Fireworks trump Tech Talks

There will be no Tech Talk in July as it coincides with the 4th of July. We figure that fireworks not technology will take precedence for that day (and indeed most of the weekend if you live in the Princeton area). You can view fireworks every night for several nights in and around the area. Here is the listing of firworks from the Princeton Packet:

Stay tuned for news about our August Tech Talk and have a good holiday weekend!

Notes and Links from "Fantastic Freebies for Everyone"

We had a great turn out for this program. It was a fun night as we explored all the stuff that you can do or find on the Web for free.

We spent some time talking about the concept of Web 2.0 and then we launched right in to demonstrating 13 of our favorite freebies.

A PDF of our slideshow (which will give you the addresses for all the sites we visited and talked about) can be found on the Princeton Public Library's Technology Center web page.

Our audience asked lots of great questions and the discussion was fun. One of the questions asked was in regards to free software that keeps track of passwords. After a bit of research we have found RoboForm -- there is a free download for personal use and it comes highly recommended by several reliable sources. Try it out and let us know what you think!

If you want to learn more about Web 2.0 and what it can do for you, then watch this blog for an announcement as I am planning to have Sophie Brookover and Pete Bromberg come in the fall to give a tech talk devoted to this topic and it should be great.

Article about Fantastic Freebies

U.S.1 newspaper printed a fantastic article about the Tech Talk that Bob and I will be giving tonight. They interviewed both of us for this article and did a nice job of highlighting a few of the sites and applications that we will be demonstrating in our talk.

For those that want a preview, here is a link to the article: From the Internet: Great Free Stuff

Mark Your Calendars for the next Tech Talk!

Fantastic Freebies for Everyone!
Janie Hermann & Bob Keith
7 pm
Tuesday June 6th, 2006
1st Floor Community Room
Princeton Public Library, Princeton NJ

Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as “free lunch” and you can find it on the Web. The number of free services, sites and downloads is multiplying monthly at an astonishing rate in a new era of Internet innovation. In this program Janie Hermann and Bob Keith, Princeton Public Library’s “tech gurus” and technology teaching team, will take you on a tour of some of the hottest freebies currently available. Everything from system tools to image editors to word processors and much more can all be found online for no cost. This session will ensure you know where to find the newest and most useful tools to keep you on the cutting edge of technology.

Notes and Links from "Optimizing Your Computer"

Many thanks to Joel May --he gave a fantastic presentation tonight that was filled with many tips and lots of practical advice for how to keep your computer clean and running smoothly and effeciently. The audience had lots of great questions and he was able to provide solid answers for everyone.

The main content of the presentation (with lots of great screenshots) is hosted at the Ewing SeniorNet Computer Literacy Center -- just click here to view it or go to http://snipurl.com/optimize.

As a result of questions from the audience, Joel shared many other tidbits with us. For instance:

• Consider using at least 2-3 spyware removers and run them each at least once per week. There are lots of good free spyware removers available and he uses 2 of them, but he also uses Spyware Doctor as he feels it is worth the investment of $29.95
• Subscribe to the LangaList to keep current and get a great newsletter filled with advice and tips by noted computer author Fred Lang. It will be delivered to your inbox twice per week and is spam-free.
• Be sure to visit Windows Update on a regular basis to make sure that you are current with your patches and fixes (especially if you have automatic updates disabled).
• Smart Computing has some great articles on backing up your hard drive in the current (June 2006) issue. Visit your local library to read this magazine or read the articles online while they are available.
• Consider carefully how you manage your cookies and know the difference between allowing 1st Party and 3rd Party cookies to be accepted. Consider using a "cookie crusher" product to gain total control of cookies.

This is just a sampling of the advice that Joel had to offer. I urge you to read the presentation if you were unable to make it to the tech talk tonight.

Oh, and one last link... after the talk ended Joel and I were talking about blogs and rss readers and he urged me to check out popurls. I did and I am very impressed. It has been bookmarked for what I am sure will be many future visits.

Next month's tech talk will be given by myself and Bob Keith. We will be giving an overview and review of the many fabulous "freebies" you can find online. Stay tuned to this blog for further details.

Genealogy Classes now being offered!

Terri Nelson, the local history librarian at PPL, has busy putting together some wonderful classes that explore online genealogy resources and databases. Here are the classes for May:

Thursday, May 11, 7-8:30 p.m.
Free Genealogy Resources Online
The big subscription databases hold a wealth of information, but there’s even more sitting out on the Internet at no cost to you. Come explore the wealth of free information and help that’s available, from large volunteer projects that cover the entire country to a single person who will happily look up information for you.

Sunday, May 14, 2-3:30 p.m.
Digital Collections for Genealogy Research
The great progress in digitizing text and making images available online is a boon to the genealogy researcher, but much of it is hard to find or part of the “invisible Web.” This class will explore digital libraries containing family and local history, statewide projects to make vital records available on the Internet, and many other digital collections of help in genealogy research. Also learn how to explore a new resource and how to evaluate its quality.

Seats are still free for both the classes. Call (609) 924-9529 x220 or send an email to refstaff at princetonlibrary dot org to register.

Stay tuned to this blog for further announcements of summer computer classes and programs.

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.

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!