Predictions for 2008

Stephen Abram, SirsiDynix's VP of Innovation, posted 30 Library Technology Predictions for 2008 in his blog today.

A smarter iPod?

From OpenCulture - 10 Ways to Make Your iPod a Better Learning Gadget - Be sure to check what generation your iPod is before trying to install some of these programs.

1. Put Wikipedia on Your Ipod - generations 1-4
2. Watch DVDs on Your iPod
3. Load YouTube Videos to Your iPod
4. Make Other Video Formats iPod-Ready
5. Convert MP3 files into One Big iPod Audiobook File
6. Create eBooks for the iPod
7. Record Web Audio and Move it To Your iPod
8. Get a Civic Education on Your Ipod - ten important documents in American history
9. Load Maps onto Your iPod
10. Study Foreign Languages, Take University Courses, and Listen to AudioBooks on Your iPod - a plug from OpenCulture

Big Year for RSS

2007: The Year in RSS by Marshall Kirkpatrick on his blog ReadWriteWeb

Library Firefox Lovers Unite

From LibrarianInBlack Sarah Houghton-Jan:

Ellyssa Kroski on iLibrarian has amassed the single biggest list of Firefox plug-ins useful to library staff that I have ever seen. She broke it into three parts, so as to make it easier on the head! If you use Firefox (and you should) then you will be sure to find something useful here, and even for you Firefox fanatics like myself, you will probably find at least one new plug-in that has you grinning. Thanks Ellyssa!

40 Useful Firefox Add-Ons for Librarians – Part One
40 Useful Firefox Add-Ons for Librarians – Part Two
40 Useful Firefox Add-Ons for Librarians – Part Three

Fred's favorite web apps

Since we're talking about our favorite Web apps, here's my list. It's hard because there are so many useful tools out there!
1) Del.icio.us -- It's basically a portable bookmark manager. It's on the Web, so unlike browser bookmarks you can get to it from any computer. It also lets you add your own tags to pages so you can find them later. All in all I have a couple hundred things tagged.
2) Gmail -- There are a lot of free e-mail providers out there. Gmail stands out in my mind, though. First, there's the massive volume of storage. You can use Gmail as an online hard drive, emailing documents to yourself so you can get to them anywhere. Next, there's the excellent search functions and effective spam filter. Finally, it has IMAP support, meaning you can pair it with an e-mail client like Thunderbird to bring your messages to you in a cool, smooth interface. In my mind Gmail's the undisputed champion of Web-based e-mail providers.
3) Bloglines. In an earlier post I touted the features of Google Reader as a blog aggregator. I'll spread the love here though by mentioning Bloglines. It tracks all your favorite blogs, keeping track of what you've read and what you'd like to keep. An easy way to get far more relevant news than would ever be fit to print.

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Top Web Applications for the Year

What are your top three recommendations for web aps or add-ons this year? Share your suggestions of new, improved, or just discovered aps for 2007. Maybe we can put together a top ten or twenty list for the new year.

My three favorites are:

1. picnik - what I like most about picnik is that I don't have to log-in to use it, so I can get started cropping, resizing, or editing images immediately. Since I edit images primarily for webpages, it satisfies most of my requirements. You may have to upgrade to the premium version or try other commercial editing tools for more features, but for quick fixes - the basic, free version does the trick;
2. mixaloo - want to try your hand at putting together a cool musical mix to share with friends online? This is not an entirely free site. The mix consists of 30 second clips of your selections, but if someone wants to buy your full length version, mixaloo will give you a very small commission per track. You're not going to make your fortune here - just have a little fun;
   
3. cooliris - this is really just a browser add-on, but I'm hooked! Once installed, cooliris works by opening up a window whenever you pass your mouse over any link on the webpage you are viewing. Versions are available for both Internet Explorer or Firefox.
   

Google Reader

In the library's computer classes about blogs, I've introduced people to the RSS aggregator Bloglines. It's a wonderful tool that gathers up all your blogs for you. I may be rethinking that choice of aggregator though after trying out Google Reader.
It's not that Bloglines is bad, mind -- actually it's quite a good tool. But Reader brings with it some of the interface slickness that defines Google. Adding new feeds is easier, discovering new blogs is much simpler, and there's a little more customization possible. Also, rather than the clippings folder used by Bloglines, Reader goes with a more unified approach. Simply "star" the entry you wish to keep and add some tags. Later, you can find it with a simple search. Finally, there are some rudimentary social networking functions built in. You can share entries with groups of friends and so on. I still have my beloved Bloglines account, but I have been finding myself visiting Reader much more often this week.

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Amazon's Kindle hacked!

There's been a lot of talk about Amazon's Kindle here in the library. A device with aspirations that could one day see our beloved paper books consigned to museums is bound to provoke reactions. Of course, the Kindle's big drawback was the digital rights management (DRM) scheme that only allowed it to display electronic books purchased through Amazon.
These days all DRM schemes seem to be irresistible targets for the code warriors out there, rendering corporate dreams of marketing synergy and forced sales little more than roadblocks that cause headaches for those using the devices as manufacturers intended. Amazon's Kindle has proved no different in that respect. Just a few weeks after launch, the DRM has been countered to allow the playing of MobiPocket books. As an aside, the library offers free downloads of MobiPocket books through its download stations.
Here's a link to the story about the Kindle being hacked: http://tinyurl.com/2aq96o

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Go Go Gadget Laptop!

Hi! This is Cari, Reference Librarian and Technology Team member. I'm typing this post on an ASUS Eee PC, a tiny laptop that runs on Linux. It's a very cool, sleek-looking gadget, which includes a camera, Skype, and Web access. It doesn't carry enough memory to run higher-level apps like a "normal" laptop would, and it has a miniature screen and a teeny keyboard. I'm definitely having trouble typing because the keys are so small--and a man with larger hands would probably have more trouble. My neck also kinda hurts from slouching and bending over. So this gadget may not be the best thing if you need something with full function, but it's a neat little tool to carry around in your purse or bag for quick connectivity.

Ultra mobile PCs

The UMPCs I'm actually referring to are the less expensive (under $500) and not the thin, full service laptops that cost over $1500.

OLPC (one laptop per child) foundation (Linux OS) - Participants in the Give One Get One program pay $400 for two of the machines - one for their own use and the other to be donated to children in developing countries that could never afford a PC any other way.

Classmate PC (Windows XP OS) - This is Intel's version of OLPC and although the website says they are partnering with the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, much of their advertising seems to treat it as a competition. Estimated cost is under $400 - not available yet.

Asus Eee PC (Linux OS) - I've tried this out and will buy it for use in meetings and travel. I was amazed how quickly it connected to my home DSL line (as quick as plugging in the cable, clicking on the network connection icon, and selecting the name of my network) and it works just as fast with any other wireless network I have tried. Check their site for more info. Price - $399

Things to keep in mind with these devices:

• small screens (around 7")
• keyboard best for little fingers
• no CD or floppy drive (need to save work online or to a usb flash drive)
• very limited memory - don't think that you are going to add a lot of programs
• may be usable as e-book readers (say they are, but I haven't tested them yet)
• installed programs are very good for the size of PC

In a one computer home - the purchase of one of these for a second PC wouldn't be a bad idea. Cost of these devices will change along with their popularity. Asus and Intel are already planning different models.

Tinyurl makes links less obnoxious

Here's a fun tool I've been using a lot lately - tinyurl. Ever send an e-mail or post to a blog content that includes a hyperlink? Or worse, try to give someone a link over the phone? Those links can get obnoxiously long pretty quickly. Tinyurl makes those links more manageable. All you have to do is go to the site, paste in the lengthy URL, and the site then gives you a shortcut that is forwarded to the real address. It takes effect immediately, costs nothing, and gets rid of a lot of headaches.

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Save or Share a file online

is a free site to save any kind of file up to 100MB for one day, week, month, or year (Daveman's Tech Tips). You don't have to signup for an account and password protection is optional. This could be useful if you find yourself at a library or other public computer without your flash drive.

Computers for Kids? How Young?

There's been a lot of discussion about one laptop per child, but is 2 and a half too young? Chris Pirillo recommends parents buy their kids a PC as soon as they can use a mouse. Check out his video on the topic...


Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

Flickr editing is now powered by Picnik

Picnik is one of the easiest photo editing tools online or off that I've used in recent years and pairing it up with Flickr sounds like a winner. Check here for their official announcement.

E-Phone?

Will the next generation e-book reader be part of your phone? Well, for readers in Japan that seems to be the case.

How does it work:
You pay about $2.50 a month for a subscription to download novels from the publishers website to your cell phone. "The stories are divided into gobbets which can be read in about three minutes, the typical distance between two stops on the Japanese subway." For more on this topic see seattlepi.com

Evidently it is such a big phenom in Japan that more fiction bestsellers are read and written for mobile phones than in any other format.

Running different operating systems on the same computer

First of all I have to admit that I am an absolute fangirl of Macs even though three of my three home computers are PCs running non-Apple operating systems (Vista, XP, and Ubuntu). At work I have my favorite - a slightly older Mac-Intel with a 24" monitor.

Using a utility named Boot Camp allowed me to install Microsoft Windows, so that all my work related apps work on my Mac. The newer Macs and operating system are supposed to be even easier, but VMware has come out with a utility that blows all of them out of the water. It's called Fusion and will run Windows, Linux, and other PC operating systems on Macs without having to reboot the whole system and pressing the option key as it restarts.

This makes it possible to play Windows games on your Mac, or in my case, run our SirsiDynix Workflows in a separate window on my desktop. I am one happy camper!

Blogs in Plain English

I'm a recent subscriber to Common Craft's blog and wanted to share this 3 minute video they produced. They have a number of other YouTube type videos that would be useful in introducing Web 2.0 topics to newbies.

PortableApps

I'm at risk of sounding like a shill for this application, because I've been telling everyone I know about it repeatedly. PortableApps.com is a piece of software you put on a flash drive. You can then choose from a healthy menu of applications to add to the package. After doing so, you can go to any computer and launch those applications directly from the flash drive!
Nothing gets installed on the host computer, so you don't have to worry about administrative rights and so on, and the available applications include many, like GIMP, Audacity, WinSCP and more, that aren't often found installed on computers but are extremely handy.
Even better, it's all free. No charges either for PortableApps or the accompanying open source software. As for space requirements, I have eight or nine programs in my suite, and it takes up less than 500 MB.

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Web analytics expert gives blogging tips

Avinash Kaushik author of Occam's Razor updated his top ten tips for novice bloggers.

Summary

If are trying to create a blog that will create your unique brand, build an audience over time and create a voice for yourself then here are my recommendations:

# 10: Names, URL’s, Looks, Your Pictures Don’t Matter

# 9: Join BAGoT: Bloggers Against Globs of Text

# 8: Go for 6th grade level

# 7: Length and Frequency: Yours to define and control

# 6: StumbleUpon, Twitter, Google (SEO) matter, Digg matters less

# 5: Read spectacular blogs, find inspiration

# 4: Become very good (top 25% in the world) at two things

# 3: Don’t be a jerk / jerkess

# 2: Cultivate your audience: Create a dialog, respect their intelligence

# 1: Be remarkable

For more details go to directly to Occam's Razor

Not your father's ebook

Bill Ray in The Register suggests that Amazon's use of a 3G telephony network rather than WiFi is a whole new experience for users. Books and magazines have the potential of becoming interactive. He goes on to say, "Authors could update their books while you're reading them; responding to reader feedback, litigation, or even whim. A book could be updated daily, or chapters added when the author has time - readers might subscribe to a book rather than buying it outright."

Web based documents

There's more than just cost when it comes to deciding to use online document applications. No matter how big a hard drive I buy - after a year or two it's never enough. Some of the small notebooks that are coming out will never have enough memory for full blown Office applications, that's why these online apps are looking very attractive to me.

Zoho.com seems to have everything Microsoft Office offers as well as mobile, iPhone, social networking support, and browser plugins. Techcrunch indicates that Zoho launched full offline access for Zoho writer this morning and a promise for offline support for their other apps to follow.

More on the Kindle

The popular tech blog Gizmodo has also been watching the Kindle. Here's what their reviewer found: http://tinyurl.com/2cbpf4
Overall, it seems pretty good, and has been selling spectacularly.

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YouTube review of Amazon.com's Kindle

Benjamin Higginbotham of Technology Evangelist has a good five minute critique of competitive ebook readers on YouTube. It's really worth viewing if all you've seen are the promotional videos on Amazon.com. What's awesome - what's not so awesome?

Free Camtasia Studio download

The latest PC version of Camtasia screencasting software is pretty pricey, but Techsmith is offering version 3 for free and if you need more features you can upgrade to version 5 for half price. Check downloadsquad for all the details.

Camtasia Studio is good to use for creating training, demo and presentation videos for your website.

Need to share really big files?

If you have up to a 250 MB powerpoint presentation or document that your e-mail service won't let you upload/download, then you might try using a free service called FileURLs. It allows you to upload your file or document to its website, gives it a URL, and makes it available to share for up to seven days. You may even password protect it if necessary. Thanks to Stephen Abram from SirsiDynix (Stephen's Lighthouse) for the heads up.

Inform or Discuss

At 1:00 am. this morning I came up with the idea of creating a blog for our technology staff to inform our public about new technologies in libraries and/or to answer any tech questions within our scope of knowledge or collective experiences. Well, in my post-Thanksgiving stupor - it sounded like a good idea, so here goes...

For the past several weeks I've been hearing about Amazon.com' s new wireless Reading Device, the Kindle, and how it will or will not revive the struggling ebook world. I guess I'm going to have to wait a while to see it for myself - Amazon's Kindle has completely sold out at $399.00. Darn those early adopters.

What makes this device different from the old Rocket book and other ebook readers? The display is supposed to look and read like real paper; it's wireless - so connecting to a PC is not necessary; and it's supposed to have a long battery life. Amazon promises that there are 80,000+ titles available and that it has 100 current bestsellers and more new releases available for $9.99 a title.

Top newspapers (US & international), magazines, and blogs are also available by auto-delivery throughout the day. Is this too good to believe? I've placed a back order and will let you all know after our staff has had time to evaluate it.