Wednesday Tech Tips: Guess what?

You can use your smartphone as your library card!

Image: Giphy

If you would like to read more words about it, you can go to the CPL website, but in a nutshell, there are free apps that you can install on your smartphone that will allow you to use a high-res image of your library card to be scanned at the checkout desk.  Key Ring and Cardstar work with iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows devices.

Questions?  Don't be shy about finding a librarian to help you out!  'Cause when you've got your library card, you're happy, we're happy, everyone is very very happy.

Wednesday Tech Tips: Guess what?

You can use your smartphone as your library card!

Image: Giphy

If you would like to read more words about it, you can go to the CPL website, but in a nutshell, there are free apps that you can install on your smartphone that will allow you to use a high-res image of your library card to be scanned at the checkout desk.  Key Ring and Cardstar work with iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows devices.

Questions?  Don't be shy about finding a librarian to help you out!  'Cause when you've got your library card, you're happy, we're happy, everyone is very very happy.

Wednesday Tech Tips: Back to School

Image credit: Core Music

Happy first week back!  It is always so exciting to see both new and familiar faces in the Teen Room.  I hope you are all having a good time settling in and starting a new year.

We have had a change in our computer sign-up procedure in the Teen Room.  This happened late in the last school year, so you may be encountering it for the first time this fall.  You need the exact same information to sign in as you always have: your library card number and PIN (personal identification number a.k.a. password).  The difference is you now sign up using a laptop at the librarians' desk and that laptop will assign you to a computer in the room.

There is a reason for this new system and it is a good one!  You will now be able to sign up for unlimited hour-long computer sessions while the Teen Room is open! 

Remember before when you only got ONE HOUR in the Teen Room?  Okay, now you get AS MANY AS YOU WANT.*  But for that to work we had to route it through this sign-up system.  Thems the breaks, kids.

If you have any questions about this come and ask us -- we are happy to help!

*****

In other WTT news, the library is offering free beginner's computer classes starting TONIGHT from 6:00-8:00PM at the Main Library.  Classes are first come, first served and they are very popular so hustle on over if you are interested!




*This does mean you can no longer use inadequate computer time as an excuse for not finishing your assignments, y'all...

Wednesday Tech Tips: Back to School

Image credit: Core Music

Happy first week back!  It is always so exciting to see both new and familiar faces in the Teen Room.  I hope you are all having a good time settling in and starting a new year.

We have had a change in our computer sign-up procedure in the Teen Room.  This happened late in the last school year, so you may be encountering it for the first time this fall.  You need the exact same information to sign in as you always have: your library card number and PIN (personal identification number a.k.a. password).  The difference is you now sign up using a laptop at the librarians' desk and that laptop will assign you to a computer in the room.

There is a reason for this new system and it is a good one!  You will now be able to sign up for unlimited hour-long computer sessions while the Teen Room is open! 

Remember before when you only got ONE HOUR in the Teen Room?  Okay, now you get AS MANY AS YOU WANT.*  But for that to work we had to route it through this sign-up system.  Thems the breaks, kids.

If you have any questions about this come and ask us -- we are happy to help!

*****

In other WTT news, the library is offering free beginner's computer classes starting TONIGHT from 6:00-8:00PM at the Main Library.  Classes are first come, first served and they are very popular so hustle on over if you are interested!




*This does mean you can no longer use inadequate computer time as an excuse for not finishing your assignments, y'all...

Wednesday Tech Tips: Texting while driving

If you just got your license (way to go!) or plan to pass your driver's test someday, hopefully you've gotten the message about keeping your eyes on the road.  Just in case, you may want to watch this PSA that Werner Herzog* made about texting while driving.

I'm awfully curious to see this myself when I get the chance -- share what you think.











*Werner Herzog is a German director who has made some seriously intense, excellent films.  Definitely check them out -- some of the ones you might be familiar with are Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn, and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

Wednesday Tech Tips: Texting while driving

If you just got your license (way to go!) or plan to pass your driver's test someday, hopefully you've gotten the message about keeping your eyes on the road.  Just in case, you may want to watch this PSA that Werner Herzog* made about texting while driving.

I'm awfully curious to see this myself when I get the chance -- share what you think.











*Werner Herzog is a German director who has made some seriously intense, excellent films.  Definitely check them out -- some of the ones you might be familiar with are Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn, and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

Wednesday Tech Tips: How Geeky Are You?

Looks like I'm not geeky enough -- only scored 52%.

Your turn!  Has WTT taught us anything?

Wednesday Tech Tips: How Geeky Are You?

Looks like I'm not geeky enough -- only scored 52%.

Your turn!  Has WTT taught us anything?

Wednesday Tech Tips: File deletion and other existential questions

I hesitated to post this topic, because as you will learn, it IS possible to retrieve deleted files.  But please don't take that to mean that I can do it for you.  Gone is still gone when it comes to that Word document, I'm afraid.

Watch this fascinating video for a great explanation of why deleted does not always equal erased.  And you have to admire how guy goes from your trashed photos to THE END OF THE UNIVERSE.

Wednesday Tech Tips: File deletion and other existential questions

I hesitated to post this topic, because as you will learn, it IS possible to retrieve deleted files.  But please don't take that to mean that I can do it for you.  Gone is still gone when it comes to that Word document, I'm afraid.

Watch this fascinating video for a great explanation of why deleted does not always equal erased.  And you have to admire how guy goes from your trashed photos to THE END OF THE UNIVERSE.

Wednesday Tech Tips: College Life

This week's tips (both from Mashable) will help you graduates as you enter into college life.  Before you prepare for your big move in the time-honored fashion (buying Audrey Hepburn posters and those giant containers of cheez-balls at Target), take a look at these nifty gadgets that may give you a little more room in your teensy dorm.


C'mon, who doesn't want one of these?

Not only is it COMPLETELY RAD, it is a guaranteed disaster waiting to happen, which will become one of your best "remember when" stories at your 10-year reunion.

Okay, but these items are not all cheaptastic.  You may be able to save some coin on textbooks.  I'm also going to go out on a limb here and advise you to try the library at 8:00am when everyone else is still sleeping.

Also, before you buy a million plastic storage bins or a lamp or a fondue kit, check out Goodwill or the second hand stores in your neighborhood, because I promise you that they have all that stuff.*  Save some money and be good to the earth, amirite?

*Well, they probably don't have the amazing toaster/coffeemaker/baconater combo, but the individual components are all there for you to cobble together your own breakfast station.

Wednesday Tech Tips: College Life

This week's tips (both from Mashable) will help you graduates as you enter into college life.  Before you prepare for your big move in the time-honored fashion (buying Audrey Hepburn posters and those giant containers of cheez-balls at Target), take a look at these nifty gadgets that may give you a little more room in your teensy dorm.


C'mon, who doesn't want one of these?

Not only is it COMPLETELY RAD, it is a guaranteed disaster waiting to happen, which will become one of your best "remember when" stories at your 10-year reunion.

Okay, but these items are not all cheaptastic.  You may be able to save some coin on textbooks.  I'm also going to go out on a limb here and advise you to try the library at 8:00am when everyone else is still sleeping.

Also, before you buy a million plastic storage bins or a lamp or a fondue kit, check out Goodwill or the second hand stores in your neighborhood, because I promise you that they have all that stuff.*  Save some money and be good to the earth, amirite?

*Well, they probably don't have the amazing toaster/coffeemaker/baconater combo, but the individual components are all there for you to cobble together your own breakfast station.

Wednesday Tech Tips: Wolfram Alpha

Copyright: Scott Adams, Inc. 2011. (Dist. by Universal Uclick.)

 

Yeah.  I feel just like Dilbert when trying to understand how Wolfram Alpha works. 

 

Wolfram Alpha is not a Star Trek character, nor is it a search engine: Wolfram Alpha is an answer engine.  These answers are computed from curated data and Wolfram Alpha is only be able to answer a computational query.  Ideally, Wolfram Alpha's work will never be done, as there is always more figuring to do in this world!

The important idea is that it is NEAT-O.  Go and ask something!

Wednesday Tech Tips: Wolfram Alpha

Copyright: Scott Adams, Inc. 2011. (Dist. by Universal Uclick.)

 

Yeah.  I feel just like Dilbert when trying to understand how Wolfram Alpha works. 

 

Wolfram Alpha is not a Star Trek character, nor is it a search engine: Wolfram Alpha is an answer engine.  These answers are computed from curated data and Wolfram Alpha is only be able to answer a computational query.  Ideally, Wolfram Alpha's work will never be done, as there is always more figuring to do in this world!

The important idea is that it is NEAT-O.  Go and ask something!

Wednesday Tech Tips: This is your brain on Facebook

Typical afternoon: you've just watched a video of kittens in rollerskates dancing to "Heart Attack."  Was this experience share-worthy?  And with who?

Activate the Temporo-Parietal Junction!  A study by UCLA scientists showed that this part of your brain indicates whether you will share something before you know it yourself.  (It is also, apparently, responsible for out-of-body-experiences.  Which makes total sense in a weird way.)  

The TPJ is hooked in big time to empathy, which explains the wonkiest bit about it:

"Three years ago, an MIT team showed that stimulating the TPJ affected moral reasoning: subjects were less likely to care about the inherent morality of a situation (in this case, whether a man should let his girlfriend walk across a rickety bridge) and more about outcomes (did she get across safely?)."

Pretty intriguing to think how this links up with social media sharing -- if I told you this was a link to a bear attack video, would you head on over and watch it?  Maybe that's stretching the science a bit, but we have the ability to watch a lot more misadventures online than ever before.

Will people start using these brain studies to make their Youtube videos go viral?  I predict yes!  Now excuse me, while I tell a few friends about this...

Wednesday Tech Tips: This is your brain on Facebook

Typical afternoon: you've just watched a video of kittens in rollerskates dancing to "Heart Attack."  Was this experience share-worthy?  And with who?

Activate the Temporo-Parietal Junction!  A study by UCLA scientists showed that this part of your brain indicates whether you will share something before you know it yourself.  (It is also, apparently, responsible for out-of-body-experiences.  Which makes total sense in a weird way.)  

The TPJ is hooked in big time to empathy, which explains the wonkiest bit about it:

"Three years ago, an MIT team showed that stimulating the TPJ affected moral reasoning: subjects were less likely to care about the inherent morality of a situation (in this case, whether a man should let his girlfriend walk across a rickety bridge) and more about outcomes (did she get across safely?)."

Pretty intriguing to think how this links up with social media sharing -- if I told you this was a link to a bear attack video, would you head on over and watch it?  Maybe that's stretching the science a bit, but we have the ability to watch a lot more misadventures online than ever before.

Will people start using these brain studies to make their Youtube videos go viral?  I predict yes!  Now excuse me, while I tell a few friends about this...

Wednesday Tech Tips: Fun with Photos

I just read about a newish app called Throwback that takes photos, but instead of saving them to your phone, emails them to you in the future -- anywhere from one month to five years.

What a cool idea in our multi-task, memory-challenged times!  Nowadays you aren't saving a shoebox full of old photos, so Throwback has found another way to offer that moment of nostalgia.


I decided to look for other fun things you can do with your pics.  With these photo editors and apps, you can decide to save your summer vacation snaps for five years down the road, or dress them up now!

• Throwback

• Blingee (Beth's favorite)

• Yearbook Yourself*

• AdornPic (using Face In Hole feature)

• AnyMaking (using PopArt feature)

*This is not such a far cry from my junior high years.  Except the hair.  My hair was SO MUCH BIGGER.

Wednesday Tech Tips: Fun with Photos

I just read about a newish app called Throwback that takes photos, but instead of saving them to your phone, emails them to you in the future -- anywhere from one month to five years.

What a cool idea in our multi-task, memory-challenged times!  Nowadays you aren't saving a shoebox full of old photos, so Throwback has found another way to offer that moment of nostalgia.


I decided to look for other fun things you can do with your pics.  With these photo editors and apps, you can decide to save your summer vacation snaps for five years down the road, or dress them up now!

• Throwback

• Blingee (Beth's favorite)

• Yearbook Yourself*

• AdornPic (using Face In Hole feature)

• AnyMaking (using PopArt feature)

*This is not such a far cry from my junior high years.  Except the hair.  My hair was SO MUCH BIGGER.

Wednesday Tech Tips: How to Lose Your Phone

Losing your phone does not have to be the end of the world if you are prepared for it.  Take a little time to run through these steps and give yourself peace of mind about walking away for half an hour while you leave your phone charging in a public space.

Wait, what?  Okay guys, this just in -- don't leave your phone unattended in a public space.  I got mixed up there for a second...


Constant vigilance!  That's what we're going for.

1) Do you have a password for your phone?  Most smartphones offer a numerical or pattern option; others have a crazypants voice or face recognition option.  Consider whether you will leave a trace on the screen if you use the pattern option, especially if you have been eating Cheetos.

2) Do you back up your data?  Even if you don't keep sensitive info on your phone, chances are there are photos and other information on your phone that you don't want lost forever.

3) Do you have a way to remotely track, lock, and/or erase your phone? 

4) Is there a way for someone to return a lost phone to you?  You can display a message with contact information either as wallpaper (take a photo of your message) or through the lock screen settings on your phone.  Make sure the contact information provides a safe way for someone to reach you -- not your home address.


You can find out how to do all this and more (more!) with these helpful articles from CNET and How to Geek.




There. I feel better, don't you feel better?

Wednesday Tech Tips: How to Lose Your Phone

Losing your phone does not have to be the end of the world if you are prepared for it.  Take a little time to run through these steps and give yourself peace of mind about walking away for half an hour while you leave your phone charging in a public space.

Wait, what?  Okay guys, this just in -- don't leave your phone unattended in a public space.  I got mixed up there for a second...


Constant vigilance!  That's what we're going for.

1) Do you have a password for your phone?  Most smartphones offer a numerical or pattern option; others have a crazypants voice or face recognition option.  Consider whether you will leave a trace on the screen if you use the pattern option, especially if you have been eating Cheetos.

2) Do you back up your data?  Even if you don't keep sensitive info on your phone, chances are there are photos and other information on your phone that you don't want lost forever.

3) Do you have a way to remotely track, lock, and/or erase your phone? 

4) Is there a way for someone to return a lost phone to you?  You can display a message with contact information either as wallpaper (take a photo of your message) or through the lock screen settings on your phone.  Make sure the contact information provides a safe way for someone to reach you -- not your home address.


You can find out how to do all this and more (more!) with these helpful articles from CNET and How to Geek.




There. I feel better, don't you feel better?