Savings Calculator

I saw something interesting on the Martin County Public Library site and thought I would pass it on to all of you! It is a Savings Calculator showing how much your library saves you each month. It is provided through the State Library of Florida and is really pretty darn interesting. Go ahead and give it a try!

Did you even know that we had a state library? We do and it actually is a wonderful archival source as well as providing a variety of services for the people of Florida.

 

Listen to Music Online?

Do you often listen to music online or like to download songs? There are still places that you can do this for free! PC Magazine has just posted an article called Get Free Music! that lists 12 different websites where you can find music-streaming services that are not only free and legal (like all radio) but customizable. I don’t know about you, but I always feel a little better about trying out something online that is recommended by this magazine or one of the other well-known technology magazines.

Interested in checking some of them out? Here are several of them and the complete article is linked above.

Jango, TheSixtyOne, Musicovery, BoomShuffle, finetune, last.fm, skreemr, songza, Pandora, Slacker, and Imeem.

 

I just read a post from The Whimsicallibrarians blog that I thought I would share with you. The blog is maintained by a librarian who used to manage our Youth Services department and now is a branch manager for the Fairfield Public Library in Fairfield, Connecticut.

She had just returned from a conference on developing health information for library patrons and wanted to share some websites with her patrons. Though the conference was for Connecticut librarians, the websites she shares are great sources for any of us.

So take a look at the websites she suggests, I think you will be glad you did!

Janice

 

Great Explanation!

A friend of mine (another Technology-focused Librarian) responded to my last post and gave me this great link. It is a very plain and simple, but quite effective explanation of how RSS feeds work. It’s also pretty cute!

By the way, if you want to check out Carol Bean’s blog, you can find it here.

 

RSS

Back in July of 2007, I taught a class that dealt with a number of “Web 2.0″ topics including RSS. Why am I bringing this up again? Because if you are not taking advantage of RSS, I think you should. How can it help you? Well, for instance, I often send out emails when I post new articles on this blog. If you don’t get my email, you don’t know that I have posted something new. The beauty of RSS is that every time something new is posted, it is sent to you.

Here is an explanation of RSS from Wikipedia:

“ RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blogentries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a “feed”, “web feed”, or “channel”, contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that’s easier than checking them manually.

RSS content can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader” or an “aggregator”. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.”

So, isn’t that cool? I certainly think so. I have subscribed to a number of “feeds” myself and find it very convenient. I use the Google Reader, but there are a number of other options. Click here for a list of aggregators. I actually have created an iGoogle page and include my Google Reader as well as my Gmail account (which I use for online purchases and anything I might sign up for online). (Can you tell I am a Google fan?) Yahoo has a similar setup though, if you already have a Yahoo email account.

Once you decide to set up an aggregator, how do you find “feeds” to subscribe to? As you surf the web, look around at sites you often go to. Do you check the news on CNN frequently? Maybe you just want updates on national news. You can have those fed to you as they come in to CNN. Look for links similar to these:

By clicking on the right image, you can add the feed to your aggregator.

So, it’s a new year, let’s try something new! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to make a comment here or email me: collinsj@mycitylibrary.org.

 

Computer Classes for the New Year

Well, 2008 is here and with the New Year, we are once again offering a full schedule of computer classes. Remember, it is not necessary to sign up, all classes are first come, first serve. Here is the schedule for January.

January 8	10:00 am	Basic Computer Skills
January 10	10:00 am	Basic Computer Skills
January 17, 24, 31	10:00 am	Microsoft Word
January 22	10:00 am	Internet 1

If you have any questions about any of the classes, give me a call at 868-7701.

Janice (your Tech Librarian)

 

Free Software

Among the thousands of free programs available on the Web, how do you find the best, most reliable ones for your needs? I love to read PC Magazine as most of you have probably realized by now. I often find their tips quite useful. In fact, I enjoy their tips so much that I get regular updates from them on a number of topics. I thought I would share with you an article that came out this year: The Best Free Software. They have recommendations for all kinds of applications, from photo editing to DVD burning to word processing. At the end of the article, there is some information on how to protect yourself from malware when downloading free applications.

I use a number of free applications myself. I especially like Spybot - Search & Destroy. This program detects and removes spyware. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven’t intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been “hijacked” (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. 

I also love Gadwin PrintScreen. This is a program I use all the time at work to capture screenshots. There is a professional version that you have to pay for, but the free one works great and is so convenient and easy to use. Instead of hitting the Print Screen key on the keypad and getting a picture of the whole screen, Gadwin PrintScreen makes it easy to get any area of the screen. Very cool!!!

I might as well mention the Google Reader. Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. It can be used in most browsers and there is no software to install. I use Google Reader as part of my iGoogle page which also includes my Gmail account. IGoogle is a personalized page that gives you at-a-glance access to key information from Google and across the web. You can choose all sorts of content to add to your page including the weather, movie show times, news headlines and a lot more. Gmail of course is Google’s email which I use when I have to give an email when I sign up for something or make a purchase.

 

Upcoming Computer Classes

FYI

We have three computer classes coming up in the next couple of weeks.

1. Internet 1: Thursday, October 29 10:00 - 11:30 am
2. Beginning PowerPoint: Monday, October 29 6:00 - 8:00 pm
3. Internet 2: Tuesday, October 30 10:00 - 11:30 am

I do not have a lot of classes planned for November and December as I have found from experience that people are not interested during the holidays. I am planning a couple of things though. I have a wonderful volunteer who will be doing a “Get that Job” class on Saturday, November 10. It’s a great class which will include learning how to not only put your resume online, but what you need to include to create a resume that will stand out. To see what else is being offered the next few months, check our website or our events calendar.

 

Did you know?????

Have you been to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website lately? There is all sorts of stuff you can do online.

• Renew your license or your vehicle registration.
• check to see if your license is valid…or suspended.
• Find driving courses of all kinds.
• Make an appointment for a driver license office.
• Read the Florida driver handbook in English and Spanish online or order a copy.

Now you can also provide emergency contact information that can only be accessed by a law enforcement officer in the event of an emergency. What an amazing idea this is! Think about it, if you get in an accident and can’t tell anyone who to call, who will they call?

 

Cool Site of the Day

I get an email every day from “The Cool Site of the Day” website. Begun in 1994, this website was the first of its kind. “Over the years, Cool Site of the Day has grown into a unique Internet guide that features great sites and the best deals on the Web.” (from their “About Us” page)

So every day, I get an email which gives me a new website to check out. Some of them don’t interest me, but many are very useful. For example, today’s website was “The US Congress Votes Database” from the Washington Post. Now, for a reference librarian, this is indeed cool stuff! In fact, I sent the link out to all the other reference librarians here. I did check this database out and found it easy to use, much easier than some of the “official” government sites.

So I invite you to check it out for yourself and if you are interested in experiencing a variety of websites, many that you would never see otherwise, sign up and vote along with me for “The Cool Site of the Day”.