Tag: NY

CNET & Amazon Report On Great Black Friday Tech Deals & The Rolling Stones Put Out An App

Linda Reimer

CNET & Amazon Report On Great Black Friday Tech Deals: Since Black Friday is well – Friday! I thought it might be helpful to relay an article or two that offer tips on where to get some solid Black Friday Tech deals.

CNET offers an article on their site titled Top 16 Black Friday Tech Deals and those deals, all of which require one to actual visit a brick and mortar store, include great ones on TVs, a wireless speakerphone, several cool smart phones that are either free or very cheap with a contract, the entry level Roku player for $39.99, a touch screen Windows 8 laptop for less than $600 and even a $39.99 Barnes & Noble Nook (being sold by Sears!). So if you’re planning on bravely venturing forth to shop for tech in the real world on Friday you might want to check out the interactive article.

Here’s the link:

http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-34231_7-10014586.html

And you’ll notice that I referred to that last article as one that might be helpful if you’re shopping in the real world on Friday…

In contrast, here’s a link to the Upcoming Black Friday deals being offered by Amazon online – for those persons who like to do their Christmas shopping from the comfort of their favorite easy chair!

The Amazon page is titled Black Friday Deals Week and can be accessed via the following link:

http://goo.gl/eYZgM

The Rolling Stones Put Out An App: The Stones have just put out an official app. And according to the New York Times the app was “developed with the involvement of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood” so it ought to be quite good as the boys know a thing or two about rock n’ roll! As you would expect the app relays information and news about the band and also allows fans to see where the band is playing on its current tour – and to purchase tickets accordingly.

The brief article regarding the app is from the New York Times Media Decoder blog – here’s the link:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/digital-notes-the-rolling-stones-app-and-sonys-streaming-music-discount/

Have a great Thanksgiving!

And remember the library will be open on Friday from 10 AM to 6 PM so if you are all turkeyed and shopped out – visit us to retrieve some great reading, viewing and listening material – we promise we’ll even have our Christmas collection of CDs out and ready to be checked out!

Linda R. 

Fun Pinterest Program Tonight! & Reminder Of Upcoming Library Closings

Linda Reimer

Fun Pinterest Program Tonight!

Did you know the library hosts several Pinterest programs each month?

We do!

And the next Pinterest program is tonight (11-20) from 5:30 to 7:00 PM.

Feel free to pop in for part of the program tonight; or indeed any time we are hosting a Pinterest event if you can’t quite make the 5:30 start time. Each Pinterest program features the creation of some type of delicious food and the creation of some cool item like homemade coasters or hot plates.

Tonight host Jenn Gaylor will be assisting attendees in creating Special Acorn Treats and DIY Stamped Tea Towels.

Here a link to Pinterest showing the delicious looking Acorn Treats:

http://pinterest.com/pin/149885493819647472/

And here is a link to Pinterest that shows the cool looking stamped tea towels which would make neat holiday gifts (of course, they look so cool I bet  you’ll want to keep them for yourself and later make a batch to give as holiday gifts!):

http://pinterest.com/pin/149885493818985388/

And we do ask that if possible you RSVP for any Pinterest event– simply so we know how many treats to plan on making and much in the way of supplies we need to create the special creation item being made!

So please RSVP via phone 607.684.0361 or email belab@stls.org – Thanks!

Reminder Of Upcoming Library Closings: This is of course not strictly a tech related item – except of course for the fact that you won’t be able to access any of our onsite tech resources on the days we are closed. However, if you have any Internet connection you can always access e-books, a-audio books, e-videos, e-music titles and databases via our website found at SSCLIBRARY.ORG!

The Library will be closed on Thursday, November 22 in observance of Thanksgiving. We will re-open at our usual opening time of 10 AM on Friday, November 23. We’ll also be open our regular hours of 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, November 25.

And then the library will be closed for a week from Sunday, November 25 through Sunday, December 2 so that all the ceiling tiles in the library can be replaced. No physical library materials will be due during the week that we are closed for ceiling tile repair. However, if you wish to return your materials during that week you can place them in the big green book drop located next to the Tioga Avenue entrance to the library.*

Have a great day!

Linda R.

*The exception to this return in the book drop rule includes all our circulating e-readers and laptops – please do not place those in the book drop – instead please either return those items prior to the week we are closed or after we re-open on December 3. Thanks!

Washington Post Interview with Futurist Ray Kurzweil & New XBOX Reportedly Coming With Kinect 2.0, Blu-Ray & Kinect Glasses

Linda Reimer

Washington Post Interview with Futurist Ray Kurzweil: Futurist Ray Kuzweil was recently interviewed by Vivek Wadha of the Washington Post. And I found the interview interesting because it highlights how the accelerated rate of technological change is going to change how we live and work at a much faster rate in this century than it did in the last century; and further that the fast paced technological change will transform the work force in two main ways: 1. By making life-long learning a necessity (gone will be the days when anyone can do the same job in the same way for decades) and 2. In the creative opportunities that will arise for people with a great idea, a hard-work ethic and determination (how the technology will have a democratizing effect allowing people to create more, different and better things with easily accessible technology like 3D printers).

The interview is titled Ray Kurzweil on the future workforce and may be accessed via the following link:

http://goo.gl/CkELE

And on a post script note for anyone who is interested in reading more on futuristic technology predictions – you might want to check out the book Physics of the Future by Micio Kaku.

And there are bunch of Ray Kuzweil video lectures on YouTube which are interesting as well.

New XBOX Reportedly Coming With Kinect 2.0, Blu-Ray & Kinect Glasses: CNET reports that XBOX World says Microsoft’s next XBOX – The XBOX 720 will come with Kinect 2.0 and Blu-ray capability. Kinect of course is the motion detector game controller for the XBOX that allows players to manipulate their characters and/or action within games by moving around in the physical world. And having a Blu-ray disc drive built into the XBOX would be great but I must admit I like the idea of the rumored XBOX Kinect Glasses that are also supposed to be coming and that when combined with the Kinect motion sensor are supposed to offer the game player an immersive gaming experience – that sounds good to me! We’ll have to wait and see if the speculation pans out – the next XBOX is rumored to be coming out in the first half of 2013.

Here’s a link to the CNET report titled Xbox 720 to offer Kinect 2.0 and Blu-ray drive, says Xbox World:

http://goo.gl/0u21k

And a link to the very brief CNET article, titled ‘Kinect Glasses’ coming from Microsoft? that relays the rumor about the Kinect Glasses:

http://goo.gl/VR68H

Have a great day!

Linda R.

Free Library E-Books, E-Audio Books, E-Videos, E-Music and Credible Databases

Linda Reimer

Did you know library offers patrons a multitude of free electronic resources consisting of e-books, e-audio books, e-videos, e-music titles and credible databases that you can access via the web 24/7/365?

We do!

All you need is a library card to access and/or check e-materials and log into e-databases.

And before I go any further let me just say that the cliff notes/basic bottom line of this posting is that you can access e-books, videos, audio books and music albums through the Digital Catalog found on the library’s website. And if you have any questions about how to access any of the content on our website and/or download it to any of your tech devices please feel free to visit the library and speak with a member of our tech team – or even make an appointment to sit down with a member of our tech team and go over any tech usage questions you have step-by-step– it is a free service we offer! Just call: 607-936-3713 ext. 502 – which is the Reference Desk extension – and ask to speak to Linda or Jenn to make an appointment.

And if you’d like an in-depth explanation of the e-formats the library offers and how you can access them – please read on!

The first thing you need to begin the process of checking out e-formats is a library card. And to obtain a library card you simply come to the library during our usual hours of operation and present a form of ID that features both your name and your current address. There is a very short form to fill out as well and presto! You’ll have a library card which will literally unlock worlds for you – worlds of imagination and worlds of information and just plain worlds of fun too!

So of course, once you have a library card, the next question is:

How do you check out free library e-books, e-audio books, e-videos, e-music titles and how do you access the free databases in the library’s online collection?

And before I answer that duo question I have to add an illuminating little tidbit of information regarding e-books, e-audio books, e-videos and e-music titles. The e-book revolution and the move to accessing information and media content online has happened so quickly that it is causing major upheaval in the publishing and media world. And as a result of the major upheaval, publishers and media companies want to put what they call “friction*” in the process that patrons have to use to check out free library e-books, e-audio books, e-videos and e-music  titles (albums).  And the publisher/media company requirement of “friction” is why there are so many different ways to download e-library content and why it is frequently a cumbersome process. And added to that fact is another huge fact – not all publishing companies and media companies will sell their e-content to public libraries – and that is why you don’t see some of the best-selling e-books, e-audio books, e-videos and e-music titles on the shelves of our virtual library.

And getting back to the question of how one checks out these e-formats – the answer to that questions can be more easily relayed if we look separately at each of the five categories our virtual library e-books, e-audio books, e-videos, e-music titles and the library collection of free credible databases.

And notably, all the category items, except the databases, can be accessed via the STLS Digital Catalog (aka Virtual Library) link found on the library’s homepage. The fifth category – the databases – can be accessed by clicking on the Research link found on the library’s home page (and then clicking on the Subscription Resources link that displays).

And without further ado on to the five categories:

E-Books: You can check out and read library e-books on a PC, Mac, e-ink e-reader (those are the ones that feature black text on a light gray screen), a reading tablet* (Kindle Fire, Nook Color, Nook Tablet or Nook HD) or a tablet (iPad, iPad Mini, Google Nexus 7/10, Galaxy Tab etc.)

And if you have questions about how to check out free library e-book – call or stop by the library and a member of our tech team will assist you!

E-Audio Books: There are two types of e-audio books found in the catalog – MP3 audio books and WMA audio books. The MP3 audio books can be checked out and listened to via PCs, Macs, and via apps downloaded to smartphones & tablets. And WMA files – well, the WMA stands for “Windows Media Player” and thus you have to download the WMA audios to a PC and then transfer them to supported portable device like an iPad, iPod or other MP3 player.

And if you have questions about how to check out free library e-audio books – call or stop by the library and a member of our tech team will be glad to answer any questions you have about the process and/or walk you through it!

E-Videos: E-videos are the easiest format in the Digital Catalog to discuss because, basically, you can download e-videos to a PC and that is all* You do have to download software first – it is called OverDrive Media Console and it can be accessed via the library’s website.

And you know I’m going to repeat myself here and say if you have questions about how to check out free library e-videos – please call or stop by the library and a member of our tech team will assist you!

You can even make an appointment with a member of our tech team and we’ll walk you through the process from beginning to end!

E-Music Titles: E-music titles can be checked out to a PC and a variety of MP3 players including players made by Sony, Samsung, ScanDisk, Colby and Creative Zen (but not any version of the iPhone, iPod or iPad…)

Ditto the cheerleader like refrain: if you have questions about how to check out free library e-music albums–please call or stop by the library and a member of our tech team will assist you!

And if you’d like to check and see if any of your devices can play any or all of the e-formats mentioned in this blog post check out Resources page on the OverDrive website.

Here’s the link:

http://www.overdrive.com/resources/drc/

Free (To Library Patrons) & Credible Databases: You can also access a number of free (to library patrons) databases through the library’s website. These databases include: Academic One File (for students of all ages doing research), The Business & Company Directory (a great db to use if you want to know where a company is located, who the CEO is and other general information regarding the business/company), The Chilton Library (for those that like to fix their own cars!), EBSCO Animals (for kids looking for information on animals), the Health Reference Center (to research health subjects), The Literature Resource Center (for researching authors, books and literary works in general), the New York State Newspapers database (to search for articles that have appeared in New York State Newspapers) and more! Check it out! Simply go to our website: SSCLIBRARY.ORG, click on the Research link at the top of the page and then click on the Subscription Services link that displays – the listing of our databases will display. And once you click on a database you’d like to try out – you’ll be prompted to log in with the number on the back of your library card.

And if you really read all that – you deserve a gold star!

Have a great weekend everyone!

And remember our free e-services will be accessible the last week of the month, November 25 – December 2, when the library itself will be closed so the interior ceiling tiles can be replaced.

Linda R.

*The term “Reading Tablet” as we use it refers to e-reading tablets that are not quite fully fledged tablets – the offer many of the same features as a full sized tablet but may or may not have a camera and they do not have access to all the apps in the Apple or Android app stores.

*Friction: The term “friction” in this case means that the publishers and media companies want to make the process of checking out e-formats from your public library more difficult because they think this will cut down on digital piracy.

*Digital Catalog: the Term “Digital Catalog” is fancy tech terminology that simply means the place you go to browse through the e-book titles, search for specific e-book titles and then check them out so you can read them!

*E-Videos: There are a few exceptions to the rule that e-videos can only be downloaded to a Windows PC but they are so few I’m not sure it is even worth mention them. OverDrive states on their Supported Devices page that if you own an MP3 player that supports DRM and WMA protected content (i.e. the anti-piracy software that publishers and media companies insist be built into e-books, e-audios and e-videos) than you can download e-videos to that device and take them with you. However, the list OverDrive has of portable devices that support DRM and WMA is very short and consists of several of the Creative Zen and Sony series of MP3 players…

Recommended Tech Holiday Gift Lists

Linda Reimer

I can’t believe it is just about the season to venture forth and purchase tech gifts for friends and family members. However, since Black Friday is a week from tomorrow it certainly must be!

Where has November gone? It does seem to be flying right by…

And I’m digressing! Back to the topic of finding the right tech gift!

Not only can the tech holiday gift guide links below assist you in finding the prefect tech gift – but the library staff can too! And as I mentioned yesterday tonight the library is hosting its first Try It Before You Buy It program of the seasons. The program will offer people the opportunity to come in and try out a variety of tablets, e-readers and a few other gadgets (including a Kodak Playsport, a fifth generation iPod Touch, a touchscreen, a Windows 8 laptop and a MacBook).

And with our Try It Before You Buy It program and the advent of the holiday shopping season in mind, pasted below are links to two tech sites who have put out their recommendations as to which tech items you might want to purchase as gifts.

And of course if you can’t make the Try It Before You Buy It program this evening you can shoot for the next one being held December 6th (at 6 PM) or simply call us and arraign a time that is convenient for you to come in and take a look at the e-readers, tablets and other tech items that we have in-house and correspondingly ask questions of our tech team who are here to help!

And on to the tech site holiday gift guide links!

The first link is to the CNET 2012 Holiday Gift Guide that includes recommendations in the both general and specific categories. The general categories are: Best Gifts For Less Than $100, Our Favorite Tech Gifts This Holiday, Tech Toys for Big Kids, Best TV’s for Overall Value and Top Camera Picks. And the specific category reviews include: Televisions, Cameras & Accessories, Home Theater, Tablets & E-Book Readers, Phones & Accessories, Desktops and Laptops, Audio & Headphones, Games & Gaming Systems and Cars and Car Tech.

Here’s the link:

http://reviews.cnet.com/holiday-gift-guide/

The second link is to the Tech Crunch gift guide for 2012 and it features specific device suggestions – recommendations include purchasing the iPad Mini, a TIME Led Watch Kit, a Libratone Zipp AirPlay speaker set and the Motorolla Razo i.

Here’s the link:

http://techcrunch.com/tag/gift-guide-2012/

And on a final note, here’s a link to a CNET article highlighting tech devices that will be on sale – on Black Friday:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-34231_7-57549903/black-friday-2012-laptops-desktops-and-tablets/

Have a great day everyone!

Linda R. 

Creating Better, More Secure Passwords

Linda Reimer

We all know that it is a good idea to create strong, secure passwords for our online accounts and not use passwords like: password, apples, 1234, baseball or qwert; or passwords that include personal information like your date of birth or the date of birth of a family member. However, in our super busy world creating secure passwords that we can remember is a challenge. And today there is an article in the New York Times titled How to Devise Passwords That Drive Hackers Away that discusses the subject of creating safer, more secure passwords – and it does offer some helpful tips! The suggestions include never using the same password twice, never using proper words but instead using catch phrases (i.e. the first initial of each word in a phrase like TYwtws2013! For the catch phrase “The Yankees won the world series 2013!”

Here’s a link to the article for more in-depth information on how to create great passwords:

http://goo.gl/eBsy5

Have a great day!

Linda

Off The Tech Topic Posting

Linda Reimer

I came a cross a neat article today that has nothing what-so-ever to do with technology except perhaps for the fact that I read it in the online version of the New York Times.

The article is actually an interview with Herman Wouk the 97 year old author who wrote, among other popular works, The Winds of War, War and Remembrance and Marjorie Morningstar.

And Mr. Wouk has a new book out! The book is called the Lawgiver and it will be on the library’s next book order.

And that Mr. Wouk at age 97 has a new book is cool!

And I hope that I am as spry as he is when I get to be 97 – fingers crossed of course!

Here’s the link to the New York Times interview titled At 97, He Has a Book (or Two) Left in Him:

http://goo.gl/C1OF7

Linda R.

Tech Events @ The Library This Week: Holiday Planning & Try It Before You Buy It

Linda Reimer

Wednesday, November 14, 2012:

Wednesday One Hour Tech Workshop: Holiday Planning.
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Learn how to plan your holiday party- electronically with assistance from apps and websites. Registration is required. Register in person or by phone (607)936-3713 ext. 502.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Evening Tech Workshop: Try before you buy
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Stop in the try e-readers, iPads and tablets before you decide what to buy as a holiday gift even if you’re looking to buy a new e-reader or tablet for yourself!

Staff will be on hand to answer questions you may have about these devices.

Additionally of note, the library offers free one-on-one tech usage instruction sessions so if you buy a new tablet or e-reader and have questions about how to use it – you can call and make an appointment to sit down and go over your questions with a member or our tech staff.

Have a great afternoon everyone!

Linda R.

Get A FREE E-Book By Local Author Jacqueline Horsfall Via The Library’s Website

Linda Reimer

In honor of Election Day local author Jacqueline Horsfall is offering her new e-book First Girl Last for free through Amazon. The story follows a teenage girl and her twenty-something slacker brother who become leaders of the Free World!

To get the book you simply visit our website and click the link on our homepage – here’s the link:

http://ssclibrary.org/

Interested in the e-book but don’t own a Kindle? Read on!

Did You Know You Can Read Kindle E-Books On Smartphones & Tablets?

You can!

There are Kindle apps for most tablets and smart phones including the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch and Android smart phones and tablets like the Droid Razor and Galaxy Tab  – so if  you “buy” (and you do have to click the “buy” button even though the e-book is free!) the free e-book First Girl Last from Amazon you’ll be able to send it to your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or Android smart phone or tablet to read it – you just have to download the Kindle app from your app store first!

And Did You Further Know You Can Read Kindle E-Books (or for that matter free library e-books) on a PC or Mac?

You can!

You can actually download software from the Amazon site that will allow you to open any Kindle e-books you’ve purchased on your laptop or desktop!

And for the sake of convenience – here are the links:

Click here to download the Kindle software for your PC:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311

And click here to download the Kindle software for your Mac:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000464931

And in relation, to read free library e-books on your smart phone or tablet look for the OverDrive Media Console app from your app store!

And if you have questions about how to read Kindle e-books on devices other than Kindles or regarding how to get the OverDrive Media Console app set up on your device – so you can read free library e-books – ask the library staff! We’ve got a tech staff ready to assist you with any tech usage questions you might have – so please ask us!

Have a great day!

Linda R.

Amazon Prime Goes Monthly & Sony E-Books App Approved by Apple

Linda Reimer

Amazon Prime Goes Monthly: As you may already know Amazon has been offering a service called Prime for quite a while. The service offers subscribers unlimited streaming of videos from Amazon’s Prime Video library to their PC, Mac, iPad, smartphone or TV (via a media streaming box like Roku or through the TV directly if you have a Smart TV); free access to one e-book a month from Amazon’s Prime Lending Library, free second day shipping for any item purchased from Amazon and $3.99 over night shipping for any item purchased from Amazon.

Prior to this week a subscription to prime costs $79 per year and was paid annually in one lump sum; but now you can subscribe to Amazon Prime and pay $7.99 a month. And it is certainly not a coincidence that Amazon has done this since both Netflix and Hulu Plus streaming (video) subscriptions are also available for $7.99 per month.

Here’s a link to a CNET article on this subject titled Amazon eyes Netflix, Hulu with $7.99-per-month Prime plan:

http://goo.gl/ZR24b

 Sony E-Books App Approved by Apple: And you may by wondering what I am talking about with this one! Sony has offered e-book readers for years. And in fact, Sony had e-book readers on the market in the U.S. in 2005 so their e-readers were on the market before the first iPad came out in 2010 and even before the first Kindle was introduced by Amazon in 2007. And anyone who first purchased a Sony E-Reader (usually known as Sony Readers) and later purchased an iPad or iPhone knows there hasn’t been a Sony Reader app available in Apples App store previously – so those of us who purchased Sony Readers and later upgraded to iPads or iPhones couldn’t read our Sony purchased e-books on our iPads; this has now changed! Hurray! There is finally a Sony e-reader app available for free from Apple’s App Store! The app is titled Reader – eBooks from Sony and is free. So anyone else out there who also has an old Sony E-Reader can now access their Sony purchased e-books on their iPad , iPhone or iPod Touch and donated that old Sony Reader they still have to one of their friends or relatives!

CNET has a story on this subject titled Sony finally gets Apple approval for iOS Reader app which can be accessed via the following link:

http://goo.gl/5WkqZ

Have a great election day everyone!

Linda R.