Week 11: Browser Tools

Activity 1:

I’ve been using Firefox for a while now, so I did not need to download and install the browser.

Activity 2:

I’m a big fan of tabbed browsing, but I really don’t like when new tabs open up to a blank window, instead of your homepage. To resolve this problem I went to Firefox’s add-ons site and searched for an add-on that would give me more options to customize my tabs. I found an outstanding add-on called Tab Mix Plus – “Tabbed Browsing with and Added Boost”. With this add-on you can set your tabs to open to your homepage. It also has a handy crash recovery feature that can restore tabs and windows.

I downloaded another add-on called the allmusic.com search toolbar. This is a neat little toolbar that allows you to quickly search allmusic.com for an artist’s particular album.

Activity 3:

Bookmarklets are neat-o! I installed the “Title” bookmarklet for Firefox, and then surfed to http://www.chomsky.info/books.htm. I did a Title bookmarklet search for the book “Hegemony or Survival”, which directed me to a MORRIS search results page. The book I searched for was listed.

Parting thoughts...

Browser tools are a great way to enhance your browser's functionality, and make it behave the way you want it to. I think the Tab Mix Plus add-on is an essential add-on. I will probably add a few more extensions to customize Firefox even more.

Week 10: Gaming & Virtual Environments

Activity 1:

Some games I checked out:

Zuma:

A pop-up game that's quite addictive! Requires good hand-eye coordination. The game's interface is pleasant looking to the eye, too.

Line Rider:

Ride the lines! This game is great! Draw lines on the screen and watch the little line rider dude fly around!

Blackjack (via Yahoo! Games):

I played some Blackjack and lost about $100 fantasy dollars. This games was fun, but a little slow loading.

Virtual worlds:

Finally, I was able to attend one of the gaming sessions which covered WoW and Second Life. The presenters did a great job of showing the group what these games are capable of. If I don't start to play these specific games, I am definitely going to play a game soon, perhaps something like Civilization IV. Thanks to all for getting me interested in gaming again!

Activity 2:

Games and virtual worlds are exciting! I think that they have the potential to increase a library's visibility within its community, and are also a good way to get people come to the library. Games and virtual worlds, if well-designed, can be great learning and educational tools because they involve things like reading, problem solving, coordination, and social interaction. I also think games and virtual worlds can be excellent ways for one to learn new technology skills (programming, Java, etc.) that can help in other work-related tasks.

Week 9: Online Social Networks

Activity 1:

I’m starting to like Facebook. Everyone seems to be on it, so I think it was about time I signed up. Setting up the account was straightforward, although it took me a few minutes to figure out the network system. The Facebook interface is pleasant to the eye, and the various features seem to work well (“the wall”, sending messages, etc.). I’ve joined the Learning 2.0 @ Mac group and edited my profile to include things like musical and film interests. I’ve also added a picture as an avatar. It’s not a picture of me, however. I’m going against the grain. I’ve got some friends on Facebook now and have talked to a few old friends that are on Facebook that I haven’t spoken to in years. All in all, a fun and fairly addictive 2.0 activity!

Activity 2:

I've never really liked MySpace. I find most of the web pages people choose to use to be horrendously ugly. And there's also the fact that one's ears are often bombarded with a super lame Top 40 mp3 song that plays automatically. I do not see much of a future for MySpace. In fact, I think Facebook will eventually become the "go-to" social networking site. MySpace is more for the older set, I think, while Facebook is for younger folks. Rupert Murdoch bet on the wrong horse! Hahahaha.

LinkedIn is a neat idea. It seems to work well and looks OK, but again, I'm wondering if Facebook already does what LinkedIn is trying to do.

Week 8: Online Applications & Tools

I chose to investigate LastFM. I remember stumbling upon this site a few months ago. It looked good then, but I think I was too busy to keep at it. Being a music freak, I think I will stick with it this time! The idea is pretty simple: create an account and download the LastFM software which will then track what music I play in my media player. The technical term for this is “scrobbling.” Soon, I will have a playlist built up which others will be able to see.

There’s a lot of cool features in LastFM, like tagging songs, joining groups, and looking at weekly scrobbling charts (what songs LastFMers are playing the most). I think LastFM will start to get really exciting when my playlist is built up! Apparently this takes a little while. When I do have a playlist, people with a similar taste in music will be added as my neighbors! Rock on!