Library Voice

I caught this just now via some of the people I follow on Twitter.  I have to say, this looks way cool.  Basically, in a nutshell, this application, called Ubiquity, could be the solution to those of us who hate having too many windows or tabs open.  Watch the video on the page for a good demo.  It does look very cool, even at the alpha stage of .1 in development.

http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-ubiquity/

Fortune has published an interview with Steve Jobs. I’d definitely recommend looking at it for understanding what makes the CEO of one of the world’s most admired companies tick. Librarians might even be able to learn a thing or two.  Some excepts are below:

On market research:

“We do no market research. We don’t hire consultants. The only consultants I’ve ever hired in my 10 years is one firm to analyze Gateway’s retail strategy so I would not make some of the same mistakes they made [when launching Apple's retail stores]. But we never hire consultants, per se. We just want to make great products. “

On work:

We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? So this is what we’ve chosen to do with our life. We could be sitting in a monastery somewhere in Japan. We could be out sailing. Some of the [executive team] could be playing golf. They could be running other companies. And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it. And we think it is.

On management:

My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better. My job is to pull things together from different parts of the company and clear the ways and get the resources for the key projects. And to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better, coming up with more aggressive visions of how it could be.

This goes in the tech-to-try pile:

Giving  your Facebook profile a Second Life
If you are like me, you probably have some of your Second Life friends among your Facebook friends. And until recently, we had no good way of connecting the two worlds. But now we can; and there isn’t just one, but two Facebook applications that can help you with that.

Via: the Chronicle

Looking at getting an iPhone? Ars Technica has a rather extensive testing and review of the iPhone. Some of what they put the phone through will make your cringe, including dropping the phone from a 3rd story window and sliding it down a sidewalk face down. In the end, Ars gave the phone an 8 out of ten, citing the following:

Pros:

• Web surfing experience is superior to other phones
• Overall SMS experience is great
• Practically non-scratchable
• Looks fantastic in every way
• Easy to use, self-discoverable
• Soft keyboard is definitely usable
• iPod interface rocks

Cons:

• iPhone is currently locked to AT&T
• No worthwhile Exchange support
• No wireless syncing over Bluetooth or WiFi, must tether via USB, no modem use at all
• Extremely quiet ringer/alert/speakerphone volume
• Windows version of iTunes cause a few hiccups
• Application support is weak
• E-mail implementation feels weak, uninspired

Personally I am very happy with my Treo 700p, as the range of third-party applications allows me to do things that the iPhone cannot do. The Treo is definitely not as sexy as the iPhone, but it does a great job keeping me connected with my calendar, texting, calls, email, and much, much more. I’ll eventually get around to writing a post about what I use my Treo for. I think the iPhone is a great product for some, although the price is a little high. Honestly, I’m more excited about the impact that Apple’s latest gadget/fashion accessory/phone/ipod will have on other phone providers. As a long-time Palm user, I will be curious to see how (or if) Palm counters Apple’s new offering.

George Siemens, the keynote speaker yesterday at ODCE, mentioned an open source social networking project yesterday.  I did not catch the name, but I did get a chance to ask him this morning.  The project is called the Virtual Learning Commons.

The Virtual Learning Commons (VLC) is a web-based environment that combines a content management system, a set of academic support tools, and a social networking environment. The administrative functions of the VLC include the ability to manage all aspects of the site, including the creation of communities, content pages, navigation headings, content maps, configuration of tools, user accounts, user profiles and social networking topics and comments. Users of the site can add personal profile information, select avatars, generate topics of conversation (to do’s), create lists of to do items and personal contact lists.

This application sounds interesting, and it may be worth checking out.

Perhaps that sounds a little bizarre, but in fact, my Palm Tungsten E2 was automatically turning itself on.  I would turn it off, and it would automatically start right up again after about 10 seconds.  I thought this bizarre behavior was the result of a bug, so I did a hard reset.  After syncing the Palm again, the behavior returned. 

I investigated the issue on the Brighthand Forums, which is an very valuable resource for Palm users.  According to this thread, it was an issue with a birthday setting this week. My sister-in-law’s birthday is January 7, so that was causing an alarm for 2006 (The default reminder for birthdays is 7 days).  Since it is no longer 2006, apparently the alarm does not display, but the device still turns itself on.  I changed the reminder for her birthday to 3 days, and all is now well. Beats the heck out of calling Palm  tech support, since my warranty expired some time ago.  In summary, if you have any event within the first week of January, you should set the reminder between January 1 and the day of the event, not December.

Some Educause articles of interest:

• Ensuring the Net Generation Is Net Savvy
• Getting Past Google: Perspectives on Information Literacy from the Millennial Mind
• How Choice, Co-Creation, and Culture Are Changing What It Means to Be Net Savvy

I’ve yet to read these but they look very interesting, particularly for a librarian who is striving to understand patrons needs and provide the most relevant instruction and services. 

I have yet to go hi-def or next-gen, but his looks like a worthy read for both:

• Buying An HDTV: What Do Gamers Need To Know?

via Slashdot

Here’s some articles/resources that might be of interest to some:

• Seven Things You Should Know About YouTube
• Seven Things You Should Know About Facebook
• Are College Students Techno Idiots?
• Disconnects Between Library Culture and Millennial Generation Values
• Are Video Games Evil?
• New Media and Learning in the 21st Century
• Games in Higher Ed: When Halo 2, Civilization IV, and Xbox 360 Come to Campus
• EDUCAUSE Quarterly Magazine, Volume 29, Number 3, 2006
• Games and Learning
• Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom
• Simulations, Games, and Learning

These resources and more can be found in the Information Literacy and Fluency  and Games and Gaming categories in the Educause Resource Center. 

From NPR Morning Editon:

Two new and competing formats of DVD are vying for consumer’s money. The new discs both offer high-definition images. But the discs are incompatible with each other, bringing up memories of the old VHS versus Beta debate. Lynn Neary talks with David Pogue, technology columnist for The New York Times.

An interesting story for anyone following the Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD or the next-gen console war.  Go here for a listen.