Module 4 - Tasks (Boolean Search)

Biggest number of hits relating to 'advanced internet users':

Using Ixquick, as with all three samples herein, I carried out the search - advanced OR internet OR skills - in order to yield the greatest number of hits.

Sources relating to skills based information on 'advanced internet users' :

With the objective to narrow the search for more precise results I decided to use the AND logical operator - advanced internet users AND skills OR learning - by broadening the criteria I hoped to find more relevance at the converging point of the AND operator. Prior to this I also tried to use advanced internet users NEAR skills OR training, however I assume the NEAR operator was not recognised given that there were no matching hits.

Information on 'advanced internet users' coming only from Universities:

At first I thought 'no problems, I'll find a search engine with user options and search only .edu domains. Then it occurred this might be cheating the task, it is boolean we are looking at. In attempting to get some meaningful results I tried to use +SITE: and +URL: in conjunction with an AND operator to distinguish university sites by their domain name, however none of these attempts yielded any results. I also tried - (university not schools) advanced internet users - however this did not produce very meaningful results. I eventually found the most relevant results by using the following search - university publications and advanced internet users. I suspect that there is something I'm missing here and will monitor the discussion board to see if anything better comes up.

Module 4 - Tasks (Search Engine Task)

• Part 1 - Choose your most commonly used internet search engine and do a search for the words: advanced internet users. Record the first hit and number of hits...
  

Search results for 'advanced internet user'

• 1st hit: Advanced Internet Users tutorial from the Centre for Improved Engineering & Science Education.
• Search yielded 309,000,000 hits
• results are link ranked (or peer ranking)
• able to access some of the deep web

Task 2 - Using copernic or similar , set it up to search at least three search engines (including one that will search the deep web) and repeat exactly the same search. Record the number of hits ... and compare to your first search. What differences did you notice? Why? Which search, on first glance gave you the most promising results?

CompletePlanet

Search results for 'advanced internet user'

• Search yielded 301 hits to databases
• 1st result: All Bidz In - an internet auction site
• Deepweb search
• Hits ranked based on Deep Query Manager (DQM) settings.
• Initial hits demonstrate low relavancy

Ask.com

Search results for 'advanced internet user'

• Search yielded 24,550,000 hits
• 1st result: Advanced Users
• 2nd generation search engine
• results ranked on number of links from highly rated web pages
• results clustered by concept/type of site
• able to retrieve from deep web (i.e. images)
• initial hits suggest relevance to search

Ixquick

Search results for 'advanced internet user'

• Search yielded 24,549,846 hits
• 1st result: bulb link: Internet user education
• 2nd generation search engine
• meta (or mega) search engine
• uses many search engines at the same time, eliminating duplicate files
• able to access deep web
• expected to produce most relevant result given meta attributes

I chose the last three engines due to their differences in their retreival and ranking of hits, as illustrated through the bullet points above. These differences are one of several reasons why the results differ so much from the search carried out on Google. Some search engines, particularly metasearches, have a predefined cap on the number of hits taken and the number of hits displayed. This is why Ixquick and Ask.com differ so much from the massive 309 million hits from Google.

Interestingly, despite the differing search methodology utilised with Ixquick and Ask.com both yielded a similar number of hits. Perhaps this suggests there are similar results parameters within their respective programming, despite differing methods of retrieval and ranking. Ixquick could be expected to find the newest material on the Internet, given the time restraints in building ranking through links, such as the case with Google and Ask.com.

It is also noted that a search through the deep web yielded a much smaller number of overall hits. I assume this is due to the fact that each link takes you to a database of information (most of which seem defunct) as opposed to a link to specific 'fixed' knowledge. However, I was still surprised to find only 301 hits. Does CompletePlanet have a results cap or is this all the material it could find within the databases it is able to access?

It may be worth mentioning I initially thought to use Surfwax. Each time I started the search everything crashed and the computer needed a reboot. After three times I wrote the site off as 'never to be seen again!'.

Module 4 - Tasks (Product Evaluation)

For this exercise I've chosen to evaluate the following two products below. I've chosen Copernic Desktop Search 2.0 and Bookmark Buddy to help locate and manage my information, something I indicated in an earlier post I was looking for.

Copernic Desktop Search

I thought to myself 'this looks useful', their website shows that the product has received some recognition from the broader community - and who could resist the price (free) - so I downloaded it. After download Copernic went through and indexed everything on my laptop. Following that I rebooted and opened the application. I found Copernic easy to use, demonstrating a single interface and access to search function added to the desktop bar. I quickly removed the Copernic bar from the browser as I dislike the clutter, a personal preference. The screen layout is clear and easy to follow on the opened application.

A desktop search on Curtin reveals that Copernic's search is quite comprehensive, listing anything within the specified categories, including your Internet history, lending strength to it's functionality. But will it improve my efficiency, I think 'yes'. Beyond the desktop, the search engine delves into the Internet seeking and displaying relevant information as a traditional search engine would work, however it also provides the options to browse news or images related to the search. The added ability to organise your searches removes much redundancy of repetitive actions. In short it is an effective utility that I would suggest both elementary and advanced users will appreciate.

Bookmark Buddy

I downloaded the 30 day trial version of the software as I am not willing at this point to spend USD29.95 on acquiring it. This already made me start thinking of looking a completely free product and accordingly do not intend to delve too deeply, only enough to get a feel for the product and its function. I tried to download by the ftp option, however it just hung. Then again, I've had a lot of problems with ftp and I still don't know why.

Bookmark Buddy has a user-friendly interface and for a novice user the 'buddy tips' are welcome on start up. After opening the application you are presented with a number of 'smart folders', with pre-existing bookmarks arranged within an array of folders and sub-folders, also useful. Populating the product with my existing bookmarks was as simple as selecting 'file', then 'import' from the drop down box. Its ease of use is enhanced by the help menu and search function, offering a variety of filters and options. The functionality of bookmark buddy is quickly apparent however some possible limitations concern me, how many levels (or sub-categories) will it handle. A valid concern if you have complex information requirements.

A super annoyance is the fact Bookmark Buddy disappears every time it is minimised rather than staying open, hampering it's accessibility. Some ground is gained with the products portability, good if your on the move as you can keep you data on a memory stick or other portable device. So whilst relatively functional as a utility it is unlikely to increase my effectiveness at this point in time. There is simply not enough in it for me to spend US29.95. If this product is reaching a benchmark of commonality then I'd be concerned about the quality of the competition. It looks likely I'm still happy with my browser favorites.

Module 4 - Using the Infosphere: Taking & Organising

At last I found some toys, perhaps useful ones at that! Just as a matter of interest - before plunging into the tasks - I went into the control panel just to see what I've got already, recalling I just downloading some massive updates for adobe acrobat. Here's a little list:

• Adobe Flash Player 9 Active X
• Adobe Reader 7.0.8
• Adobe Shockwave Player
• A-tool bar
• Core FTP
• InterActual Player
• Intervideo WinDVD
• J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0
• Macromedia Flash Player
• Quicktime

As can be seen whilst I do a bit of reading and I watch a lot of TV. Frankly, prior to resuming studies my management and methods of locating information was pretty much restricted to what used to be available in the office. Emails stored in outlook folders, bookmarks stored in favourites with a couple of folder relevant to subject matter and so on.

My personal life did not require much organisation of information beyond a fridge magnet, a small white board and marker pen. Since starting this unit I've collected probably close to one hundred bookmarks that are now broken into various folders and sub-folders. So I'm going to be interested in anything that can help me, as the collection will be sure to grow as I progress through my degree. I'll also be on the lookout for any tools that may assist with my studies beyond the scope of this unit.

One of the greatest difficulties I found in my studies is being able to locate information relevant to the subject matter, once you started delving into concepts rather than physical facts. For example, whilst it would be a relatively simple matter to restate a piece of criminal legislation in a factual context, having to explain the underlying moral and economic concepts gets a little more difficult. Part of this is working on good practice, such as breaking down what you have been asked to do, reflect on the key elements etc. but also it means a lot of time browsing. In fact, in the past I have probably spent about 80-85% of my time researching, the rest writing and editing. Is this usual? I don't know, but I do know if I can cut down the time researching, then I become more efficient, less stress and I get a chance to watch more tv!

Module 3 - Tasks (FTP III - Incomplete)

Seeking advice from a friend

It's been a while since my last update - I'm sure my fan has really missed me.. hahaha. The virus issue seems to be resolved without any meaningful loss of data, thanks for small blessings. Now about this ftp issue, I still have not heard from OASIS support, other than a confirmation 28 December 2007 of my request for assistance. In the meantime I've been continuing to ponder why this is not working. A thought occurred to me... I have three ftp clients on my laptop. Perhaps this is causing configuration issues or some other conflict. Accordingly, I've uninstalled Cute_FTP and WS_FTP and tried again to ftp the curtin student server. The connection was unsucessful over several attempts on ports 21 & 22.

I decided to msn a friend who is involved in network security down in Melbourne (I'm in Brisbane). It may be he can help. My next step in resolving this issue failing a meaningful response from Phil, would be to start trolling around various discussion boards to see if I could elicit further ideas from the experts as to why ftp is failing. The only other thought that occurred to me is my internet setup. We have three computers in the house (shared accomadation) and run the internet connection for these three through a wireless/cable router (1 x cable, 2 x wireless) - I should point that I did not set this up. The harware is the domain of my brother-in-law. My understanding is that another firewall exists independent of my pc for the router, could this be causing the problem?

However, in attempting to fulfill this task I applied learning through the use of asynchronous & synchronous communication tools outside of my usual scope of use (discussion boards, msn), in addition to reflecting on client-server environments and the issues they present when moving information through virtual space. I've also paid consideration to my hardware and software, in addition to trying several (well, three) different ftp clients.

Death of a client: the viral edition...

Looks like I may be down and out for a while folks. I took a tangent on my studies because I was getting into some of the flash/shockwave and java applications, (noting now Adobe has snapped up Macromedia) along with exploring various internet tools. Now somewhere along the line I've let a little nasty into my system. The laptop, feeling a somewhat ill has taken early retirement and is a bit hard to wake up. When it wakes up it moves with venerable speed, like it's confused about where its teeth went.

One may think that after years of your mother warning you about the necessities of protection such an issue as having up to date anti virus software would be a given. Regretfully, present means dictate that updating the Norton virus software is not possible. The irony is the last thing I read before rebooting to doomsday was a post concerning the dangers of 'free' virus software from http://digg.com, warning of trojan programmes of duplicitious nature.