Open Mic Night!

We are trying an experiment this month for Tuesday Technology Talks and I hope you will join us to help make it a success. We are hosting a Tech Open Mic Night on Tuesday May 1st at 7 pm in the Community Room!

We recognize that our Tech Talk audience is full of expert users with much knowledge to share and we want to take advantage of the collective wisdom of those who attend.

We will have our laptop set up with an Internet connection for all to use. You can demonstrate a favorite site or two or show off a good search strategy. Perhaps you know of a great Firefox extension that was not covered last month, if so please share! We are also interested in learning about any shortcuts or tricks to make us all smarter computer users. It is an anything goes type of night!

To kick off the night, and to help get everyone feeling at ease, we will have the PPL Tech Training Team start by sharing their favorites, shortcuts and tips. We spend considerable time collecting useful sites and helpful tips and are eager to share them with you.

Here is the official "blurb" from our program guide.

What's New and Cool?
The PPL Tech Team Presents Open Mic Night
Get to know Princeton Public Library's technology training team (Janie Hermann, Bob Keith, Evan Klimpl and Jim Crawford) as they reveal all about their favorite sites and recent discoveries. Then, it's your turn. Don't be shy: Step up to the podium and share your knowledge with others. What sites do you use daily? What is really useful to you? Chances are if you find a site useful , then others will, too
Tuesday May 1, 7 p.m.
Community Room

We hope this will become an annual event so help spread the word to make this a success!

Firefox Extensions Follow-Up

John's talk on April 3rd was incredibly informative and lots of fun. Not only did he talk about all the cool ways to extend our use of Firefox, he also managed to demonstrate many useful 2.0 sites such as del.icio.us and tumblr and Google Docs & Spreadsheets in the process. As an added bonus, the presentation even included a good discussion on the important topics of tagging and folksonomy.

John has posted about his Firefox presentation over on his blog at lemasney.com -- he even provides the link to the complete presentation as well as the information on how to access the list of extensions and plug-ins he demonstrated:

Anyone who wishes to see the presentation [which I wasn’t actually able to give, but it all worked out] can go to http://ghost.rider.edu/openlearning and log in as a guest, then visit the Top25 Firefox Extensions course in the course list. There are lots of other resources there you can peruse if you like, too.

We did have a technical glitch which prevented John from accessing his server, but he carried on liek a pro and did the full presentation without his list of links. Thanks John for all your hard work -- and we look forward to having you back again sometime soon!

Tech Talk on Extending Firefox

On Tuesday April 3rd at 7 pm John LeMasney will make a return appearance by popular demand to lead a session called Extending Firefox. John is going to cover a wide range of popular add-ons and plug-ins that can be used to enhance your browsing experience. The press release is below.

MEDIA RELEASE

Princeton Public Library
Sands Library Building
65 Witherspoon St.
Princeton, NJ 08542
609.924.9529

March 16, 2007

PRINCETON PUBLIC LIBRARY HOST SESSION ON FIREFOX
Web browser is the subject of April 3 edition of Tuesday Technology Talks
featuring John LeMansey of Rider University

Mozilla’s popular Firefox Web browser will be the subject of April program in the Tuesday Technology Talks Series on April 3 at 7 p.m., when John LeMansey of Rider University presents a program titled “Extending Firefox.”

“As the popularity of Firefox continues to grow, so, too, do the ways in which it can be expanded,” said Janie Herman, programming coordinator at the library and founder of the Tuesday Technology Talks series. “John will demonstrate for our audience the best 25 free extensions and add-ons for Firefox.

LeMansey, who presented a program on open source software at the library last November, is manager of Instructional Technology at Rider and the technology consultant for the Center for Innovative Instruction. The center is part of the Teaching and Learning Center at Rider.

Hermann noted that Firefox, a freely available web browser that is released under an open source license and can be extended with hundreds of free add-ons, is quickly changing the way people think about and use the Internet.

The monthly sessions of the library’s popular Tuesday Technology Talks series feature demonstrations and discussions of new and emerging technologies and related issues. The series continues on Tuesday, May 1 at 7 p.m., when the library’s technology team hosts an open mic night.

All Princeton Public Library programs are free and open to the public. If programs require registration, preference is given to library cardholders. The physically challenged should contact the library at (609) 924-9529 48 hours before any program with questions about special accommodations.

The library is in the Sands Library Building at 65 Witherspoon St. in Princeton Borough. Convenient parking is available on neighboring streets and in the borough-operated Spring Street Garage, which is adjacent to the library. For more information about library programs and services, call (609) 924-9529 or visit www.princetonlibrary.org

Zuula in the News!

Just updating in regards to the Tech Talk scheduled for tomorrow night at 7 pm as Zuula has had two significant interviews published this week. Looks like tomorrow's talk will be very interesting based upon reading the interviews.

Pete Bromberg, my colleague from Library Garden, published his interview with Boris on our blog last week. A great set of questions with equally interesting answers.

In addition, US1 Newspaper published an article/interview by Patrick Spring called Carnegie 214 Firm Aims at Google which gives a detailed overview of the company and its founders.

Spread the word to your colleagues and I will see you tomorrow night!

Meet "Zuula" on March 6th at 7 pm

Zuula: A New Metasearch Engine … from New Jersey!
Tuesday March 6th at 7 pm
1st Floor Community Room, Princeton Public Library
with Boris Simkovich, CEO of Zuula LLC

Zuula is a new metasearch engine, and it's based right here in Princeton. What's more, Zuula has some special features that have been attracting a lot of attention in the world of search engines. During this session of Tuesday Technology Talks, Zuula's CEO will describe the history of Zuula, including the challenges it has faced during development and since its launch. He also will demonstrate the various features of the search engine, and compare Zuula to other leading metasearch sites. Finally, the session will end with a discussion of features and functionality planned for Zuula's future.

This session should be very interesting and a provide unique opportunity to "look under the hood" of a search engine and learn about the technology behind the scenes. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming DataBytes and Tech Talks

Just a visual heads up to what will be happening for the next three months! I am really excited about the next round of Tech Talks and hope that you will help spread the word!

Social Software Round Up: Part 1

We had a good crowd come out on January 2nd for our first Tech Talk of 2007 -- it was a great way to kick off the year. I have been meaning to get this post written for the last week but have been swamped with other duties. I will split the post in two as I still need to find time to convert our PPT slides to PDF. Here, in brief, are a few of the highlights that Karen and I covered that evening.

What is Social Software?
A relatively "new" term with lots of creative and complex defintions.
Simplest Definition -- software that facilitates collaboration.
Wikipedia Defintion -- Software that enables people to rendez-vous, connect or colloborate through computer-mediated communication.

MySpace is one of the best known social software sites, but there are many sites that utilize social software for a variety of reasons. Social software is about meeting people, but it is also about sharing information, opinions and interests.

A few examples of Social Software Sites:

• MySpace/Friendster/Facebook/bebo -- online communities for connecting with friends and meeting new people.
• Second Life -- An online society with a 3D world.
• YouTube -- a place to share, rate and comment on videos
• Flickr -- a place to share and talk about photos
• Xanga/LiveJournal -- communities of online diaries and journals
• LastFM and LibraryThing -- sharing music and books (respectively)
• del.icio.us -- social bookmarking (sharing your bookmarks with others)
  

Positive Aspects of Social Software for Teens (and others):

• Expressing Individuality
• Engaging in Reading and Writing
• Sharing Ideas and Opinions (and sometimes creative work such as music or photos)
• Great tool for learning hands-on about blogging, podcasting, and other new technologies
• Community Building and collaboration with others
• Communication with each other, but also Teens to Adults and Adults to Teens.
• Raising awareness of events and "causes"
• Freedom to choose, be creative and express themselves.

The "Hype" is that social software is dangerous and should be banned from places like public libraries and schools. While tt is true that predators can and do use social software to find victims, they also use Instant Messaging, Message Boards, and other forms of electronic communication in addition to going to public places like malls. The problem of online predators and cyberbullying is much larger than banning a few popular social software sites. A proactive approach of teaching our children and teens about online safety is crucial because the "reality" is that much of MySpace and other sites are safe when you are aware of common sense rules for protecting your identity online.

A great site for learning about safety online is WiredSafety, which includes great handouts on Social Software and YouTube.

I will hopefully find time to finish this post next week. Feedback and comments are welcome.

Tech Talk on Social Software on January 2nd, 2007

Here is the press release for January's Tech Talk -- thought I would post it early since I will be taking some time off during the last week of December. The topic of this talk really couldn't more timely given that Time Magazine considered the development of the social web to be worthy of being named "Person of the Year". Hope to see you there!

PRINCETON PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS SESSION ON SOCIAL SOFTWARE

Janie Hermann and Karen Klapperstuck to give overview of sites such as MySpaceas part of Tuesday Technology Talks program

Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.

Princeton Public Library’s Tuesday Technology Talks series will focus on social software sites such as MySpace on Jan. 2 at 7 p.m., when librarian Janie Hermann and Karen Klapperstuck present a program titled “Social Software: Hype Versus Reality.” Hermann, program coordinator and reference library at Princeton Public Library, and Klapperstuck, director of the Bradley Beach Library, will examine the increasing popular sites, which allow users to connect and communicate online in an open and easily accessible space.

“MySpace, Facebook and YouTube are the most well-known of these sites,” Hermann said, “but social software in general is increasingly popular and has received unprecedented media coverage this year, as the recent issue of Time magazine proves.” Time awarded its 2006 Person of the Year to You, which the magazine defined as the community of Internet users who create content on social software sites.

The Princeton Public Library talk will define social software, look at the pros and cons of using it and show participants how to set up a profile. “We’ll also provide tips for staying safe in online communities and examine what is hype and what is not about the dangers of connecting and collaborating in a virtual world,” Hermann said.

The monthly sessions of the library’s popular Tuesday Technology Talks series feature demonstrations and discussions of new and emerging technologies and related issues. The series continues on Tuesday, Feb. 6, when Martin Mosho presents a program titled “eBay Essentials.”

All Princeton Public Library programs are free and open to the public. When programs require registration, preference is given to library cardholders. The library is in the Sands Library Building at 65 Witherspoon St. in Princeton Borough. Special assistance is available for library customers with disabilities. Those with special needs should contact the library 48 hours before any program to arrange for accommodations. Call (609) 924-9529. For more information on library programs and services, visit www.princetonlibrary.org

DataBytes for Winter 2007

Getting a Human

I am a fan of technology (this should be obvious by now), but the one technology that I despise is complex phone menus that always lead to a dead end when I just want a bit of help from a human. I am pretty certain that I am not alone in my frustration with phone menus and now I have proof.

I have recently discovered a great new site for when you need to make a phone call to a “customer service” line and dread weaving your way through the prompts to find a human voice that can provide help. Check out http://gethuman.com for a database of customer service numbers and instructions on how to defeat the menu of prompts to get directly to a human! The database is here:
http://www.gethuman.com/us/

I-800 customer lines are listed and then tips on how to defeat the menus are given! Here is a sample entry:

Pep Boys
F (note: this is the grade it was given... they failed)
800‑737‑2697
Press 33; at prompt press 1; hold through prompts for representative.

I will be adding this to the Fantastic Freebies roadshow!

Tech Talk on 12/5/06: Cyber Crime

Our final Tech Talk of 2006 is coming up in a few days and it promises to be something a little different and quite fascinating -- a look at computer crime from both sides of the law. Here is the blurb below. I hope to see everyone on Tuesday night.


Reporting and Defending Computer Crime
Tuesday December 5, 2006
7:00 pm
Presented by Jef Henninger, Esq.
A vast amount of computer crime goes unreported by both individuals and companies because the victim doesn’t know how to proceed or is afraid to get involved. Jef Henninger, a criminal defense attorney who has been studying computer crime since 1990, will cover topics such as what to do before you become a victim, who to call when you are one, what to expect as a witness before and at a trial, interacting with the prosecuting authority, and other tips to make the prosecution a success. On the opposite side of the law, defendants charged with computer crimes face an uphill battle at trial because most lawyers have a computer phobia which causes almost all cases to end in a guilty plea. These crimes are ensnaring more innocent people than any other type of crime. Learn how to protect yourself when you are suspected of committing a computer crime.

Podcast of Open Source Software talk now online!

John LeMasney gave a great talk earlier in November on election night. He gave a great overview of the open source movement, creative commons licensing and software built using open source standards. If you missed John's talk, he has put up a podcast in MP3 format on his blog so you can listen and you can view the slides too!

I hope we will have John back in the near future to talk to us about Firefox extension and customization!

Open Source Software (and election results) on 11/7/06

It will be a double-header in the community room of the library on November 7th -- come hear a fabulous tech talk on Open Source Software and then stay late to watch the election returns on our large screen. The library will be open late on election night so that the community can gather to discuss election results as the returns are announce and Ingrid Reed will be there to lead the discussion.

The Tech Talk will begin at 7 pm sharp and the election results will be broadcast starting around 8:30 pm.

John LeMasney of Rider University will be our guest speaker and he will set about giving us all we need to to know about Open Source Software (see blurb below).

Hope to see everyon there!


Open Source Software
"This presentation will give an overview of Open Source Software, touching on history, applications, and common usage with examples. Linux will be discussed in depth, but many OSS applications for Windows and Mac OS will be discussed as well. Come and find out why business users, home users, and even those who don't use computers are so excited about the Open Source movement. "

An Event Not to be Missed!

Just thought I would alert everyone to a great event that is happening next week on Thursday October 19th in the Princeton area. It is the 27th Annual Computer Graphics Film Show of the Joint Princeton Professional Chapter of the ACM and IEEE Computer Society. The event takes place at Sarnoff and starts at 7 pm. Lots of fun and lots of great door prizes. Mark you calendar now!

Learn How to Protect your Home Computer on 10/3/06

Please join us for our next Tech Talk on Tuesday October 3rd 2006 when Joe Perignat gives a presentation called Security for the Home Computer.

Safeguarding your home computer is crucial in order to protect both your equipment and data.
In this talk Joe will cover virus protection; e-mail security, and spyware programs. In addition, buying on the internet, e-mail scams as well as the “Do’s and Don’ts” of releasing information online will also be discussed. Staying current and up to date is important and this talk will cover advice and products (both commercial and free) that will protect you.In this talk Joe will cover virus protection; e-mail security, and spyware programs. In addition, buying on the internet, e-mail scams as well as the “Do’s and Don’ts” of releasing information online will also be discussed. Staying current and up to date is important and this talk will cover advice and products (both commercial and free) that will protect you.

The talk will begin at 7 pm and be followed by a question and answer session.

Flyer for Upcoming Tech Talks

Links and Notes for Web 2.0 Presentation

Three weeks ago, Pete Bromberg gave a great presentation that gave an overview of Web 2.o and the associated software and sites. It was really too much to cover in one presentation, which I knew from the start, so it looks like we will be having a follow-up session in the Spring (especially since Sophie Brookover was not able to present with Pete due to illness and she really has a lot to add to this topic). So, stay tuned for more on Web 2.0 at future tech talks.

In the meantime, Pete has been maintaing and adding to the wiki that he and Sophie set up for the presentation. So, if you missed the talk, need more handouts, or just want to review what was said take a visit to the PPL Tech Talk Web 2.0 Wiki.

I also got an email from Doug Dixon (a Tech Talk "regular") where he provides a wonderful link to his Notes on Blogging, Syndication, Podcasting, and Vidcasting. As Doug indicates in his email these "notes on Blogging & other Web 2.0 goodies ... help to define these concepts and put them in context". Thanks for sharing the link Doug!

Links for Power Googling

I have had several requests asking if there are links to the handouts that Nancy Blachman distriubted during her talk on Power Googling that she gave on July 25th. So, for those that couldn't make the talk or those that have misplaced the wonderful handouts, here are the links to the printable versions for future reference:

The 16 page guide to Power Googling

The always popular Google Cheat Sheet

The Google Guide to Developing a Web Site

Keep checking the Google Guide often as Nancy does a great job keeping it current.

Web 2.0 Demystified on 09/05/06

Join us on for our 1st Tech Talk of the 2006-2007 season when two dynamic speakers will demystify the buzz and hype of Web 2.O. Here is the official program description:

Web 2.0 Demystified
You've seen the term and heard the buzz, but what in the world is Web 2.0? Sophie Brookover and Pete Bromberg offer an answer, incorporating blogs, RSS feeds, Wikis, Podcasts, social software, Friendster, MySpace, de.lico.us, furl, Flickr, IM, lastfm, Folksonomies, Mashups and Tagging. Learn about this slew of 2.o technologies and find out what's useful and what's not.

US1 Newspaper did an extensive interviews with Sophie and Pete about their upcoming talk, and the article, World Wide Web 2.0: The Next Generation, can be accessed online.

This talk is going to be a fantastic way to kick off our 7th Season of Tuesday Technology Talks! I hope to see you there.

Tech Talk on 08/01/06: Designing Intelligently with Adobe InDesign

Beat the Heat! Enjoy the cool comfort of our community room while you learn all about Adobe InDesign at our upcoming Tech Talk. There is not need to register, just drop on in! The session will start at 7 pm. Here is the press release:

PRINCETON PUBLIC LIBRARY TO HOST TALK ON ADOBE INDESIGN Princeton residents Andy Epstein and Tim Quinn to discusshistory and functionality of graphics software on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m.

Princeton Borough residents Andy Epstein and Tim Quinn will review the history and functionality of Adobe’s powerful graphics software InDesign at Princeton Public Library on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m.

Titled “Designing Intelligently with Adobe InDesign,” the program in the first floor Community Room is part of the library’s Tuesday Technology Talks series.

Quinn, public information director for the library, will discuss the history of the software and Adobe’s efforts to compete with QuarkExpress, which until recently had been the industry standard in print graphics software. Quinn is a writer and designer responsible for the library’s marketing and promotional materials.

Epstein, associate director of graphic design and print production for Bristol-Myers Squibb, will demonstrate some of InDesign’s capabilities. Epstein is a graphic artist who manages the creative group responsible for much of the pharmaceutical company’s graphic design, copywriting and Web Design.

Recently he completed a two-year term as president of InSource, an organization he co-founded, that is focused on addressing the needs of the in-house design community. Epstein has written articles for HOW and Graphic Design:USA magazines in addition to contributing to articles featured in Dynamic Graphics and the Rockport Press book “Bringing Graphic Design In-House.”

Awarded a Sappi “Ideas That Matter” grant, he is most proud of the book published with that award, which he created with the students of The Lakeview School, an institution devoted to the needs of children with Cerebral Palsy.

The monthly sessions of the library’s popular Tuesday Technology Talks series feature demonstrations and discussions of new and emerging technologies and related issues.

All Princeton Public Library programs are free and open to the public. The library is in the Sands Library Building at 65 Witherspoon St. in Princeton Borough. Special assistance is available for library customers with disabilities. Those with special needs should contact the library 48 hours before any program to arrange for accommodations. Call (609) 924-9529.

For more information on library programs and services, visit http://www.princetonlibrary.org