pentacruz

#8

2007-01-11T01:33:00.000-08:00

I've been using RSS feeds for awhile but I didn't know about bloglines.com. I made an account and subscribed to 12 feeds, probably only a few of which I'll be able to read in depth unfortunately. Still, it's a very good site with a very comprehensive directory.

#7

2007-01-11T00:52:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been checking out RFID (radio frequency identification) tags. Basically, these are electronic devices that transmit signals at a certain radio frequency either constanly (active RFIDs) or when they receive electric current via an antenna (passive RFIDs). Some sources site the technology used in RFID as existing since the 1920s, but the first true RFID tag was invented and patented in 1973 by Mario Cardullo.

RFIDs have a variety of potential applications in modern society, from applications in transportation such as implants in passports and subway passes to product and animal identification and even RFID implants in humans. I'm mostly interested in what RFIDs can do for product tracking. Since RFIDs are a form of product identification, they will likely replace both magnetic strips and barcodes on many products. No longer will products (or library materials) need to be scanned using a barcode - instead they will only need to be passed under a larger scanner and they will be automatically charged to the customer's credit card (or library card), which will also have an RFID tag implanted in it.

$6

2007-01-11T00:41:00.000-08:00

Exploring mashups - wow! I had no idea these existed. I'm particularly enjoying playing with mappr and montager.

#5

2007-01-11T00:07:00.000-08:00

I went back to my Flickr account, which I hadn't visited for awhile. I decided to upload a photo that I had taken outside of the historical city of Xi'An in inland China:

This was taken at the center of the Banpo village, which dates back to around 4000 B.C. - the village was built by Central Asian nomads and this is generally considered (by Chinese anthropologists) to be the "foundation" of Chinese culture, though the first historically recorded Chinese dynasty would not begin for about another 2500 years. The village is now maintained as a cultural heritage site by the Chinese government.

#4

2007-01-11T00:06:00.000-08:00

I registered my blog by sending an email to sj_learning@yahoo.com - on to #5!

#3

2007-01-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

I've created my blog on blogger - simple enough.

#2

2007-01-10T23:49:00.000-08:00

I listened to the lesson about the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners. I decided that the habit I am worst at and need to develop most is setting goals for myself that I am confident I can achieve. The best habit I have is learning how to use new technology to my advantage as a lifelong learner. I think it's important for people to develop lifelong learning skills - especially communication skills.

#1

2007-01-10T23:47:00.000-08:00

So I started this Learning 2.0 thing created by the Virtual Services Team for SJPL and SJSU employees. It looks pretty cool so far, but I've only read the first blog entry. On to the next step!