TechBits

Credit where credit is due?

Well, I thought I had my post all settled when I found the picture on the right.  Then I started having problems when I tried tracking the picture to its source.  While I really want to give credit where credit is due, I can’t find exactly who to give the credit to for this idea.

Where I saw it originally saw the picture, the title on the picture said Dublin’s Digital Library and gave Reddit as the source.  One of the commenters on the site said it was from Planet PDF. 

On Reddit there wasn’t an official source listed but one of the commenters said the flier was for Project Gutenberg.  Reddit linked to the picture posted on imgur.  From the picture title, it looks like it was taken somewhere in Dublin.  Alright, but which Dublin?  Ireland?  Ohio?  In the comments on imgur, a number of people say it's Ireland and one said the fliers were done by the Dublin city council to encourage reading. 

In any case, the picture is of a flier posted on a lightpost with QR codes you can scan that take you directly to free versions of the titles on the spines of the books in the picture.  The QR codes link to files on both Planet PDF and Project Gutenberg.  Still don’t know for certain who put up the fliers.  Whoever posted it though, I thought it was rather neat!  If anyone knows where this actually came from, let me know. 

The picture on imgur:
http://imgur.com/EjUku

PicMonkey

 Regular oatmeal with blueberries.
Had-too-much-coffee-before-my oatmeal with blueberries.
You'll find effects, tools, and more with the ever-so-awesome PicMonkey - a free online photo editing and effects site from some of the former Picnik developers. For a chuckle, have a peek at their "About" page. Need a review before you swing on over to play*? Try this one at the Photo Software Blog.

* When you swing on over to play, be sure you've got some time. I found myself investigating the various tools and trying out all the effects and quickly lost an hour. Neat effects, and pretty easy to use!

Google's augmented reality glasses

As part of its Project Glass initiative, Google has begun testing its augmented reality glasses. See this New York Times article for more information. Pretty stylin', huh?

Here is a video from Google which shows potential uses for Project Glass:

Link to YouTube video: http://youtu.be/9c6W4CCU9M4

What do you think about the idea of wearable computing? How might this impact libraries? (Did you notice the part of the video around 1:03 where he's in the book store, asks where the music section is located, and his glasses show him the way?)

Everybody Let's Jump (For Your Library)

Ran across this great example of a library using social media for fundraising and advocacy! Too cute not to post (and share, and talk about, and donate), right? Nicely done!

Watch the video on YouTube

Espresso Book Machine arrives at the Brooklyn Public Library

Self publishing-in the most literal sense of the word-is now available to public library users in Brooklyn, NY.

On Demand Books' Espresso Book Machine was installed earlier last week at the Main Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. The EBM machine allows patrons to choose from nearly 7 million titles, producing a bound and printed book in a matter of minutes.  Moreover, aspiring novelists can bring in electronic versions of their own works and can have the EBM print those as well.

Unlike the typical EBM installation at a bookstore or University library, Brooklyn's machine is owned and operated by On Demand Books, meaning no $150,000 investment by the library!

Does the Espresso represent the future of physical books?  Do you think in the future libraries will be installing EBMs and printing off all their print acquisitions, as opposed to going through the traditional publisher and distribution channels?  Leave your comments and perspectives below.

Space Cases

One of the things I like about the beginning of the year is the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  A lot of the tech coverage for that week is either of the show itself or other items introduced by companies not at the show.  I enjoy seeing all of the gadgets and new technology, even for the things that won’t be available for some time yet.  (And, to be honest, the inadvertent amusement of the demos that go wrong.)

This year one of the items that caught my attention wasn’t actually a gadget per se.  It was a case for a gadget.  Normally cases are, well, kind of boring.  Sure, they might be pretty along with providing some protection but that’s about it for most of them.  Not so for this case.  To show how effective the case was, they put an iPad in their case and had it fall from the edge of space.  While I doubt any of us really have to worry about quite such a drop for our gadgets, I do admit it did make it one of the more memorable demonstrations I’ve ever seen. 

Wonder how well it'd hold up versus patrons...

 

 

My Magic Wand

 I wanted to let you know about a cool gadget I have. I was looking for a portable document scanner for my wife to use when she and her father go on long genealogy trips. I wanted one that would be easy to use and still have a good quality scan. I came across the VuPoint Magic Wand, and after reading some pretty good reviews I decided to purchase it. It exceeded my expectations in scan quality and I found it very easy to use. It’s kind of like holding a Toblerone chocolate bar, as far as the size. I purchased an 8GB MicroSD card to use with it since it doesn’t come with one.  The card can store hundreds of images before having to transfer them to a PC. It includes the USB cable to transfer the images to a PC. All total it costs around $100.00 and some change. It’s great if you’re on the road and can’t put the images on your PC right away.

Another thing I like about this Magic Wand is that it (in my opinion) does a better job of scanning a page in a book than a regular flat bed scanner because the spine of the book prevents you from getting the page completely flat on the scanning surface. With the Magic Wand you don’t have that problem; however, I found it does have some issues with paperback books, especially the smaller ones.

My wife was scanning fabric with it so she could get a better look at the patterns it was making. I thought that was weird…so I tried it. Here are some sample materials I’ve done with the Magic Wand.

YouTube Video Editor gets better

I recently updated my cell phone and found that the built-in camera takes some great video!

This is a lot of fun, but like many home movies, my videos could use a little editing.  There are many products out there that offer video editing, but I'm not really interested in learning the ins and outs a full-featured product like Premier.  Luckily, the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor) keeps offering new features, making simple video production very easy.

Video clips can be easily uploaded to your YouTube account from a smart phone or from videos located on your PC.  Once there, clips can be cropped:

and arranged in any order.  Then,fun transitions can be added between each clip:

After your video is combined, you can add Text throughout:

Finally, YouTube provides numerous audio tracks to really sweeten your production!

Best of all, it's free to use and can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection; no software install needed!

SCLS's Gadgets for you

Did you know South Central Library System has several different kinds of gadgets your library can check out? For instance, if you are interested in purchasing an e-Book reader and don’t know which one you would like, you can reserve some though SCLS to try them out. This way you can see them in person and figure out what features you like and dislike before spending your hard earned cash.

We have several devices to choose from ranging from the popular iPad, e-Readers, Flip video cameras, and wireless laptop labs to mp3 players and digital cameras.

To make a reservation visit our home page and click Equipment under Programming Resources. Select the gadget(s) you want and fill out the request form. If you want to reserve the wireless lab the registration form for them is at the top of the equipment page. You may want to plan a few months in advance of requesting the more popular items as some are reserved out that far.

It’s a great way to get familiar with the devices your patrons are asking you about.

A Google a Day

Want to test your "mad librarian search skillz"? Take a peek at Google's "A Google a Day" puzzle.

• Google asks a question.
• You use your fantastic skills to find the answer.
• Enter the answer, and Google will tell you if it thinks you're right (and include an explanation of how to find the answer). Hints are available if you get stuck.

Today's question was "Consider the element that makes rubies red. What color does this element become when it’s added to beryl to create another precious gem?" (Did you find the right answer?)

Looking for search tricks to improve those mad search skillz?  Try Google's insidesearch.