Emerging Technologies | UX | Libraries | Life
– March 9, 2010 No comments
This is a great analysis of Social Media tools and how they can apply as a Marketing tool for you or your business. I know most libraries are already using quite a few of these services, but this guide could come in real handy to those who are not yet using these services or as a review to those of you who are.
Posted in Uncategorized.
– March 8, 2010 No comments
If you work in a Library or have been a frustrated patron trying to get those Audio Books on you iPod then you’ll find this Web Comic by David Colbow hilarious. I’ve been ranting about this forever.
Posted in UX.
– March 5, 2010 No comments
Popular Science has partnered with Google to offer their entire 137-year archive for free online. You can browse each issue just as it appeared during its original time of publication, complete with period advertisements. You can view this collection in 2 different ways:
1. You can search through the archives via Popular Science’s Archive website. From here you can open up a more detailed page in Google Books. http://www.popsci.com/archives
2. You can use a direct link to Google Books for browsing and searching. Archives at Google Books
Posted in UX.
– March 5, 2010 No comments
Posted in Life.
– December 17, 2009 No comments
This is a concept video based on research initiated by Bonnier R&D to look at the User Experience of reading magazines on handheld devices.
The video really grabbed my attention, and as the concept stands, it’s something I could definitely see myself using in the future. From a usability standpoint, this is one of the best mock-ups I’ve seen in recreating the EXPERIENCE of paging through a magazine. The only problem I have with all these new specialized digital devices is the fact they’re rooted in being single use devices. I wouldn’t want to carry a nook for ebooks AND a Mag+ for ezines. I love limiting the amount of things I need to carry with me, that’s why I’m still holding on to my Tricorder for now…errr iPhone.
Posted in UX.
– November 11, 2009 No comments
Truth be told, I was never much of an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) guy. When I first started out in the Library field, there were a few blogs I followed from Librarians I’d seen or met at at a couple of conferences. I was also reading technology related sites such as digg, slashdot, mashable, and techcrunch. This was the way I’d always used the internet, why would I use RSS when I could just browse a website myself. With my iPhone, I found it especially challenging to stay “up-to-date” on news while visiting bookmarks from the mobile browser. I know you can pinch and zoom, but as of right now, most websites still don’t offer a mobile alternative. If you want to stay connected (and that’s probably why you bought that new smartphone anyway), you may need to rethink how you’re going to get your information.
I knew the old way wasn’t working, I was adding more and different sites to my bookmarks list and found myself falling behind. What I soon discovered was that RSS gives you the ability to bring information to where YOU want it. By using an RSS Reader, it’s easy to follow as many “information sites” as you want, without feeling like it’s an impossible task to visit and read all the information on every site. When you stop to think about it in that context, then your realize that this is also a great solution to parsing information on the go too.
So here’s how I’m using RSS on my iPhone right now:
Google Reader is my base of operations. I’m already using quite a few of Google’s other services, so sign-up was quick and painless. Google Reader is a great web application and the mobile version works really well too. So you might be asking; why don’t you just use Google Reader online? The answer to that question really boils down to features. I found that reading feeds with Google Reader Mobile was fine, but I needed a way separate and store more pertinent articles based on subject and category. Enter NetNewsWire.
NetNewsWire is an RSS Reader that syncs with Google Reader and offers 2 specific features in the mobile version that I find very useful while on the go. First is the ability to send a news article as a tweet. Second, is being able to send news feeds to Instapaper. While we’ve all heard that it’s cheaper if you cut out the middle-man, in this case, the middle-man allows me greater functionality. At some point Google may integrate these features into Reader, but for now, NetNewsWire is an important step in the process.
Instapaper is a news article repository, of sorts, that allows me to save longer or more interesting news feeds for later reading. I use Instapaper as the medium for directing my saved news feeds to their proper place. I can save the article in Instapaper, delete it or permanently save it to delicious.
Delicious is the final resting place for news articles I find the most important. Whether it be for Emerging Technologies, How-To Guides, or just interesting links, delicious allows me to add the tagging and categorizing I need to find these articles when they’re needed again.
Through RSS an my iPhone, I’m now able to read, save, and categorize more news feeds than I ever could by simply visiting a site. I have information streaming into ME and can choose what I wish to do with it. Hopefully this will help you in developing your own process for reading and saving information.
Posted in Mobile.
– November 2, 2009 No comments
In the past couple of weeks, two more of my colleagues have joined the iPhone Army. Since I work in the Technology Department and have my iPhone broken in like a well worn pair of jeans, it would be an obvious assumption that I’m asked what Apps I’d recommend. I’m a frugal guy and always looking for ways to consolidate the steps it takes me in getting something done. I’ve been able to trim my used App list down to 4 pages and of those, I only use about 6 or 7 on a constant basis. So without further ado, here’s the quick list of MY App Essentials. I’m also including screenshots of my current App stable. I tend to use my iPhone more as a netbook than a gaming system so this list will obviously reflect the way I process and store information. I’m always finding new apps and re-evaluating the ones I use, but hopefully this list will be helpful for those of you looking for a starting point in your own App Adventure.
1. Tweetie - As the name suggests, Tweetie is a mobile Twitter client. While there are other free alternatives such as Tweetdeck and Echofon, I use Tweetie daily and really feel that for the product you receive, the cost isn’t an issue.
2. Evernote - The Evernote iPhone App is an extension of Evernote’s online and desktop clients. When on the go, it allows me to organize my mobile life and even push to my Wordpress blog. Think of it as a giant repository to store and categorize anything…for free!
3. NetNewsWire - NetNewsWire is an RSS Reader that syncs with Google Reader. The reason I use this App is it’s seamless integration with Instapaper. Google Reader does have a very good mobile version and you can make a “Read Later” bookmark to send feeds to Instapaper, but there’s a process to install the bookmark or you would need MobileMe for Safari bookmark syncing. As the mobile version of Google Reader gets better I may eventually drop this App, but for now it’s the best RSS reader I’ve found.
4. Quickoffice - Need to view and edit Microsoft Exchange attachments? Need to create Microsoft Word and Excel documents on the go? This this is without a doubt the program you’ve been looking for. It doesn’t require an desktop application to transfer files, which was a big bonus for me. You can transfer documents by either emailing them to a specified address, connecting over wireless to your iPhone (it uses your phone kind of like a mini FTP server), or using MobileMe. For the price, it’s my top choice right now. I’m still waiting for the ability to do anything Powerpoint, hopefully that will come with an update down the road.
5. Delicious - We should all know by now that Delicious is basically an online social bookmarking service. If you didn’t know that, now you do! Now you can take the same product with you on the iPhone. I use Delicious a lot, so this is definitely an App that will live on my iPhone for a long time.
6. Dropbox - Cloud Computing may be a term that frightens people wo put privacy first, but it has it’s advantages in mobile computing. Dropbox gives you 2GB of free store to do with as you please. I use it to store documents and music as an added 2GB to my 8GB iPhone. Obviously Apple has MobileMe, but for right now I don’t want to drop $100 for their service. Soon you’ll start to see these types of services integrate with other Apps, such as Quickoffice for easy document creation, editing and storage across all your computing devices.
7. Bejeweled 2 – My favorite iPhone game. I know there’s lots of other options out there, but when I’m waiting around and need something quick to occupy the time; I go to this App. Thanks PopCap!
8. Other Apps you might want to check out: Facebook, PS Mobile, Peggle, Flickr
I obviously didn’t list every Application that’s on my iPhone, here’s a look at what I have install right now:
Posted in Apple, Mobile, Social Media.
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