Tips to help speed up Web Searching

Here are some tips and tricks for increasing the value of your web surfing experience. For most of us, the most important one is: be patient, the web is almost always slower than we would like it to be. Do not click more than once on any button or link.

After you have clicked on a link or button, you should see some kind of indication that the browser got your request and is trying to download the next page. These indicators include an animation in the top right corner of the browser window or indicators in the address bar or the bottom left corner of the window.

If you do not get these indications that something is happening, then click the button or link again. If you get impatient and you want to click on some other link or button, click the Stop button first. If you feel that the information retrieved by the browser is incomplete or wrong, click the Reload or Refresh button.

Formatting CDs

At Southglenn, our CDs available for purchase by Patrons, had not been formatted for the operating system Windows 7. Patrons didn't have the time to waste on waiting for the CDs to format. Each format takes about 20 minutes. To format a CD:

Click on My Computer
Click on the Disk (D drive)
The Computer will ask if you want to use it like a USB or a DVD. Pick USB (So that changes can be made and saved to the CD)
The Computer will promt you to format the disk and that it may take several minutes
Click continue with format

Once the format is complete, the disc will be ready for the patron to use and there shouldn't be a problem. Note, the operating systems for Staff computers and Patron computers are different and therefore the CDs will not work on Staff computers. The formating must be done on a computer running Windows 7.

Unable to Save PowerPoint to CD

Last week we had a patron that wanted to burn a PowerPoint Presentation to a CD. She had audio files along with the presentation but was unable to burn anything to a disk. We tried several different discs and computers, but her PowerPoint would not save. The solution that was derived was for her to email the presentation with the new changes and the audio files as one email. In the email it was specified that the PowerPoint and audio files should be saved in the same folder so that when they opened the presentation the audio files would be there as well.

Inexpensive iPhone accessary goes full circle in shooting video

There is an inexpensive new iPhone accessory that has the potential to change the way you shoot video. The accessory, GoPano Micro ($80, gopano.com ) records in a complete circle. The person watching the video can use a mouse to pan and see what is happening all around the camera. The example given was a wedding toast, Shot through a GoPano lens, you would see the best man giving the toast and pan to see the guests and the bride and groom. The camera which fits the iPhone 4 and 4s records a view on a mirror attached to the lens.

CAN I, OR CAN I NOT? THAT IS THE QUESTION.

Can I download OverDrive titles directly to mobile devices?

Mobile devices running Android™ v1.5 (or newer) can use OverDrive Media Console for Android to download and open MP3 Audiobooks and EPUB eBooks.
Mobile devices running BlackBerry® v4.5 (or newer) can use OverDrive Media Console for BlackBerry to download and open MP3 Audiobooks and EPUB eBooks.
Mobile devices running iOS OS v4.0 (or newer) can use OverDrive Media Console for iPhone®/iPad to download and open MP3 Audiobooks and EPUB eBooks.
Mobile devices running Windows Phone 7 can use OverDrive Media Console for Windows Phone 7 to download and open MP3 Audiobooks and EPUB eBooks.

In order to use OverDrive titles on a supported portable device not listed above, you must first download the titles to your computer and then transfer them to the device using OverDrive Media Console.

Competition!

In all forms of new technology, as with most products, there is competition. Should you purchase a Nook or a Kindle? Does the iPhone have better apps than the Droid phone? It all depends on what specs you're looking for and what you want your device to be able to do. PCWorld debates a few tech competitors here, and explains why they think some are better than others. I for one, am keeping an eye on the Kindle Fire, the iPad's biggest competition!

Smart Phones & SHAZAM

Ever been riding in your car listening to the radio or just listening to the radio at home and a song comes on that your just have to know the title of and who is doing the singing-there is an app you can sign up for on your smart phone called SHAZAM.   When you hear the song click on your SHAZAM app and hold it up to the radio-in a few seconds you will have the title and artist from SHAZAM.  Works pretty good!!

Easy Transalation using google

You can use translate.google.com to roughly translate text from one language to another. Just type in the text and then choose the language that you want to translate into from a drop down list. In a flash, the text is translated.

Change password in g-mail

Sherry and I were working with a patron that wanted to change his password  in  g-mail. We were looking all over on the right side of the screen where the infomation  was and couldn't find the settings button. So we just had him sign in and use the  forgot password option. He was then asked his security questions and was able to change his password. The Setting button is on the right hand side of the screen by
 your name, then go to the mail help option and you will find the change password
 option.

Free Advice!

I just found out about a web site that offers both free medical and legal advice through the computer.  It is http://www.avvo.com/.  Just type in your question, and the site taps into 1508 professionals to answer your question with  a personalized answer on just about any subject, embarrassing or not!  A great site to make patrons aware of when we are helping them search  for non-fiction books in any of these areas.

How the print just the text from a web site.

In Microsoft Word, when you paste text from another document-such as a web site-you may not want all the boldface, colors, fonts and other formatting from the original source. Instead of using the regular Paste command you can open the edit menu and click on Paste Special. Then click on Unformatted Text. You'll get just the text, without all the other stuff.

Senior Law Handbook Information

The Senior Law Handbook is available in the Reference collections at all branches with the exception of SG. However, although available, not every branch has the current 2011 Edition. Good information to know if that particular item (any dated year) is in use by a patron or if patrons wish to access the information from home is that it is available online with the most current 2011 Edition. Go online at www.cobar.org/SLH.

15 High-tech Pranks

Is your mouse icon moving in reverse? Have you clicked on the internet explorer browser only to have your computer restart? Is your Google page in a bizarre language?

Here are 15 high-tech tricks that'll haunt your co-worker's computers. This article shows you the who, the what, and the how to play harmless computer pranks and avoid getting tricked yourself.

Google and the End of Caps Lock

Google is releasing a new laptop, the Google Cr-48 notebook, and the most shocking feature is the lack of caps lock button and that their button keys labels are all lowercase.

The caps lock is left over from the typewriter (i.e. it required shifting the ribbon to capital letters and could be locked to emphasize words) when manufactures wanted to the make the transition to the first computers as easy as possible for the public. However, in the 21st century, the caps lock function has become unnecessary since not much requires capitalization and the expectations of proper spelling/grammar has diminished with the increase of e-mail and text messaging. So, does this mark the beginning of removing keys that otherwise take up valuable keyboard real estate?

KINDLE-ASK AUTHORS

A patron came in with his KINDLE-I had just helped him the week before with downloading and requesting e-books.  This time he wanted to tell me about a new feature in Kindle called @author.  This lets the reader ask the author questions while they are reading the book.  If your queston is too long(no more thn 100 characters) it will not go through.  I don't know how many authors are signed up for this service as I do not have a Kindle to try it out on.  But for those of you that do you might enjoy it.

Saving Documents to a CD

Have you ever had a patron come into the library with a CD-R/CD-RW and insist that they were just at the library yesterday (or at another library location), and saved a document to the CD, but now it's not there?!? It can be a frustrating situation for both the patron as well as the staff member assisting them, right? What may be obvious to us, we have to remind patrons to do on a daily basis. Something to remember when helping a patron save a document to a CD-R/CD-RW is that you can't just save the document to the disc and have it work correctly the next time. They need to make sure to select the "WRITE files to CD" option from the tool bar, otherwise the files will "look" as though they are saved to the CD, but they will not actually be on there once the CD has been ejected.

Donate Retired Cell Phones

Recently, I had a conversation with a patron who wanted to know if I knew a good place to donate retired cell phones. "Great question", I said! After a brief google search we found http://www.911cellphonebank.org/. By donating your retired cell phone, you not only provide emergency communication to someone in need, you help fund social programs nationwide. Click on the DONATE tab in the center of the opening page. Then in the paragraph look for "find a drop off location". After entering a zip code and mapping it, you will see Arapahoe County Sheriff listed right at the top of the list of drop off locations. Their location is right near our very own ADMIN Building! Or there is a link to print off a postage paid shipping label. The patron was so pleased to have a program in our community that could potentially help a family or individual in need. We both agreed it is a WIN-WIN way to keep those retired cell phones out of the dump and in the hands of those in need.

Save and Print at closing time

Recently, just before closing time, I have had patrons who try to print items just as the computers are shutting down. So, if their items do not print correctly, we have no way of retrieving them, or trying again, the document is lost. Also, there are others who do not save their work, and lose everything when the computers shut down. When working by the computers at closing, I am going to start announcing 15 minutes before closing "Please save or print the documents you are working on, just to be sure nothing gets lost when the computers shut down." Any other ideas or thoughts?

Fake email address for BYKI

A patron wanted to learn Spanish using our database BYKI. He did not have an email address and one was required to register. (But only to retrieve his password if necessary.) I thought that not having an email address should not stop a person from gaining the knowledge he needs, so I helped him make up dummy email address so that he could proceed.

YouTube saved me $250!!!!!!!!

Our patrons can learn how to do/fix/make tons of things using our databases. Supplement the databases with YouTube and the sky is the limit. My husband's Ipod Gen V had a stuck select button - the button in the middle of the menu wheel. He was ready to go out and buy a new Ipod. Instead, he watched a video on YouTube that showed him how to fix the problem. (He did have to buy a small tool at Microcenter for 5 bucks.) Thank goodness for YouTube!

Cleaning your mouse

If your mouse is the type with a ball on the bottom you can clean the ball. Unscrew the plastic ring around the ball and clean the ball with mild soapy water and dry it. Use a cotton swab to clean off the ball's contact points inside the mouse. Blow into the mouse to remove dust. Replace the ball and screw on the plastic ring.

Amazon's Kindle Tablet

Amazon recently released their answer to the iPad: The Kindle Fire Tablet. While the Fire tablet lacks some of the draws of the iPad such as a camera, ability to connect to the 3G network, and and a smaller screen, it still offers much of what the iPad does at nearly half the cost. Patrons not willing to purchase or not able to afford an iPad may choose this option instead. Check out this article from Bloomberg for more information on the Fire Tablet.

Meetup.com

We've all heard of My Space, Facebook, Linkedin,etc., but a site I hadn't heard of was discussed at great length in a neighborhood newsletter. The site is called Meetup.com and in contrast to the usual social media sites, Meetup is specifically designed to help people connect in person. Yes, really face to face! They can create their own groups or connect with others based on common interests such as learning a language, book discussions, bicycling, hiking, professional interests, etc. You can enter your interest as well as the geographical area specific to you. I can better help the patrons who ask how to find a certain type group they are interested in joining or finding like minded people to get together with.

What is an exe.file?

EXE files are executable program files written for MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows. When an EXE file is opened, it launches the program contained within without the need for additional software on the user's computer.

EXE files are created by programmers using a software compiler. After the program is written in the computer code, the compiler bundles it into a self-contained file which any user can run.

EXE files allow users to launch programs without needing special software to decipher the particular language the program was written in. Patrons can save an EXE file on a flashdrive or CD. Then they can use the flashdrive or CD on a computer that is utilizing Microsoft Windows and run that particular EXE file. To install a program on a computer, the program's EXE file has to be opened first. The EXE file holds all of the important information needed to correctly install the program to the computer. Computer's recognize EXE files automatically, so no extra programs are needed to open them.

1. Hover the mouse cursor over the EXE file.

2. Double click the left-mouse button. This will open the EXE file.

3. Follow the onscreen directions to install the program.

Most email programs will block EXE file attachments to try and stop the spread of malicious viruses. If you are trying to send an EXE file to someone via email, rename the file with a different extension, such as .TXT or .OLD. You will need to inform the recipient that they will need to rename the file back to an.EXE extension before they can run it.

WARNING: Many computer viruses are packaged as EXE files, which are then renamed to resemble common software packages. It is very important to scan an EXE file before opening it, and you should never open an EXE file if you don't know or trust its source.

No Craig's List Photo Preview

When you update a photo on a previously created Craig's List ad, the new picture can not be previewed. Once you click on replace photo, and select a new photo, the old picture will be gone and an outline of the new picture will be in its place. Don't worry, just click continue. The new ad will then be shown, which will include the new picture. It will then be ready to be published.

Print Preview saves paper and money

Many of our patrons don't like wasting paper. On more than one occasion I've helped patrons print something from a web site. Sometimes they are unhappy that that had to pay for two pages instead of just one page especially when the second page only has a few lines on it - like the name of the web site and the page number at the bottom. I've recommended that the patron use the print preview option before they send their document to the printer. They can then request to send only page one to the printer, saving 10 cents as well as a piece of paper.

Other options than Consumer Reports

I found when helping patrons look for large items like furnaces, windows, etc., Consumer Reports is not helpful and very outdated. I suggest to them that we go into ASK and put 'compare furnaces' or 'compare windows in Denver, CO'. I often get many websites that compare large items for them that is very recent. They are happy and want to go to a computer to look at all the websites themselves.

Best Android apps

Have an Android smart phone? I came across a site listing "Best Android Apps". You might like to download one or two yourself, or tell patrons about them.

dirjournal.com/info/best-android-apps/

Arranged by topic - Business, Games, Travel, etc. - I found a couple that have proved helpful. Such fun to shop for apps!!

Aldiko, an eReader app for Android devices

Now that I have an Android smart phone with a large enough screen to make ereading possible, I looked around for a good ereader app. I've loaded "Aldiko" on it, and it's great - free, easy to use. (There is a premium version for $2.99 but I'm not sure what you get - the free app seems fine to me.)

Just another possibility for our patrons when they ask us about eReading - remember there are apps for devices they may already be using!

Having trouble seeing the full screen?

Have you had trouble seeing your whole page or exiting out of your terminal because the corners aren't visible on the terminal run by Apple (the front pod one at SG)? Try signing in from the actual desktop icon rather than the the icon on the lower toolbar.

New Facebook features

Does anyone know how to get rid of the new Facebook page that comes up with every log-in?

EDITING YOUR PROFILE ON STAFF PAGE

First go into Staff Book, then int employee directory type in your name then click on the little icon woth the paper and pencil in the right hand corner.  From there you can change your profile and your picture.