• Joyland by Stephen King Finally Goes Digital

    by  • March 16, 2014 • 0 Comments

    JoylandJoyland was a novel by Stephen King and was released back in June of 2013. The author buckled the trend of a simultaneous release in trade and digital formats. Instead, he only published it only in hardcover, citing “I have no plans for a digital version. Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.” Well, it looks like a full year later Joyland will finally be available as an eBook.

    Read the full post @ goodereads and buy it @ Amazon.

    Become a Google Usability Tester

    by  • March 14, 2014 • 0 Comments

    Google Usability

    User research studies help us improve Google products by allowing us to get feedback directly from our users (that’s you!)

    During a study we may present you with and gather your feedback on an existing product, a new feature, or even prototypes. We may also interview you about particular daily habits or ask you to keep a log of certain activity types over a given period of time. Study sessions can happen at a Google office, in your home or business, or online through your computer or mobile device. Afterwards, you’ll receive a token of our appreciation for your cooperation. Sharing your experiences with us helps inform our product planning and moves us closer to our goal of building something you’ll love.

    You don’t have to be a Google product user or a tech aficionado to sign up

    We value input from people that are unfamiliar with our products or the latest web technology, as well as those who are deeply engaged with them. If you’ve used the Internet in any way before, we want to hear from you!

    Getting invited

    When you sign up to participate in user studies, we’ll use the information you provide to help us search for suitable participants for user studies. We (or an outside agency working on our behalf in accordance with our privacy policy) will only contact you if we want to invite you to participate in a study or need to clarify information that informs such invitations.

    Read all the details & sign up @ Google.com/usability.

    Put your phone to work when you’re not using it.

    by  • March 14, 2014 • 0 Comments

    HTC Power to GiveThere are one billion smartphones in use today. The combined processing power of all these devices can truly revolutionize scientific research, and make an enormous contribution to humanity – if we all work together.

    With HTC Power To Give, the potential to research cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS – to help understand climate change, or venture into space – is all at our fingertips.

    By downloading HTC Power To Give, plugging in your phone and connecting to Wi-Fi, your spare computing power will become part of an enormous grid, providing processing power to a project you’ve selected from a range across the world.

    Medical, environmental, scientific and many other projects will benefit. Projects that could otherwise take hundreds of years could be executed in a drastically shorter time.

    The numbers are incredible, and achievable with your help.

    For more information, visit http://www.htc.com/ptg/.

    The program only runs when your phone is plugged in, connected to WiFi, and the screen is off so as to not take up processing power when you’re using it or eating up your limited data connection. However, it doesn’t work on all phones and is Android only as far as I can tell. You can see what phones it works on and download it from the Google Play Store.

    Me, I’m letting my phone search for aliens via SETI@Home.

    How Public Libraries Are Solving America’s Reading Problem

    by  • March 13, 2014 • 0 Comments

    forbes_tipped-logoLibraries managed tightening budgets successfully through the last decade. Americans made 5.3 visits per person to public libraries in 2010 according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  This continued a ten-year trend that saw library visits increase by over twenty percent.  Libraries also lent 2.46 billion materials in the same year: more than 8 lends for every American.  Finally, libraries increased in relevance as centers for book discovery.  Last year, 2.9% of frequent readers said they’d discovered their last book at a library, a big jump from 1.8% in 2010 (data also from the Codex Group).

    According to the Pew Research Center, libraries remain the most trusted institution in the United States, ahead of the military, small businesses, the police or religious institutions.  A staggering 91% of Americans say that libraries are important to their community.

    In fact, in an era characterized by mistrust and dysfunction in government, libraries became laboratories of democracy.  They bridged the digital divide with free Wi-Fi access and technology classes.  They stimulated entrepreneurship with maker classes and 3D printing.  They brought communities together with flexible meeting space for local groups.

    But something was still missing.

    Read the full article @ Forbes.com.

    More on Librarians @ SXSW

    by  • March 13, 2014 • 0 Comments

    Janie rocks!

    Janie HermannJanie Hermann has worked in libraries for almost twenty years, in the areas of technology training, business outreach and research. Currently, she serves as Public Programming Librarian at the Princeton Public Library. She is always seeking new partnerships and ways to keep libraries relevant. This year at SXSW Interactive, Hermann will speak on the panel, “The New Startup Garage for Innovation? Libraries!” Check out this installment of the Session Spotlight to learn more.

    SXSW: Why are libraries the new startup garage?
    Hermann: Libraries as the epicenter of innovation, technology and economic recovery? You bet your assets they are! By finding creative ways to bring together techies, entrepreneurs, makers, and sometimes even angel investors, today’s libraries are able to inspire real life action that jumps off the page and into startup success. Find out how Princeton Public Library (NJ) is leveraging community collaborations with groups such as the Princeton Tech Meetup., Python Users Group in Princeton, the Princeton Chamber of Commerce and many more to create unique opportunities for social good and local growth. This conversation will challenge you to rethink the role of the library in your community and encourage you to explore how libraries can be a focal point of insights, ideas and innovation. If you have been seeking a “real world” social platform that has the ability to bring together a mix of thinkers, tinkerers, coders and investors the library just might be your answer!

    Read the full interview with Janie @ sxsw.com.