Computer Viruses

How do you really know when you are protected against computer viruses?  Trojans, worms, and other malware are sneaky little ...s, and phishing scams are also hard to detect. 
I used to pay $100 each year for "reputed" protection against these insidious creatures only to, one day, find  (just when I needed it most) that my CD/DVD drive had stopped functioning.  Thinking that it was a hardware problem I adjusted myself to the fact that I would not be burning cds anymore (not that I illegally burn cds or anything...).  A month or two later, Internet explorer suddenly decided I was no longer allowed to access the Internet.  The funny thing was, I could still send and receive emails.  After weeks of agonising over "that bloody computer", calling my I.S.P., my V.P.S.P. and praying to G.O.D. I discovered that there was definitely a virus.  Despite having already paid $100 for that year's protection, I would have to pay another $140 for the same company to remotely clean out my computer.  I asked my IT friends.  They advised me to back up my files and reinstall vista.  To do this, however, required a working disk drive, which meant $150 (without labour) to get a new one installed, or $60 to buy an external drive.  With the new generation of notebooks (that had about three times as much power as my two year old beast, and at about half the price) I considered ditching the whole thing and starting again.
My financial situation made the decision for me, however, and I decided to pay for a virus clean up.  With one hopeful glimmer of wishful thinking I asked the anti-virus rep. if I had any other options.  He told me I could try calling the manufacturer of my computer and see if they could reset it to its factory default.  This would be like turning back time, restoring my computer to its shiny, younger (and lightning fast) self.  No extra software.  No downloaded extensions.  No viruses.  I followed their advice.  One hour later, my computer was back to its original self.  The disc drive was working, the Internet was functioning and my sanity had thankfully returned.  The first site I visited after months of deprivation was AVG - to download their free virus protection.  While not as comprehensive as its commercial comrades, it seems to do the trick - I have had no problems since.

Event management

Hurray for eventbrite!  A free online tool that makes promotion a breeze.  Doodle is helpful for noodles such as myself (my friends know what I'm talking about), but a few telephone calls would also do the trick.  Anyvite is just plain fun, amusing and not at all confusing!  It allows the user numerous options for free online creation of event invitation.  Invitations can be personalised by allowing the user to choose images from flickr, and yet again, this is other application that is linked with twitter.

rss

RSS is pretty convenient for keeping up to date on the latest information,
until you forget that you have these alerts - then you find frustration!
When you check your account after weeks of inactivity
then you spend hours reading old news, and new news and you forget your own identity.
Maybe that's taking it a little too far, to say the least, a melodramatic exaggeration
because really, how can you lose yourself from reading information?
But sometimes that's the way I feel when I'm on the computer for hours
I sit and read until my eyes go grey and I lose my intellectual powers.
Feedrinse is a refining tool to cut back all the useless stuff
limiting your feeds to keywords that search for you - handy in this tough
social climate of ours, where we can't find the time
to spend searching through google or bing or yahoo.
All in all rss is the best especially the reminders
to remind me to check my reader, and email - before I lose my mind-er
that is to say before I lose my mind
perhaps I'm trying too hard to rhyme.
But what else can you do when writing about RSS
other than give yourself a healthy mental test?

How to act

Isn't it funny how so many people don't know how to act?  You would think that when one stepped into a library - a place designed for study and quiet contemplation - one would attempt to keep their noise production to a minimum. But no - most people don't.  Sorry to rant even more than my usual standard, but what on earth is wrong with this world???  (Aside from the fact that the billions of dollars invested in yachts, moving yachts by ship, and the design of even more expensive yachts could feed the billions of people who don't even have access to clean drinking water ...) 
One example: while walking through the library today I discerned the generic melodies (?) of a popular R&B track.  You know the kind - where every crescendo of vocal melody sounds like the sudden strangulation of a robot on ice (I think it was Cher who started the trend - Do you belieieieve in life after love).  A disgruntled gentleman looked over at me and pointed to the other side of the divided desk.  A young lady gawked at her facebook page.  Behind Facebook, YouTube was (not so) quietly lurking.
"Excuse me, the music is a bit too loud, can you please turn it down?"
The young lady looked at me blankly, before moving the audio cursor down.
"Thank you" I replied, before walking away.
Sure, she had done what I asked, the only thing was - the music was still very audible, in fact, it seemed just as loud as it had been before my intermission.  Noticing the same gentleman's agitated expression, and hearing his sigh (just audible above the music) I returned. 
"The music is still too loud" I said.  She pointed to the sound control.  Being at its minimum she said "Its as low as it can go - if I turn it down more I can't hear it."
"This is a library" I returned "We have to try to keep the noise down because there are people trying to concentrate.  Sorry."  With that I walked away. 
Why did I need to explain this?  Perhaps she had never been educated on the primary role of the library in our society.  I guess I shouldn't judge.  We do provide computers with sound after all, and we don't restrict access to facebook or YouTube.... My thoughts were interrupted again with the twitching ring of a mobile phone.
"Yeah?  At the library.  THE LIBRARY.  (Snickers)"  That same girl was now talking without restraint on her phone.  "Cause you're such as CUTIE" She crowed in a Kath and Kim dialect.  So much for my explanations.  Oh well.  I guess some people just don't learn.

Screen casting

What a useful tool!  The online applications that allow the user to upload their powerpoint presentations make the archival of information a breeze.  Instructional clips, lecture notes and advertisements all have a cosy home in Slideshare & Author stream.
Even more impressive is Screenr which allows the user to record their movements on their pc for the purpose of creating an instructional video.  It even records the user's voice (ah if only I had a microphone), making this technology indispensible for education and information providers (and also those who like to muck around.)  The video is then uploaded to Twitter which is also incredibly useful for spreading the word to niche audiences.  What a happy marriage - online informational bliss!

We all wonder, of course, how long this free access will last.  And if the free aspect is currently of the monetary kind, where is Twitter making their money on such ventures?  Do they own the rights to every thing tweeted?  It's hard to imagine that they aren't gaining anything of value from the information we upload each day.

Lamentation for the Ning

Oh nings! Oh nings! We had such a fling,
but now you are charging; commodifying
all of your potential, making money detrimental -
you're no longer free!
And me, and me - what else do I see
without the dollar sign appearing against an endless sea
of communities, all wanting to speak
to each other - but now who will bother?
Thank heavens for the others
who are free - Nings' brothers
who have stepped up in place
of this faceless face
that money has ravaged
and commercialisation has savaged -
Oh Nings - you used to be free!

The funny side of getting old

Here's a funny slide show I found on Slide Share.

The funny side of getting older

View more presentations from stonesriver.

Nings - glorious things.

No nagging for Nings - they are the greatest things;
When you want to share some fun - you can speak to everyone
who is on the online community - that is built around unity
and shared interests - navigation is magnificent;
so easy to join in - and find the latest thing
and so many options for us - so jump on the bus.
Nings - such glorious things!

Web evaluation tools

Well its time for the ultimate evaluation; the blog rant.  (By the way, I want to apologise for using Lit Emit as a semi-talkback radio style, opinionated, polemic yada yada yada piece - but unfortunately for my readers I find this the perfect way to let off steam.  And p.s. you can use the survey I created to give me your feedback... he he he.)
Here goes....
It is quite useful to have all of these evaluation tools free online; survey monkey, feedburner, google analytics, etc. make it possible to understand the audience's perspectives on the content we upload.
Unfortunately, (here's the usual Lit Emit rhetoric) it is not always so easy to use these tools.  Maybe you're sitting there thinking what on earth is she on about (whoops, now you know my gender), survey monkey is easier than navigating my gmail account, she must be a reeeaaalll space cadet.  Well maybe I am (what's it to you anyway), but I know for a fact, that there are many out there who work in professions who are pushing this technology, that cannot get a hold of all these new fangled ways.  By the way - I'm only 25 - so don't be an ageist.
It would be very useful to have clearer explanations as to what these technologies are for, and what their consequences for web users are.  I was quite excited to create my feedburner account and link it to my blog, but then I got to the final stages and I thought - what is this actually for?
Google alerts are pretty good, if you don't what to repeatedly look for the same topic every day or week.  I would have to say that this technology is very useful if you are following a news story, or property prices, and also another wonderful way for google to capitalise on our interests; creating for indepth personal advertisement profiles.  Yet again I ask: why doesn't any body mention the real reasons for google's ever expanding set of "free" tools?
Well, I'm at the end of my rant.  I guess you're ready to give me your feedback now.  So where's that survey I set up?  Sorry folks, I guess you'll have to rely on the comments page for now.

delicious

Delicious is a tasty treat for those who want to carry their favorites from pc to pc. Also perfect as a home page. It could be a very useful platform for numerous organizations, especially libraries. In the current info-scape, where fact-finding doesn't stop between the covers of a book, delicious folksonomies mediate information providers and users in a way that allows the searcher greater autonomy. It also gives the searcher a platform to create their own folksonomies for future references and for other net users. The fact that the information is web based means that computer crashes or missing files aren't an issue if the user has access to other computers - such as those provided by the library.
Although it can take a little time to comprehend the many different features, this technology offers alot in accessing information, and tailoring the methods of accessing.
The ability to link your bookmarks to your blog opens up numerous possibilites for teachers and libraries - really for anyone who provides information in blog form. Although installing link rolls and tag clouds are useful, the process is not as simple as I expected.
All in all, however, the process is much, much easier that writing lines of intersecting html and css code - and don't even get me started on javascript ...

library on twitter

Here we go again. I just looked at twitter for the first time - is it just me or does this site promote banality? Every tweet I found about the library was either, I'm studying at the library, I don't like going to the library, the library doesn't have the book I want, etc. If you didn't have any physical contact with people, the stream of tweets might represent a conversation to you - but what good is this conversation if you can have it with yourself anyway? Maybe there are more stimulating subjects to discuss, but how much information are you going to get out of them if they are only a sentence or two long? Maybe it is a good place to write rhetorical questions like "Do you know where your children are right now?" Or, "Do you know how many people are wondering if they will eat anything in the near future as you write about people 'slutting up to study at the library' (Actual tweet)?" Any way, I'm glad I got that out of my system. (How ironic to be writing these comments on a blog.)

Back on the boards

After a long break from blogging, I'm back on the boards again. Library 2.1 has begun and unfortunately my my blog was looking a little sad - possibly the lack of attention I've given it, or possibly because my blogging expertise is at a beginner's level. Still, I managed to contribute one post in the time between learning 2.0 and learning 2.1. That's not to say I haven't been harnessing the awesome power of the blog, but rather, I've begun a new one to showcase my writing, and the writing of my partner in crime. The ability to promote homegrown literature, without the all powerful word of the publishing conglomerates predominating, is the best aspect of blogging. In saying this, the use of the blog in the library environment, without the all powerful word of the local council, is an appealing prospect - but it is a realistic one? Every thing published by and for this library needs approval from above - both from library managers and members of council. Could they ever allow staff blogs in this climate? Hopefully one day the bureaucracy will allow some freedom of expression in this regard.
And now for a confession. This blogger has not been following other blogs. So now that I'm back on the keyboards, I'll start following some other blogs.
Till next time.