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Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my...remote.
How about a TV remote that's shaped like a 9mm semi-automatic handgun? This device "slides snugly beneath elastic waistbands for quick-draw access and features a detachable lithium-ion magazine, posi-lock channel changer and safety mode to prevent dropped pistols from accidentally going off (or switching to The Apprentice)."
Ideal for BBC Four, huh, gangstas? Librarians? We got this techie stuff sussed!
Have you ever wondered what happened to Han, Luke & Leia after the events of Return of the Jedi? [Not really]
Now, in BETRAYAL, the legacy that began with Anakin Skywalker has finally come full circle. Join Han, Luke, Leia, & the other heroes of the New Jedi Order in their epic struggle to maintain peace in the galaxy, as a new threat rises from the most unexpected of places.
Available from today from 9.00a.m. (which probably translates as early this afternoon (or later if you're further east)) for a fortnight from the publisher, Del Rey.
http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/starwars/sw_legacy.html
Librarians like free. Librarians like books. Ergo, to like not what?
A marketing ploy? Surely not! Philanthropy? Exactly!
Source: ReadWriteWeb
First of a series (we'll see) of tips harvested from...everywhere.
Sources acknowledged when we can remember them.
Google Search
Google can reorder search and news results from the last day, week, a few months, or entire year by adding a small string to the end of the search URL. After you've done your search, just add &as_qdr=d to the address bar (at the end!) & press Enter. You'll get a custom drop-down box that lets you re-order results based on date. It's great for getting past the same top results you've already looked through, as well as grabbing only the newest links related to gadgets, software, or whatever else you're searching.
Source: Tech-Recipes
Windows XP Service Pack 3
This has been downloadable from various sites for the last week or so but is available from Microsoft as of today. Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system.
Source: Microsoft
11 Tips for Better Tech Support
Not so much a tip, more of a timeous dose of sage advice.
Former tech support guy Brett Kelly says there are a few things you can do to get the computer help you need most efficiently over the phone. Whilst this is aimed at users of the tech support that comes as part, say, of a service or hard/software package, all the advice is eminently pertinent when dealing with in-house ICT support. Example:
Don’t be an Ass - One of the quickest ways you can get to the land of the banished is to treat the tech like some peon who’s just “beneath you” or something. Trust me, if you want help, humility is like gold. And if you think that certain tech support people won’t give you the runaround if your attitude is sour, you’re very, very wrong. Very.
Source: Lifehacker / Cranking Widgets blog
Alternatives to Acrobat Reader
I don't know exactly how widespread the problems with Acrobat Reader are but on the evidence of browser crashes / freeze-ups experienced within these hallowed walls, I suspect that there is a problem, Houston. (Nice brewery though).
Two tips:
1)
Foxit Reader is a completely free, useful utility for viewing .PDF files. It has a very small footprint, taking up only 2MB of disk space–about one-tenth what Adobe Reader takes. Best of all, you can perform many functions that you would typically turn to the expensive verson of Adobe Acrobat for, including editing text in .PDFs, annotating files, and saving completed .PDF forms.2) If you're using Firefox (and you should be), PDF Download relieves the pain experienced when encountering PDF files on the Web. Whenever you click on a PDF file, PDF Download lets you know before trying to open it, and then offers you choices such as downloading, opening, or converting it straight to HTML.
Source: Robert Waugh / The Phantom Engineer
A small point tool used for making holes? That's awl folks!
The Visual Arts Data Service relaunched (rebranded?) earlier this month and offers students & staff access to 100,000+ images.
VADS has been providing services to the academic community for some 11 years and has built up an impressive portfolio of visual art collections. The image resources are free and copyright cleared for use in UK Higher and Further Education, providing a valuable resource to students and academics which can be incorporated into lectures, seminar presentations and essays.
Collections available online through the site include 'Spanish Civil War Posters', 'Concise Art', and 'Posters of Conflict' all from the Imperial War Museum, and the Design Council Archives and Slide Collection from University of Brighton and Manchester Metropolitan University respectively. There's an awful lot more.
http://www.vads.ac.uk/index.php
Caveat emptor. The Man invented holidays to confound the blogger. We say "less holidays now".
A few essential apps & websites for your (re)consideration.
Google Reader
After flirting with Pageflakes, Netvibes, etc., we've returned to the Google Reader fold because, basically, it does all this librarian needs without the FlashJava frippery. Example: new additions to Intute's resources accessed & tagged in a couple of minutes. Example: your del.icio.us network's tags added in seconds. Essential.
WAMP
WAMP installs Apache, MySQL & PHP on a desktop PC. Why would you want to do this? Well, if you don't want to hang around for months waiting for your tech people to install Moodle so you can experiment before they let you loose on the full monty, or you want to try Joomla! 1.5 before upgrading & migrating your original website, WAMP is for you. Simple install turns your PC into a web-server. Installing apps reasonably simple. No registry changes means that you can circumvent techie paranoia. Come play in the sandbox.
G24
G24 brings you the latest stories from the Guardian, guardian.co.uk and the Observer - updated throughout the day. There are five pdfs to choose from: Top stories, World, Media, Business and Sport. Simply click on the Open pdf link and print.
Britannica Webshare
If you’re a Web publisher—a blogger, webmaster, or writer—you can get complimentary access to the complete Encyclopædia Britannica online. It’s a rich trove of reliable and high-quality information that you can use to check quick facts, etc. [The facts, ma'am, just the facts. Which would be nice.] Register here.
Inanimate Alice
Definitely a work in (pretty slow) progress but one worth watching. Why? Because.
'Inanimate Alice' tells the story of Alice, growing up in the early years of the 21st century. Written and directed by writer Kate Pullinger and digital artist Chris Joseph, this series of multimedia, interactive episodes uses a combination of text, sound, images, and games as Alice takes us on a journey through her life from the age of eight through to her twenties.
YouTube
Worthless, worthless, worthless. Pussy cats, drunk kids, duff video, Duff beer and porn. Worthless.
Well, perhaps not. Notwithstanding the presence of a number of Ivy League (Tossing & Turning) universities with YouTube channels, Southwest Tech in Wisconsin have IMO an exemplary channel which offers 1 minute videos of students describing the courses that they're following. Marketing propaganda perhaps but not the dead (& expensive) propaganda of the printed prospectus.
SouthWest Tech channel on YouTube.
...and the graphic. Roll your own at http://www.fodey.com.
PostScript: so Blogger doesn't handle animated gifs? Shame! 'Twas brilliant too, believe me!
YE needa think tho' I be aul', An' a' my bonnet haps is grey, My heart is grizzen, crined or caul' An' never kens a dirl the day.A bonny lass can stirr me still, As deep her mither did when young, An' aul' Scots sang my saul can fill As fu's when first I heard it sung....There's some hae looks, there's mair hae claes, That's but the brods, the beulk's the thing, The heart that keeps for dreary days Some weel-remembered merry spring.The ca' me fey or ca' me feel, Clean draft or dotit, deil may care, Aye faur there's fun, at Pase or Yeel, Gin I be livin' I'll be there.Charles Murray - Tho' I Be Aul'
"The chief element of happiness is this: to want to be what you are."
Desiderius Erasmus - Praise of Folly
Source: Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian Review, 29 March 2008
Picture Credit: Holbein's studies of Erasmus' hands, in silverpoint and chalks, ca. 1523. The Louvre
Today, a thousand epiphanies:
- IT Help Desks around the world stopped saying "Just reboot your system" and admitted they hadn't a clue;
- 4x4 drivers everywhere threw away their personalised number-plates & Princess-On-Board silliness and embraced the new Fiat 500;
- students handed in work that was properly spell-checked, grammatical and not cut 'n' pasted from Wikipedia;
- the last wearer of a "It's All About Me" t-shirt did the decent thing at the Erskine Bridge;
- teachers taught;
- somewhere, someone thought - there must be a better way to find information than constantly using the first page of Google results;
- Daily Mail / Sun / Star readers did the decent thing at the Erskine Bridge;
- John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton invite Noam Chomsky to stand unopposed in November. Ralph Nader spoils the party;
- Blogger lightened up on the Captcha overkill
- new legislation states that Heat, Hello, Nuts & Zoo readers, as not "fit and proper" citizens will not be allowed to vote in future UK elections. The Erskine Bridge beckons;
- all MySpace / Bebo / Facebook egoists (LOL) are abducted by each other (LOL);
- txtspeak disappears IMHO LOL;
- Richard Branson bought this blog for £750,000;
- Marty Scorsese optioned the film rights for £500,000;
- all worthless bloggers everywhere were suddenly termin
Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my...remote.
