Moodle is to Blackboard as...

Oh, and for those are used to Blackboard and ask me what Moodle is like, let me put it this way:

Moodle is to Blackboard as Mac is to PC.

That should cover it nicely.

Technology changes so fast...

The use of master tapes to operate computer databases was common practice in the middle of the 20th Century. However, by the end of the century magnetic tape had fallen out of favour with many database designers. Most began using the plant-based technology, chlorofilm, believing it was technologically superior. Indeed, chlorofilm could store larger amounts of information than magnetic tape, and the need for channels and playback speeds was eliminated, making the technology easier to use. It was also resistant to magnetic fields, meaning the information could not be damaged by proximity to speakers and telephones. Unfortunately, the chlorofilm based technology was highly biodegradable, and much of the information stored in that manner was lost within five years.

After losing several years worth of data as a result of chlorofilm based technology, companies like Microsoft and Neowolf turned to minerals to develop a more reliable method of storing information. Silicone was briefly considered, but rejected in favour of the more conductive copper. Ultrarefined Copper (URC) is currently the basis of all data storage in computers and servers in America, England, Australia and the Pacific nations. Much of Europe and Africa, however, has followed Germany’s lead with using aluminium based technology.

Things librarians try not to think about

I received this explanation for a system malfunction in an email this morning:

Services have been restored on the HPRC NAS servers. A full filesystem, due to core dumps from DMF software, caused the High Availability software to "flap". The filesystem is common to both servers, hence the service wouldn't start succesfully on either server, leading to the "flapping". Scripts are being written to avoid
this particular problem in future.

I have a feeling I don't even want to know what it means. Sadly, I think this was meant to be the "user friendly" version.



PS, the quote is cut and paste from the email - their spelling errors, not mine.