Wikis

A wiki is a page or collection of pages which is accessable to the public for improving and adding on a given topic. This means that people can improve your peice of work without annoying you, having to be part of it or agreeing to everything. I tried looking up what wiki meant in my fairly old Oxford English Dictionary and found that it wasn't there, even thought it had been published a considerable amount of time since wikis were first created. I then found out that the word wiki entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2007, which explained its absence.

The first wiki ever created was by an American computer programmer called Howard G. 'Ward' Cunningham, who was born on 26th May, 1949 (picture on the left). He invented a wiki called WikiWikiWeb, or WardsWiki, used to exchange ideas easier for programmers. He also created FitWiki and WikiBase. However compared to WikiWikiWeb, these websites are nothing. FitWiki and WikiBase have 225 and 359 pages each respectively, whereas WikiWikiWeb has a staggering 33893 pages. If you are interested in finding out more about him, there is a wikipedia site on him here.

Possibly the most famous wiki is Wikipedia (comprised of the words wiki [meaning fast in Hawaiian] and encyclopaedia), which I admit use very often for homeworks, and when I'm just interested in something and want to find out something about it. It was first launched in January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger and now it is the most popular general reference work on the web. The official Wikipedia logo is pictured on the left. However there is a major issue of vandalism. Many people have managed to vandalise wikipedia. Fortunately, this doesn't last for long. I know this for a fact, because my friends have tried this and they have had their IP adresses blocked.

I find that wikis are extremely useful. I especially find wikipedia useful, as one can find almost anything there. Vandalism is being well-dealt with, and it is very good for acedemic use.

Google Earth

Google Earth is a virtual map that was created by Keyhole Inc, which was a pioronneering software that was acquired by Google in 2004. The map is made by satellite images, aerial photographs and GIS (Geographic Information System) 3D globe. Google Earth can be used for a number of things, and has multiple features. For example, one can try to locate one's house or school that one attends, or use the flight simulator to fly through the Alps. One can also see 3D buildings in certain areas, look at the sky and see constellations and galaxies, or find a famous place and use street view to see it from a pedestrian's view.

I find the fact that one is able to do all these things quite incredible, because it allows people to see anything from a different perspective.



The Flight Simulator

The flight simulator is a simulator that allows you to control a plane. In the picture to the left, the user is flying over downtown Toronto in a 'F16 Fighting Falcon. In order to access the flight simulator one must click CTRL + ALT + A.



The Street Mode

The street mode can be used to look at the maps on Google earth from a pedestrians view. This can be quite fun, although one major disadvantage is that you can only chose a few selected places and not where you please.



The Sky Mode

The sky mode can be used for viewing constellations and Galaxies in the sky. However Google sky faces competition with a program for Microsoft Word called the Microsoft WideWorld Telescope. In order to access sky mode, one should press a circular space button and select switch to sky (or switch to earth if one is already in Sky mode).




Overall, I would say that Google Earth is a brilliant map and can keep one entertained for hours. It keeps on developing and will soon have even more special gadgets that can be used.

My first blog, and the history of blogging

This is my first blog, and I'm going to tell you about the history of blogging and how it has changed since the beginning.

Originally, blogs were called 'weblogs'. This was invented by Jorn Barger on 17th Decmber 1997 (his picture is on the left). However the term was shortened to 'blog' as it was thought to be quite a mouthful. This term was coined by Peter Merholz.

A blog is a site where people can post their opinions on any topic and have other peeople reply, starting a discussion. From this we get the phrase 'open' or 'online diary'. There are many different types of blogs. For example there are personal blogs, where people can post their feelings and friends and family can reply. There are also corporate blogs, whcih are used by buisinessmen and women. There are photoblogs, linklogs, vlogs (video blogs), sketchblogs and tumbleblogs (with mixed media).

In August of 1999, Blogger was first created by Evan Williams and Meg Hourihanr. It became so popular that just four years later (2003) Google bought it.

Blogs also serve an acedemic use. A person can start a topic on a particular subject in school and fellow schoolmates can answer back. People can also intereact with the readers of the blog post and can help shape and improve other people's education on any given topic.

One major issue is that privacy settings are often overlooked. For example, anyone who is not an adult should hide their age (or at least their year of birth). These settings are extremely important, as they can give away personal information to strangers - something which I advise against.

Overall, I think that blogs are very successful and fun. I would recommend sites to most people, especially social people.