Category Archives for Tech
My opinions on all things tech related
Webinar: Learn how to learn to program
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I’m doing a webinar next Wednesday for NCLA all about how you can learn to do a bit of programming. Here’s the official info – note that it’s free and you don’t have to be an NCLA member to drop … Continue reading
Three line menu
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I try to keep an eye out for standards in mobile UI. With limited screen space available for the interface, I spend a ton of time thinking about how best to represent actions to our users. Are there standards of … Continue reading
Web services I use, 2012 edition
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Since I last posted this list, a few things have changed. First, here’s the things I used last year but don’t anymore: Simplenote For two weeks in October, Simplenote’s syncing service stopped working entirely. None of my notes propogated across … Continue reading
Defining what I do: What makes a technology emerging or disruptive?
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“I’m the Emerging Technologies Librarian at UNC.” “So what does that mean?” Every time I meet someone new at work, that’s how the conversation goes. My response usually consists of arm flailing and a disjointed summary of my duties. I’m … Continue reading
R.I.P Fictionwise
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On Friday morning I received a sad email: Fictionwise is shutting down. Back in the early 2000s (does that decade have a pronounceable name yet?) I took my trusty Rocket eBook Reader everywhere. There weren’t a lot of options to legitimately … Continue reading
Format rot in ebook preservation
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Electronic text is hard to preserve. This might seem counter-intuitive – isn’t it trivially easy to make backup copies? Yes, but accessing those copies is another matter. I’ve been cleaning out the darker recesses of my office lately, digging through … Continue reading
Review: Kindle Paperwhite
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Based on shipping time alone, the Kindle Paperwhite seems to be a huge success. There’s currently a 5-7 week lead time on ordering one, which makes it already iffy even for a Christmas gift. But if you’re shopping for an … Continue reading
New DMCA exemptions for 2012
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Every 3 years since 1998, the Librarian of Congress has been allowed to issue new exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA is the act which (among other things) makes it illegal to circumvent copy protection schemes and … Continue reading
Interesting things I’ve read this week – 10/19/12
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Random House Says Libraries Own Their Ebooks (Library Journal) I’m entirely surprised to read this headline and story, but Random House now flat out says that libraries own ebooks that they’ve bought from them. That may seem like an obvious … Continue reading
The forgotten Kindle
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I don’t think there’s any consumer product line I’m more conflicted about than the Kindle. As a consumer, my Kindle Touch makes me very happy. At the same time, the Kindle Fire I’ve used made me very sad. (And as … Continue reading