Month: January 2014

New Free Library E-Books, E-Audios & E-Videos Available Today!

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, just FYI our latest order of e-books, downloadable audios, videos and music titles has been placed.

So all these new titles are now available in the STLS Digital Catalog!

Here’s the list! Check it out!

Have a great day!
Linda R.

E-Audio Books:
12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Rats by Paul Zindel
The Absolutist by John Boyne
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

E-Books:
10 Ways to Prepare Your Daughter for Life by Annie Chapman
101 Success Secrets for Women: Overcoming Your Obstacles and Achieving Your Dreams by Sue Augustine
20 Ways to Draw a Tree and 44 Other Nifty Things from Nature: A Sketchbook for Artists, Designers, and Doodlers by Eloise Renouf
A Man’s Guide to Muscle and Strength by Stephen Cabral
A Woman’s Guide to Muscle and Strength by Irene Lewis-McCormick
Best-Kept Lies by Lisa Jackson
Blind Destiny: Grimm’s Circle Series, Book 7 by Shiloh Walker
Breakout from Juno: First Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign, July 4–August 21, 1944 by Mark Zuehlke
Candy Houses: Grimm’s Circle Series, Book 1 by Shiloh Walker
Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts
Crawlin’ Chaos Blues by Edward M. Erdelac
Crazed Hearts: Grimm’s Circle Series, Book 3 by Shiloh Walker
Dr. Varsag’s Experiment by Craig Ellis
End Back & Neck Pain by Vincent Fortanasce
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm
Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
First of July by Elizabeth Speller
Fleeced by Julia Wills
Fly Me to the Morgue: Rat Pack Mystery Series, Book 6 by Robert J. Randisi
Getting Familiar with Your Demon: That Old Black Magic Series, Book 4 by Jodi Redford
Gone for Good by Harlan Coben
Heartbreaker by Karen Robards
Hot Blooded: New Orleans Series, Book 1 by Lisa Jackson
House Atreides: Dune: Prelude to Dune Trilogy, Book 1 by Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson
House Harkonnen: Dune: Prelude to Dune Trilogy, Book 2 by Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson
How Can I Keep from Singing?: The Ballad of Pete Seeger & David King Dunaway & Pete Seeger
Hunter’s Moon by Karen Robards
I Thought It Was You: Grimm’s Circle Series, Book 2.5 by Shiloh Walker
I’m a Fool to Kill You: Rat Pack Mystery Series, Book 5 by Robert J. Randisi
Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong
Judas Unchained: The Commonwealth Saga, Book 2 by Peter F. Hamilton
Locked in Silence: Grimm’s Circle Series, Book 5 by Shiloh Walker
Lucky Us by Joan Silber
Lydia Dare Wolf Bundle: A Certain Wolfish Charm; Tall, Dark and Wolfish; The Wolf Next Door by Lydia Dare
Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
Maximum Witch: That Old Black Magic Series, Book 3 by Jodi Redford
No Prince Charming: Grimm’s Circle Series, Book 2 by Shiloh Walker
Oracles of Delphi Keep: Oracles of Delphi Keep Series, Book 1 by Victoria Laurie
Pilates Anatomy by Rael Isacowitz
Pilgrim Soul by Gordon Ferris
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Running Scared by Lisa Jackson
Sail Away by Lisa Jackson
Tarnished Knight: Grimm’s Circle Series, Book 4 by Shiloh Walker
Tell No One by Harlan Coben
That Voodoo You Do: That Old Black Magic Series, Book 1 by Jodi Redford
The Accidental Bride by Christina Skye
The Armies of Heaven by Jane Kindred
The Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity on the Job by Gary Namie Ph.D. & Ruth Namie Ph.D.
The Curse of Deadman’s Forest: Oracles of Delphi Keep Series, Book 2 by Victoria Laurie
The Dreaming Void: Void Trilogy, Book 1 by Peter F. Hamilton
The Girl Who Chased the Moon: A Novel by Sarah Addison Allen
The Lost Get-Back Boogie: A Novel by James Lee Burke
The McCaffertys: Randi by Lisa Jackson
The Millionaire and the Cowgirl by Lisa Jackson
The Seven Year Witch: That Old Black Magic Series, Book 2 by Jodi Redford
The Temple of the Dead: Sepulchral Earth Series, Book 2 by Tim Marquitz
The Wrong Box by Robert Louis Stevenson
Unafraid: Archangel Academy Series, Book 3 by Michael Griffo
Unwelcome: Archangel Academy Series, Book 2 by Michael Griffo
What the Heck Were You Expecting?: A Complete Guide for the Perplexed Father by Thomas Hill

E-Albums:
Early Dawg by David Grisman
Five: Mingus by Five by Charles Mingus
Learn to Live by Darius Rucker
Live At Newport by Pete Seeger
Sunday Morning Jazz (1950-1959) by various artists

E-Videos:
A Small Act
Anywhere USA
Justin Bieber: The Next Chapter
The Legend Of Big Foot
The Snowstorm, The Busy World of Richard Scary
The Spelling Bee, The Busy World of Richard Scary
The Supermarket Mystery, The Busy World of Richard Scary
Vinyasa Flow Yoga – The Body And Beyond

And if you wish to browse the items in the Digital Catalog – here’s a web link to it!

http://stls.lib.overdrive.com/D46EFE0A-1221-46FA-83CA-0060969334CD/10/50/en/Default.htm

And if you have an Android, Windows or iOS smartphone or tablet – there is an app you can use to check out free library digital materials! It is called “OverDrive Media Console” and you can find it in your respective app store!

Personal Technology Programs @ The Library – February 2014

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here’s a link to a PDF which will show you our listing of  the free personal technology/digital literacy programs being held at the library in February:

SSCL Digital Literacy Services Programs February 2014

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding tech programs at the library please let us know — we love feedback!

Have a great weekend!

Linda R.

On The Internet of Things & New “Next Big Thing” Tech Related Business Opportunities

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, I came across two cool tech articles I thought I’d share!

The first article is titled “The interent of things needs a new security model” and it features an interesting and very timely article on security in the dawning age of the “Internet of Things” — translated into American English — that just means the increasing inter-connectivity of high tech items to the Internet and each other.

The article is found on the Gigaom tech site and here’s the link:

http://gigaom.com/2014/01/22/the-internet-of-things-needs-a-new-security-model-which-one-will-win/

And the second article is from the Recode site and is titled “Big is the Next Big Thing” and it discusses a fascinating subject; that being the fact that the advancing technology is changing how big business do business and offering them greater and broader opportunities to do business by allowing them to expand into other fields.

For example, the article mentions the British grocery store chain “Tesco” which has been selling traditional groceries for 95 years and which has purchased a majority holdings in “Blinkbox” which is the largest streaming video service in the U.K. – so you can buy your groceries and stream your favorite TV shows all courtesy of Tesco; or at least you can if you live in the U.K.!

Another example, which isn’t actually discussed in the article but  it fits the proverbial bill, is the example of the Internet Giant Google branching out from simply being a search engine service found on the web into the area of selling tablets and, in the near future, high tech Nest Thermostats and Nest Smoke Detectors. So you can not only use the Google search engine online – you can also use a Google tablet to access the Internet and you can install a Google owned Nest high tech Thermostat and smoke detector in your home!

Here’s the link to the article:

http://recode.net/2014/01/22/big-is-the-next-big-thing/

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Daugherty, Paul. (2014, January 22). Big Is the Next Big Thing. Recode. Accessed January 22, 2014, http://recode.net/2014/01/22/big-is-the-next-big-thing/

Higginbotham, Stacey. The interent of things needs a new security model. Which one will win? Gigaom. Online. Accessed january 22, 2014, http://gigaom.com/2014/01/22/the-internet-of-things-needs-a-new-security-model-which-one-will-win/

 

 

Tactile Touchscreens, Why Net Neutrality Is Important! & What Is iCloud Anyway?

Linda Reimer

Tactile Touchscreens: I came across a cool article today on the Tactus touch-screen technology which will allow the smooth surface of a tablet to transform into a tactile keyboard ideal for the viewing impaired to use!

The article is from The Business Insider website, is titled This Insane Technology That Makes Buttons Appear On A Flat Smartphone Screen Is Pretty Close To Magic, and features some neat photos of the raised keyboard:

http://www.businessinsider.com/tactus-technology-tactile-touchscreen-2014-1

Why Net Neutrality Is Important!: You’ve probably heard a bit about a U.S. Circuit Court decision which invalidates the Federal Communications “Net Neutrality’ decision from 2010. And you may well be wondering what is Net Neutrality and what is the big deal is anyway?

The cliff notes answer is that the FCC’s Net Neutrality guidelines are intended to make sure that Internet Service Providers treat all Internet service equally. In other words Internet Service Providers don’t slow down an Internet connection because it goes to a service that in some way rivals its service. For example, say Comcast or Time Warner Cable provided slower than normal service for Netflix and Netflix subscribers unless all parties that obtained Internet service through those ISPs paid a higher fee per month or even per streaming video. Imagine having to pay a $2.00 fee to watch a YouTube video or be stuck with a broadband connection that rivals dial up! Well okay, that is a little bit of an exaggeration but you get my point!

I came across two articles today that discuss the basics of what Net Neutrality means and the reasons why it is important that we have Net Neutrality today. The first article is from CNN and is titled “’Pay to play’ on the Web?: Net neutrality explained” – here’s the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/15/tech/web/net-neutrality-explained/

And the second link is to a WIRED article written by American Library Association President Barbara Stripling, titled “Why Net Neutrality’s Demise Hurts the Poor Most,” which offers a really solid explanation of why Net Neutrally is super important:

http://www.wired.com/opinion/2014/01/killing-net-neutrality-means-killing-economic-equality-access/

What Is iCloud Anyway? I’m running out of day here! However, I wanted to share one last article – which is by Katherine Boehret, the former All Things D tech reviewer/editor who now is a part of the new re/code tech news and reviews site. It seems that over the holidays Ms. Boehret was cornered by a number of friends and family member who own Apple devices and didn’t quite understand what iCloud is and/or how it works – so she provides a simply explanation in her article!

The article is humorously titled “Seeing Through the Haze of iCloud” and can be found via the following link:

http://recode.net/2014/01/03/seeing-through-the-haze-of-icloud/

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Boehret, Katherine. (3 January, 2014). Seeing Through the Haze of iCloud. re/code.Online. Accessed January 16, 2014, http://recode.net/2014/01/03/seeing-through-the-haze-of-icloud/

D’Onfro, Jillian. (9 January, 2014). This Insane Technology That Makes Buttons Appear On A Flat Smartphone Screen Is Pretty Close To Magic, http://www.businessinsider.com/tactus-technology-tactile-touchscreen-2014-1#ixzz2qbT3FlTs

Gross, Doug. (15 January, 2014). ‘Pay to play’ on the Web?: Net neutrality explained. CNN. Online. Accessed January 16, 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/15/tech/web/net-neutrality-explained/

 

 

New Items In the STLS Digital Catalog Today!

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, we’ve just placed our order for new digital items, e-books, digital audios and digital music titles, for the STLS Digital Catalog this morning; and those items will be available in the Digital Catalog later today for your enjoyment!

Here’s the list of new titles:

Audiobooks:

Chicago Poems  by Carl Sandburg, Alex Wilson

The Course of Human Events by David McCullough, David McCullough

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Simon Prebble

The Killer Angels: The Civil War Trilogy, Book 2 by Michael Shaara, Jeff Shaara, Stephen Hoye

Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Norman Dietz

She Walks in Beauty: A Woman’s Journey through Poems by Caroline Kennedy, Hope Davis, Jane

Alexander by John Bedford Lloyd, Campbell Scott

Sketches by Boz: Sketches by Boz Series, Part 1 by Charles Dickens, Peter Joyce

Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett, Nigel Anthony, Sean Barrett et al.

E-Books:

101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions   by Ron Fry

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John Maxwell

Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel

Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John Maxwell

Autosuperación 101: Lo que todo líder necesita saber by John Maxwell

The Bloody Country by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Bobby and J. Edgar: The Historic Face-Off Between the Kennedys and J. Edgar Hoover that Transformed America by Burton Hersh

Chasing Clayoquot: A Wilderness Almanac by David Pitt-Brooke, Robert  F. Kennedy Jr.

Chicago Poems  by Carl Sandburg

Chinese Heritage Cooking by Christopher Tan, Amy Van

Coming Out by Danielle Steel

The Cottage by Danielle Steel

The Dead Shall Not Rest: Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mystery Series, Book 2 by Tessa Harris

Drummer Boy at Bull Run by Gilbert L. Morris

Edward Kennedy: An Intimate Biography by Burton Hersh

The Ethics of Diet: An Anthology of Vegetarian Thought    by Howard Williams, Leo Tolstoy

Everything Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Book: A Portrait of An American Icon by Kathleen Tracy

Everything John F. Kennedy Book: Relive the History, Romance, and Tragedy of America’s Camelot by Jessica McElrath

Gambler’s Woman by Jayne Ann Krentz

The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche

Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge by Geoffrey Bellman

Ghost Moon by Karen Robards

Golden Eyes: Eyes Series, Book 2 by Maya Banks

Gorky Park: A Novel by Martin Cruz Smith

Hot on Her Heels by Susan Mallery

The Jazz Kid by James Lincoln Collier

Joanne Fluke Christmas Bundle: Sugar Cookie Murder, Candy Cane Murder, Plum Pudding Murder, & Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier

Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Kennedy and the Berlin Wall: “”A Hell of a Lot Better than a War”” by W. R. Smyser

The Kennedy Assassination – 24 Hours After: Lyndon B. Johnson’s Pivotal First Day as President bySteven M. Gillon

Las 21 Leyes Irrefutables del liderazgo: Siga estas leyes, y la gente lo seguirá a usted by John C. Maxwell

The Midnight Hour by Karen Robards

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier

My Country Roots: The Ultimate MP3 Guide to America’s Original Outsider Music by Alice Randall

Night Calls by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel

Passport to Peril by Robert B. Parker

Pilgrim’s Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier by Tom Kizzia

Poltergeist: A Classic Study in Destructive Hauntings by Colin Wilson

The Power of Citizenship: Why John F. Kennedy Matters to a New Generation by Scott D. Reich

The Right to Privacy by Caroline Kennedy, Ellen Alderman

Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary by Ray E. Boomhower

Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story by Andrea Pinkney

Stormy Challenge by Jayne Ann Krentz

The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon

The Supernatural: Your Guide through the Unexplained, the Unearthly and the Unknown by Colin Wilson

Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century by Vincent Carretta

Unfinished Odyssey of Robert Kennedy by David Halberstam

The Winter Hero by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Albums:

All Things Must Pass by George Harrison

The Beach Boys Today! (1965; 2001–Remastered) by The Beach Boys

Bluegrass Beatles: Bluegrass Instrumental Makeovers of Classic Hits by the Beatles by Craig Duncan

Lady Antebellum by Lady Antebellum

So Rare: A Selection by Barry Humphries of His Favourite Gramaphone Records  by Various Artists,

Warren, E.R.: Good Morning, America! / Suite for Orchestra / the Crystal Lake / Along the Western Shore by Elinor Remick Warren, Carl Sandburg, Szymon Kawalla, Polish Radio and Television Orchestra, Efrem Zimbalist, Polish Radio and Television Symphony Chorus

And for your convenience here’s a direct link to the STLS Digital Catalog:

http://stls.lib.overdrive.com/1C1E72FD-D767-49C4-B91C-2A1B6475E90F/10/50/en/Default.htm

Supreme Court To Hear Aereo Case!

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, just a quick posting at 9:30 on a Friday evening.

I just read the news that the Supreme Court is going to hear the Aereo case! That is the case that has the potential to transform the way we watch TV. I’ve mentioned Aereo before in blog postings but just in case you’re wondering who they are; they are the company that receives those free over the air signals that TV broadcasters send out – and they charge their customers $8,000 a month for a tiny antenna and DVR that allows them to record and watch live TV shows broadcast by the major networks, i.e. ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS etc., on any Wi-Fi connecting device you own. Perhaps needless to say the traditional cable companies and networks aren’t thrilled with what they see as this upstart service! However, the company’s service has been determined to be legal in several lower court decisions and now the Supreme Court will have the final say – if the highest court in the land agrees with the majority of the lower state court decisions and deems the Aereo service legal it will almost assuredly transform the way we watch TV.

Here’s a link to a New York Times article on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/business/media/supreme-court-to-hear-case-on-retransmission-of-tv-signals-by-aereo.html?_r=0

And a link to the Aereo website where you can find out more about their service:

https://aereo.com/

Have a great weekend!

Linda R.

 

2014 Consumer Electronics Show, Belkin’s WeMo Switch Update & Respected Tech Reviewers Walt Mossberg & Kara Swisher Launch New Tech Site

Linda Reimer

The 2014 Consumer Electronics Show: The annual Consumer Electronics Show, which is usually known by its initials CES, is kicking off in Los Vegas on Tuesday. The show showcases new tech gadgets and highlights upcoming tech trends. And some of the items this years’ show is expected to highlight include 4 K Television technology (for an incredibly clear picture), 3 D Printing technology (which allows you to use plastic, metal and other materials to create items at home like chess pieces and a new cover for your smartphone), driverless cars and what USA Today tech columnist Jefferson Graham describes as “connected everything.”

And the term “connected everything” simply means the increasing trend of everyday devices being connected to the internet so you can control them via your smartphone or tablet either when you’re at home or if you’re away from home. And by everyday devices I mean dishwashers, washing machines, lamps, stoves, televisions, crockpots and just about any other electric device you use on a daily basis. This is cool technology! Imagine being out and about during the day and being able to turn up your heat, turn on the lights in your house, turn on the radio for your cats and even turn on your coffee maker to brew coffee so it is ready for you to drink when you get home — before you get home! And this technology isn’t years away either! You don’t have to buy a new lamp, radio or coffee maker to have a smart house you can buy a gadget like an outlet switch that connects to your Wi-Fi network and allows you to plug in any electric item you’ve got and turn it on or off via an app on your smartphone or tablet!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/03/ces-2014-preview/4264441/

Belkin’s WeMo Switch Update: And speaking of acquiring the ability to turn on and off a lamp, radio, TV, iron or other device you have at home, remotely; my Christmas present to myself in 2013 was a Belkin WeMo Switch. You have to have Wi-Fi at your house to use this gadget – however, the set up took only moments. I plugged the switch into an electrical outlet, plugged my lamp into the switch and downloaded the iOS WeMo app to my iPad and presto I can turn that lamp on and off with my iPad or an iPhone or iPod Touch from where ever I am. And you might think too, what I thought at first, which is that you’d only use a device like this when you are away from home and on your way home so that the lights are on when you come into your house at night. You might think you’d just use it to turn on the lights in the living room before you leave the office for home…However, I find I use it to turn that lamp on and off when I am at home too! I can get ready for bed at night and leave that lamp on until I’m in my bedroom and then turn it off. And since it is the time of year when we have so much dark, cloudy weather – I can also wake up in the morning and turn that lamp on in the living room before I walk out of my bedroom so there is light in my living room when I enter it. This is a neat gadget and I will certainly be purchasing a few more of them in the near future!

If you’d like to know more about the Belkin WeMo switch, which retails for $49.99, here is a link to the product page on the Belkin Home Automation website:

http://www.belkin.com/us/Products/home-automation/c/wemo-home-automation/

Respected Tech Reviewers Walt Mossberg & Kara Swisher Launch New Tech Site: Respected tech reviewers Walt Mossberg & Kara Swisher, who both previously offered tech reviews for the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D tech blog for more than ten years; have launched a new and independent tech review & news site. The new site is called re/code and can be found at the following link:

http://recode.net/

And if you’d like to know more the new re/code review site that features reviews and tech news stories by Mossberg, Swisher and other former All Things D reviewers check out this The Verge article on the subject titled “Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher launch re/code news site, Code Conference series;”

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/2/5264506/walt-mossberg-and-kara-swisher-launch-recode-code-conference

And if you’d like to know more about Walt Mossberg, Kara Swisher and the other staff of the new re/code site click the following link to access their “Who We Are” page which offers bios of the staff:

http://recode.net/about/

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Cheng, Jacqui. (2012, August 2). A thermostat that learns? Three months with the Next. arstechnica. Online. Accessed January 5, 2014, http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/08/a-thermostat-that-learns-three-months-with-the-nest/

Graham, Jefferson. (2014, January 4). CES 2014: A tech extravaganza in Vegas. USA Today. Online. Accessed January 5, 2014, http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/01/03/ces-2014-preview/4264441/

re/code. Online. Accessed January 5, 2014, http://recode.net/

Topolsky, Joshua. (2014, January). Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher launch Re/code news site, Code Conference series: With investment from NBCUniversal and Windsor Media, the duo moves its act to a new venue. The Verge. Online. Accessed January 5, 2014,  http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/2/5264506/walt-mossberg-and-kara-swisher-launch-recode-code-conference

Who We Are. re/code. Online. Accessed January 5, 2014, http://recode.net/about/