Sharing and Searching

Sharing files

In the lesson, we have talked about different ways of storing data and information. I think the ways we use depend very much on what kinds of file we are going to store. And I think the ways we mentioned in the lesson, like gmail, portable hard disk are good for storing personal files. How about files that we want to share with others? I would like to share one more way of storing data or information with you. It is Google Docs.

When we are doing group assignments, most of us share files by attaching them in e-mails. Some of us may exchange the files in our flash disks when we meet each others.Two years ago, I was introduced to Google Docs which allows users to upload or create documents online. We can read, edit and download the files. Google Docs supports different formats.

Technology is so advanced that I could finish the final year group projects of my associate degree without any face-to-face discussions. All discussions are done through Skype. We could edit the same file at the same time through Google docs when we were having online discussions. Every process was like we were looking at the same computer, but we were actually sitting at home at midnight.

Here is a video demonstrating some functions of presentations of Google Docs:

Of course, you can just save your files there without sharing with others. Does it like a portable hard disk?

Searching data

Two major search engines I use are Yahoo and Google. I determine which one I use according to the kinds of information I want. I think the searching results of Yahoo are more local while those of Google are more international. The search engines introduced in the lesson are new to me. And I am surprised that there are search engines focusing on certain taype of web pages.

The power of search engines just sometimes scare me that they can find me some files are not supposed to be found. I often look for exercise for my tutorial students. Sometimes I find worksheets and examination paper from schools. I do not think they are open to public because there is no direct links in the schools' homepages.

I think keeping secret has become both more difficult and easier at the same time.  In the past, people made observation to know others emotions and thoughts. Nowadays, my friends open facebook to check how others feel and what others think. There is nearly no secrets throughout the internet. People can find almost all they want through the search engines. On the other hand, people are so used to gather data they want through internet. If the piece of data is not uploaded, people can seldom find another way to get that data. So, I think the best way of keeping a secret is keep it away from the internet.

My Digital Life

Can you imagine living without any digital products? I CAN'T.

When I was a secondary one student, I shared a computer with my younger brother. Now, there are three computers at my home, one is mine, one is my brother's, one is my mother's, who didn't know how to use it at all two months ago.

Computers are so important for us that you can see we all sit in front of our computers after dinner every night. Chatting among us are more or less like... "you know, I read a piece of news from Yahoo this morning which is about..." My brother and I often send YouTube links to each other to share some jokes through MSN. Although we are just sitting about 10 footsteps apart, we talk through MSN. Here is the recent one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lll-voUKiQU&feature=player_embedded#!

One day, when my brother asked me to go to his bedroom in the morning through mobile, I knew our life is digitalized. I won't say I can't leave home without my mobile but I would probably say I can't leave Tin Shui Wai, where I live, without my mobile. My mobile is my watch, my notebook, my camera, my calculator and my torch. My tutorial students can tell whether I forgot to bring my mobile that lesson. They said I was different without my mobile. My mobile is part of me. I think I just don't feel safe without it.

Years ago, when I have my first friend went study abroad, we bought a lot of beautiful paper for writing letters to each other. But, then, we mostly communicate through MSN, Skype and Facebook. With internet, we can talk to each other, see each other and go online-shopping together! Things are changing from impossible to possible. Who would know we can talk without paying the International Direct Calling (IDD) fee? (Do teenagers nowadays know what is IDD?)

The digital world is so inseparable from the real world. It is easier to know what the digital life enable us to do. But it is difficult to aware that what the digital life has taken away from us. I hope I can see clearer how the real and virtual world affect each another. I maybe able to tell the relationship between these two worlds as well as between the identities created and language used.