populating and tracking metrics. Maestro can
be used to expose metrics that reside in SQL Server,
allowing users to author or define new KPIs they
write, and which SQL Server then tracks.
For interactive computing
on the web, see Distributed Network
Computing. Also see See GainMomentum,
Database,
and 4GL
Database Languages.
Object-oriented database
systems are quite different from the extremely relational
database systems (e.g., MS Access, FoxPro, DBase,
etc) that are extremely popular today. I will
begin this module with a quote from my favorite
online textbook in accounting information systems
(that I adopt each year for my ACCT 5342 course):
Emerging
database systems concepts
We conclude this chapter with a brief discussion
of an emerging concepts relating to database systems.
Object-oriented (OO) approaches to modeling and
implementing database systems are becoming increasingly
popular. This approach employs object-oriented modeling
(OOM) techniques to model the domain of interest
and then implements the resulting model using an
object-oriented database management system (OODBMS).
The object-oriented approach focuses on the objects
of interest in the domain. Customers, vendors, employees,
sales orders, and receipts are all viewed as objects
that have certain attributes. OOM involves identifying
the objects of interest, their attributes, and relationships
between objects.
A critical
feature unique to the OO approach is that an "object"
package includes both the attributes of the object
and the methods or procedures that pertain to that
object. The methods might dictate how the object's
attributes are modified in response to different
events, or how the object causes changes in the
attributes of other objects. Thus, a key difference
between the database models described earlier and
the OO approach is that OO models combine data (attributes)
and procedures (methods) in one package, i.e., the
"object." This feature of OO models is
referred to as encapsulation - attributes and methods
are represented together in one capsule. Another
powerful feature of OO models is inheritance. OO
models depict the real world as a hierarchy of object
classes, with lower level classes inheriting attributes
and methods from higher level classes. Thus, lower
level object classes do not need to redefine attributes
and methods that are common to the higher level
object classes in the class hierarchy.
An OO model
contains all details needed for implementation and
object-oriented DBMS are powerful enough to represent
all the information contained in the model. However,
most organizations that have made heavy investments
in RDBMS see little need to migrate to OO environments.
While OO modeling methods are available, there is
no consensus regarding the "best" method
to use. Finally, although OODBMS are beginning to
become commercially available, they have not gained
much acceptance in the marketplace probably due
to their relatively high cost and poor performance
in comparison to RDBMS. Gemstone, ObjectStore, VBase,
and O2 are some examples of OODBMS.
Accounting
Information Systems: A Database Approach
by Uday S. Murthy and S. Michael Groomer
For more information go to http://www.cybertext.com/
Next I will repeat a
great illustration pointed out in the message below
from Alexander Lashenko:
Hello Bob,
Take a look
at http://www.sanbase.com/cx.html
It's an
original object-oriented DBMS with web interface.
Looks very nice.
Regards,
Alex.
Alexander Lashenko [alashenko@cryptologic.com]
For extensions beyond
relational databases see OLAP
Remote control = Any of a variety of meanings depending upon the context. There are remote
control computer devices such as remote mouse controllers
and wands that generate some keyboard controls.
A remote control buyers' guide is provided by Glass (1994).
(See also Student
response pads)
Remote login = Refers to the capability of a network user to access databases and software
on other computers, possibly computers linked on
the Internet in remote parts of the globe. (See
also Telnet
and FTP)
Remote print server = A computer running the
RPRINTER program, enabling it to print output from
other network workstations and operate as a normal
workstation.
Rendering = Generally refers to graphics rendering, especially 3-D rendering. Biedney (1994)
provides a technical discussion and a comparison
of alternative software options for rendering 3-D
images on desktop computers. (See also Authoring)
Rescaling = (See Aspect ratio)
Resource Description Framework (RDF), RDF Site Summary (RSS),
Podcasting, Screencasting, and iPod U = a framework for metadata
and provides for interoperability for applications
in "machine-understandable" information
on the Web. RDF draws upon several technologies
such as XML (Extensible
Markup Language). RDF a recommendation of
the World Wide Web Consortium currently headed by
Tim Bermers-Lee, the creater of the HTML markup
language and the http protocol that is the basis
of the World Wide Web. Over the long run,
Berners-Lee envisions a time when Web sites can
be devoid of most broken links and difficult-to-find
information.
See RDF and OWL at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/XBRLandOLAP.htm#RDF_Extended
The first step to understanding
RDF is to distinguish between data and metadata.
Metadata tags in documents and databases provide
"data about data" like unseen
genes provide data about body parts. One of the
drawbacks of HTML is that HTML tags relate only
symbols rather than attributes of what the symbols
depict. For example, HTML tags tell us how
to display the word "eyes" in a web document
but there are no tags related to attributes such
as eye color, eye size, vision quality, and susceptibility
to various eye diseases.
For example, HTML tags
relate only to formatting and linking tags on words
red and purple appearing in a
document. HTML tags do not disclose that both
words depict colors, because HTML does not associate
words with meanings. Metadata, on the otherhand,
attaches meanings to the data by attaching hidden
attribute tags. For example, attached to the
word "petal" might be an invisible tag
that records information that the petal has color having particular coded numbers for color hue and color saturation for rose
petals. When any petal's invisible
tags are read in a meta search engine, it would
be possible to identify types of roses having
a range of hue and saturation commonalities.
Poppies would be excluded because they do not have
rose
tags. Red herrings (a term for false leads
in a mystery) would be excluded because they do
not have a tagged attribute for color.
In a sense, metadata
is analogous to genetic code of a living organism.
Attributes in hidden tags become analogous
to attributes coded into genes that determine the
color of a flower's petals, degree of resistance
to certain diseases, etc. If we knew the
genetic "metadata" code of all flowering
plants, we could quickly isolate the subsets of
all known flowering plants having red petals or
resistance to a particular plant disease.
In botony and genetics, the problem lies is discovering the
metadata codes that nature has already programmed
into the genes. In computer documents and
databases, the problem is one of programming in
the metadata codes that will conform to a world
wide standard. That standard will most likely
be the RDF standard that is currently being developed
by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
having Tim Berners-Lee as its current Director.
The examples given by
me above are gross simplifications of text tagging
that will actually take place under RDF. RDF
works in a more complicated fashion that will be
much more efficient for meta searches. The
core of RDF will be its "RDF Schema"
briefly described below:
This specification
will be followed by other documents that will complete
the framework. Most importantly, to facilitate the
definition of metadata, RDF will have a class system
much like many object-oriented programming and modeling
systems. A collection of classes (typically authored
for a specific purpose or domain) is called a schema.
Classes are organized in a hierarchy, and offer
extensibility through subclass refinement. This
way, in order to create a schema slightly different
from an existing one it is not necessary to "reinvent
the wheel" but one can just provide incremental
modifications to the base schema. Through the sharability
of schemas RDF will support the reusability of metadata
definitions. Due to RDF's incremental extensibility,
agents processing metadata will be able to trace
the origins of schemata they are unfamiliar with
back to known schemata and perform meaningful actions
on metadata they weren't originally designed to
process. The sharability and extensibility of RDF
also allows metadata authors to use multiple inheritance
to "mix" definitions, to provide multiple
views to their data, leveraging work done by others.
In addition, it is possible to create RDF instance
data based on multiple schemata from multiple sources
(i.e., "interleaving" different types
of metadata). Schemas may themselves be written
in RDF; a companion document to this specification,
[RDF Schema], describes
one set of properties and classes for describing
RDF schemas.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
http://web1.w3.org/TR/REC-rdf-syntax/
The term "metadata"
is not synonymous with RDF. There were various
metadata systems before RDF was on the drawing boards.
Microsoft's Channel Definition Format (CDF) used
in "Web Push Channels" and Netscape's
Meta Content Framework (MCF) preceeded RDF.
These technologies describe information resources
in a manner somewhat similar to RDF and can be used
to filter web sites and web documents such as filtering
pornography and violence from viewing. Metadata
systems can be used to channel inflows of desired
or undesired web information. CDF, for example,
carries information not read on computer screens
that perform metadata tasks.
RDF resources are built
upon a foundation of Uniform Resource Identifiers
(URIs) that are described at http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-fielding-uri-syntax-04.txt
. The metadata structure for in RDF has the
following components described on Page 4 of http://web1.w3.org/TR/REC-rdf-syntax/
Resources
All things being described by RDF expressions are
called resources. A resource may be an entire
Web page; such as the HTML document "http://www.w3.org/Overview.html"
for example. A
resource may be a part of a Web page; e.g. a specific
HTML or XML element within the
document source. A resource may also be a whole
collection of pages; e.g. an entire Web site. A
resource may also be an object that is not directly
accessible via the Web; e.g. a printed book.
Resources are always named by URIs plus optional
anchor ids. Anything can have a
URI; the extensibility of URIs allows the introduction
of identifiers for any entity imaginable.
Properties
A property is a specific aspect, characteristic,
attribute, or relation used to describe a resource.
Each property has a specific meaning, defines its
permitted values, the types of resources it can
describe, and its relationship with other properties.
This document does not address how the
characteristics of properties are expressed; for
such information, refer to the RDF
Schema
specification).
Statements
A specific resource together with a named property
plus the value of that property for that resource
is an RDF statement. These three individual parts
of a statement are called, respectively, the
subject, the predicate, and the object. The object
of a statement (i.e., the property value) can be
another resource or it can be a literal; i.e., a
resource (specified by a URI) or a simple string
or
other primitive datatype defined by XML. In RDF
terms, a literal may have content that is XML
markup but is not further evaluated by the RDF processor.
I received the following
message from one of my graduate students (Dan Price)
that led me to two very helpful web sites:
Hi Dr. J,
I asked my wife about XML and RDF, and she gave me some good information about how
they work in relation to HTML.
XML is a metalanguage based on the same foundation
as HTML. RDF works within XML as a foundation for
processing metadata. In a way, the two will work
together like OO databases do. USAA's web page uses
some XML.
Two good
sites on the topic are:
(XML for the
Absolute Beginner) www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-04-1999/jw-04-xml.html
(A good RDF
web site) http://web1.w3.org/TR/REC-rdf-syntax/
Dan Price
To my graduate student's
message above, I might add the following online
article entitled "XML Gains Ground: Vendors
pledge support as XML stands poised to become a
universal format for data exchange" at http://www.informationweek.com/725/xml.htm
.
The most likely scipting
codes will be XML, although RDF can be used in other
scripting systems. The popular HTML and the
emerging HTML are subsets of the GML text scripting
conceived in1969 IBM researchers depicting Generalized Markup Languages (and not-so-coincidentally
the lead researchers were named Goldfarb,
Mosher,
and Lorie). Between 1978 and 1987,
Dr. Charles F. Goldfarb led the team that developed
the SGML Standard GML that is became International
Standard ISO 8879. In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee
led a team of particle physicists that invented
the World Wide Web rooted in the rule-based text
scripting markup innovations of SGML. The
World Wide Web is comprised of all web documents
marked up in scripts known as Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML)
scripts. SGML is tremendously powerful but
inefficient and complex. HTML is marvelously
simple but not very powerful. In 1996, Jon
Bosak of Sun Microsystems to spearheaded the development
of the XML
standard to lend power, efficiency, cross-platform
standards, and simplicity to the networking of databases
on the Internet. At the time of this writing,
the world is converging upon an important standard
known as RDF (Resource Description Framework) rooted
in XML that will be the biggest 21st Century thing
to hit the Internet since HTML hit the Internet
in 1991.
For more discussion of
RDF and XML see http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/260wp/260wp.htm#RDF
Also see See
OWL
THE FUTURE
OF SEARCH --- RDF, RSS, and Pluck
December 28, 2004 message
from Richard Campbell [campbell@RIO.EDU]
Check out
the following video tutorial on RSS provided by
Derek Franklin, one of the most prolific authors
on Macromedia Flash.
http://www.rssdomination.com/video.htm
Richard
J. Campbell
mailto:campbell@rio.edu
December 28,
2004 reply from Bob Jensen
You can read about the
origins of Resource Description Framework (RDF)
at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/XBRLandOLAP.htm#TimelineRDF
You can read more about
Wiki at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/245glosf.htm#Wiki
RSS is defined as Rich Site Summary or RDF Site
Summary where RDF in this context is a XML markup
that allows you to find topics in documents that
do not necessarily use your search terminology and
exclude documents that use your terminology in a
different context. . Unfortunately, the same
term in English may have vastly different meanings
which leads to getting thousands or millions of
unwanted "hits" in traditional HTML text
searches.
A RSS site allows user
to add content to the site. In this sense
it is like Wiki,
but it us much more efficient and popular than a
Wiki for news feeds (although Wikipedia has just
started a news feed feature.). But Wiki's
do not have the same deep RDF metadata features.
Wikipedia defines RSS as follows at http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RSS.html
Short for
RDF Site Summary or Rich
Site Summary, an XML format
for syndicating
Web content. A Web site that wants to allow other
sites to publish some of its content creates an
RSS document and registers the document with an
RSS publisher. A user that can read RSS-distributed
content can use the content on a different site.
Syndicated content includes such data as news feeds,
events listings, news stories, headlines, project
updates, excerpts from discussion forums or even
corporate information.
RSS was
originally developed by Netscape.
RSS/RDF feeds are commonly
available ways of distributing or syndicating the
latest news about a given web site. Weblog (blog)
sites in particular are prolific generators of RSS
feeds. Free software that integrates well
with Internet Explorer and is very simple to install
is Pluck from http://www.pluck.com/
The following are RSS
search advantages described by Pluck:
For Hunters
and Gatherers, a New Way to Compare
"With one click, users of Pluck can save Web
bookmarks into an online folder or email them to
others."
Blurring
the Line Between Affiliate and Developer
"Pluck not only integrates eBay searching into
the browser, but it improves on features built into
eBay.com..."
Question
Is RSS really the next big thing on the Internet?
Answer
Actually RDF is a long-run huge thing for meta searches,
and RSS is probably the next big thing as an early
part of RDF. Major Internet players such as
Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay are already providing RSS
feeds distributing or syndicating the latest news
about their sites. Weblog (blog) sites in particular
prolific sources of RSS feeds.
There are also anti-spam
advantages featured in the video at http://www.rssdomination.com/video.htm
You should probably download
Pluck and begin to play around with RSS feeds and
searches. There are, however, drawbacks.
If you feed too much
too often, there is high risk of information overload.
It is something like email from Bob Jensen magnified
1,000 times. Also be aware that any summarization
or abstract of a complete article must by definition
omit many things. What you are most interested
in may have been left out unless you go to the main
source document.
Another limitation is
that our libraries are just beginning to learn about
RDF and it's helper RSS sites. This technology
is is on the cutting edge and you can still get
lost without the help of your friendly librarian.
This is still more into the XML techie domain and
is not as user friendly to date as most of us amateurs
would prefer.
From the Scout Report
on June 16, 2006
RSS Bandit 1.3.0.42 http://www.rssbandit.org/
While many
people may already be familiar with the world of
RSS (Real Simple Syndication), there may be a few
persons lurking out there wondering: What can RSS
do for me? RSS can do quite a bit actually, and
so they might do well to take a look at this latest
version of the RSS Bandit application. With this
application, visitors can view news items in customizable
newspaper views and also create fine-grained controls
that will help them manage how items are downloaded.
As with many similar applications, adding new feeds
is just a one-click operation. This latest version
is compatible with all computers running Windows
2000 and newer.
Bloggers will love TagCloud
Now, many bloggers
are turning to a new service called TagCloud that lets them cherry-pick articles in RSS feeds by key
words -- or tags -- that appear in those feeds.
The blogger selects the RSS feeds he or she wants
to use, and also selects tags. When a reader clicks
on a tag, a list of links to articles from the feeds
containing the chosen keyword appears. The larger
the tag appears onscreen, the more articles are
listed.
Daniel Terdiman, "RSS Service Eases Bloggers'
Pain," Wired News, June 27, 2005 ---
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,67989,00.html?tw =wn_tophead_8
Burnhan's Beat provides quite a lot of information about the history, advantages, and limitations
of RSS --- http://billburnham.blogs.com/burnhamsbeat/2004/02/rss_a_big_succe.html
In particular note j's
Scratchpad --- http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jkbaumga/2004/02/26#a829
I will be interested
in reader comments, because I still feel very ignorant
in this domain.
Bob Jensen
A free
service lets you record a podcast by calling a toll-free telephone number and speaking into
a voicemail-style recording tool --- http://www.gcast.com/?nr
=1&&s =54541642
"GCast: Super-Easy Podcasting," Monkey
Bites, February 21, 2006 --- http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/
Here's a
site for anyone who's considered podcasting but
balked because of technical issues or lack of hardware.
It's called GCast,
and it's a free service
that lets you record your podcast by calling a toll-free
telephone number and speaking into a voicemail-style
recording tool. They also offer free hosting, browser-based
mixing tools, and podcast-safe music downloads.
Another cool feature is GCast's embeddable player,
which is featured on their home page. The little
player, which you can drop into any page, has a
short description of your audio content as well
as a play/pause button that lets people start listening
without leaving the page.
Podcasting 101
What is
a podcast?
Do I need
an iPod?
How do
I listen and subscribe to podcasts?
How do I
create a podcast?
Where
can I find more podcasts?
More about us
Download and try some
free Podcasting software
PodSpider ---
http://www.podspider.com/website/v2/en/podspider.php?affiliate
=1a08f4ebe7e2be602256412ed41ed96f
What exactly is podcasting?
Technically speaking,
podcasting is the process of making audio files
(podcasts) available on the internet using a special
RSS feed. Podcasts are "broadcasts" that
dedicate themselves to a specific subject. These
can be radio broadcasts, private broadcasts or radio
plays. Podspider gives you instant access to the
largest selection of podcasts in the world.
Forecasting the Future
of Podcasting
In the USA, the podcasting market has already developed to an advanced
level. Podspider represents the beginning of this
trend in Germany. In a July 2005 study of the US
market performed by the US market research institute
The Diffusion Group, it was determined that growth
in the penetration of podcasting technology can
be directly tied to the expanding use of portable
digital audio players. Based on this, the institute
projected that the number of podcast listeners is
expected grow from 15% to 75% of portable digital
audio player users between 2004 and 2010. Backing
this into numbers, the institute further projected
that the number of podcast listeners in the US alone
will increase to around 57 million within the next
few years.
Why is podcasting so
interesting?
In contrast to normal
radio, you can take a podcast (also called an episode)
with you on any digital audio player that supports
the MP3 format, and play it whenever and wherever
you like. You can stop, back up and repeat the podcast
as needed. A further benefit is that you can listen
to all of the programs on the subject of your choice,
completely independent from traditional radio reception.
And because almost anyone can produce a podcast,
the variety of themes found within the constantly
growing number of podcasts is as interesting and
varied as life itself. Podcasts are also, as a general
rule, free from advertising.
Test Podspider now! (Here
you can download a Podcasting software that is either
free or you can also get a fee version) --- http://www.podspider.com/website/v2/en/podcast.php?affiliate =1a08f4ebe7e2be602256412ed41ed96f
Update on Apple's iPod
U (lectures from universities are for sale as noted
in a prior edition of Tidbits)
For example, podcasts are available from Stanford
University and the University of Missouri
"Apple Expands iTunes
Podcast Service," by May Wong, MyWay,
January 27, 2006 --- http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060128/D8FDDDHG0.html
In its latest
move to broaden its iPod and iTunes franchises,
Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) has introduced "iTunes
U," a nationwide expansion of a service that
makes course lectures and other educational materials
accessible via Apple's iTunes software.
The company
behind the iPod portable players, the iTunes online
music store and Macintosh computers had been working
with six universities on the pilot project for more
than a year and expanded the educational program
this week, inviting other universities to sign up.
Internet
access to college lectures is nothing new, but listening
to them on portable gadgets is a more recent phenomenon
of the digital age, spurred in part by the popularity
of podcasts, or downloadable audio files.
The University
of Missouri offered podcasts of lectures through
its school network before it signed up with Apple
last summer as a pilot school. But "iTunes
U" offered a software and service package for
free, said Keith Politte, the development officer
at the university's School of Journalism.
The market
dominance of Apple's iTunes Music Store and iPods,
which helped spawn the podcast movement, also was
key.
"Our
students are digital natives. We seek to meet our
students where they are, and iTunes is the interface
that most of our students are already familiar with,"
Politte said.
Apple's
service offers universities a customized version
of the iTunes software, allowing schools to post
podcasts, audio books or video content on their
iTunes-affiliated Web sites. The iTunes-based material
will be accessible on Windows-based or Macintosh
computers and transferable to portable devices,
including Apple's iPods.
The service
lets institutions decide if they want to limit access
to certain groups or open the material to the public.
For instance,
Stanford University, which joined the pilot program
last fall, gives the public free access not only
to some lectures but also audio broadcasts of sporting
events through its iTunes-affiliated site.
Schools
and universities have historically been major contributors
to Apple's computer sales. With iTunes U, Apple
"is leveraging the ubiquity that we've established
on campuses with iPods and iTunes," said Chris
Bell, Apple's director of product marketing for
iTunes.
Bob Jensen's threads
on distance education alternatives are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/crossborder.htm
Bob Jensen's search helpers
are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/searchh.htm
Also see Weblog
(Blog)
Podcast Lectures from
Stanford University
Stanford on iTunes --- http://itunes.stanford.edu/index.html
Boilercast from Purdue
University
BoilerCast --- http://boilercast.itap.purdue.edu:1013/Boilercast/Index.html
BoilerCast uses current
digital audio delivery technology to deliver classroom
audio recordings to the students at their request.
These recordings are often used as review of the
day's material for use on homework assignments and
review before exams. BoilerCast is a service available
to all credit courses held on the West Lafayette
campus and is capable of recording lectures from
over 70 classrooms on campus with no lead time,
and any other campus classroom with sufficient notice.
The real benefit of BoilerCast is that the instructor
orders the service at the beginning of the semester
and everything else is automatically handled. Instructors
do not need to worry about recording a class or
posting in on their website as this is all handled
for them as part of the service. Instructors using
Purdue's central course management system, Vista,
can integrate the service into their course materials
by simply creating a link to the course audio website
set up for them.
Jensen Comment
Note that lectures on BoilerCast can either be password
protected or unlocked for the public. Most
are unlocked. There are many other sources
of podcasts, including the following:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/
http://www.podcastalley.com/
http://epnweb.org/
http://digitalpodcast.com/
http://www.podcast.net/
http://www.digitalpodcast.com/
May 3, 2006 message from
Carolyn Kotlas [kotlas@email.unc.edu]
PODCASTING
LEGAL GUIDE
Podcasting
is a tool that allows instructors to give students
access to audio or video files on their iPods or
computers. As podcasting activity increases, so
do the questions of legal rights and liabilities.
Creative Commons has just released "Podcasting
Legal Guide: Rules for the Revolution," "a
general roadmap of some of the legal issues specific
to podcasting." The guide covers copyright,
publicity rights, and trademark issues related to
content that you acquire or create. Information
is also provided on licensing your podcast. The
guide is available online at http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide
Creative
Commons is a nonprofit organization that offers
flexible copyright licenses for creative works.
For more information go to http://creativecommons.org/
Other related resources:
Electronic Frontier Foundation's
"Legal Guide for Bloggers" http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/
"New Campus Copyright
Guide" CIT Infobits, March 2006 http://www.unc.edu/cit/infobits/bitmar06.html#1
INTRODUCTION
TO SCREENCASTING
The latest
entry in the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative's "7
Things You Should Know About . . ." series
covers screencasting. "Screencasts can be thought
of as video podcasts. They provide a simple means
to extend rich course content to anyone who might
benefit from the material but cannot attend a presentation."
The paper answers such questions as "What is
it?" "Who is doing it?" "How
does it work?" and "What are the implications
for teaching and learning?" To read "7
Things You Should Know About . . . Screencasting"
go to http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID
=ELI7012.
The EDUCAUSE
Learning Initiative (ELI) publishes the "7
Things You Should Know About . . ." series
on a variety of emerging learning practices and
technologies. Previous topics covered in the series
include blogs, wikis, remote instrumentation, grid
computing, and virtual meetings. To read other papers
in the series, go to http://www.educause.edu/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutSeries/7495
"ELI
is a strategic initiative of EDUCAUSE. While EDUCAUSE
serves those interested in advancing higher education
through technology, ELI specifically explores innovative
technologies and practices that advance learning."
For more information, go to http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?Section_ID
=86
EDUCAUSE
is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance
higher education by promoting the intelligent use
of information technology. The current membership
comprises more than 1,900 colleges, universities,
and educational organizations, including 200 corporations,
with 15,000 active members. EDUCAUSE has offices
in Boulder, CO and Washington, DC. Learn more about
EDUCAUSE at http://www.educause.edu
Also see Webcasting
and Blogs
Response pads = (See Student
response pads)
Reverse Address Resolution
Protocol = (See RARP).
RGB = A signal that can
be separated into red, green, and
blue components, combinations of which then
can be used to create color screens or color print.
Most computers have an RGB output that differs from
the composite video or S-video outputs of television
sets. This is why RGB computer signals must be scan
converted into composite video for television viewing.
Rhapsody = a one time revolutionary
operating system from Apple Corporation that was
based upon NEXTStep
technology. Apple plans to deliver two operating
systems for the next several years. First will be
the Mac OS, which we will continue to upgrade and
improve to support the current Macintosh customers
worldwide, approximately 60 million users. Second
will be a new OS based on NeXT Software's operating
system technologies, NEXTStep
and OPENStep. The powerful and advanced NeXT technologies
are years ahead of competitive offerings, and will
provide the foundation for a new OS, code-named
Rhapsody. In addition to leveraging the NeXT technologies,
Rhapsody is designed to run Mac applications through
a Mac OS compatibility environment. Rhapsody's user
interface will combine elements from both the Mac
OS and NEXTStep, but will be closer in look and
NEXTStep
feel to the Mac OS Finder. We realize that customers
need a consistent interface in the two operating
systems to deploy them throughout a single organization.
It's important for training and ease of use. One
of the advantages of NeXT's technology is the easy
support of multiple user interface paradigms. See
also Mac and NEXTStep.
Rich-text format = A text formatting standard established by Microsoft Corporation to enable
text to be transferred between a word processor
and other software without losing all of its formatting
properties. Many modern word processors have the
option of saving documents in rich-text format (RTF).
Increasingly, authoring software vendors of hypertext,
hypermedia, and CMS software are adding RTF importing
utilities to overcome the frustrations of importing
in ASCII or ANSI forms that lose all or most formatting
properties. (See also ASCII
and ANSI)
Ring topology = A network configuration
that connects all nodes in a logical ring-like structure.
RISC = Reduced Instruction
Set Computing chipsets such as the
MIPS R4000 and R4400 intended to outperform CISC
complex instruction chipsets such as the Intel family
of popular 386, 486, and Pentium competitors and
the Motorola 680x0 family in Mac computers. The
concept of RISC evolved from IBM laboratories where
it was noted that most routine processing of consumers
does not require full use of the processor. RISC
processors consume less power and generate less
heat than CISC processors powerful enough to compete
at the same speed and capacity as RISC processors.
They do this by reducing the number of operations
and executing multiple instructions in what is known
as "superscaler" processing. However,
INTEL intends to keep its CISC lines competitive
with RISC processors. At this juncture, it is impossible
to know who will win the RISC versus CISC processor
competitions of the future. The RISC-architecture
is the foundation of the new PowerPCs and the PA-RISC
systems of Hewlett-Packard Corporation. The HP 32-bit
PA-7100 chip, for example, runs about 25% faster
than the PowerPC RISC chips and the Pentium CISC
chips. A new RISC processor from Texas Instruments
called the Multimedia Video Processor is claimed
to be 20 to 50 times more powerful than Intel's
Pentium. RISC chipsets may become more of a threat
to CISC in the form of NexGen alternatives to Pentium
that are being manufactured by Alaris for Compaq,
IBM, and other major PC manufacturers. (See also
Mulimedia
Video Processor, NexGen,
PowerPC,
and CISC)
RMI = (See Java).
Rocochet Modem = (See Modem)
ROM = Read-Only
Memory whose files can be accessed, executed,
and possibly copied. However, ROM files cannot be
deleted or otherwise altered on the ROM device;
for example, a CD-ROM compact disc can be read only
but not written upon by the user. (See also WORM)
Round Tripping = a term used mainly to refer to
the transformation of a computer file into
a different type with the option to return to the
original type. Microsoft uses this term in
conjunction with Office 2000 products. For
example, an Excel worksheet or an Excel chart can
be saved as an HTML file with many of the interactive
features of Excel (such as replacement of data and
recomputation of functions) in the browser rather
than Excel. However, the HTML files have round-trip
recovery features for saving the file back to an
Excel worksheet or Excel chart. See HTML.
Router = A communications device
designed to transmit signals via the most efficient
route possible. See Firewall.
Tom Hicks brought me
up to date on wireless home firewall computers.
He recommends Linksys products such as the one at
http://www.linksys.com/splash/wcg200_splash.asp
The Linksys
Wireless-G Cable Gateway is the all-in-one solution
for Internet connectivity in your home. The Cable
Modem function gives you a blazing fast connection
to the Internet, far faster than a dial-up, and
without tying up your phone line.
Connect
your computer to the Wireless-G Cable Gateway via
USB, or take advantage of the built-in 4-port 10/100
Ethernet Switch to jump start your home network.
You can share files, printers, hard drive space
and other resources, or play head-to-head PC games.
Connect four PCs directly, or daisy-chain out to
more hubs and switches to create as big a network
as you need. The built-in Wireless-G Access Point
allows up to 32 wireless devices to connect to your
network at a blazing 54Mbps, without running cables
through the house. It's also compatible with Wireless-B
devices, at 11Mbps. The Gateway's Router function
ties it all together and lets your whole network
share that high-speed Internet connection.
To protect
your data and privacy, the Wireless-G Cable Gateway
features an advanced firewall to keep Internet intruders
and attackers out. Wireless transmissions can be
protected by powerful data encryption. Safeguard
your family with Parental Control features like
Internet Access Time Limits and Key Word Blocking.
Configuration is a snap with any web browser. With
the Linksys Wireless-G Cable Gateway at the heart
of your home network, you're connected to the future.
See Firewall.
RPC = Remote Procedure Call
protocol that allows a program on one computer to
execute a program on a server computer. Using RPC,
a system developer need not develop specific procedures
for the server. With RPC you call a specific function
whereas with an ORB you call a method within a distributed
object. In ORB each object manages its own private
instance of the data whereas in RPC you can only
call a specific function and all functions get implemented
in the same way. ORB allows for differential processing.
See CORBA.
RSA =
This RSA faq provides answers to a host of questions
about RSA, including what it is (an asymmetric --
public key -- encryption algorithm developed by
mathematicians Rivest, Shamir and Adelman) --- http://www.iae.nsk.su/pages/CRYPTO/rsafaq.html
RSA is a
public-key cryptosystem for both encryption and
authentication; it was invented in 1977 by
Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman. It
works as follows: take two large primes, p and q,
and find their product n = pq; n is called the modulus.
Choose a number, e, less than n and relatively prime
to (p-1)(q-1), and find its inverse, d, mod (p-1)(q-1),
which means that ed = 1 mod (p-1)(q-1); e and d
are called the public and private exponents, respectively.
The public key is the pair (n,e); the private key
is d. The factors p and q must be kept secret, or
destroyed.
It is difficult
(presumably) to obtain the private key d from the
public key (n,e). If one could factor n into p and
q, however, then one could obtain the private key
d. Thus the entire security of RSA is predicated
on the assumption that factoring is difficult; an
easy factoring method would ``break'' RSA
Also see security.
RTF = (See Rich-text
format)
Runtime = Permissive use of
a portion of a software system that allows for the
"running" or "viewing" or "delivery"
or "playback" of an application in contrast
to its "authoring." An author may write
an electronic book in Asymetrix ToolBook authoring
software, for example, which can then be played
by readers using ToolBook runtime software. Many
types of software (e.g., word processor, spreadsheet,
and database software) have no runtime versions.
Most hypertext and hypermedia authoring packages
have runtime versions. Vendors vary as to whether
fees are charged for runtime versions. Apple Media
Kit from Apple Corporation and ScriptX from Kaleida
Labs are examples of options that can have costly
runtime fees, especially for items sold in large-scale
markets. Some options have free runtime within an
organization but charge a royalty on all sales of
applications outside the organization. A professor
who writes a CD-ROM textbook in some types of software
(Apple Media Kit, Icon Author, Tencore, etc.) can
use the free runtime versions for discs distributed
free to students and faculty within his or her university
but would have to pay a royalty on each CD-ROM sold
for a profit. There is a strong incentive for authors
to seek out hypertext and hypermedia authoring packages
that are accompanied by free runtime (reader, player,
playback, delivery) files for all customers. Many
of these alternatives are discussed and compared
in Chapter 3.
