Podcasting in Plain English May 7, 2008
I am teaching a summer course on Podcasting. I just found my introduction! Thank you, Common Crafts!
Fixya.com April 20, 2008
FixYa was founded by an entrepreneur who decided to take advantage of the fact that consumer products manufacturers are not providing adequate support through their web sites. Although these products become more and more technologically advanced, their manufacturers are not allocating the necessary resources that are required in order to provide good technical support. Like any other consumer out there, FixYa’s founder had a hard time finding relevant and updated support information for his printer or digital camera, and therefore decided to create this site.
The idea behind FixYa is to aggregate all support information that is scattered throughout the internet in a single user friendly location. In addition, FixYa is a huge knowledgebase that is constantly updated by a live community of users who share their experiences of technical problems and solutions. Through the site’s unique rating system, FixYa is allowing its users to find the best solution for every problem and even solve new problems. Over time, FixYa will offer the best solutions for the most common problems of each and every product that exist. The best thing about FixYa’s knowledgebase is that it’s based on real users’ experience rather than on projected FAQs by the manufacturer.
StoryTubes 2008 Contest April 1, 2008
StoryTubes is here! From New York to California, kids in Grades 1-6 are talking up their favorite books. You can too!
Along with your parent or guardian, follow these simple steps:
- Make a 2-minute video about your favorite book; Upload the video to YouTube; and
- Come to this StoryTubes website and send in the link to your uploaded YouTube video using the online Contest Entry Form.
Beginning April 1, your video becomes part of a national contest!
Voting mania will then begin and happen each week in May! At the end of each week, one lucky contestant will win $500 in books. Their sponsoring organization (school, library or designated organization for home-schooled youth) will receive $1,000 in books.
Four Video Categories:
Hair-Raising Tales
From or For the Heart
Of Heroes and Heroines
Facts, Fads and Phenoms
Tell the story about your favorite book today. When entering, please don’t use your last name in the video. Entries will be evaluated on creativity, content and performance.
Everybody wins when kids get excited about stories. Help get the word out! Posters and flyers are downloadable here.
Found via Tamtheweb.com
Best Free Software March 6, 2008
PC Magazine released a great list of 157 free software tools. Below I have pasted the beginning of the list, please visit http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2260070,00.asp for the rest.
Adobe Reader
www.adobe.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux | Mobile This simplest of Adobe’s PDF programs lets you do just about anything PDF-related (besides create new ones), including online collaboration. It includes a host of features to aid users with disabilities.
AIM
www.aim.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux | Web One of the most widely used pieces of free software ever, AOL Instant Messenger offers a ton of capabilities.
Read our full review of AIM 6.5.
Audacity
audacity.sourceforge.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux Whether you’re recording or editing, Audacity is all about audio in practically any format.
Firefox
www.mozilla.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux This PC Mag Editors’ Choice Web browser has been on top of the heap since version 1.5 came out in late 2005. Read our full review of Firefox 2.0.
GIMP
www.gimp.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) does most of what Photoshop does; the Gimpshop project (plasticbugs.com) even makes it look like Photoshop. Read our full review of The GIMP 2.0.
iTunes
www.apple.com/itunes
Windows | MacOS When you’re attached to the top media player in the land (iPod), success is a given. iTunes continues to build sales and refine its organization of songs, video, games, podcasts, and more. Read our full review of Apple iTunes 7.6.
OpenOffice.org
www.openoffice.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux You can spend a lot for Microsoft Office or nothing for this suite with full-function word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, even an equations editor. Read our full review of OpenOffice.org 2.3.
Skype
www.skype.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux You’ll pay to call regular phones, but if you sign up all your friends, Skype provides easy (and even international) calls and video-conferencing for nothing. Read our full review of Skype 3.0.
Thunderbird
www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Windows | MacOS | Linux Mozilla’s no-cost e-mail alternative is extensible, fast, and easy to master. And a wealth of free add-ons means there’s not much this program won’t do, from calendars to encryption. Read our full review of Thunderbird 2.
Ubuntu
www.ubuntu.com
Linux This Linux-based OS comes with many of these Hall of Fame products (Firefox, OpenOffice.org) preinstalled.
WinAmp
www.winamp.com
Windows After a decade of playing music, the “skinnable” WinAmp has several versions, including one with full CD ripping and burning.
Learn More January 16, 2008
Learn More: A Self-Paced Discovery series is intended for library staff who want to explore the social web. There are lectures on avatars, Flickr, YouTube, Delicious, Tags, Wikis, and now TWITTER! 
Check it out at http://librarystream.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/learn-more-twitter/.
