Monday, April 24, 2006

Tech Talk on May 2nd, 2006: Optimize Your Computer's Performance


Our Tech Talk this month is the 50th Tech Talk since the first talk was delivered by John Levine in October 2000! When the series began I was not sure how long it would last or if it would even take off at all. Over the years we have had many amazing talks and I am so happy with how Tech Talks has continued to grow and change with the times. I am looking forward to many more seasons of Tech Talks and want to thank everyone for your continued support and interest in this program.

Joel May will be our speaker for May and he will be delivering a talk that is highly relevant to all computer users called Optimize Your Computer's Performance. Here is official the "blurb and bio":

Configuring your computer to function just the way you want it to is an activity which is both important (in terms of faster and more dependable operation and fewer crashes) and satisfying (you'll enjoy the fact that it looks and feels the way you want it to). In his presentation, Joel will discuss a number of things you can do to make this happen: upgrading your system memory, optimizing the systems properties, adjusting display settings, optimizing the hard drive and deleting unneeded elements. He won't turn you into a computer "geek," but he will help you to understand your computer better.

Joel has spent most of his adult life teaching, first at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago and, subsequently, at the School of Public Health of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He holds a BS degree in Economics from Albright College and an MBA and PhD in Economics and Statistics from the University of Chicago. He's been using computers since 1961, the Internet since 1974, PCs since 1979, and the World Wide Web since 1994.

Since his retirement in 1995, he has volunteered his time teaching computer skills to senior citizens at the Ewing SeniorNet Computer Literacy Center, reading for the blind at the NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped and singing in Princeton Pro Musica and the Hopewell Valley Community Chorus.


The talk will begin at 7 pm and be held in our first floor Community Room (next to the library cafe). Please contact the library's reference desk at 609.924.9529 x220 if you have questions.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Let's Talk Technology!

Welcome everyone to the official PPL Tech Talk Blog!

My name is Janie Hermann and I am the Technology Training Librarian at Princeton Public Library in Princeton, NJ. I am also the founder and coordinator of Tuesday Technology Talks, a monthly evening program that is now in its sixth season.

The Tech Talk series began in October 2000 and it is dedicated to exploring current and emerging technologies. We rely on invited guest speakers to deliver a talk on a technology topic in their area of expertise. The program opens with a librarian(usually myself) giving an overview of technology training at the library for the month and it concludes with a discussion period that is moderated by a staff member opr the presenter. Topics have included everything from P2P Networking, Linux, Wikis, Blogs, The Invisible Web, Digital Photography and much more.

This blog will be used primarily to promote upcoming Tech Talks, but will also include updates about the extensive training program that is provided in the library's 2nd floor Tech Center. In addition, I will post other technology information that I feel will be of interest from time to time.

Tech Talks are free and open to the public. No advanced registration is required. I am always looking for good speakers, so if you can recommend someone please let me know.

Now, let's start talking about technology!