Fun fun!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Overdrive
I've been trying to get Overdrive to work with my MP3 player for several months now with no luck. It works fine on my laptop but no love on the MP3 player end. Yes, I've looked at all the technical info from both Overdrive and my MP3 player manufacturer.
I do like the notion that there are titles always available, and I had a thought since I noticed many of the always available titles fit into the Classics category if there might be some way to expand this list. I could see it being very helpful to both the library and students, especially when 20 kids come in at the same time all wanting the same book. As other people had mentioned there is what looks like a good selection of foreign language instruction now that there will be a void in online language instruction resources caused by loss of Rosetta Stone.
I'm glad the Ipod issue is finally being resolved considering it is the most popular MP3 brand on the market.
I do like the notion that there are titles always available, and I had a thought since I noticed many of the always available titles fit into the Classics category if there might be some way to expand this list. I could see it being very helpful to both the library and students, especially when 20 kids come in at the same time all wanting the same book. As other people had mentioned there is what looks like a good selection of foreign language instruction now that there will be a void in online language instruction resources caused by loss of Rosetta Stone.
I'm glad the Ipod issue is finally being resolved considering it is the most popular MP3 brand on the market.
Delicious Del.icio.us
Until now when I have seen posts in other blogs that I liked and wanted other people to see as well I just posted about them in my LJ entries. I can see for my own personal use how this can be an efficient way to keep track of specific bits of information online, not just whole blogs and websites. In my present job hunting experiences outside of the library I have run into hostility and suspicion about my motives as to why I am looking
outside of the library world for a stable income and security. I have collected a series of articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education and the blog How the University Works to illustrate the changes in hiring practices in higher education over the past 30 or so years. Now I can create a Del.icio.us page of these articles and impress future employers with my "mad skillz" even more.
You'll find me on Del.icio.us under the name, wait for it, bartendinglibrarian.
outside of the library world for a stable income and security. I have collected a series of articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education and the blog How the University Works to illustrate the changes in hiring practices in higher education over the past 30 or so years. Now I can create a Del.icio.us page of these articles and impress future employers with my "mad skillz" even more.
You'll find me on Del.icio.us under the name, wait for it, bartendinglibrarian.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wiki wackiness
My first introduction to wikis was about 4 years ago and it involved discouraging community college students from using Wikipedia as a research source because of the lack of authority control over the content. My how times have changed!
I can see the possibilities for wikis to provide more in-depth information than an FAQ, an immediate POS resource at our fingertips.
To me the shared collaboration feature of wikis can be a blessing or a curse: A blessing in that multiple viewpoints, especially ones that might not be traditional or mainstream, have equal standing. A curse in that wiki contributors can add inaccurate, false and hurtful information. (Depending on the wiki this might not be a curse after all.)
I admit to using Wikipedia as a way to keep up with television series, especially BBC and Sci-Fi Channel shows.
I can see the possibilities for wikis to provide more in-depth information than an FAQ, an immediate POS resource at our fingertips.
To me the shared collaboration feature of wikis can be a blessing or a curse: A blessing in that multiple viewpoints, especially ones that might not be traditional or mainstream, have equal standing. A curse in that wiki contributors can add inaccurate, false and hurtful information. (Depending on the wiki this might not be a curse after all.)
I admit to using Wikipedia as a way to keep up with television series, especially BBC and Sci-Fi Channel shows.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Thoughts on Online Videos
I'm aware that since anyone can post on YouTube many public figures have been caught talking or behaving badly and those words and actions can be quickly disseminated to a wide audience.
Personally I like it that anything strange you can think up someone has made a video and posted it on YouTube. For example I've become a big fan of Leslie Hall, whenever I'm having a low self-esteem moment watching How We Go Out 2 or
Gold Pants Lullaby makes me feel better immediately. No, I don't think skin-tight gold pants have a place in my wardrobe.
Since becoming "crazy cat lady jr." people often ask me about my "kids" and the funny things they do. I've found videos on YouTube that do a better job of describing some of the more obscure aspects of cat behavior than my words can. Here's a video of a kitten doing what is referred to as "crab dancing" or "crab walking". When Jack was a kitten he used to do this at Samantha, my older cat, as a way to entice her to play with him.
I took a look at Hulu and Fancast too. As for watching longer videos on my computer I have more patience for tv episodes than movies. Hulu seems to have more movies available than Fancast. I was disappointed that neither site had any of the Stargate series available.
Several comptuer geek friends of mine like Bittorrent as you can watch televison shows from other countries, several of them like tv from Japan and not just Anime. Bittorrent is also more multimedia as they have music and games available too.
I've noticed over the past year that Netflix is now offering many of their DVD titles with a watch it now on your computer feature.
I wonder how long it will be before everything is available to watch "on demand"?
Personally I like it that anything strange you can think up someone has made a video and posted it on YouTube. For example I've become a big fan of Leslie Hall, whenever I'm having a low self-esteem moment watching How We Go Out 2 or
Gold Pants Lullaby makes me feel better immediately. No, I don't think skin-tight gold pants have a place in my wardrobe.
Since becoming "crazy cat lady jr." people often ask me about my "kids" and the funny things they do. I've found videos on YouTube that do a better job of describing some of the more obscure aspects of cat behavior than my words can. Here's a video of a kitten doing what is referred to as "crab dancing" or "crab walking". When Jack was a kitten he used to do this at Samantha, my older cat, as a way to entice her to play with him.
I took a look at Hulu and Fancast too. As for watching longer videos on my computer I have more patience for tv episodes than movies. Hulu seems to have more movies available than Fancast. I was disappointed that neither site had any of the Stargate series available.
Several comptuer geek friends of mine like Bittorrent as you can watch televison shows from other countries, several of them like tv from Japan and not just Anime. Bittorrent is also more multimedia as they have music and games available too.
I've noticed over the past year that Netflix is now offering many of their DVD titles with a watch it now on your computer feature.
I wonder how long it will be before everything is available to watch "on demand"?
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