Watching TV online

YouTube is a great site to watch amateur videos online, and now they are adding professional content to their site, according to the New York Times.

This will be in direct competition with Hulu, another professional content site that is not available to viewers in Bolivia. Hulu offers NBC and Fox content, and hence shows from these networks will not be available through YouTube, but CBS and other network shows will be available.

Bicycle delivery?

In Ames, Iowa one library makes the environmentally conscious decision to deliver books by bicycle, instead of by vehicle. Read an article here.

Earth Day is coming up. What other innovative ideas can we come up with to lessen our impact on the environment?

Children's books in the White House?

Milton Terrace South Elementary School in New York set out to find if there are any children's books in the White House library. Research showed them that there probably aren't any (though they couldn't be definitive), and so media specialist Susan Penney decided to see what she could do to fix the situation. She had the students and teachers all vote on their favorite titles, and organized donations of the winning books! Read the whole article here, complements of School Library Journal, and see the complete list here.

We have some of the books in the SCCS library, such as:
Click, Clack, Moo, by Doreen Cronin
The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo
Charlotte’s Web, by EB White
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Patterson

Were some of the titles your favorites, too? Which ones?

What titles would you recommend for the Obama daughters? (They are aged 7 and 10, I believe.)

Digital to print and print digitized

CNN and NPR are reporting that a German company is going publish a print version of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. The single volume "will be about 1,000 pages and carry around 50,000 most-requested entries and definitions," reports NPR.

This seems like an odd move for a publishing house as there are many print options already available, and the joy of Wikipedia is based in its digital qualities of changeability and constant peer review. Being able to edit, search, link and create articles is what makes Wikipedia unique, and it remains to be seen whether it will appeal as much in book format.

In the opposite direction, Reuters is reporting that one of the oldest versions of the New Testament will be digitized. Called the Codex Sinaiticus, it's written in Greek, and parts will be available here, with the rest coming next July.

Rowling vs. lexographer

JK Rowling, famous author of the Harry Potter books, recently testified in New York against Steven Vander Ark, a lexographer of her series. The Michigan man in question put together a comprehensive dictionary of the Potter world and wishes to have it published. Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment are suing, stating that the proposed dictionary is plagarism. For more details on the case, read a recently published New York Times' article.

After reading the article, let us know if you think it is biased in Rowling's or Vander Ark’s direction. Is it completely balanced?

Favorite reads for British Teens

An article in the Guardian (UK) talks about British teen reading habits. The first entry on the list of favorite things to read is a celebrity gossip magazine, followed by online song lyrics, gaming cheats and info, and blogs and fan fiction. Harry Potter books are the first paper entries on the list, and Anne Frank, Alex Rider and the Narnia series fill out the top ten.

What are your favorite things to read? Do your tastes match those of British teens?

Kosovo, a new nation?

Kosovo, a small, landlocked political unit in southeastern Europe has declared its independence. The United States and some Western European countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent nation. There is a full, interesting article available through the New York Times, if you want to read more about the situation.

What does this have to do with technology and reading at SCCS, you may ask. Well, it's interesting to see the changes in the political maps as are represented by the atlases in the library. In the older ones, for example, the Soviet Union covers a broad swath of land from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. In our current Atlas, however, Russia is quite a bit smaller and there are more than a dozen new countries! Will Kosovo show up as a country in next year's atlas, or will it still be a part of Serbia? This will be a reflection of the political thought of the publishers and countries around the world.

Remember, while Wikipedia can keep up with these rapid changes faster than the print versions, there is little editorial review, and mistakes and bias exist. Take a look at Wikipedia's article on Kosovo and compare it with the New York Time's. Do you see differences?

Computer safety

Worried about downloading a virus, or letting someone steal all your personal information? Here's a great list from PC Magazine that has 72 Tips for Safer Computing. Take a look and see which ones will work for you.

Video games and stories?!

The Writer's Guild of America has decided to add video games to its list of awards this year. (The original press release is here.)

And, here are the nominees:

Crash of the Titans (Sierra Entertainment)
Written by Christopher Mitchell

Dead Head Fred (D3 Publisher)
Written by Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan

The Simpsons Game (EA)
Lead writer Matt Selman; written by Tim Long and Matt Warburton; dialogue by Jeff Poliquin

The Witcher (Atari)
Lead story designer Artur Ganszyniec; dialogue Sebastian Stepien; additional dialogue Marcin Blacha; writers Sande Chen and Anne Toole

World In Conflict (Sierra Entertainment)
Story design Christofer Emgard; story consultant Larry Bond; script consultant Ed Zuckerman

Are any of these games your favorite? Do you enjoy the storyline in the games you play?

Newbery and Caldecott announced!

The ALA just announced the Newbery and Caldecott winners!

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature was awarded to Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, written by Laura Amy Schlitz.

The Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children was awarded to The Invention of Hugo Cabret, illustrated by Brian Selznick.

These books will be available at the SCCS library in August 2008. For the full list of this year's American Library Association awards and nominees, check out their press release.

Transportation strikes

It's quite interesting that both France and Bolivia are having transportation strikes at the same time, though over different issues. Read this BBC article (in English) to further understand the French strike. The BBC also has a short article on the Bolivian strike. El Deber has a more indepth article (in Spanish).

To find out more about this issue, or anything else in the news, Google News is a great place to start your search.

Running out of batteries? Go for a run!

Everyone uses portable gadets these days, MP3 players, cell phones, blackberries, that kind of thing. Ever run out of batteries when you really needed them? Here's a new tech solution in the making: wear your recharger as clothing!

The technology behind the idea would be woven into the fabric of your clothing, and every time you moved, you could recharge your portable device! What a great form of renewable energy.

Check out the details and a full article from the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald.

PC Magazine's 100 Favorite Blogs

The staff at PC Magazine put together a list of their 100 favorite blogs. There are a lot of tech blogs on the list, gears and gadgets are heavily represented, but there are also plenty of music, gossip, style and fashion blogs. (Plus a few oddballs, like StrangeMaps.) Check out the list and see if any of the blogs are ones you want to read!

Also, don't forget that we have a subscription to PC Magazine (and 44 other magazines) in the library!

What is your favorite blog on the list? Is there a great blog you'd like to see added to the list?

Facebook etiquette???

According to slate.com there are certain rules to friending and defriending folks on facebook. If you're interested in the etiquette, take a look at this article by Reihan Salam in which he discusses the ins and outs of getting rid of those lame people and stalkers.

Web 2.0, huh?

Are you a user of Web 2.0? If you're reading this blog, you are! Here's an article that will explain what it is, and a bit of the history of the idea.