Week 7 - Using the WWW

Lecture

Week seven's lecture discussed using the World Wide Web. Initially, Justine covered a comparison between the internet and the net . I learnt that the web is merely a system that is based through the internet to provide information such as documents, sounds and videos; whereas the internet is a framework consisting of computers, cables and a series of connections. In addition it was explained that the World Wide Web is a system of computers around the world which have been stored with accessible information.
Protocols of the web were also discussed, such as HTTP as well as domains .com , .net and .edu which helped to understand what kind of information we would expect to find on a website with certain domains. A variety of different web browsers were shown to us, such as Netscape and Internet Explorer and a list of quick key shortcuts for us to use while on the net to help us work a little more efficiently.

Workshop

After reviewing the sites http://haggishunt.scotsman.com/ and http://www.molossia.org/ I concluded that although these two sites appear to be authentic they are however fake, websites designed to generate interest but not be taken seriously. There were a number of things about these websites which brought me to this conclusion.

• Both sites appear to authentic however additional research suggests that the information contained in these sites is in fact false and not relevant to anything in today's world.
• The site haggishunt.scotsman.com talks about a creature similar to a platypus however additional research proves that no such creature exists.
• Huggishunt.scotsman.com contains a significant amount of advertising which could suggest that the site has only been set up for financial benefit.
• Both sites claim to be 'official' however their construction and the information contained within them do not represent an official website.

Martin Luther King website My first thoughts
Before accessing this site http://www.martinlutherking.org/ I expected to find a site which focused on the life and achievements of Martin Luther King. The web address indicated that the site had been established by some organisation of which I assumed was working to continue the good work of the great man. At no stage did I expect the website to be at all critical of Martin Luther King.

My first impression
My first impression of this website was that it was very dark and gloomy. In the middle of the page was a video clip labelled The Brothas' Be Peaceful In Da' Hood which showed Negro people fighting each other. I thought it very strange that a clip of this sort would be featured in a website dedicated to Martin Luther King. Furthermore the writing in the website was very derogatory with quotes such as "Why the King Holiday Should be Repealed". I also thought this to be very strange and it was then that I began to realise that perhaps this site had been set up to condemn Martin Luther King.

My assessment of this site
After spending some time studying this website and reading the articles within it i have come to the conclusion that this site has been established to denounce Martin Luther King. It is possible that this website was created by an organisation such as the ku klux clan who are a racist organisation against Negro’s. Personally i disagree with the views of this particular website as I believe Martin Luther King was a great man who fought for justice and equality between all races.

Readings


History of the WWW
This reading provides a time line of the history of the web from 1945 to 1995. It contains many interesting facts on the origins of the web and its advancements over the years.

History of the World-wide Web
This reading provides a history of the Internet as well as a history on search engines