Test Drive # 4 - Web Browsers

Web Browsers allow us to surf the net and two of the most common browsers are Internet Explorer (IE) and Mozilla Firefox.

I have nearly always used IE, (otherwise Firefox) but learned after watching Brian Tong from CNET comparing browsers, that Firefox wins over on speed, security and customisation features.

Discover:

When looking at a comparison of Firefox and Google Chrome specifically, Firefox not only wins over in terms of choices of customisation features, but also in the respect that it is Open Source. Users of Firefox have input into its development and in this way are constantly improving Firefox, more thoroughly than Google's developers can. Google Chrome impressed me though with its feature of "Incognito Mode" which ensures pages that you are viewing will not be stored in your brwsing history, which is great for public computer use.

Explore:

"Fashion Your Firefox" recommends Add Ons based on your interests and it is the way to customise your version of Firefox.

I particularly liked the "Read It Later" Add On which allows you to save pages of interest to read later on without bookmarking them. This would be useful as a librarian, because this job involves a lot of web surfing and not every page can be read when you have an impatient client with you.

The "Cooliris" Add On sounds interesting too as it allows extremely fast searching of images. It gives you a 3D wall of images from You Tube, Flickr, Facebook and your own computer and makes searching faster by allowing images to be viewed simultaneously without the need to click from page to page.

Adventure:

The Add Ons from Firefox that would be useful for my library include those discussed above, but also "Categorize". This add on was updated on November 13, 2009. It basically simplifies everyday browsing using groups for regularly visited bookmarks and an enhanced search bar.

I found the "Reference Desk Collection" group of add ons a great idea for Librarians. Having ready reference tools, currency converter, translator and highlighter on your browser, would save time as opposed to looking up these sites on your list of bookmarks.

Online Photo Sharing - Adventure into Flickr

After accepting the challenge to create a Flickr account and upload some of my recently captured digital photos of my library; here are the results.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/alana123/

It is a very impressive library and brand new! It opened in December 2008 and it reflects a modern architectural style, for the modern day. Located in sunny Rockhampton, Queensland, it is affectionately known by staff as "The Shed". This is due to its similarity to a typical Aussie shed, composed of galvanized sheets of iron and glass!

I found Flickr easy to work with and was surprised to learn that it was made easier by already having a Yahoo account!

I have just done a quick search for photos tagged with "slq2td09" as mine are and found some wonderful shots of the State Library of Queensland! I hope to get there one day and immerse myself in it!! I wonder if they give guided tours?

Test Drive #2 - Online Photo Sharing

What a great concept... online photo sharing.

Using the internet to record some of your life and places of interest to you for posterity is the way of the future. According to the Online Photosharing in Plain English video from Commoncraft, it is better than the traditional method of printing photos and placing in photo albums. Tagging of digital photos makes them easy to search for and locate compared to the good old fashioned photo album from the shelf! Just as I had gotten used to downloading my SD Card photos into folders on my computer and creating hard copy backups on CD, life changes again!

Venturing on to Flickr as suggested, I searched for Mosman Library and was pleasantly surprised at how simple it is find photos of interest. I also searched for my public library in, "Rockhampton" and discovered some interesting photos of the original public library, the "School of Arts" as well as some of our newly built library. Very impressive!

The Creative Commons project sounds very interesting and wonderful for its enabling access to rare photos from around the world and for the collaborative efforts that ensure its survival.

My favourite photo (shown at left) from Flickr is of the La Trobe Reading Room in the State Library of Victoria. I visited this amazing place last year on holiday in Melbourne and I thought to myself, this is a "real library"! It had a real sense of nostalgia and presence with the beautiful domed ceiling and old books lining the walls, along with the leather topped desks! I like this photo because of the angle. It gives an interesting perspective of the room from the desk level looking up!

(photo taken by Muhammadldris)