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Archive for the 'Technology' Category


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Good News! An Overdrive Update!!

Posted by buckeyebrarian on November 11, 2008

Overdrive announced several months ago their intent to start releasing material in MP3 format to allow iPod users to use their digital audiobooks and music. They have now delivered on that promise. Checking the MOLDI site (mentioned in a previous post), I saw a big announcement of their inclusion. I have to say I’m pleased as punch, both as a iPod owner and a Librarian. This sould go a long way toward making this service more useful for our customers and I couldn’t be happier.

This service is still in the larval stage of course. There are currently only 177 titles available in MP3, only 4.4% of the 3,993 titles available in WMA format. However, this will only increase. It also looks (at least at first glance) that a good job has been done in selecting interesting titles for the “first run”.

I look forward to having the chance to take advantage of this new service.

Posted in Audio\Visual, Hardware, Internet, Libraries & Prof., Library 2.0, Library Technology, Technology | Tagged: , , , , , | No Comments »

My New Project…

Posted by buckeyebrarian on November 8, 2008

Okay, so I bought Mass Effect for PC the other day. Don’t ask me if it’s any good, because I don’t know (good reviews though). I installed the game and, after finishing the long install process, found that I had to dial everything down so much and had such appalling load times that it was the next best thing to unplayable.

My ol’ Dell has served me well (Yes, I know, I’m a poet! Har har! Focus please!), but it has reached the end of its upgradeable lifespan (No PCIe slots only AGP, old Pentium 4 CPU). I therefore determined that the time had come to get myself a new gaming rig.

By nature, PC gaming equipment is a moving target and staying bleeding edge is both expensive and time consuming. I therefore decided that I want a system that’s solid (not top of the line) and has enough “head room” to upgrade. I looked around at what was out there on the market and I decided on a rig from Gateway (good reviews, apparently they make decent gaming systems). I showed this to dad (my final authority on hardware) and he said (paraphrase) “Looks good, did you price components to see what it would cost to build it yourself?”

“Well, no…”

“Oh, okay. Looks good.”

“D’you think I could do better going that route?”

“Possibly. Take a look at Extreme Tech. They’ll help you figure out what you need.”

So I, with some trepidation,  looked.

I asked, “This is very interesting, would you help with construction?” (Knowing full well he’s been wanting to scratch build a PC for awhile).

“Sure” (Really had to twist his arm didn’t I? He’s a good Dad!)

So I started shopping (always fun, Newegg is essential for this incidentally). The more I looked at stuff, the more possible it seemed. Armed with Extreme Tech and Wikipedia, I knew enough to compare numbers and match up capabilities. I came up with a list of parts, and Dad and I refined it. Then I pulled out the ol’ Visa…

So I’m kind of geeking out now…

Stuff should arrive by Tuesday at the latest. I am psyched. I’m getting a lot of PC for less money than the Gateway I picked out. I don’t need all the fat associated with pre-made systems (keyboards, cheapo speakers and mice), not to mention all the “bonus” software that Gateway would install…

Here’s what I bought:

Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W

  • More than enough. As it happens, a Quad core processor doesn’t actually add much to most Gaming rigs.

ASUS P5Q Pro

  • Feature rich motherboard without being overkill. Crossfire X support means I can add a second GPU down the road (bwa ha ha).

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

  • Sufficiently speedy and commodious for my purposes.

Visiontek 900241 Radeon HD 4850

  • One word. Sweet.

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium 70SB088000004

  • I can’t bring myself to use on board sound, so I got this. Nice card. 7.1 stereo support (I like having the option).

Seagate 7200.01 250 GB

  • Games average 5-7 GB these days. I’m not writing papers on this machine or storing my music, so this should be plenty. If not, then I’ll add more (1 TB drives are getting downright cheap these days).

LITE-ON LH20A1S DVD-Burner

  • A solid optical drive. $27 (Matt, remember our first CD-Rom drive. What was that $300+ bucks?)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP

  • A nice roomy Tower size case. Many expansion bays. Blue LEDs in the front (I glows blue when orcs are close! Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself on the Tolkien reference).

PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V

  • Nice Ferrari-Red power supply (Opaque case so no one will ever see it.) More than enough “head room” to do dual GPUs in the future.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English for System Builders

  • Extreme Tech How-to writer actually prefers Vista. Much better for gaming. “System builders” version lower priced (nice).

Overall, it’s a solid machine with room to grow that comes in under $1000 (after mail-in rebates). I’ll try to post updates on how things turn out. I hope to have the build done by the 20th, as my brother will be visiting that week end and I’ll want to show off.

As for Mass Effect? I’ll try to write a review when I get a chance. All I can say now is that its pretty darn expensive!

Posted in Gaming, Hardware, Life, Technology | Tagged: , | No Comments »

Everything must come to an end…

Posted by buckeyebrarian on November 6, 2008

This is no less true for Learn & Play than it is for anything else. Our final “thing”, is to reflect on our experience.

I’ve enjoyed Learn & Play, and I feel that I come at it from a different perspective as well. For most staff, the stuff covered in this program was entirely new, whereas I had at least heard of it and usually was already up to my neck in it. This means I had to do things a little differently to make it interesting, so I focused on the reflective aspects, trying to decide how something could be used/useful.

I also used this as an oppertunity to develop better blogging habits. I have a tendency to ignore blogging for months at a time, so its been nice to have an incentive to keep up with it.

Learn & Play has also been the stew pot for some interesting thoughts. I’m planning on following up on my “Staff YouTube Booktalks embedded in the catalog” idea!

I would definitely participate in a similar program in the future. I love this sort of self-directed thing and the prize/time-limit is pretty effective at putting an fire under my but to get it done. Special Thanks to LibraryJoy, gerald2.0, and all the folks in CML Digital Services that made Learn & Play possible!

Posted in Learn & Play, Library Technology, Technology | Tagged: , | No Comments »

MOLDI (My kingdom for a decent movie selection!)

Posted by buckeyebrarian on November 6, 2008

In the penultimate exercise for Learn & Play @CML, we were tasked with exploring the world of downloadables on MOLDI. For those among the uninitiated, that stands for the Mid-Ohio Library Digital Initiative a project that provides access to digital media to library patrons (learn more).

I found the system fairly easy to use, though I will say that I am used to purchasing things online and the experience is similar (if not identical). The only potential hiccup I can see for others is the possible need to install the Overdrive software, but that only needs to be done once!

I must say that the quality of the selection is much improved from the last several times I’ve looked at it, especially the eAudiobooks! The audiobook selection in sci-fi and fantasy is excellent and very current (previously a sore point with me)! The eBooks and Music have improved as well (I like classical music).

However, the improvement in the selection does not carry over into the “eFlicks”. There’s a mix of quirky retro stuff like old sci-fi B-flicks and silent films which is very nice. There are also some comedy specials (ex Howie Mandell & Bill Engval) and neat documentaries. What is lacking is anything that could remotely be called mainstream or blockbuster. Now, I understand that there is likely to be trouble getting Hollywood to give up there latest and greatest in this format! Sure! That’s unsurprising! What bothers me is that there are no older blockbusters or true classics (think AFI 100) on the list. It seems that if we’re going to offer such a service that we need to have more of what a general audience would want to see, especially if (as I’ve heard) libraries are expecting downloadable content to replace DVDs and CDs down the road. I’d also like to begin seeing high-definition offerings in the near future. I understand why there haven’t been any to this point and agree with the logic, but the market penetration for HD is growing quickly and price drops this holiday season are expected to increase it even more. For those folks who have their TVs hooked up to their PC (neither difficult or uncommon) or have the new widescreen HD laptops, this would be a great new feature!

Posted in Audio\Visual, Hardware, Learn & Play, Library Technology, Life, Technology | Tagged: , , , , | No Comments »

Podcasting…hmm

Posted by buckeyebrarian on October 30, 2008

Thing #21 for Learn & Play is dedicated to Podcasts. This is one thing that I never got into in the past, so the fact that I “have to” is actually a great thing.

I played around with the podcast directories made available and I have to say, the one in iTunes is the best. I tried to get something out of podfeed.net, Podcastalley.com, or Google Podcast Directory and I failed in large part. I used the keywords “library”, “library news”, and “public library” and found alarmingly few pertinent hits. I had a lot more luck with iTunes’s directory. I got better results that were more easily navigable.

I did see that there were several libraries that did podcasting. Lansing PL has a number of Podcasts that are, if not regular, at least ongoing. There were also a number of special libraries (like Pritzker Military Library in Chicago, IL).

I tried using Bloglines for my Podcasts, and I’m pretty sure I don’t like it. Not because of anything Bloglines did wrong, I just think iTunes will work better for me. I can sync my iPod and listen to them on the go that way. This also keeps them well organized and separate from my music.

Podcasting would be an excellent addition to CML’s website. People are what separates libraries from their “competitors”, especially for CML (if I say so myself). Podcasting would be a great way to tap the passion and energy of our staff. Imagine a Youth Services booktalk cast that goes to a different branch every month. Our Geneology, History, and Travel department could put on a weekly Geneology Tips cast.

Thinking bigger, CML (and libraries in general) should start to provide podcasting stations with tools to record, host, and maintain them. These could be added to the catalog and be searchable that way. This would be an excellent way to farm the intellectual capital of the community and disseminate it.

Posted in Internet, Learn & Play, Libraries & Prof., Library 2.0, Library Technology, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , | No Comments »

Fun with YouTube

Posted by buckeyebrarian on October 30, 2008

Thing #20 for Learn & Play is to play with YouTube and embed a video. Done.

I thought this was both amusing and timely.

Some Thoughts

I enjoy YouTube. I don’t obsessively explore it like some, but I think there’s a lot of cool stuff there (and a lot of total crap or worse, but that was bound to happen). Libraries as a whole need to get better at this. There’s so much stuff we could record (storytimes, programs) that we don’t really make an effort to do. It would also be a great way to share the library’s story. Imagine a series of videos shared with the world, telling the library’s story and selling it. Video book reviews are another possibility. How cool would it be to have them embeded in the catalog so that you could click a link and have a librarian booktalk that book for you, especially for Juv and Teen books! I can think of a couple colleagues that would be great at this!!!

Posted in Internet, Learn & Play, Libraries & Prof., Library 2.0, Library Technology, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged: , , | No Comments »

The Joys of the CML toolbar!

Posted by buckeyebrarian on October 25, 2008

For Thing #19 of CML’s Learn and Play initiative, I played around with the Library Toolbar. As a general rule, I am not a big fan of toolbars as they clutter the screen. Everyone seems to have one and push theirs, so that if one isn’t vigilant, you end up with a browser that is more toolbar that web page. Nevertheless, I find I am impressed with CML’s. It really puts all the high use material from our website within easy reach.

I love the fact that the search box:

  • can be populated by highlighting text in the browser
  • provides access to the premium resources
  • provides access to other useful services like dictionary search and news search.

The other areas are great too! My only real gripe with it is that there is no way to get the toolbar to remember your card # and pin. This would make the “My Account” button really stand out as a tremendous convinience.

I’m not likely to leave this installed on my browser at home (I did say I hate screen clutter), but I’m very happy its a solid product for those inclined to use it. CML’s virtual users are likely to be able to get a lot of constructive use out of it!

Posted in Internet, Learn & Play, Library Technology, Software, Technology | Tagged: , , , | No Comments »

Web 2.0 Tools and Toys

Posted by buckeyebrarian on October 16, 2008

Thing #18 for CML’s Learn & Play program is to explore different Web 2.0 tools (and toys).

I looked around on the SEOmoz list of Best Web 2.0 sites. There was a lot of cool stuff there to be sure, but what really caught my eye is a site called Pandora Radio. This site is truly astounding! It allows you to create custom “Radio” stations based on the music you like. Everything you can imagine is in here! From Top 10 Hits to Classical to Progressive Metal, nothing seems to be too obscure. Once you’ve started your station you just listen and tell the site when you like something.

The interface is very slick and compact. I quickly figured out where the basics were and how to navigate around effectively. You can query the system about why a song was selected for you after clicking the “more” button under the album art. You can click on your station name and select “add variety” to include other song/artist styles. You can also go deeper and set up a station in more detail by selecting edit. 

It seems that it becomes harder and harder to impress me these days (a source of some concern). Pandora led me to say “wow” about a website for the first time in a long time. Try it, I think you’ll like it (musicphiles especially). Four Stars!!

Posted in Internet, Learn & Play, Life, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , , | No Comments »

Web Apps - Install Software? How passe!

Posted by buckeyebrarian on October 16, 2008

Thing #17 in CML’s Learn & Play program is to work with Web Applications like Google Docs. Since I have experience with these, I won’t get too info what I did. Basically I created a doc, and shared it with myself (using my work email) so I could re-familiarize myself with the process. I also published it to share it with the world!

The implications of things like Google Docs are tremendous. You never have to worry about leaving your report behind again (or spreadsheet, or presentation…). One can also easily collaborate on a document from a distance and even make presentations with the presentations component!

Libraries could get a lot out of this. We Google Docs affords a great deal of flexibility for transferring and sharing documents. I personally don’t think it replaces Productivity software on one’s PC (the internet does experience outages, from time to time). I imagine the utility would go up for smaller libraries that may not have the software and network resources that CML enjoys.

On the other hand, there are some more fearful implications that libraries should heed. If everyone switches over to Google Documents (as Google hopes) for all their routine document creation needs. Think of the power this gives Google, a for profit corporation. They would literally control everyone’s information. I probably sound like some sort of survivalist nut, but this makes me personally and professionally…uncomfortable. All the reports we write, the data we collect, and the presentations we make would be stored on servers owned by Google. We would be trusting Google to keep their fingers out and to keep prying eyes away. If you can trust them, you’re a better person than me.

Its not that I think Google’s a bad company (now anyway), its just that I don’t really think its a good idea to keep all that information quite that centralized. Maybe I’m just being a cranky old librarian.

Posted in Internet, Learn & Play, Libraries & Prof., Software, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , , , | No Comments »

The Learn & Play Wiki

Posted by buckeyebrarian on September 25, 2008

For those among the uninitiated, the 16th Learn & Play “Thing” was to play around with the Learn & Play “Sandbox” wiki.

The wikiwas set up with PBwiki, which I have used in the past with success. I like the ease of use if not the appearance of the interface. The WSYSIWYG editor takes a lot of the heavy lifting out of the process of course. I added my blog to the Favorite Blogs page and a favorite website. Really, anyone who’s already used to using Blogger or WordPress should have no problem with wiki editing. It is important for a “real” wiki that there be editing standards so that there’s a consistent look, but since this one is just for playing around there’s no problem here as far as I’m concerned.

Wikis are a fabulous tool for creating information storehouses. The ability to allow a community to create a storehouse of knowledge is fantastic. The only concern I have about them is that they be used properly. There is a tremendous urge on the part of Librarians to limit wikis. The well-publicized stories of vandalism on Wikipedia are certainly foremost in their minds. However, by limiting access to library staff you cut out potential gold mines of information in your own community and defeat the purpose of a wiki in the first place. In addition, wikis create an expectation that one will be able to edit content, and the fact that a public wiki is closed off to editing can be off-putting.

I know this sounds old school, but if you want to be able to control the content on a page, its perfectly alright to make a normal web page for it. I know wikis are “in” and all, but to make a wiki just because they’re more hip is just plain goofy (I feel like I’m repeating myself). If you chose a wiki because of the ease of use, consider that there are ways to add content to a regular page that are just as simple. For that matter, you could create a wiki, but take the time to make it look less like a wiki. There are services out there that let someone with a little CSS know-how customize the look of their wiki enough to disguise the “wikiness” of their site without compromising the ease of use. Of course, most of these cost money at least a little money…

I guess ultimately, my mantra is “use the right tool for the job”. That’s not always a wiki.

Posted in Internet, Learn & Play, Libraries & Prof., Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged: , , | No Comments »

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