a sometimes blog about mostly libraries
First confession: my library bought Google Glass about six months ago. Second confession: I have, shall we say, a conflicted relationship with Glass. Third confession: although my intrepid colleague and collaborator Dani Brecher and I just published a piece on the program we've developed at Claremont, I have strenuously avoided writing about it in this more personal venue. Fourth... Continue Reading →
After a week or two in an unreasonably cold Northwest, I've learned that gloves and my iPhone do not go hand in hand. Without fingertips, the phone is dysfunctional - I started using my chin and nose to unlock and answer calls, which I fully acknowledge looks a little insane. Other, less dignified approaches also... Continue Reading →
This gem of a busted shoulder happened while I was riding to work yesterday morning, thinking about my first blog post after a long hiatus (I got off relatively easy - fracture, no surgery necessary... I was doored, of course). I had just been listening to an episode of KQED's Forum featuring William Deresiewicz, author... Continue Reading →
I found the recent Pew study on technology failure to be an interesting read - it's quite brief, and begins with an introduction on the early development of electricity that left me a little mystified. Minor criticism aside, it deals with an important topic - how frequently do people experience technology meltdowns, what do they... Continue Reading →
I'm always interested in news about developing kiosk/remote/ library service models - particularly ones that seem like they will actually work - so I was happy to hear that a Contra Costa County Library BART station book lending machine is now operational. The program is known as Library-a-Go-Go, and you can read a press release... Continue Reading →
darlene fichter - data librarian, university of saskatchewan firefox tools safecache: protects privacy, defends against cache-based traching techniques http://www.safecache.com safehistory: prevents apps from going in a reading web history http://www.safehistory.com foxmarks: bookmarks synchronizer http://www.foxmarks.com automatically syncs bookmarks between different instances of firefox - i.e. the same bookmarks on your home and work computers online tools... Continue Reading →
My luddism suffers another blow - after 2009, no more polaroid film. Image courtesy of foundmagazine.com
I complained about the Kindle's appellative and design flaws when it was first released, but apparently people are snapping up the (somewhat misguided, yet necessary) ebook readers faster than Amazon can turn them out. Amazon continues its foray into the e-content realm with their recent acquisition of Audible.com, a well-established online provider of audio books... Continue Reading →
I read one of those 7 Things You Should Know About... Educause Learning Initiative publications on Lulu recently, an online self-publishing platform that incorporates an Amazon-like marketplace model. I'm all for the idea of self publishing, particularly when it comes to cookbooks: Published by the official Rick Springfield fanclub, this is one of the many... Continue Reading →
Gmail recently added a new feature - group chat: It's simple to use - one click in the chat window to search existing contacts and add another user: I find that I use Gmail chat more than any other service these days, and this is definitely a welcome addition. Still no voice, video, or easy... Continue Reading →
info-mational 