Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Can I use
Web-based
materials in
the same way
as I use
printed
sources?
Although many of us consider email, FTP, and Webbased in
formation as common forms of communication, the use of the
Internet is actually quite a new phenomenon. Until recently, com
munication depended upon paperbased materials, such as letters,
newspapers, published journals, books, photography, painting, and
drawing. Sound recordings largely involved phonograph records
that depended upon the mechanical pickup of audio signals and
tapes that had to physically move over sensors. With either phono
graph or tape technology, the quality of sound reproduction deteri
orated with use. Within this context, most information for general
distribution came from reasonably formal sources, such as newspa
pers, journals, and books—all of which entail an extensive editorial
and production process. In contrast, today's digital technology of
CDs and MP3 recordings allows materials to be played as often as
desired without any decrease in quality. In many cases, the editorial
and production processes also changed.
With the development of the Internet and World Wide Web, au
thors, musical artists, and anyone who wanted to publish their
work found another mechanism to distribute materials. Now they
could post materials on a Web site directly, with very little interfer
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