15. google books

I love google books. As I tend to be a serial faddist, I find can read plenty about whatever subject happens to be top the list of current interests. For example, I've recently been reading a wonderful book, Voyages of Delusion, on the search for the North West Passage. With Google books I can go and read some of the original accounts that are referred to - because they are out of copyright, the full text is there, as much as I can be bothered to sit and read.

For stuff that is in copyright, I still find it useful. We're researching the Camino di Santiago as a possible future adventure, I can read sizeable chunks of the considerable range of texts on the topic.

As a consumer I think its great. I think unlocking that material is brilliant - all that long tail of content that otherwise would be mouldering away somewhere. If I was a publisher I might have a different view. As a librarian, I think it shows us what is possible. Now if we could get a good e-paper ebook reader that could easily download the stuff from google books, we'd definitely be getting somewhere.

14 - Google Docs

Google docs is a great idea, but somehow I never use it. For a while when my son had disabled our microsoft office suite (downloaded the trial version of Office 2007 which blipped Office 2000 and then expired) I tried to get the family to use google docs but we were all relieved when I got a full version of 2007 which we could run from the desk top.

But I guess if you were travelling, google docs would be useful.

googlemaps

Google maps is way cool

I use it lots. For some of the bike rides I do, people have put up the routes with waypoints and directions on a site called Bikely, which somehow uses Googlemaps. See for example http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Altona-Essendon-Docklands-Altona


I like how you can make your own maps too. I haven't worked out how to put an image in a waypoint yet though. Any advice very welcome. Map below highlights the beach round the corner from my house which is a great place to watch sunrise.


View Larger Map

social networking utopias?

I still feel like life is too short for Facebook and Myspace. I get an email, I answer it. Someone sends me a message on Facebook, notification turns up in my email, I have to open facebook, open the inbox, and respond. My daughter has a myspace account. I can't see what's in it without being invited. Probably just as well.

One good thing about Facebook is the capacity to link up with people from your dim distant past that you have lost contact with. I've had one nice lunch and exchanged messages with some old friends, which is nice.

I've put the "ask a librarian utility" on my Facebook profile. I like the slogan - "Real People, Real Help, Real Fast!" I haven't actually been able to connect to anyone yet.

On the train this morning a forceful young woman was lecturing her younger male companion on the dangers of facebook. "People think we live in some utopia where you can put anything on your facebook and it won't impact on their professional life. Its bulls**T. There is no distinction between your professional and private life. And you need to put a better photo of yourself on ...."

She was articulating was one of the reasons why Facebook and myspace make me nervous - they have a sort of social private feel, but they are public spaces, and there is a very uneasy connection between the potential professional uses, the public visibility and the personal dimensions which the medium seems to encourage. Now with a blog you can make up a hokey nom de plume and just let rip. Much better.

Library thing

I must confess I could never quite see the point of Library Thing, but having put a few titles in, I begin to grasp how it could be valuable. The power of the network effect! The capacity to alert you to other good stuff like the good stuff you already like.

image generator

My sense of play is seriously deficient.

But maybe we could print off 200 of these and stick them on the machines on levels 1,2 and 3


http://www.addletters.com/warning-sign-generator.htm

RSS readers

Tried out Google Reader again, which is actually a lot slickr than bloglines which I usually use.

subscribed to "The Distant Librarian" and "Panlibus" as well as "Spanish word a day" - which has very useful expressions in spanish like " She is as beautiful as her mother" which I am sure I will find many opportunities to use in daily conversation.