Spectra is a new visual news reader from MSNBC. I haven't played around with it much but it looks cool, mostly because the news spins in a circle instead of the old-fashioned columnar approach. Whoo-hooo! On a much broader scale, I've recently come across a couple lists predicting of technologies that will change the world […]
I may have mentioned before that the person I'm replacing at work is a member of ALA and, since he had his subscription to their e-mail newsletter, “American Libraries Direct”, coming to his work e-mail address, it's been forwarded to me for the past year. I don't get to look at every issue but have […]
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I've been on the road for the past two months doing computer and Internet training at our various branches around SE Saskatchewan (for anyone who doesn't know about our territory, if you draw a straight line from Regina east to the Manitoba border and […]
Just finished trying to help someone update their profile on VampireFreaks.com (half successfully, half not – I figured out how to add a background image rather than a solid colour and to add an embedded music player as well. But I couldn't figure out how to place the music player where the person wanted it on […]
So I was giving my standard “these days, buying online or doing your online banking is as safe, if not safer, than doing it via a real world transaction” line during a public Internet session the other day when some old guy puts up his hand and goes “What about that Silent Banker virus they […]
So I'm on the road doing computer & Internet training and I thought I'd pass along a couple humourous moments from the past couple weeks…– tonight, a woman wants to know an Internet radio station she can listen to while doing housework. I say that Accuradio is one of my favourites and after loading it […]
It's a short list but it cuts to the core with a list of the essential things that are part of successful online usability. 1. Make Them Log-In By Account NumberThis is a huge one for libraries. How many libraries have databases and other electronic resources but require patrons to memorize a lengthy barcode or […]
In homage to RefGrunt, here's a sample of some of the topics I addressed and questions I helped people with during my two “Ask The Computer Guru” drop-in sessions and two “Everything You Want To Know about the Internet” presentations today…– how to restore the e-mail address book from a crashed computer to a new […]
Download Squad ranks them as follows: 1. Acrobat Reader2. iTunes3. RealPlayer4. Internet Explorer 5. Microsoft OutlookYet how many libraries rely on two or three of these programs, both for their PAC's and for their staff computers?
