Oh The Tangled Websites We Weave! Thank Goodness We Have Search Engines!

I really enjoyed Christopher Nolan's presentation on search engines, I never knew what the word "cached" meant on a search result, and clicking a link for a cached website can be really handy if the original site is down or has been recently edited. Cached means that website has been saved on the search engine server. So if you can’t go to the original website because the server is down or too many people are on it, etc. you can see the website as it was when it was last saved!

I was really surprised to learn that Google can also work as a dictionary. When you type in define colon and then a word or phrase, it gives you a quick definition as well as the link to the site! Christopher Nolan's presentation has really changed the way I search now!

I was really interested in Mr.Hardin's lecture concerning the Sonny Bono Act(Mickey Mouse Protection Act), which extended the term of copyright an additional 20 years. Disney told Bono that since it was almost 50 years since Walt Disney's death, their characters were about to go into public domain, which would mean that Disney would lose their rights to their characters. He helped out by extending copyright 20 years. In 2018 Disney's characters will run the risk of becoming public domain again.
I can see the benefits of these characters becoming public domain as well as the harm. In support of these characters becoming public domain, I can see why the American people would want these beloved cartoon characters to use as their own. And by 2018, Mr.Disney will have been dead for 70 years! On the flip side, Disney's characters have become icons, and losing control over the use of these icons could be very damaging to the company, especially monetarily, since people would be allowed to use their characters on merchandise!
I am curious to see the outcome of this unusual copyright dilemma in the year 2018!

Figuring Out Facebook In an Academic Setting

I am a regular Facebook user and I feel that it really helps me stay connected with what's happening on campus. While Facebook can eat up study time and become a purgatory for procrastinators, Facebook can also be a useful tool for college students. For example, recently I lost my notes for my Italian class and was able to post a message on a classmate's wall asking if I could look over her notes. Last semester, as a HUMA student, I received messages from my peer tutors informing me of study sessions and times when they would be available. Facebook serves to help socially as well as academically. For example, last night I received a message on Facebook from my Intramural soccer team informing me of a practice at 10! With Facebook, my team captain was able to inform the team of a practice through a post to our soccer group much more rapidly than by calling us all up individually. I am really pleased with Facebook as a networking tool. I believe it enables me to stay connected both academically and socially at Trinity!