MODULE 3 - HTML

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Record any difficulties you encountered with these exercises. Record your thoughts about html - do you feel a sense of achievement? What are the differences between html and blogging? What do you like best?

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Firstly I have to say that Joe Barta's online tutorial was not only very easy to follow, it was fun too!

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Difficulties: There were many! Most of them were just fiddly things that I had to mess around with to get them right and it was always down to my own user error. It took me two days to get one title centred and I still don't know why.

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The most difficult part was the actual uploading onto WebCT but, thanks once again to my fellow students, it didn't take long to work out.

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My design had 11 pictures but they didn't appear on my uploaded presentation. Back to the trusty discussion boards and the advise of yet more of my fellow students and Cynthia who reminded me that the pictures had to actually be uploaded too, dah!

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Uploaded all the pics one by one to find that only some of them were appearing. Arggg...I really didn't want to ask for help yet again so I went on an investigation. I compared the file names of the pictures that could be seen with that of those that couldn't and discovered, to my surprise, that the file extensions on the working pictures were all uppercase but were lowercase on those that didn't work. I had no idea that size mattered! After changing all file names to match, my pictures appeared. Whew...relief at not having to ask for more help.

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My Thoughts On HTML: I was really excited that we were moving onto web pages, it's something I've always wanted to learn but I had no idea what goes into making one. HTML can very confusing for new users, it actually reminded me a lot of macro codes. I never expected it to be so time consuming and fiddly. Not to mention frustrating when you're certain you've got everything exactly where it should be but nothing is working! Of course, once you go through there will be one little squiggle out of place, causing all the problems. I love it! I had the biggest sense of achievement...just to see the end result made me so happy. I did it! I designed a web site!

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HTML and Blogging Differences: Blogging is much easier and more quickly accessible. All you have to do is log onto a blogging site, load a template (already designed for you) and type away. No codes, no fiddling; you don't even have to design anything if you don't want to. HTML is very fiddly and time consuming and you have to upload everything and then have it approved but it is worth it. I don't have a preference, I like both mediums for different uses.

This module has been one of the most enjoyable so far.

MODULE 2 - Chat

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Not having much experience with any chat programmes, I signed up with Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and later, Pidgin. After chatting several times with different groups of my fellow students I came to the following conclusions:

• The majority prefer MSN and believe that it's more stable and more reliable when using micropones and cameras etc, next came Pidgin and then ICQ and Yahoo. Many people agreed that they get thrown out of Yahoo too often.
• Pidgin allows you to see all of your contacts online no matter which chat they use.
• I like MSN for variety and reliability eg: sending pics or music etc. Yahoo for environment, Pidgin for accessibility to contacts and ICQ for basic chatting needs.
• I learned a little about IMVU. Apparently it's a 3D chat environment and it's good for better interaction.
• Skype also seemed to be popular but I don't know much about it yet other than it is good for cheap phone calls and you can use it on Yahoo.

I was fascinated with all these chat spaces and the things they can do, basically all the same if you just want to chat. Excellent because everything is instant, it's almost like talking to face to face, even more so if you have webcam.

The internet, email, instant messaging...they really have opened up a whole new way of communicating. I can see how it can impact both positively and negatively on our society. On the plus side, you can converse with people all around the world, meet new people all around the world and it's much cheaper than phone calls. It must be amazing for disabled people who can't get out and about much. The down side, you can become very reclusive!

MODULE 2 - Newsgroups

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Finally got my first message posted onto my selected Newsgroup. Thanks to the help of some of my fellow students, John Martin and Jai Galliott.

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"Soaring" a book by Roger Elwood

Hi, I just read an amazing book by author Roger Elwood. The title is "Soaring" and it is a work of fiction with great imagination. It starts off with 1 sentence on the first page that sets the tone of the whole book. I can't tell you what the sentence is without giving the away the plot. This is a "what if..." type of book that has a "feel good" ending even if first page does throw you a bit.
By l...@aapt.net.au - 2:35pm - 1 new of 1 message

MODULE 2 - Email Lists

I've just discovered Yahoo Groups and joined my first group; Everything Christmas. Can't wait to see how it all works.

I also joined a Usenet newsgroup which I selected from the link in the curriculum. It's religion: Christian favourite books.

TRIVIA: I loved reading about the 3 students in North Carolina who started the first newsgroup in 1979 so I decided to see what they were all doing now. After googling "Newsgroups originated in North Carolina back in 1979", I found the names Tom Truscott, Jim Ellis & Steve Bellovin.

Steve was the one who wrote the first Netnews program and he is now a professor in the Computer Science dept at Columbia University. Tom Truscott now works as a "software developer at SAS Institute, a Business Intelligence software vendor particularly strong on data analysis". This was quoted from link: http://www.giganews.com/usenet-history/truscott.html.

The above site also stated that Jim Ellis worked as an Internet Security Consultant for Sun Microsystems before he passed away in 2001 after battling Lymphoma.

Usenet is said to be the world's largest online community aka as the "soul" of the internet and I'd never even heard of it until today. I guess there may be an answer to my pondering of a few days ago (5th Mar 08), was usenet the beginning?

MODULE 2 - Email Tasks

Q1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

A1. The senders and recipients names and email addresses. The time and date the email was sent and the subject if one is entered.

Q2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?

A2. cc: Use this to send a copy of your message to someone other than the original recipient. eg; when chairing team meetings at work, I would send an agenda to my team with a request for additional agenda items. I would address the email to the supervisor and cc all adminstration team members. bcc: Use this to send a "blind" copy of your message to someone without other recipients knowing about it. eg; if I had to send an email to a difficult client, I would bcc it to the rest of my team so that they would know to handle this client with due care. reply all: Use this to send a message to every recipient of the original message. eg; After sending the agenda to my team, as above in cc, they would send me a return email and reply all so that the rest of the team received the same email and be prepared.

Q3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by

the receiver?

A3. You can ensure that the recipient has the same or compatible software to that with which the attachment was created. If you are unsure if the recipient has a compatible computer or software, then you can send documents as plain text (ASCII) or as a RTF (rich text file) that is compatible with multiple applications. Sometimes, large files take too long to send or can't be sent at all so we compress or zip them to reduce the size and therefore, the sending time.

Q4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

A4. My ISP offers a free spam filter. Without this filter I would be receiving 10 times the emails I currently receive. Unfortunately some spam still slips through, especially those junk emails with normal/people's names in the sender field. When this happens I add them to my "block senders" list.

Q5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

A5. The ISP spam filter is also beneficial in organising my email storage. It filters out the unwanted emails which would clog my inbox and prevent new messages from being received. The emails that don't get filtered are automatically downloaded to my "Outlook Express" inbox every time I turn on my computer. If I'm away from home (and my pc) then I access my emails through webmail where they stay until I return home and sign onto my pc.

The files in my "filing cabinet" are arranged alphabetically and some have "sub" folders eg; my Uni folder has 4 folders inside for each of my OUA subjects.

• What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?

I think the discussion boards are more convenient because you can read straight off them and respond at will. You have to download the email lists to your computer which takes more time and effort.

• Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?

I found the discussion boards to be more readily accessible and easier to manoeuvre whereas mail lists are ok if you want to make a contribution or share something with others on the list.

I used to work as a telephonist for a paging company, way before emails and in the early days of mobile phones...how far we've come since then. When you think about it, I was just a go-between in the middle of a message, the equivalent of a stop on a traceroute list these days. I use to marvel that someone could call me up, give me a message to type up and send on to a little black box...now we have email...and instant messaging!

MODULE 1 - Internet Tools

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Finally, something has gone smoothly for me! Used the suggested link to Network Tools and from there it was fairly easy. Chose 'Trace', entered the Curtin address, copied and pasted the info here in my blog site, answered the questions then went from a trace to a ping to get the average time in ms.

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I found it amazing the amount of servers the information had to traverse. When using the internet, I usually just expect everything to just appear when I click on it. I've never really thought about how the information gets to me, just as long as it does! Seeing how everything is routed explains a little about why some sites take longer to access and why there can be problems.

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134.7.179.53 is from Australia(AU) in region Oceana

TraceRoute to 134.7.179.53 [curtin.edu.au]

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Hop.. (ms). (ms). (ms).....IP Address............ .Host name

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1--------0------0.....0.....66.98.244.1......gphou-66-98-244-1.ev1servers.net
2--------0------1.....0/....66.98.241.12....gphou-66-98-241-12.ev1servers.net
3--------4------1.....1...129.250.11.129...ge-1-11.r03.hstntx01.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
4--------1------1.....1...129.250.4.237.....xe-1-1-0.r21.hstntx01.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
5------43----43....43...129.250.3.121.....as-1.r21.lsanca03.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
6------43----43....43...129.250.5.90.......xe-0-1-0.r03.lsanca03.us.bb.gin.ntt.net
7----202--202...202...198.172.90.102....p4-1-1-0.r03.lsanca03.us.ce.gin.ntt.net
8----197--201...202...202.158.194.157..so-3-3-1.bb1.b.syd.aarnet.net.au
9----209--214...213...202.158.194.33....so-2-0-0.bb1.a.mel.aarnet.net.au
10--223--222...223...202.158.194.17....so-2-0-0.bb1.a.adl.aarnet.net.au
11--249--245...245...202.158.194.5......so-0-1-0.bb1.a.per.aarnet.net.au
12--251--251...249...202.158.198.178..gigabitethernet0.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.

net.au
13--250--246...249...202.158.198.186..gw1.er1.curtin.cpe.aarnet.net.au
14--249--249...249...134.7.16.46.........-
15--251--249...246...134.7.248.65.......te1-1.b309-sr.net.curtin.edu.au
16--250--246...250...134.7.179.53.......-

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There are a total of 16 'hops'.

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The average time from the tools site to the Curtin server is 249 ms.

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The IP NUMBER of the hostname curtin.edu.au is 134.7.179.53.

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Ping 134.7.179.53 [curtin.edu.au]

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Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 251 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 249 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 250 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 251 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 251 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 246 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 250 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 250 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 246 ms

Round trip time to 134.7.179.53: 246 ms

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Average time over 10 pings: 249 ms

MODULE 1 - Star Wars

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Thanks John Warren ! ! ! Finally got my Telnet to show me Star Wars. I have to confess that there was nothing wrong with the program, it was the user!

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Watching blinkenlights made me wonder how long took to put it all together, reminded me so much of DOS (which I hated). It also makes me appreciate our fantastic graphics and sounds and the minds that create them!

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I remember when the 1st PC's entered Aussie homes, my friend Marina was the first person I knew who had one, our favourite game was "Jones In The Fast Lane" and we went ape over the fabulous new colour graphics, lol.

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Technology is a fascinating thing, I mean who thinks up these things?!?!? Makes me want to do some research and find out where it all began but would that be possible? Would anyone know where it all started? WOW! Imagine how amazing it must have been to see your work up and running for the first time. Must be magical.