Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

There was a stunning piece on the wireless this morning about something called the Hindu Kumbh Mela, which is a religious fessie in India.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21006259

The Wiki page is here.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela

It is absolutely mind-blowing the sheer numbers of folks who take part in it.

In 2001, more than 40 million people gathered on the main bathing day at Allahabad, breaking a world record for the biggest human gathering.

According to the Mela Administration's estimates, around 70 million people participated in the 45-day Ardh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, in 2007

70 MILLION people at a single gathering over a 45 day period, call it 1.5 million per day.

Really, try getting your head round that, even allowing for hyperbole & exaggarated numbers in the Media.

I don't feel physically comfortable in crowds, in fact they tilt me.

What a diverse world we live in, extraordinary how different we all are.

Can you imagine such a thing in the UK, on the banks of the Thames, Mersey, Clyde, Tyne or whatever?

[kinboshi]

RIP Aaron Swartz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz

[tikay]

RIP Aaron Swartz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz

Thanks Dan.

I had never heard of him, but it seems a a terrible waste of a productive mind & life to die at such a young age.

His Wiki page said (amongst much else.....)

"He used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place."

I was reading a book on the history of the Web yesterday (specifically, as it happened, how google has impacted it, but that's another matter altogether), & it mentioned that Tim Berners-Lee adopted the same posture as to refusing to Patent or try to enrich himself (financially) in any way his over his Worldwide Web work & stuff.

Incidentally, there appears, from what I read, that there is a difference between "the Web" & "the internet", which I had assumed to be the generic terms for the same thing, unless I got confused. Again. Is there a difference?

It is almost beyond imagination how much the web or internet has changed our lives, & in such a tiny timeframe, too.

Most of my working life was before (publically available) computers or the web were invented. We used to write each other letters, & use fax machines, & something called TELEX. Jeez. 

[kinboshi]

The internet pre-dates the web.  The internet is essentially the network that allows computers to talk to each other across the world, and is used for the web, email, ftp, and a whole load of other services.

The web is a much narrower thing, and is what Berners-Lee invented.  It allows documents (pages) to provide and share information (via links) using HTML (and other formats).  The web needs the internet to work.

[tikay]

The internet pre-dates the web.  The internet is essentially the network that allows computers to talk to each other across the world, and is used for the web, email, ftp, and a whole load of other services.

The web is a much narrower thing, and is what Berners-Lee invented.  It allows documents (pages) to provide and share information (via links) using HTML (and other formats).  The web needs the internet to work.

Thanks Dan. I'm not sure I fully grasp that. Let me dwell on it for a while, & try to work it out.

I'm glad there IS a difference though, as I only discovered that recently, & it was confusing me something terrible.

Is this Forum on the Internet, or the Web? Could it function if the Web never existed?

Could "Internet Poker" be "Web Poker"?

[kinboshi]

Aaron Swartz is a sad loss.  The indictment against him and the threat of up to 35 years in prison for what he did is an interesting case.  For me, it's no coincidence that he was a very vocal opponent to SOPA and other forms of government censorship.

More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/technology/aaron-swartz-internet-activist-dies-at-26.html

[celtic]

There was a guy playing the Champion of Champions at the weekend, who was faced with the most excruciatingly painful decision every time he was involved in a hand, to see the pain in his face almost brought a tear to my eye. It was incredible to watch the table collectively go on tilt. I almost felt pleased for him when he bust, so his pain was over.

[kinboshi]

The internet pre-dates the web.  The internet is essentially the network that allows computers to talk to each other across the world, and is used for the web, email, ftp, and a whole load of other services.

The web is a much narrower thing, and is what Berners-Lee invented.  It allows documents (pages) to provide and share information (via links) using HTML (and other formats).  The web needs the internet to work.

Thanks Dan. I'm not sure I fully grasp that. Let me dwell on it for a while, & try to work it out.

I'm glad there IS a difference though, as I only discovered that recently, & it was confusing me something terrible.

Is this Forum on the Internet, or the Web? Could it function if the Web never existed?

Could "Internet Poker" be "Web Poker"?

The internet is the backbone that computers are networked across the globe (there are other networks too, but these aren't publicly available - such as financial, military and educational networks).

The web is what you access via your web-browser (Chrome, Firefox, IE, Safari, etc.).  You look at web pages, click on links to other pages - that's the web.

Other stuff on the internet isn't the 'web'. Email, ftp, VoIP, etc.  Some things on the internet can be accessed via the web - for example twitter or internet poker.  But if you are using the PokerStars client (for example), you aren't on the web - you're using the internet via a different service.  If you user a web-browser to access an online cardroom, then technically you're using the web - but really it's an application that has been placed on the web to allow you to access it via your web-browser.

So, this forum is on the web and the internet.  You access it via your web browser, view pages, and click on links.  That's how the web works.  But of course, it needs the network infrastructure behind that (the internet) which enables computers to speak to each other and share information.  But if blonde sends out an email newsletter, that isn't sent via the 'web', as email uses a different protocol.  However, you can send and receive emails via the web if you use your web browser to access the service (such as with gmail, hotmail, etc.).

Hope that hasn't confused you further

[kinboshi]

I think I've explained that terribly.  This link might help: http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/Web_vs_Internet.asp

[tikay]

I was a little confused, now I'm very confused.

I'm glad there is a difference though, even if I'm struggling to see exactly what it is.

I recently engaged Online with a young chap who was excruciatingly rude to me because I said they were different things.  "Get with it old man, don't be ridiculous, they are the same thing" was the translated & family-acceptable version. 

[tikay]

I think I've explained that terribly.  This link might help: http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/Web_vs_Internet.asp

Perfect!

Thanks.

[bobAlike]

Imagine the railway network, all the track and stations. That in essence is the internet. The passenger terminal are used for web pages such as Blonde forum. These are accessed via little trains carrying information back and forth from your PC to the passenger terminals (HTTP Protocol). So the trains use the internet to get about.
But there are other types of trains, e.g. mail trains. These trains still use the internet but these are transporting emails all around the world (SMTP protocol).

You also have cargo trains these transport files all over the place (FTP) again they still use the internet as the infrastructure.

There are many more types of train/protocols but I'm sure you get the picture now.

[Mohican]

Got a couple of presents from the bosses at work the other day-

Click to see full-size image.

The book is probably not something I would've bought off my own interest but seeing as i have it, it'll probably be an informative read.
Both items were for sale on Ebay(not mine,other peoples) the day I received mine. Apparently being staff issue puts up the value.
You're welcome to borrow the book if you'd like.

[kinboshi]

Imagine the railway network, all the track and stations. That in essence is the internet. The passenger terminal are used for web pages such as Blonde forum. These are accessed via little trains carrying information back and forth from your PC to the passenger terminals (HTTP Protocol). So the trains use the internet to get about.
But there are other types of trains, e.g. mail trains. These trains still use the internet but these are transporting emails all around the world (SMTP protocol).

You also have cargo trains these transport files all over the place (FTP) again they still use the internet as the infrastructure.

There are many more types of train/protocols but I'm sure you get the picture now.

Was looking for something analogous, should have thought about trains!

[cambridgealex]

Thought your explanation was excellent actually boshi. Both of them!

Could have been improved with a nice Venn diagram though.

And yeh an analogy of course always helps.