ZDNET’s List of 11 Amazing Technologies, Aereo Ask Supreme Court To Determine Its Fate & Walmart To Put iPhones 5 On Sale!

ZDNET’s List of 11 Amazing Technologies: The tech site ZDNet offers a cool article that discusses 11 technologies that either are already transforming how we live or are expected to in the near future. The article discusses the following eleven tech categories: Fiber Optics, Graphene, Cell Phone technology, Personal Computing Devices (desktops, laptops, tablets etc.), Nano Robots, Satellite Communications, Solar Cells, The Internet of Things, Transistors, The Internet and one of my favorites – 3 D Printing technology!

Here’s the link to the article:

http://www.zdnet.com/11-amazing-technologies-that-have-totally-changed-our-world-for-the-better-7000024091/

Aereo Ask Supreme Court To Determine Its Fate: As you may recall Aereo is a tech company that assigns a small antenna and DVR to each of its customers. And this tech set up allows its customers to receive over the air broadcasts of network television shows and to stream those shows to their smartphones, tablets and computers and watch them whenever they want to!

Needless to say the traditional television networks and cable companies are not thrilled with Aereo and its business model which they believe hurts their financial bottom line. Aereo has so far been triumphant in the court cases brought against it by several traditional cable companies – the courts have ruled that the service is legal and Aereo can continue; however, the company has decided to appeal to the Supreme Court to answer the question once and for all of whether or not the Aereo service is legal within the United States. No doubt Aereo has decided to make this move because it takes money to continually counter court cases brought against the company by networks and cable companies in each new market Aereo is expands into.  And if the Supreme Court takes the case and rules in Aereo’s favor than that will settle the legality matter within the United States and allow Aereo to continue expanding its service without having to fund and fight a continuing series of court cases.

If the Supreme Court takes that case – it will be an interesting ruling to watch for because if Aereo wins it will change how we can access TV shows.

Here’s a link to a Gigaom article on this subject titled “Aereo asks Supreme Court to take copyright case, stop broadcasters “war of attrition”

http://gigaom.com/2013/12/12/aereo-asks-supreme-court-to-take-copyright-case-stop-broadcasters-war-of-attrition/

Walmart To Put iPhones 5 On Sale! According to a Los Angeles Times report Walmart will begin selling the iPhone 5C for $27 and the iPhone 5S for $127 on December 13; of course you have to sign up for the standard two year contract to use the phones. However, if you’ve been waiting to pick up a new iPhone now might be the time as you’re unlikely to find lower prices on the new iPhone 5 models than those!

Here’s a link to that LA times article:

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-walmart-iphone-5c-27-20131211,0,5607180.story#axzz2nIkXVh8s

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Brown, Eileen. (2013, December 9). 11 amazing technologies that have totally changed our world for the better. ZDNet.  Online. Accessed December 12, 2013, http://www.zdnet.com/11-amazing-technologies-that-have-totally-changed-our-world-for-the-better-7000024091/

Roberts, Jeff John. (2013, December 12). Aereo asks Supreme Court to take copyright case, stop broadcasters “war of attrition”. Gigaom. Online. Accessed December 12,2 013, http://gigaom.com/2013/12/12/aereo-asks-supreme-court-to-take-copyright-case-stop-broadcasters-war-of-attrition/

Rodriquez, Salvador. (2013, December 11). Wal-Mart to sell iPhone 5c for $27 with contract on Friday. Angeles Times. Online. Accessed December 12, 2013, http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-walmart-iphone-5c-27-20131211,0,5607180.story#axzz2nIkXVh8s

Boston Globe Article on MakerBot 3 D Printer

Here’s a link to a cool article from the Boston Globe that relays the fact that the 3 D Printer company Makerbot is opening store to sell its 3 D Printers in Boston so people will be able to buy the printers both online and in an actual store. 

This is cool because A.  3 D Printing technology is going mainstream and will change the way we live and B. because the library owns a MakerBot 3 D Printer! We’ll be doing some programming in the new year with the printer; however, if you’d like to know how it works and see some of the items it has “printed” off — ask the staff for details!

And I say “printed” off because the objects don’t actually get printed but instead are created by the laying down of layers of materials.

Have a great weekend!

Linda R.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/11/22/makerbot-opens-boston-store/VXp6uGAVq7QL2uTcLkm83L/story.html

Netflix Streaming Interface Upgrade Coming, iPhone Book Covers, Making Videos Look Better On Your TV & New Gaming Consoles Coming But Is Gaming Changing?

It has been another super busy week in library land! So here is a short series of personal technology related topics and related articles for your weekend perusal!

Netflix Streaming Interface Upgrade Coming: Netflix is going to shortly upgrade its streaming video interface and make it much more modern looking and add more search options – it should be a cool upgrade.

The tech site The Verge offers and article on this subject titled “Netflix introduces one unified TV interface to rule them all: The streaming-video giant turns into a TV channel programmed just for you” and here’s the link to the article:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/13/5098224/netflix-introduces-one-unified-tv-interface-to-rule-them-all

iPhone Book Covers: The New York Times offers a neat article, titled “An iPhone Case Hemingway Would Love” on new “Pocket Book” cases for the iPhone 5 that make your iPhone truly look like you just took it off the shelf of your own high class library-bound-volumes included library.

Here’s the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/technology/personaltech/review-pad-and-quills-little-pocket-book-iphone-case.html?ref=personaltech&_r=0

Making Videos Look Better On Your TV: The New York Times also offered an article this week that includes helpful hints on how you can improve the quality of the picture on your TV – simply by adjusting your TV settings as you sit on your couch.

The article is titled “Enriching Your TV Picture, From the Couch” – here’s the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/technology/personaltech/enriching-your-tv-picture-from-the-couch.html?ref=personaltech

New Gaming Consoles Coming But Is Gaming Changing? And the New York Times also offered an article this week on the upcoming gaming consoles from Sony and Microsoft that will shortly go on sale; the article also speculates on the state of gaming and ponders the fact that with the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets and the corresponding great variety of inexpensive games that can be played on smartphones or tablets – will we still be buying gaming consoles in another year or two or will the soon be going the way of the 8 track tape?

The article is titled “New Gaming Consoles Coming But Is Gaming Changing?” and here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/technology/sony-and-microsoft-ready-with-new-game-consoles.html?src=me&_r=0

Have a great weekend!

Linda R.

References

Bishop, Bryan. (2013, November 12). Netflix introduces one unified TV interface to rule them all

The streaming-video giant turns into a TV channel programmed just for you. The Verge. Online. Accessed November 15, 2013, http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/13/5098224/netflix-introduces-one-unified-tv-interface-to-rule-them-all

Furchgott, Roy. (2013, November 6). Enriching Your TV Picture, From the Couch. New York Times. Onlne. Accessed November 15, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/technology/personaltech/enriching-your-tv-picture-from-the-couch.html?ref=personaltech

Schmidt, Gregory. (2013, November 12). An iPhone Case Hemingway Would Love Review: Pad and Quill’s Little Pocket Book iPhone Case. Online. Accessed November 15, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/technology/personaltech/review-pad-and-quills-little-pocket-book-iphone-case.html?ref=personaltech&_r=1&

Wingfield, Nick. (2013, November 11). New Consoles on the Way, but Gaming Isn’t the Same. New York Times. Online. Accessed November 15, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/technology/sony-and-microsoft-ready-with-new-game-consoles.html?src=me&_r=

The Near Future Of Smart Homes & National Geographic Offers Map That Shows The Earth With All The Ice Melted

The Near Future of Smart Homes: Right now we’ve got cool devices that make our “dumb” homes semi-smart! Items like the Belkin WeMo Home Automation Switch, which looks like an outlet you plug into an electric outlet and when you use it you can control whatever devices (i.e. lamps, coffee makers etc.) you have plugged into a switch and remotely turn that device on or off via your smartphone or tablet or the Nest Thermostat which also allows you to remotely, via an app, turn the heat up or down in your house.

However, homes are going to become even smarter in the near future. Imagine a home with connected display glass throughout it, just like you see on the Corning Inc. “Day Made of Glass” YouTube clips. You can be standing in your den and speak to the display  on the wall and say “I’d like to order take out tonight” and the interactive computer system will display local restaurants that offer take-out. And if members of your family are in other rooms of the house they’ll be able to see the information on the displays near them too. Or you can be making coffee in your kitchen and have a co-worker send you a text or video that appears on your kitchen counter and you can reply to that text or message while sipping your morning coffee. And you get the idea! This is cool technology that is coming soon!

If you haven’t seen any of the three longer “Day Made of Glass” clips here’s a montage of those clips that Corning posted to their YouTube page which shows off the cool, computer connected display glass that is coming in the near future to a home near you! The clip is titled “A Day Made of Glass Montage:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR7wx132REQ

And here’s a link to a Gigaom article titled ‘We need computer sight to make smart homes smart;” which offers more information on how homes will become smarter soon:

http://gigaom.com/2013/11/01/we-need-computer-sight-to-make-smart-homes-smart/

National Geographic Offers Map That Shows The Earth With All The Ice Melted: National Geographic has created a cool but frightening map of the world which shows both where the shorelines are now on all continents and where they will be if all the ice in the world melts. Here’s the link:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/rising-seas/if-ice-melted-map

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

A Day Made of Glass Montage. Corning Inc. (YouTube Channel). Online. Accessed November 4, 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR7wx132REQ

Higginbotham, Stacey. (2013, November 1). We need computer sight to make smart homes smart. Gigaom. Online. Accessed November 4, 2013, http://gigaom.com/2013/11/01/we-need-computer-sight-to-make-smart-homes-smart/

IF ALL THE ICE MELTED: Explore the world’s new coastlines if sea level rises 216 feet. National Geographic. Online. Accessed November 4, 2013, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/rising-seas/if-ice-melted-map

 

Pandora’s Updated Android App, All Things D’s Walt Mossberg Recommends The iPad Air, Pandora For Chromecast & The F.A.A. To Allow Passengers To Use Wi-Fi Devices All Flight Long

Pandora’s Updated Android App: The popular music streaming service Pandora has released a new and improved app for Android tablets. The new app has upgraded options which include options to easily find out more information about an artist or song title that listeners like and the ability to tweak the song list played on a listener’s customized station. So if you have an Android tablet you might want to check out the new app or update your old Pandora app.

Here’s a link to a CNET article titled “New Pandora app woos Android tablets as Apple radio grows” that offers more information on the updated Pandora app for Android devices:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57609908-93/new-pandora-app-woos-android-tablets-as-apple-radio-grows/

All Things D’s Walt Mossberg Recommends The iPad Air: The Wall Street Journal’s All Things D senior personal tech guru Walt Mossberg has tried out the new iPad Air, which goes on sale on Friday, November 1st. And Mr. Mossberg, who has certainly seen a great many tablets in his career, said in his review that he not only likes the new iPad Air very much but to quote him that the iPad Air “is the best tablet I have ever reviewed!”

And of course, anyone who has read this blog for any length of time or who has encountered me in the library will know that I am a huge Apple fan.

Having said that for my two cents worth the best overall tablet experience includes the following general points:

  • How well a tablet operates
  • How many advanced features a tablet has
  • How often the tablet operating system is updated
  • The quality of the apps available for that tablet

And in my opinion, the best overall tablet experience today can be found by using an Apple iPad. I’ve owned an iPad since the day the first generation model was released in 2010. And I’ve now upgraded three times and have been equally pleased, with each upgraded model, with the performance of the iPad, the user friendly software that runs the iPad, the great variety and quality of apps available for the iPad and the ability to stream video content from the iPad to the HDTV in my living room.

And the new iPad Air is undoubtedly going to be even better than previous generations of the iPad not because Apple has added tons of new features but because they’ve simply made what was great about the iPad even better. The iPad Air has an upgraded the chip which makes it faster and more powerful, improved battery life; and it is much lighter than previous iPad models. In fact, the iPad Air is called the “iPad Air” because it is so light! The iPad Air weighs only a pound.  Previous generations of the iPad were all heavier and the 4th generation iPad weighed 1.44 lbs. so this new iPad is quite a bit lighter, has battery life that according to Walt Mossberg lasts 12 hours, runs faster and is more powerful than the last generation iPad because of the new chip it uses.  So if you’re interested in buying a tablet in the near future check out Walt Mossberg’s review and stop by the library and try out one of our iPads!

And without further ado here’s the link to Walt Mossberg’s video review of the new iPad Air:

http://allthingsd.com/20131029/speed-and-power-packed-into-a-thin-ipad-air/

Pandora For Chromecast: The Chromecast, which if you’re not familiar with it is a  cheap ($35), small flash drive sized device you plug into an HDMI input on your HDTV; and which once plugged in to your TV sends the video you bring  up on your tablet, laptop or smartphone to your TV with Wi-Fi, has just added the Pandora music channel to its list of supported video services you can stream video content from; the other video services are Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV and Google Play Music.

And just to clarify, you can access any of the video apps previously mentioned through the Chromecast but you can also stream any video content you bring up using the Google Chrome web browser on your Internet connecting devices to your TV via Chromecast.

And here’s a link to a Tech Land article titled “Pandora Gives Chromecast Some Much Needed Tunes” that offers more information on the new Pandora music app for Chromecast:

http://techland.time.com/2013/10/31/pandora-gives-chromecast-some-much-needed-tunes/

The F.A.A. To Allow Passengers To Use Wi-Fi Devices All Flight Long: The F.A.A. has just announced that air plane passengers will shortly be allowed to use their Wi-Fi connecting devices in “all phases of flight.” However, cell phone use to talk or text will still be prohibited. The new F.A.A. policy is expected to be implemented for all U.S. airlines by the end of the year.

Here’s a link to a New York Times article on the subject titled “F.A.A. Allows Use of Electronic Devices Throughout Flights” that offers more information on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/business/passengers-to-be-free-to-use-electronics-on-flights-faa-says.html?_r=0

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

McCracken, Harry. (2013, October 29). iPad Air Review: Apple’s Full-Sized Tablet, No Longer So Full-Sized: A whole new class of iPad — but instantly familiar and useful, too. Online. Accessed October 31, 2013, http://techland.time.com/2013/10/29/ipad-air-review/

Mossberg, Walt, (2013, October 29). Speed and Power Packed Into a Thin iPad Air. All Things D. Online. Accessed October 30, 2013, http://allthingsd.com/20131029/speed-and-power-packed-into-a-thin-ipad-air/

Solsman, Joan. (2013, October 30). New Pandora app woos Android tablets as Apple radio grows: The top online radio company rolls out a new version of its Android app designed specifically for tablets, tweaking it for bigger screens with more functions. CNET. Online. Accessed, October 30, 2013, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57609908-93/new-pandora-app-woos-android-tablets-as-apple-radio-grows/

Wald, Matthew. (2013, October 31). F.A.A. Allows Use of Electronic Devices Throughout Flights. New York Times. Online. Accessed October 31, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/business/passengers-to-be-free-to-use-electronics-on-flights-faa-says.html?_r=0

The Livescribe 3 Smartpen Sends Written Notes To Your iPhone or iPad, Advancing Prosthetic Technology & Read A Book For Halloween!

The Livescribe 3 Smartpen Sends Written Notes To Your iPhone Or iPad: There have been apps that you can use to take written notes on a tablet or smartphone for several years. However, the new Livescribe 3 Pen for the iPhone/iPad makes it easy to quickly transfer your handwriting to your tablet or smartphone; you first pair the pen with your iPad or iPhone via Bluetooth and then open the Livescribe app, turn on the pen and your notes display on your phone or tablet screen as you are writing them on a Livescribe physical notebook (they look like those spiral bound tablets we all used in high school).

Additionally of note, you can quickly convert your handwritten notes into text and share your written words with other by email.  The Livescribe 3 smartpen costs $149 and is used in conjunction with a Livescribe notebook. This is cool modern technology because people are always going to want to be able to write and draw and with this smartpen technology you can write notes and easily share them with others digitally. Support for Android devices is supposed to come soon so if you have an Android phone or tablet you should too be able to use this cool new smartpen in the near future.

Here’s a link to an Engadget article on the new Livescribe 3 smartpen:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/28/livescribe-3/

And another article on the same subject from the tech site The Verge:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/28/5035776/livescribe-3-smartpen-pen-and-paper-pixels

Advancing Prosthetic Technology: In the recent past if you lost an arm or leg the prosthetic replacement you received was probably very simple and might have consisted of a simple hook for a replacement hand or a simple foot and/leg prosthetic for a foot and/or leg replacement; but today all of that is changing. As our technology advances, prosthetics are becoming more high tech and more sophisticated using built-in computer controlled technology. These new high tech prosthetics not only look more like real appendages but also allows their owners finer motion control than was ever available with a prosthetic before. And in the not so distant future, as this technology advances and evolves, new high tech appendages may rival Luke Skywalker’s replacement arm seen in The Empire Strikes Back – because they will offer their owners the ability to actually feel with their replacement appendages and thus amputees will be able to use replacement limbs in the same way they would have used the limbs they were born with! This is cool upcoming technology!

Here’s a link to a Guardian article on the subject titled “The technology that puts the human touch into prostheses: The touch-sensitive technology used in smartphones is helping to create a revolution in artificial limbs:”

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/27/technology-human-prostheses-artifical-limbs

Read A Book For Halloween! And you may well be wondering “What on Earth does reading a book to celebrate Halloween have to do with personal technology?” And the answer is: “Not a thing!” Unless of course you’re going to read a scary e-book to celebrate Halloween on your e-reader, tablet or smartphone!

I just thought it was cool that there is actually a movement afoot to encourage people to read scary stories and give friends and relatives scary books to celebrate Halloween. It seems that the author Neil Gaiman first suggested doing this in 2010 and it is starting to catch on!

And of course you can always check scary book out of the library too and read them to each other on Halloween evening!

Here’s a link to an InkyGirl blog posting on the give-a-scary-book-instead-of-candy-for-Halloween movement:

http://inkygirl.com/inkygirl-main/2013/10/28/all-hallows-read-give-a-scary-book-this-halloween-allhallows.html

And, in relation, here’s a link to an Oxford University Press blog posting & reading list of suggested scary/spooky stories for adults who wish to read in celebration of Halloween:

http://blog.oup.com/2013/10/halloween-reading-list-oxford-worlds-classics/

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References:

(2010, October 23). A Modest Proposal (that doesn’t actually involve eating anyone). Journal. Online. Accessed October 28, 2013, http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/10/modest-proposal-that-doesnt-actually.html

Lee, Nicole. (2013, October 28). Livescribe 3 smartpen digitizes notes straight to your iPad, starts at $150. Engadget. Online. Accessed October 28, 2013, http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/28/livescribe-3/

Shannon-Llittle, Lizzie. (2013, October 28). Oxford University Press’s blog. Online. Accessed October 28, 2013, http://blog.oup.com/2013/10/halloween-reading-list-oxford-worlds-classics/

Pierce, David. (2013, October 28). Livescribe’s beautiful new smartpen turns pen and paper into apps and pixels. The Verge. Online. Accessed October 28, 2013, http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/28/5035776/livescribe-3-smartpen-pen-and-paper-pixels

Ohi, Debbie Ridpath. (2013, October 28). All Hallow’s Read: Give A Scary Book This Halloween!  #AllHallowsRead. Inkygirl. Online. Accessed October 28, 2013,http://inkygirl.com/inkygirl-main/2013/10/28/all-hallows-read-give-a-scary-book-this-halloween-allhallows.html

 

 

 

 

Apple iPad Event Announced & Today Is Ada Lovelace Day!

Apple iPad Event Announced: Apple officially announced today that it is holding a press event next Tuesday, October 22 in San Francisco. Of course, Apple likes to keep the wraps on its new products and product upgrades until it unveils them so Apple didn’t say in the press invitations that it is actually going to launch an updated version of the iPad next Tuesday. Instead, Apple sent out invitations that feature multicolor elliptical shapes on the front and say on the inside: “We still have a lot to cover.” So it while it is almost a sure thing that Apple will unveil an upgraded iPad model on the 22nd they might also be unveiling something else but we will have to wait until October 22 to find out!

Here’s a link a to a USA Today article on the subject titled “Apple invites go out for Oct 22 event in San Francisco” which features a photo of the colorful invitation:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/10/15/apple-invite-oct-22/2986851/

Today Is Ada Lovelace Day! If you have never heard of Ada Lovelace before you’re not alone! I had never heard of her before today either. However, Ada Lovelace was a 19th century mathematician and she is credited with creating the first computer program!

When she was young Lovelace was encouraged by her mother to study mathematics and science as a determent to the romantic lifestyle of her father the famous poet Lord Byron. And Ada Lovelace Day is celebrated annually to both spotlight the contributions women have made to the math and science fields and to encourage young women to study and pursue careers in the math and science fields.

Here’s a link to a New York Times Bits blog article on Ada Lovelace Day:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/a-day-to-remember-the-first-computer-programmer-was-a-woman/?ref=technology&_r=0

And a link to a biography of Ada Lovelace who was born Augusta Ada Byron on December 10, 1815:

http://www.biography.com/people/ada-lovelace-20825323

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Ada Lovelace. Biography. Online. Accessed October 15, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/ada-lovelace-20825323

Barr, Alistair. & Baig, Ed. (2013, October 15). Apple invites go out for Oct 22 event in San Francisco. USA Today. Online. Accessed October 15, 2013,  http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/10/15/apple-invite-oct-22/2986851/

Miller, Claire Caine. (2013, October 15). A Day to Remember the First Computer Programmer Was a Woman. New York Times Bits. Online. Accessed October 15, 2013,

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/a-day-to-remember-the-first-computer-programmer-was-a-woman/?ref=technology&_r=0

New Digital Catalog E-Books, Audio Books & Videos Available Now!

Our October order of new e-books, e-audio books and e-videos has just been processed and you can browse the following new titles in the STLS Digital Catalog!

And of course you can download e-books and e-audio books to your computer, smartphone or tablet.

The educational & children’s videos can currently only be downloaded to a Windows computer.

And without further ado here’s the list of new titles!

Audio Books:

3 Dozen Poems: From the Writer’s Almanac

Writer’s Almanac

A Boy’s Will by Robert Frost

Bird Songs in Literature: Bird Songs and the Poems They Have Inspired by various authors

Birds & Don’t Look Now by Daphne du Maurier,

Classic American Poetry by Emily Dickinson, Robert Lowell, Robert Frost, et. al.

Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare   

Crucible Arthur Miller, Richard Dreyfuss, Stacey Keach, et. al.

Death in the 12th House: Where Neptune Rules; Starlight Detective Agency Mystery Series by Mitchell Scott Lewis 

Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises         

Faery Tales & Nightmares by various authors

Hemingway’s France: Images of the Lost Generation by Winston Conrad, Tom Parker

History Speaks – Volume 1: History Speaks Series, Volume 1 by various authors

Naked Lunch: The Restored Text by William S. Burroughs

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck,

Reign of Terror by David Andress

Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Best Loved Poems

Robert Browning: Selected Poems by Robert Browning

What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response by Bernard Lewis

E-Books:

An Account of Egypt by Herodotus

After Twilight by Dee Davis

The Anti-Christ  Friedrich Nietzsche, H. L. Mencken

April Queen: Eleanor of Aquitaine by Douglas Boyd

Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction by Kurt Vonnegut

The Bargain: Regency Series, Book 1 by Mary Jo Putney

Becoming King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Making of a National Leader by Troy Jackson

Blind Justice: William Monk Mystery Series, Book 19 by Anne Perry

Break Point by Kate Jaimet

Carrying the Rancher’s Heir & The Cowboy’s Pride by Charlene Sands

Cat in Glass: And Other Tales of the Unnatural by Nancy Etchemendy

The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan

The Child in Time by Ian McEwan

The Children Of The Mist by Jenny Brigalow

Christmas Chaos by Jennifer Conner

Christmas Stockings by Karen Hall

Claudia Silver to the Rescue by Kathy Ebel

Cowboy Deputy & The Cowboy’s Secret Twins by Carla Cassidy

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: And Other Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dead Is a Killer Tune by Marlene Perez

A Deadly Draught: Microbrewing Mystery Series, Book 1 by Lesley A. Diehl

Death at the Alma Mater: St. Just Mystery Series, Book 3 by G. M. Malliet

Death of a Cozy Writer: St. Just Mystery Series, Book 1 by G. M. Malliet

Demigods and Monsters: Your Favorite Authors on Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan

Discourse on Method and Meditations by René Descartes

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman

Earthbound by Richard Matheson

The Eternal Son  by Cristovao Tezza, Alison Entrekin

Everything the Bible Says About Angels and Demons: What Do Angels Look Like? Is Satan a Fallen Angel? Are Demons Real? Are Angels Sent to Protect Us? by Bob Newman

The Explanation for Everything: A Novel by Lauren Grodstein

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson

A Forest Apart by Troy Denning

Gap Creek: A Novel by Robert Morgan

The Giant Among Us: Forgotten Realms: Twilight Giants Series, Book 2 by Troy Denning

The Hallowed Ones: Hallowed Ones Series, Book 1 by Laura Bickle

Hauntings of Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown by Jackie Eileen Behrend

The Histories Book 1: Clio by Herodotus

The Histories Book 2: Euterpe by Herodotus

The Histories Book 3: Thaleia by Herodotus

The Histories Book 4: Melpomene by Herodotus

The Histories Book 5: Tersichore by Herodotus

The Histories Book 6: Erato by Herodotus

The Histories Book 7: Polymnia by Herodotus

The Histories Book 8: Urania by Herodotus

The Histories Book 9: Calliope by Herodotus

A Holiday Fling by Mary Jo Putney

A Kiss of Fate: Guardian Series, Book 1 by Mary Jo Putney

Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust by Leanne Lieberman

The Link by Richard Matheson

Mage’s Blood: Moontide Quartet, Book 1 by David Hair

The Mammoth Book of How it Happened in Britain by John E Lewis

Midnight Sons Volume 2 by Debbie Macomber

Midnight Sons Volume 3 by Debbie Macomber

The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocket by Katie Workman

Murder by Syllabub by Kathleen Delaney

Myths of the Afterlife Made Easy by Annamaria Hemingway

No Wind of Blame: Inspector Hemingway Series, Book 1 by Georgette Heyer

The Ogre’s Pact: Forgotten Realms: Twilight Giants Series, Book 1 by Troy Denning

One Wild Cowboy & A Cowboy to Marry by Cathy Gillen Thacker

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

The Rationalists by Rene Descartes by Benedict de Spinoza, Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz

The Road from Gap Creek: Gap Creek Series, Book 2 by Robert Morgan

Sam’s Book by David Ray

Sanctuary by William Faulkner

The Second Christmas Megapack: 29 Modern and Classic Christmas Stories by Reginald Robert, Mary Wickizer Burgess, Booth Tarkington

Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet by Catherine Friend

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Gladys Malvern

Spirits of ’76: Ghost Stories of the American Revolution by Daniel W. Barefoot

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Thunder and Roses: Fallen Angels Series, Book 1 by Mary Jo Putney

Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thomas Common

The Time Ship: A Chrononautical Journey by Enrique Gaspar, Yolanda Molina-Gavil?n, Andrea L. Bell

Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Valley of the Vanishing Men by Max Brand

Valley Thieves by Max Brand

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee by Eric Bogosian

The Wild Medicine Solution: Healing with Aromatic, Bitter, and Tonic Plants by Guido Masé

Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America by Jay Mathews

Videos:

All About Horses

Anchors Away (Paddington)

Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story                 

Christmas Blast

Dare Devil Bear

Franklin’s Christmas Gift              

Horse Crazy       

One Bear’s Treasure      

Princess And The Pony 

And here’s a link to the STLS Digital Catalog just in case you’d like to browse!

http://stls.lib.overdrive.com/AB2F119D-AC5F-4721-A66F-A09DD6A43F66/10/50/en/Default.htm

And if you have questions about the library e-book app — it is called OverDrive Media Console — please ask the staff at the library! We will be happy to help you put the app on your tablet or smartphone and walk you through the download free library e-book ropes!

Have a great day!

Linda R.

New iPads Being Unveiled October 22

Hi everyone, it is super, crazy busy in library land!

So here’s a very short posting to say that according to a CNET article Apple will be announcing new iPads on October 22.

Here’s the link to the CNET article:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57606589-37/apples-ipad-event-reportedly-set-for-october-22/

Have a great day!

Linda R.

Where To Find The .com key If Using iOS 7

Where To Find The .com key If Using iOS 7

Where To Find The .com key If Using iOS 7

Where To Find The .com Key in iOS 7: If you own an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch (5th Generation) and have just upgraded to the latest Apple mobile operating software iOS 7, then you may be wondering where the .com key went that used to be on the keyboard!

The .com key, which displayed when you were using the Safari web browser, used to be found at the bottom of the Apple keyboard under the letters.  And pressing this key allowed you to press one key to bring up online domain extensions including .com, .org and .edu– at least those are the Internet extensions you’ll see if you’ve got your keyboard set to display “English” – as your language.

And you’ll notice I’ve got the word “English” in prentices? That is because that just plain “English” keyboard setting probably should be termed “American English” and there are other keyboard settings including Spanish, Chinese, French and British English! So if you use the other keyboard language you’ll see the extensions and all the text display in the language you’ve selected – which is cool!

And I’m digressing in my technological enthusiasm!

The bottom line is that you can now access Internet extensions, so you don’t have to type out .com, .edu or .org, by holding down the period on your keyboard when you are using the Safari browser!

And if you’d like to see more pictures than the one included in this post check out the CNET article “Where to find the ‘.com’ button in Safari on iOS 7” – here’s the link:

http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57602657-285/where-to-find-the-.com-button-in-safari-on-ios-7/

25 Cool House Cleaning Gadgets!: Being the kind of girl that loves technology but not house hold cleaning chores; I’m thrilled with an article I came across today titled “Best 25 Gadgets to Keep Your House Clean.” The article shows off cool circular robot-like floor cleaners (iRobot), circular cleaners for carpet-less floors that double as cat toys (Robomop), automatic cat box cleaners (LitterMaid), a high tech trash compactor (Broan) and a magic sanitizing wand (Clean Wave) that you wave over keyboards and other surfaces to clean them among other neat gadgets.

Now granted, some of these high tech cleaning gadgets are a bit on the pricey side – the Broan Trash Compactor, which is supposed to cut down the bulk of your trash by 75% costs $800! However, that cool sanitizing wand cost less than $100. And all the cleaning gadgets are cool!

The article is I came across that showcases all these neat house hold cleaning gadgets is titled “Best 25 Gadgets to Keep Your House Clean” and is from the TP (aka Technology Personal) website. Here’s the link:

http://techpp.com/2013/10/02/house-cleaning-gadgets/

Have a great day!

Linda

References

Tyrsina, Radu. Best 25 Gadgets to Keep Your House Clean. (2013, October 3). TP. Online. Accessed October 3, 2013, http://techpp.com/2013/10/02/house-cleaning-gadgets/

Cipriani, Jason. (2013, September 19. Where to find the ‘.com’ button in Safari on iOS 7. CNET. Web. Accessed October 3, 2013, http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57602657-285/where-to-find-the-.com-button-in-safari-on-ios-7/