Cell phone computing for libraries
Following up on a recent Pew study on wireless Internet use (see: Minorities embrace internet via handheld devices), here is a presentation on Current Mobile Trends in Libraries:
- M Is For Service: Current Mobile Trends in Libraries, by Gerry McKiernan, Science and Technology Librarian, Iowa State University Library. The Handheld Librarian 2009 Virtual Conference. (July 30, 2009) [PowerPoint, 164 slides, 10.6MB]
Congressional Documents on FDsys
Peggy Garvin has a new article that covers the basics of searching for Congressional information in GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys). Thanks Peggy! The Government Domain - Congressional Documents on FDsys: the Basics, by Peggy Garvin, LLRX (July 27, 2009). Continue reading
Minorities embrace internet via handheld devices
The Pew Research Center report on wireless internet use has some interesting findings regarding broadband access to the Internet.
- Wireless Internet Use, by John Horrigan, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (Jul 22, 2009)
- Pew: minorities embrace internet via handheld devices, By Matthew Lasar, ars technica (July 26, 2009). It says that African-Americans access the Internet via handheld devices more often than whites, for whom an online connection is more likely to come from an ISP-connected computer. "This means the digital divide between African Americans and white Americans diminishes when mobile use is taken into account," Pew says.
NIH encouraging scientists to write for Wikipedia
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is teaming up with Wikipedia. Jay Walsh, a spokesman for Wikimedia, said, "This is the first time the foundation ever met with folks at the federal government level."
- NIH Staffers Get Into the Wiki World, by Ibby Caputo, Washington Post (July 28, 2009)
- NIH Gets Schooled on Wikipedia, by Gautham Nagesh, NextGov, TechInsider (07/28/09).
NIH is encouraging its scientists and science writers to edit and even initiate Wikipedia articles in their fields. This month, it joined with the Wikimedia Foundation, which publishes the cyber encyclopedia, to host "Wikipedia Academy," a training session on the tools and rules of wiki culture, at NIH headquarters in Bethesda.Continue reading
Microsoft and Yahoo Combine Their Search Technologies
Will MicroHoo Raise Eyebrows On The Hill?, Congress Daily, Tech Daily Dose, July 29, 2009.
Under the 10-year agreement, Microsoft will acquire an exclusive license to Yahoo's core search technologies, and Microsoft will have the ability to integrate Yahoo search technologies into its existing Web search platforms. Microsoft's new search engine Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo sites.While the companies are trying to pitch this as providing more search engine diversity (for advertisers, not users: "advertisers no longer have to rely on one company that dominates more than 70 percent of all search"), it further reduces the options users have to an open, transparent, accountable method of finding information. Continue reading