PLN - eReader news, freebies and first looks

Books OnTheKnob (free books for eReaders) is updated daily with lists of free books available for eReaders and news about eReader hardware and accessories. I've been reading the blog almost daily since 2008 and I included it in my PLN because the blog's author is good at explaining to new users how to navigate through the various menu headings on their devices and how to navigate the websites that offer free or low cost eReader and tablet content. The site itself is very well organized, easy to search and has the quick links the Kindle and Nook deal of the day. There are also thoughtful blog posts about the pro and cons of various eReaders and help topics with screen shots.

 @BooksOnTheKnob

The Digital Reader, updated often, with news articles about ebooks, ebook readers, and digital publishing. There also pages for Resources, Tips & Tricks and Gadget Reviews.

 

More ereader resouces, an American Libraries the article titled "Essential Bookmarks".  It's a quality annotated list of 11 sites and sources.
 

Blog Post for LIB 203 or Yea! I’m Finally Starting Grad School

This month I start my graduate student studies. I’m attending San Jose State University (SJSU) School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). I’m working towards my Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS). This fall I’m taking two classes LIB 203 which is a 1 credit introduction to the program and LIB 200 which is a core course that includes a term paper.

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing the term paper. I’ve talked to family and co-workers regarding the paper and the process of writing one. I’ve also been reading the posts on the yahoo group for SLIS students (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sjsumlis/).

To help with citations and keeping track of research a couple of tools have been recommended -

Evernote http://www.evernote.com/ and

Zotero http://www.zotero.org/

Blog readers I want your input! If you used Evernote or Zotero, please leave a comment and share your experience with me and other readers. Was the software easy to use? Did intergate well with your web browser and Mircsoft Office? In general was it a time saver?

How to Get an Absentee Ballot for the Kentucky Primary Election

In Kentucky advanced age, disability, or illness qualifies voters for a mail-in absentee ballot. Call your local county clerk’s office to request an absentee ballot. A list of county clerks and their contact information can be found through this link.

More information about absentee ballots can be found through this link.

Please remember to vote on May 18, 2010.

Week 8 - Google and Other Search Engines

This blog post in reply to the assignment and questions for KCPL’s 24things class.

Overall I’m a Google kind of gal. Using the blind search, I searched for “dragon age”. My first selection was Google, for this search Yahoo came in a close second. Next I searched for “twitters 10 billion tweets”. Google was the clear winner. Third I searched for “good Friday 2010” I was surprised. Bing was the clear winner for that search.

The video seemed a little short on Google tips and really didn’t find out anything new about Google. For yahoo, I leaned you could send an email from the search box and for Bing I learned how to quickly find a company’s customer service phone number.

Post for the Google features part of the assignment- I use Google news search and Google news alters.

Post for the Wolfram-Alpha- The things it covers it does really well, I typed in geese and got very little information
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=geese

Is Any One Reading This Blog?

I'm having way too much fun updating and maintaining my blog. I've decided to keep it going after the 24things class ends. I wanted to find out who else beside me is viewing the blog. After a little research I chose the free service SiteMeter. To find out more about this website tracking tool click here or click little logo at the bottom of the page.

What Facebook Quizzes Know About You

What Facebook Quizzes Know About You

Wow! a friend from high school included me on a friend quiz on facebook. I thought was that something I should check out and sure enough, more privacy setting needed to be adjusted. Facebook, I am not a fan!

Online Photo Editing

I chose picnik because I already have flickr account. Picnik is really easy to use and I will use it again. I edited the picture just like would with any desktop application. I was pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of editing options. I’m not big on photo editing, mostly just red eye removal. For this exercise I added text to a picture, something that comes in handy when working on presentations and newsletters.

I chose picture2life because it can run on machines without flash installed. Uploading my picture was easy and I did not have to register which was plus. The user interface for adding text on picture2life had lot of options but not as intuitive as picnik. I couldn’t figure out if I could angle my text box. Still adding the text to picture only took a few minutes. Then was able to directly post the edit picture on my blog. Cool! To read another review of picture2life and see some effects in action click here

Kudos to the KCPL staff who put this lesson together . I learned a lot in a very few minutes. I would not have explored these photo editing websites on my own. The 24things class gave me just the push I needed.

To see the orginial pic and 2 edits next to each other visit my flickr photostream.

Kenton County Public Library Digital Branch

On 2/16/10 I downloaded the eBook “Building Bone Vitality” by Amy J. Lanou and the audiobook “The Year of the Flood” by Margaret Atwood from the digital branch of Kenton County Public Library (KCPL).

I am familiar with the KCPL digital branch and Overdrive Media Player. I’ve downloaded both eBooks and audiobooks from the website before this assignment. EBooks from the digital branch aren’t for me, I have a Kindle but I do not have a smartphone or a laptop. To read eBooks from the digital branch I have to be at my desktop computer, not one of my favorite places to read books.

Audiobooks downloaded from the digital branch are nice. They have good sound quality, the download times are reasonable and I can transfer them to my MP3 player. One small complaint I have about the overdrive software is how breaks up the books into “parts” for downloads and transfer to MP3. I found this confusing the few times I listened to an Overdrive audiobook.

Two problems I have with KCPL digital branch are the selection and the hold process. I view digital 24 hours access as “on demand” but many of items I wish to download are not available either because they aren’t part of the collection or they are already checked out. With regards to the hold process, by time I get an email saying an item is available for checkout, I’ve either found the item someplace else or I’m no longer interested.

To visit the KCPL digital branch click here
For free audiobooks samples from Overdrive Media click here
To learn more about the Amazon Kindle click here

Accessibility Review

Just in time for Superbowl Sunday the AFB (American Foundation for the Blind) evaluates three popular sites:

NFL.com
ESPN.com
SI.com

for ease of use with a screen reader.

Bottom line SI.com scored more points than the others.

Read the all the reviews here.

Privacy and Facebook

The 3 Facebook Settings Every User Should Check Now

This in-depth article from the Technology section of the New York Times reviews and explains 3 key elements of facebook privacy settings:

Who Can See The Things You Share
Who Can See Your Personal Info
What Google Can See - Keep Your Data Off the Search Engines.

For someone new to facebook like me, it was very helpful for understanding who sees what and where they see it. The article concludes "it's time to be proactive about things and look out for yourself".

How to change the time zone setting on Blogger

This link will show you how:
http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41963