Book Trends: e-Books vs Print

 

Recent stats show e-book sales slipping and print book sales advancing slightly. Sony is no longer selling an e-reader. Amazon is opening physical bookshops.

Reasons people prefer eBooks:

• Storage – People can store hundreds, even thousands, of books within one device.
• Ease of purchase – Buying an eBook is just a click away.
• Portability – The worst thing is finishing a book on vacation and not having the next book to start.
• Price – The price of an eBook is usually less than a print book.
• Purchasing Options – A person can find an eBook at almost 80 different online outlets.

Reasons people prefer print books:

• Tangibility – They get a tangible item for their money.
• Accomplishment – They feel more accomplished when the mass of the book moves from the right side to the left and they know they are almost done.
• Library – Some people like to have a library of books to select from.
• Aroma – Some people like the smell.
• DIY – One person has said she couldn’t use a stack of eBooks to prop up her couch if the leg fell off.

 

Who is Doing all the Reading?

in 2005:

Gender: Female (53%) vs. Male (42%) – 11pt differential!
Age: 18-29 (40%), 30-49 (47%), 50-64 (51%), 65+ (47%

How do People Find New Books to Read?

Not much has changed from 1999 to 2005. Below are the % statistics for 2005.

• Choosing an Author whose book you like: 30%
• Based on Recommendation from someone you know: 27%
• Browsing a bookstore or library: 22%
• Based on Book Reviews: 7%
• By Subject: 6%
• By Browsing an Internet Site: 3%
• Advertisement You’ve Seen: 2%                                                                                                 More Here

New York Libraries Have More Visitors Than Any Other Attractions

 

Read More here

 

Did You Get Your Code For Patterson’s Book?

James Patterson’s book Private Vegas is due out January 26, 2015.

For 294,038, one super (rich) fan of James Patterson will have the opportunity to purchase the author’s next book and watch it explode a day after opening it. The self-destructing book is part of a plan to promote Mr. Patterson’s next title, “Private Vegas,” due out Jan. 26 from Little, Brown and Company.

The price tag includes a first-class flight to an undisclosed location, two nights’ stay in a luxury hotel, 14-karat gold-plated binoculars, a five-course dinner with Mr. Patterson and a copy of “Private Vegas” that will self-destruct 24 hours after the purchaser begins reading it. While the details of how the book will explode are being kept secret, the process will involve a bomb squad and a location that could come straight out of a Patterson story.

A 1,000 people will be able to read the book for free. Beginning Wednesday at noon, codes will be released in batches at selfdestructingbook.com allowing users to download digital copies of the book, which will self-destruct (a.k.a. delete themselves) 24 hours after the user begins reading.

Poppin And Joking At The Library

Check Out The Videos

5 MillionGmail Passwords Leaked On Russian Bitcoin Site

Nearly 5 million usernames and passwords appear to have been published on a Russian Bitcoin forum.

Hackers dumped a database of nearly 5 million Gmail usernames and passwords to a Russian Bitcoin forum late Tuesday. Russia’s state-run news wire RIA Novosti reports the accounts are from English-, Russian- and Spanish-speaking users, and as many as 60 percent of them are active.

A database of what appears to be some 5 million login and password pairs for Google accounts has been leaked to a Russian cyber security internet forum. It follows similar leaks of account data for popular Russian web services.

The text file containing the alleged compromised accounts data was published late on Tuesday on the Bitcoin Security board. It lists 4.93 million entries, although the forum administration has since purged passwords from it, leaving only the logins.

The accounts are mostly those of Google users and give access to Gmail mail service, G+ social network and other products of the US-based internet giant. The forum user tvskit, who published the file, claimed that 60 percent of the passwords were valid, with some users confirming that they found their data in the base, reports CNews, a popular Russian IT news website. Google Russia said it is investigating the alleged leak, adding that it advises customers to use strong passwords and enable two-step login verification to protect their accounts

 

https://isleaked.com/en         (can tell you if your email was compromised)

Libraries Are Important Today and Tomorrow

HEREs WHY

 

 

Some Collect Coins , Some Collect Stamps This dudes Collects Library Cards

Read More Here

Natural language vs Keyword Search

 

Keyword searches have a tough time distinguishing between words that are spelled the same way, but mean something different (i.e. hard cider, a hard stone, a hard exam, and the hard drive on your computer). This often results in hits that are completely irrelevant to your search.

Most sites offer two different types of searches–“basic” and “refined” or “advanced.” In a “basic” search, you just enter a keyword without sifting through any pulldown menus of additional options. Depending on the engine, though, “basic” searches can be quite complex.

Unless you are a librarian, information professional or know the skills of searching the average person will use basic search. The reality is these “advanced” search tools are rarely used, and they tend to be useless because it still applies the same keyword pairing principles. So you get more refined bad results not more accurate results.

Unlike keyword search systems, Natural Language search systems focus meaning, the natural way humans ask and offer answers to each other, not just what you say in a few words. Natural Language is concept based which means it returns search hits on documents that are “about” the subject/theme you’re exploring, even if the words in the document don’t match at all the words you enter into the search. Natural language is what we use as an everyday means of communication among humans. It has a syntax and complies with principles of economy and optimality. One of the biggest challenges in computer science is the creation of computers which are able to understand natural language.

Natural Language is the closest a search engine can get to “reading the minds” of internet users. By allowing users express themselves in their own words, as they would when addressing a real human being, they will have the ability to use technology that understands what they are actually looking for rather then a guessing machine. With Natural Language Search can relieve  search engine fatigue and turn your search experience into an effective, positive, more human experience.

Lexis Nexis Now Offering A New Online News & Information Resource

 

LexisNexisLegal & Professional, has  launched a new online news & information resource offering access to materials and tools on legal eBooks, digital library technology and print titles.

Called LexisNexis® Legal Content Insider, this new resource was unveiled at the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas. The site provides legal professionals up-to-date  information on legal publications. Built on the LexisNexis® LexTalk platform, the site also is connected to a network of community forums where legal professionals such as law librarians can connect with one another on issues of the day. This site features legal eBooks & print titles as well as influential blogs, and legal news feeds from Law360® and LexisNexis® Mealey’s®, as well as connection to the full LexTalk network of forums for legal professionals.
The sites goal & strategy is to offer innovative technologies to legal professional and help them better use legal publications, by providing resources to assist them in managing their collections.

Economic & Political Competition– Today

 

Read Some More Here

Chicago, New York City & Hawaii Bid For Obama Library

 

 

 

Four of the confirmed bidders are from President Barack Obama’s hometown Chicago.  Obama’s birth state of Hawaii offered an oceanfront location in Honolulu. And Columbia University, where he got his undergraduate degree, is offering a West Harlem site in New York City.

The Obama Foundation, which is planning the library, declined to confirm the bids it has received.

Four of the five proposed Chicago locations are on the city’s South Side. Which includes: the University of Chicago, where Obama taught constitutional law for 12 years; Chicago State University; vacant land in Bronzeville that was part of Chicago’s failed bid for the 2016 Olympics; and a former steel plant near Lake Michigan being pitched by real estate developer Dan McCaffery.

The library and museum is seen as a potential driver of economic development. The University of Chicago cited a study it commissioned that concluded the library would draw 800,000 visitors a year and create 1,900 permanent jobs. The University of Illinois-Chicago also is also offering potential locations on and off campus on the city’s West Side. Hawaii’s bid is being led by the University of Hawaii and backed by the state. The library would sit on oceanfront property in Honolulu, but the university says it’s willing to share the library and museum.

Columbia’s bid would put the library on its new Manhattanville Campus in West Harlem. The Obama Foundation is expected to announce a decision in early 2015

Library of The Year

Edmonton Public Library (EPL) of Alberta, Canada has been chosen, the 2014 Library of the Year by Library Journal magazine and Gale, part of Cengage Learning. Each year, this prestigious recognition goes to a public library that most profoundly demonstrates service to community, creativity, leadership and innovation in developing community programs. EPL serves one of Canada’s fastest growing cities through its 17 branches operated by more than 600 employees who last year answered nearly 2.5 million questions and facilitated 5.2 million library visits (with another 4.7 million visits via their website). Every three seconds someone is borrowing from EPL. Their social media popularity – with 20,000 Twitter followers and 9,000 Facebook fans – leads almost all North American urban libraries.

 EPL lacks the stereotypical image of library as a book repository and serves as a center of civic engagement. Community librarians at each branch integrate deeply with local institutions such as school districts, health centers and outreach groups in order to understand needs, eliminate barriers, and inform services and policies. their  makerspace – is a location dedicated to creating with technology such as 3D printers, game development software, a sound and recording studio and more. New branches have been designed or redesigned to focus on open space, collaboration, and sustainability, and a focus on lifelong learning, including online learning, helps ensure the success of individuals as well as the community.

 Cengage Learning is a leading educational content, technology and services company, that empowers educators and driving learner engagement through personalized services and course-driven digital solutions that bridge from the library to the classroom. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, serves the world’s information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet.

Library Journal  was founded in 1876, Library Journal is one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the library field. Over 75,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries read LJ. Library Journal reviews over 8000 books, audiobooks, videos, databases, and web sites annually, and provides coverage of technology, management, policy, and other professional concerns.

View Here      

2nd Circuit Court Rules In Fair Use For Digital Libraries

 

The 2nd Circuit ruled has ruled in the “fair Use” doctrine, that a digital library can create a full-text searchable database of copyrighted works and to make those works accessible.  Back in 2008, major universities and libraries partnered with Google to digitize their volumes. The HathiTrust Digital Library enabled more than 80 university and research libraries to store, secure and search their digital collections.  Traditionally, the library normally does not allow users to access digitized books in their entirety. Rather, it helps scholars and others find the copyrighted books at libraries through a database that delivers titles and page numbers via keyword search.

The Authors Guild and publishers had a lawsuit against HathiTrust and the partnering universities in 2011, alleging their distribution of digital copies of millions of copyrighted works infringed its members’ copyrights.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation supported Hathitrust in an amicus brief. A New York federal judge  rejected the Authors Guild’s challenge in October 2012 and commended the Hathitrust library in a opinion that held book digitization to enhance research and access qualifies as “transformative” use.

American Libraries Vintage Posters

Take A Look At The American Library Association Archives Poster Collection@ The University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign. The vintage collection  includes printed posters, rotogravures and architectural drawings of ALA divisions, committees, projects and events. Subjects include the work of the ALA during World War I and II, the 50th Anniversary of the ALA in 1926, the Andrew Carnegie Centenary in 1935, librarianship recruitment, and general library and readership promotion.

 

Raheen Library

 

 

View the redsign here

More Here

France’s Interactive media Library

 

 

The ‘Mont de Marsan Mediatheque‘ an interactive media library located in the south-west of France. The project was recently nominated for the London Design Museum‘s ‘Designs of the Year 2014 Award’ in the category of architecture.

A clean envelope of pure geometric lines, a 197 ft x 197 ft square, the building complies with the classical layout yet contrasts with its austerity by offsetting the system with a corner opening onto the city. Its facades reflect the surrounding barracks with a respectful, deferential mirror.

Over 400 Million Accounts Hacked This Year

 

 

 

The exact number of hacked accounts is difficult to determine. Many companies have not released the majority of the information regarding their cyber breaches. Many think cyber invasion is harmless: however the damage is quite serious. Today hackers are downloading your personal information, including your name, debit or credit card, email, phone number, birthday, password, security questions and physical address.The increase of hacker attacks is most likely as a result of everyone moving putting information online and hackers becoming more educated and computer savvy. Hackers are cheaper and can go in and out of companies with ease and unnoticed. The teams of hackers  create malware to attack specific organizations still using outdated systems like Windows XP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authors Hating On Other Authors

Just Move Your Mouse Over The Arrows -Authors hating on Authors back in the day

View Here

The Legislative Explorer Data & Visualization

 

Legislative Explorer is an interactive visualization site, where you can  explore actual patterns of lawmaking in Congress, compare bills and resolutions introduced by Senators and Representatives. Follow their progress from the beginning to the end of a two year Congress. You can filter by topic, type of legislation, chamber, party, member, or even search for a specific bill.

Trends & Revolutionizing Healthcare

Smartphones-Smartphones will continue to improve data access for the medical staff, which will improve healthcare. Today, information can be obtained anytime and anywhere, resulting in quicker medical decisions. New medical apps are transforming the smartphone into a medical device with the ability to send relevant patient data to the electronic medical record (EMR).

Wi-Fi
At many hospitals the wireless LAN (WLAN) now connects more devices than the wired LAN. It started with workstations on wheels (WoWs) and now encompasses medical devices, phones, video units, realtime locating systems (RTLS), and guest Internet access. Wi-Fi availability is the norm as we geer towards a digital space with mobile adoption.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Smartphones + hospital Wi-Fi = the need for a BYOD policy and mobile device management. BYOD has greatly influenced how technology solutions are evaluated and implemented by hospital IT. The consumer market is now driving corporate adoption. The days of the rigid corporate standard for hardware are gone, as a result of  cloud infrastructure that is capable of supporting a range of devices dictated by the consumer. Thanks to BYOD, the medical staff can choose a device that they are familiar with, reducing costs and training requirements.

Government Mandates
Mandates like HITECH, HIPAA, and ICD 10 have forced healthcare institutions to invest heavily in IT infrastructure, talent, and application systems. These regulatory changes are moving us towards transparency and integration. The goal is to drive the widespread adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) to improve heathcare quality, safety, and efficiency; and reduce health disparities and costs.

Voice over IP (VoIP)
The emergence of VOIP has allowed healthcare institutions to leverage a single IT infrastructure backbone for both data and voice traffic. More importantly, it has created a unified communication flexibility that started with mobility and has now evolved into applications. Anyone can be contacted anywhere at any time from any device. This means that the medical staffs are available 24×7.

Social
Social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, provides a platform that is transforming healthcare. Hospitals can now reach out to staff, patients, younger audiences, and the general public in new ways. Not only does it improve patient engagement, but it provides a means to manage population health.

Mobile Health (mHealth)
With the increasing focus on decreasing healthcare costs, mHealth provides a spectrum of ways to leverage mobility to improve clinical work flows and outcomes. These range from video remote interpretation, to telemedicine and remote care use cases. The next step will be adoption of wearable technologies.

We are in a mobile world and with mHealth, medical professionals have the ability to make clinical decisions based on telemedicine technology and wearables. mHealth allows access to medical care from anywhere anytime. Rural areas can be provided with the same quality of care as the metropolitan population. With wearable devices and sensors individuals will be able to monitor their health the same way we monitor our cars, to stay on schedule with regular maintenance. This is a big step that offers individuals the benefits of personal big data.

Big Data
Data is everywhere and the challenge is to use that data to make meaningful decisions and provide better care. Imagine using wearables to track fitness, vitals, sleep patterns, etc. Personal big data helps individuals understand their health to make lifestyle improvements and live healthier lives.

 

Digital Public Library Of America

The Digital Public Library of America (http://dp.la),is one year old this week. In celebration, DPLA is proud to announce the addition of six major new partners and other significant milestones as it enters its second year.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) this week expanded access to the full breadth of its digital collections through its partnership with DPLA, a major increase over its initial contribution of 14,000 records at DPLA’s launch. Over 1 million digitized items from throughout the Library’s research holdings are available, significantly increasing DPLA’s offerings by nearly 20%.

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http://dp.la/

Beautiful Libraries That Still House Books

1. Trinity College Library, Ireland

 

 Balme Library, Ghana

 EPM Library, Colombia

Images courtesy of Guia de Viajes Oficial de Medellin’s and Biblioteca EPM’s Flickr streams.

s.

26. Villanueva Public Library, Colombia

Images courtesy of Nicolas Cabrera via Dezeen.

 

27. Central Library of Vancouver, Canada

Images courtesy of Evan Leeson’s and David J. Laporte’s Flickr stream.

Many modern building designs are based on historical icons, but few of these designs focus on the ruins rather than the original. The Central Library of Vancouver is an exception. Based on the Roman Coliseum, this massive building takes up one full city block and features not only a library with 1.3 million reference materials, but also retail shops, restaurants, a parking structure, office buildings and a rooftop garden.

28. Library of Parliament, Canada

images courtesy of Wikipedia users Wladyslaw and Alejandro Erickson

Hearst Castle Gothic Study, USA

Skywalker Ranch Library, USA

Image courtesy of Michael Heilemann’s 

he Tianyi Pavilion Library, China

Images courtesy of What’s On Ningbo.

Victorian State Library, Australia

 

 

Images courtesy of Wikipedia users Bjenks and Diliff

 

56. The State Library of New South Wales, Australia

Image courtesy of Flickr user Christophe

57. The State Library of South Australia

Images courtesy of Flickr users OZinOH and gracias!

 

58. Victorian Parliamentary Library, Australia

Images courtesy of Flickr user Sally Cummings

Beitou Library, Taiwan

 

 

 

The Heartbleed Bug

Several websites running SSL encryption, such as Airbnb, Pinterest, USMagazine.com, NASA, and Creative Commons, among others, were exposed to a major security bug called Heartbleed on Monday. A member of Google’s security team and a software security firm called Codenomicon discovered the bug. A list  on GitHub, exposed sites vulnerable to the bug as well.

The bug affects web servers running Apache and Nginx software, and it has the potential to expose private information users enter into websites, applications, web email and even instant messages.

The Heartbleed bug has the ability to allow malicious operators to defeat this security layer and capture passwords as well as forge authentication cookies and obtain other private information.

The bug has affected many popular websites and services  such as Gmail and Facebook .

A security patch for the bug was announced on Monday, but many websites are still playing catch up.

Sony’s Reading Devices Aims To Increase Lawyers Productivity

 

Digital Paper has a 13.3-inch display that shows full-screen views of letter-sized documents in PDF format. You don’t have to  zoom or scroll when reading a page, which is similar to reading printed documents or a full-size notepad. The touch-display can turn pages by touching the screen and accepts stylus input, which is included with the device. You can write and erase text and highlight content on the device with the stylus.

The device receives and transmits digital paper via its Wi-Fi and network interface. Digital Paper supports PDF documents, but Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel files can be converted to PDF format on the device itself.
More Here

Library Of Congress Announced 25 New Entries Chosen For Preservation

 

Recordings by, Isaac Hayes, the Everly Brothers,U2, Linda Ronstadt, Jeff Buckley, Lyndon B. Johnson and the original Broadway cast of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street are among those newly selected for induction into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

Librarian of the Library of Congress says “As technology continually changes and formats become obsolete, we must ensure that our nation’s aural legacy is protected”. This years selections include everything from classic singles such as Brother, Can You Spare A Dime (recorded in 1932 by both Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee, separately) to later pop hits such as the Everlys’ Cathy’s Clown (1960), Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son (1969), and the late Buckley’s 1994 cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

Among the albums chosen are Hayes’ Shaft (1971), Ronstadt’s Heart Like a Wheel (1974) and U2’s blockbuster The Joshua Tree (1987), presidential recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson (nearly 850 hours, recorded from 1963-1969), Lawrence Ritter’s interviews with baseball pioneers (1962-1966) and The First Family, a collection of comedy skits from 1962. New recordings also include  Art Blakey’s 1954 albums A Night at Birdland (Vols. 1 and 2) and Aaron Copland’s Copland Conducts Copland: Appalachian Spring (1974).

April 13-19 is National library Week

Public Libraries That have Become Bookless

TheTexas south central city’s digital library, known as the BiblioTech allows the Bexar County readers to check out up to five books at a time on their devices from home or wherever they are. Military personnel can even download the latest bestseller from Afghanistan.

Locals can check out tablets or e-readers for free. Or they can use the library’s 48 iMAC desktop computers. Children can take home any of the 200 Nook readers pre-loaded with 150 books aimed at their age group.

Opened six months ago, BiblioTech is the nation’s first totally book-free public library. It just added a satellite branch in the jury room of the Bexar County Courthouse. The name plays off the word “biblioteca”: Spanish for library.

In Washington, the downtown Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library cleared the stacks in one wing last June to open a vast, bookless “Digital Commons” _ part computer lab, part design center and part reading lounge.

The bound book doesn‘t look like it’s going away anytime soon. But the digital age, which has crept into libraries through new technology, is slowly taking over.

A number of ambitious national and international digital efforts are underway, focused on making cultural heritage books, manuscripts and books available online. The Digital Public Library of America and a Library of Congress-supported World Digital Library, which just reached 10,000 entries this past week, are making literary treasures, such as an early 16th-century Gospel manuscript from Ethiopia, more accessible. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington says “he is gratified to see that it continues to grow.”

At the MLK library, there’s a giant touch screen used for teaching classes and a 3D printer created a small basket. There’s also a new book printer machine that will print and bind a book, small work spaces for people who need places for start-ups, a sound studio and a touch screen table in the children’s section for reading and playing. There are express computers that visitors can use for 15 minutes, no library card needed.

At North Carolina State University’s new James B. Hunt Jr. Library in Raleigh, the 1.5 million books are stored underground, leaving lots of space for research and study groups. Virtual stacks enable students to check out books from a unique robotic retrieval system known as a bookBot that delivers them in five minutes or less.

 Surprisingly, people still purchase books in print but dont read them.  Nelson Wolff, aka the San Antoinio county judge is a collector of first edition 20th- century books and has more than 1,500. He buys hardcover books but does not read them.

The BiblioTech attracts a steady flow of foreign and national visitors. Several San Antonio library officials are traveling to the Netherlands and England in a few weeks at the invitation of foreign officials to make presentations about their operation. He is pleased that the local, majority Latino community has access to reading materials and the Internet. There is 100 percent return rate and no late fees with the digital books. The eBooks just simply disappear off the mobile device after two weeks.

In downtown D.C., where the MLK library’s computers are the only access to the Internet for many, users come from all economic levels. Teens and preteens enjoy the digital options, including gaming.

Obama Administation Cedes Control Of The Internet

The Obama Administration announced plans to cede control of the  Internet to the Internet  Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an international body  and non-profit group based out of California,  that seeks larger control, over the Internet.

ICANN’s primary role is over the registration of domain names.  The  ability to allow or delete a domain name effectively allows ICANN to choose who  can, and cannot, maintain an Internet site. Who can, and cannot, publish content  online.

This change lets the contract between the Commerce Department and the  Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to expire.

Newt Gingrich has tweeted about this announcement:

International groups have been pressuring the United States for years to cede  control of the Internet to an “International” body.  Everyone can  understand why these groups want that.  It erodes American power and it  degrades liberty online.
We’ll wait and see what happens next

 

Austin Texas To Host SXSW Interactive Festival-Assange/Snowden Virtual Live

 

This year, NSA leaker Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks founder and secret spiller Julian Assange will hold a live video conference March 8, 2014 11:00 a.m.  Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Anne Wojcicki, CEO of genetics testing company 23andMe.

Snowden and Assange will be appearing appear on live video since both are living as fugitives, in Moscow and the Ecuadorian embassy in London. 

A Virtual Conversation With Julian Assange video conference -March 8, 2014 11:00 a.m. Texas time

A Virtual Conversation With Edward Snowden  video conference-March 10,2014 11:00 a.m. Texas time

The South by Southwest Conferences & Festivals offers original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW is the premier destination for discovery of emerging trends.

More Here

Facebook Purchases WhatsAPP

 

 

The world’s largest social networking conglomerate said Wednesday that it is paying $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp. In addition, the app’s founders and employees — 55 in all — will be granted restricted stock worth $3 billion that will vest over four years after the deal closes. It was mentioned that Facebook  likely prizes WhatsApp for its audience of teenagers and young adults who are increasingly using the service to engage in online conversations outside of Facebook, which has evolved into a more mainstream hangout inhabited by their parents, grandparents and even their bosses at work. Facebook said it is keeping WhatsApp as a separate service, just as it did with Instagram, which it bought for about $715.3 million nearly two years ago.  The app is currently adding a million new users a day

 

 

More Here

WhatsAPP

Technology Trends For 2014

 

Major companies are working on data encryption to detour NSA from snooping

Smartphones will be able to connect with our homes

No-Touch interfaces

3D printing

Wearable technology

Cloud services

 

Microsoft’s New Chief- Satya Nadella

 

Mr Nadella, who has been at Microsoft for 22 years, is now the new chief.  Bill Gates, Microsoft’s founder, has stepped aside as chairman. However, he will be doing more rather than less. At Mr Nadella’s request Mr Gates will become “technology adviser”. Mr Gates plans to  spend a third of his time at the firm. Recently he has devoted almost all his energy to the philanthropic foundation that bears the names of himself and his wife, Melinda. Like Mr Gates, Mr Ballmer will stay on the board.

Microsoft is still a reigning company with revenues of  $43 billion, 15% more than the year before. Its net income was $11.8 billion, up by 8.8%. It has a cash pile of $84 billion and a market capitalisation of $300 billion. However it has struggled to find its way in a world where the personal computer no longer reigns supreme. Mr Nadella’s job is to set a course through what he calls a “cloud-first, mobile-first world”. When it comes to mobile, Microsofts places third. Its operating system, Windows Phone, is far behind Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. 

Microsoft is expected to start selling its widely used Office suite of programs (which includes Word, a word-processor, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint slide shows) on iPads and Android tablets.

When you consider the tough challenges Bill & Melinda Gates takes on with their philanthropic foundation its quite amazing.

Technology Trends & Changes In Higher Education

 

1. Social media is helping to shape the way technology is adopted on American campuses. Social media ubiquity is identified as “Fast trends,” or trends that will drive change in the next year or two. Facebook and Twitter are used for formal and informal discussion forums. While Vanderbilt University’s YouTube channel give students, faculty, and the general public a glimpse into important work happening on campus

2.There is a shift in higher education to online, blended and hybrid learning

3.  Data-driven learning and assessment will be a key concern for academic institutions, particularly as it concerns policymaking.

4. The adoption of agile business models in higher education to promote “a culture of innovation in a more widespread, cost-effective manner. Pilots and other experimental programs are being developed for teaching and improving organizational structure to more effectively nurture entrepreneurship among both students and faculty.”

5. Online learning  is seen as a viable alternative to some forms of face-to-face learning

6. Recent developments in business models are increasing the stakes of innovation in these digital environments, which are now widely considered to be ripe for new ideas, services, and products

 

 

A First Of Its Kind: Library To Offer High School Diplomas

The Los Angeles Public Library has announced  that it is teaming up with a private online learning company to debut a program for high school dropouts, it is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. It is the latest step in the transformation of public libraries in the digital age as they move to establish themselves beyond just being a repository of books to a full educational institution, said the library’s director, John Szabo. The library ‘s goal is to grant high school diplomas to 150 adults in the first year at a cost of $150,000.  Many public libraries offer programs to prepare students and in some cases administer the General Educational Development test, which for decades was the brand name for the high school equivalency exam.  However,this is not a GED or high School Equivalency program.  Students will be required to take courses to earn high school credits.

The program is slated to begin this month. Applicants must pass an initial evaluation to become eligible for a library-sponsored scholarship to attend Career Online High School, a kind of private online school district through the Smart Horizons corporation, based in Pensacola, Fla. Career Online High School has been accredited through AdvancED Accreditation Commission, a private nonprofit agency, said spokeswoman Jennifer Oliver.

The program is expected to grow from there, and may be introduced to other public library systems in the country, said Nader Qaimari of Gale-Cengage Learning, a leading provider of content and software to libraries, which introduced the program to the Los Angeles Public Library. 

Howard A. Liebman, who is the superintendent of the corporation’s online schools, said public libraries offer the perfect place for serving dropouts, who often left high school because of a traumatic experience, be it a teen pregnancy, a discipline problem or other issues.

Unlike traditional high school students, the online adult learners must choose a career path so their education can be geared toward their future job. Library staff will be trained to help the adult learners and the library system is looking at making available spaces for the students so they can meet their fellow pupils.  The library plans to  target about a dozen areas with high percentages of high school dropouts to offer the program at those neighborhood branches initially. The Los Angeles public library system has 72 branch libraries and 22 literacy centers.

A Presidential Library In Hawaii

 

 

There are two sites that supporters say could be the future home for the presidential library of Barack Obama. In Kakaako, just behind the parking lot for the Point Panic bodysurfing spot, the land is made up of two vacant lots, and offers a tantalizing view of Diamond Head and the ocean.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D), who has been a proponent of having a presidential center in Hawaii said “We think it’s a great opportunity for the president to launch his post-presidential career and he’s going to be a young ex-president.”

“We know he’s going to be in public service, and Honolulu would be a great headquarters for a presidential center.” 

While President Obama was born and raised in Hawaii, he made his political mark and his current home in Chicago, which is also in the running. “We’re prepared to compete with Chicago, but we’re also prepared to collaborate with Chicago,” said Schatz. 

“There are a lot of different parts of a presidential center: a foundation, a policy school, the museum. And any one of those, or all of those, could be located here,” said University of Hawaii Professor Robert Perkinson, who has been coordinating the effort to have a presidential center here.

The White House isn’t ready to speak on it just yet. President Obama’s term still has three more years to go. That’s still time for him to decide where to house his museum, or any foundation that he wishes to establish.

George W. Bush’s Presidential Library and Museum opened just last year in his home state of Texas. While President Obama was born and raised in Hawaii, he made his political mark and his current home in Chicago, which is also in the running.

“We’re prepared to compete with Chicago, but we’re also prepared to collaborate with Chicago,” said Schatz.

At least one former president, Bill Clinton, has a presidential library in his home state of Arkansas, but his non-profit foundation is headquartered in New York. That has raised the hopes that Honolulu will get at least one part of a proposed center.

“There are a lot of different parts of a presidential center: a foundation, a policy school, the museum. And any one of those, or all of those, could be located here,” said University of Hawaii Professor Robert Perkinson, who has been coordinating the effort to have a presidential center here.

Local Obama supporters say that he — much like Clinton — will remain active as a former president. They also say that his annual holidays in Hawaii show that he likes being here.

But not so fast — the White House isn’t ready to talk just yet. After all, Obama’s term still has three more years to go. That’s still time for him to decide where to house his museum, or any foundation that he wishes to establish.

“When he’s ready to seriously engage with those proposals, then we’re ready to meet with him and partner with him,” said Perkinson.

 

Tech Trend For 2014

The Internet

Cisco Systems predicts the connectivity of devices to the internet will be growing massively in 2014 and by 2015, reaching about twenty five billion devices and 99% of all “physical objects” will be connected to a network.

 Analytics and “Big Data”

There is now the opportunity to look at huge amounts of data in real time and use the data to understand the supply chain, logistics, customer behavior, patient outcomes and many other things in a way that wasn’t possible in the recent past.

Cloud Boxes versus Gadget Storage

Loads of enterprises are shifting from the traditional devices that store data (drives, servers, disks) to the “omnipresent” Cloud. This allows business, educational institutions and state agencies to be more mobile in doing their work and activities. Tech Gurus are predicting that the Cloud will actually be the most used storage device in 2014 replacing the decades long favorite – the Personal Computer

Apps

More people are bringing their own devices (BYOD) into the workplace and classrooms. Organizations are relying less on server controlled data and more on Apps that perform a specific function for the student or worker. 

 

Harlem NY To Receive Nation’s Largest WiFi

 

 

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the launch of a free new outdoor public WiFi network in Harlem accessible to all users. The Harlem WiFi network will extend 95 city blocks, from 110th to 138th Streets between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Madison Avenue making it the largest continuous free outdoor public wireless network in the nation. The network, which will be rolled out in three phases in coordination with the city’s Technology Development Corporation and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, will increase digital access for approximately 80,000 Harlem residents, including 13,000 public housing residents, as well as businesses and visitors in the area. The free public network will serve the community for an initial five-year term and is funded through a generous donation from the Fuhrman Family Foundation to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. The first phase, extending from 110th to 120th Streets between Madison Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, is underway and the remaining phases will be complete by May 2014. The Mayor was joined at the announcement by Chief Information and Innovation Officer Rahul Merchant, Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman, Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City President Megan Sheekey, Chief Digital Officer Rachel Haot, New York City Housing Authority Chairman John Rhea and Harlem Children’s Zone President and Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Canada.

 

America Library association Tackles NSA Reform

 The American Library Association(ALA) is tackling  NSA reform, due to concerns that the agency’s meta-data collection will infringe on the freedom to read and conduct research.

Alan Inouye, director of the Office for Information Technology Policy at ALA, told The Hill “Libraries are all about meta-data,” As a library user, “you need to have some freedom to learn about what you think is important without worrying about whether it ends up in some FBI file. We’re talking about the information patterns of people. If that’s not personal, I don’t know what is.”

 Since the passing of the Patriot Act (pdf) in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks America’s libraries have been vulnerable to government intrusion.  The law’s controversial Section 215, which allows the government to access business records, can be used to compel libraries to release data pertaining to research done by library users.

In January 2002, ALA released a resolution regarding the law’s infringement on the rights of library users.

Edward Snowden’s release of the secret NSA documents this year has shown that, during the decade since the ALA passed its privacy resolution, the government has greatly expanded its reach and its efforts to sweep up huge amounts of information on citizens around the globe, including Americans.

Lynne Bradley, director of ALA’s Office of Government Relations, characterized the NSA’s spying as having “almost ravenous hunger” for collecting information.

ALA is supporting legislation introduced by Representative James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wisconsin) that would curb the NSA’s domestic spying. It also would prevent the government from placing gag orders on libraries that receive NSA surveillance requests. 

 Representative James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wisconsin)was also the original sponsor of the PATRIOT Act. The Wisconsin lawmaker has previously said that the PATRIOT Act was “deliberately drafted to prevent [the] data mining” yet the NSA interpreted his legislation to justify their dragnet style surveillance of American citizens. 

Digitized Ancient Texts From Bodleian & Vatican Libraries Online

Viewers from all over the world will be able to view some of the most important and unique bibles and biblical texts in existence from the comfort of their own home.
A team of scholars and curators from around the world chose a selection of texts from the Bodleian and Vatican Libraries collections of Hebrew manuscripts, Greek manuscripts and early printed books. Conservation staff worked closely with curators to ensure that the objects chosen were appropriate in both content and condition.

The collaboration between the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticano builds on both libraries’ individual digitisation projects. It has allowed them to increase the scale and pace with which they can digitise their most significant collections, while taking into consideration the fragile condition of these ancient texts.

The website is available in both English and Italian – reveals the first batch of digitised books in a four-year project. The images are zoomable, allowing them to be used for scholarly research and analysis. The website also provides essays and video presentations made by experts including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop Jean-Louis Bruguès.

National Book Awards 2013

 

WINNER:

James McBride, The Good Lord Bird (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group USA) – Interview >

FINALISTS:

FINALISTS:

Rachel Kushner, The Flamethrowers (Scribner/Simon & Schuster) – Interview >

Jhumpa Lahiri, The Lowland (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House) – Interview >

Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge (The Penguin Press/Penguin Group USA)

George Saunders, Tenth of December (Random House) – Interview >

LONGLIST:

– Tom Drury, Pacific (Grove Press)
– Elizabeth Graver, The End of the Point (Harper/HarperCollinsPublishers)
– Anthony Marra, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Hogarth/Random House)
– Alice McDermott, Someone (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
– Joan Silber, Fools (W.W. Norton & Company)

JUDGES:

Charles Baxter, Gish Jen, Charles McGrath, Rick Simonson, René Steinke

 

The Internet Hall Of Fame 2014

The Internet Society has established an annual global rotational schedule for The Internet Hall Of Fame . The Internet Society announced Asia Pacific as the region for the 2014 Internet Hall of Fame event. Latin America has been selected for 2015, followed by Africa in 2016, and North America in 2017. The Internet Hall of Fame is an annual awards program that has been established by the Internet Society to publicly recognize a distinguished and select group of leaders and luminaries who have made significant contributions to the development and advancement of the global open Internet.

View More Here

Worldwide Stats

Data & Visualizations created by Barland’s Ongoing Information

Source Internet World Stats

Video

Phablets are  mobile devices incorporating both a smartphone and a tablet computer in a single compact package (phone + tablet = phablet).

As smartphones take on more and more computer-like capabilities (viewing news, sports, photos, movies, taking photos and videos, and the like), there’s an increasing desire for screens with a larger display size and higher resolution. Combine this with the increasing number of users who want to “go mobile” with tablet computers, and you have the need for a more compact tablet computer. Since display sizes for smartphones are typically three to five inches and for tablet computers seven to ten inches, there’s a “gap” in the five- to seven-inch size. Enter a combined device a you get a Phablet

Up Coming New Books

 

Being A Have and Being A Have Not : The Argument

Derrick Darby, philosophy and law professor at the University of Kansas says “a millionaire might attribute his fortune to hard work and initiative. He might also say the poverty-stricken simply don’t put the same effort into becoming successful. On the other hand, a low-income American might explain his financial troubles as the result of being born to poor parents in a bad neighborhood, lacking access to quality education and other tools that could have helped him achieve wealth and power. Both perspectives are understandable, but they’re not so useful when it comes to actually solving injustices of economic equality. When either side feels like it has to take all the responsibility for a problem, they’re less inclined to help fix that problem,”That’s why we have to stop finger pointing and playing the blame game.”

In a new research article, Darby and KU psychology professor Nyla Branscombe examine why people can’t agree on the causes of economic injustice and what constitutes injustice and whether society is obligated to respond to it. They argue that lingering on the causes of inequality hinders society’s ability to move forward in solving it.

More Here

Apple Wants Patent For Digital Book-Signing Technology

One of the advantages of print books is that they can be hand autographed. Well, Apple is currently seeking a patent to that would allow authors to digitally autograph ebooks. Some users still prefer paper media products for the physical attributes of paper media products, which include the ability to have a copy of a book personalized. According to a recent patent application, allows for “embedding an autograph in an electronic book.” You can appear at an author signing with your iPad, have it signed and walk away with an authentic keepsake.

 

Books With The Most Evil Characters

 

Ever Met One Of These Villians In Real Life?

     

E.L. Doctorow, To Receive Honorary Medal For “Contributions To American Letters

E.L. Doctorow,  will receive an honorary medal for “contributions to American letters.” Doctorow, 82, won the National Book Award in 1986 for “World’s Fair” and was a finalist three other times. A native of New York City, he is best known for the million-selling historical novel “Ragtime,” which has been adapted into a feature film and a Broadway musical.

“Doctorow is a master of historical fiction who has brought the events of the past to people all over the world in an extraordinary fashion. It is also a special opportunity to give tribute to a native New Yorker in his hometown,”

 

Maya Angelou This Year’s Recipient Of The Literarian Award

 Maya Angelou author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” will be this year’s recipient of the Literarian Award, an honorary National Book Award for contributions to the literary community, the National Book Foundation announced last week. It is the first major literary prize for the 85-year-old Angelou, who has been celebrated everywhere from the Grammy Awards to the White House. She has received three Grammys for best spoken word album, a National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.

. “Caged Bird” is among the most widely read and widely taught memoirs of the past half-century, memorably documenting her rise from the rural, segregated South to international fame. Her poem, “On the Pulse of the Morning,” which she recited in 1993 at President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural, quickly sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

 

Beautiful Libraries Of Africa

The University of Timbuktu was a medieval university in Mali, West Africa, which comprised three schools; namely the Masajid of Djinguereber, the Masajid of Sidi Yahya, and the Masajid of Sankore. During its high time, the university at Timbuktu had an average attendance of around 25,000 students within a city of around 100,000 people. There were four levels within the University curriculum, that included, the “Circle of Knowledge”, the “Superior Degree”, the “Secondary Degree”, and the “Primary Degree”. Teachings mostly consisted ofQuranic principles; however, literature covering topics of science, mathematics, logic, astronomy, history, and medicine, (among other disciplines) were also taught

Saint Catherine’s Monastery was established in 381 and is widely considered the oldest monastery in the world. The library was built sometime in the sixth century, which makes it the oldest continuously running library on Earth. As you would guess, the library has an incredible collection, boasting over 3,500 codices in a variety of languages — second only to the Vatican’s.

National Library of South Africa

The country’s oldest library dates back to 1818. Throughout the years, the library received many donations of rare books and manuscripts, and in 1873 the library became a legal deposit library for the Cape Colony, receiving copies of all books published therein. In 1916, the library expanded its legal deposit requirement to cover the whole country. As a result, the library has one of the most amazing and extensive collections in the entire continent. In 1999, the library united with the State Library of Pretoria to form the two branches of the National Library of South Africa.

In 1845 the Port Elizabeth News Society started a public subscription library. At first, the group met in a small room, but they earned so much money that they were soon able to buy the entire building. Then the government rented it to use as a court house for almost half a century before the building was torn down and replaced with the current structure, which open in 1902. In 1983 the building was declared a historic monument.

Image courtesy of Mike Barwood’s Flickr stream.

7. CL Marais Library, South Africa

The CL Marais Library was built in 1901, before the official establishment of the current Stellenbosch University in 1918. The library had to expand quickly to keep up with the college, and by 1926 it already had to be renovated to add additional space. In 1938, a new library was erected and, by 1983, even that library grew too small and yet another building had to be constructed to contain the school’s ever-growing collection.

Image courtesy of Clive Reid’s Flickr stream.

Kenyatta University Library, Kenya

This strikingly modern building was completed and opened late last year. It is six stories high and each level serves its own specific function: all acquisition and binding is done in the basement, the first floor offers a student lounge and check-out desk, the second floor houses the social science books, the third is home to the humanities section, the fourth holds the science and technology titles, the fifth is where you can find the special collections and the top level serves as a reading area for students and faculty.

Balme Library, Ghana

The main library of the University of Ghana houses six departments and a special section for the disabled. The library’s current holdings number over 100,000 books, including a collection of rare books and prints. It is regarded as the best library in West Africa.

Image courtesy of Swegg’s Flickr stream.

11. Keren Public Library, State of Eritrea

Libraries & E books

 

 

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Birmingham’s Bling Library

Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe

The rise of single-person households  in some European capitals now approaching 50% of households. Many libraries increasingly act as a meeting place or home from home, as they do for migrants, refugees and even tourists. The idea of the library as “the living room in the city” was first promulgated in 1970s Scandinavian library design, as architects responded to users’ wishes to stay longer, have a coffee, and enjoy storytelling sessions, lunchtime concerts or attend book-reading groups.  In some British towns, nearly half the population own a library card, even if it is only used infrequently. Libraries are seen as belonging to the public by right, compared with publicly funded theatres, art galleries, museums or concert halls.

The library’s changing demands is reflected in contemporary design. The library counter has largely gone. Self-service machines free up staff to spend more time with library users, organising storytelling sessions, book-signings and reading circles (there were more than 100,000 members of library reading groups in England and Wales at the last count.