 Thursday, July 10, 2003
Oprah Hearts the iPod
"Not that we were able to catch this (I think I forgot to set the TiVo or something), but apparently on today's episode of the Oprah Winfrey show today, Oprah gushed about the iPod and then gave every member of her studio audience a brand new one to take home. [Heard via the Pho list]..." [Gizmodo]
It's true. Here in Chicago, ABC reruns Oprah's show at night so I'm watching the second half of it now. She says that her staff has been raving about the iPod for months, that it will rock your world, it is "truly genius," and "this is big." Interestingly, they had her tech guru talk about it and when it was time to play music, she said, "Okay, what button do I hit?" Then she wasn't sure how to stop the music from playing. It's one of her "favorite things," but she obviously doesn't use one. Hmmm.....
In addition to highlighting the iPod (and giving one to every person in the audience), she also extolled the vritues of the Roomba. (And yes, everyone got one of those, too!) If you want to spend your own dime (well, thousands of dimes) to own Oprah's favorites, you can print out the list to take with you (PDF).
The Last Mile
"I've been working on answers to those questions here at Copyfight for just over a year, but today I'm taking another step: I have accepted an offer from the Electronic Frontier Foundation to become an EFF Webwriter/Activist. At EFF I hope to take this challenge to a whole new level, helping to lay that last mile while strengthening EFF's connections to others working all along the line. This includes, of course, connections with the good people here at the Berkman Center, without whom I would not have picked up the hammer and spikes at all.
Yes, Copyfight will go on, though sponsorship may (or may not?) change. I start at EFF in September, and will be in transition mode for some time. I hope nevertheless to be here almost daily." [Copyfight: The Politics of IP]
The EFF does great things for us, and now it's about to get even better. Normally I would congratulate Donna, but in this case I'm going to congratulate the EFF instead. :-)
How do you like that - the Green Hills Public Library, one of my SLS libraries, has a blog! Since March, no less! I found this post interesting because I didn't know any libraries were circulating console video games!
"The Library has listened to your demands and has purchased a number of games for the xbox console. Parents for your information on the lower left hand corner of the game's package there will be a box with either an E, T or M.... Parents if you do not want your child to be able to checkout any of the T or M rated games you can let the circulation desk know and they will be able to restrict your child's card."
Now all they need is an RSS feed.... ;-)
Another blog that I did know about because we're hosting it for them is Oak Lawn Public Library's Daily Hearsay. It does have an RSS feed. :-)
Argh - does anyone know of a free program that runs on Windows 2000 and lets you set the "samples per pixel" for an image? I was sure IrfanView would do it, but it won't let me set a number. TIA.
"I have completely mixed feelings about this. Nancy Pearl from Seattle Public Library's Center for the Book is now going to be an action figure. Want to guess what she is doing, as her 'action'? 'The ejectable hair bun had many technical hurdles to overcome and we thought doing two cliches was over the top,' he said. 'So, we went with the shushing action. It gives the figure a certain dignity.' [ thanks bill ]" [librarian.net]
Overall, I agree with Jessamyn and Greg:
"Hmmm, I have a sense of humor (weak though it may be). The ejectable hair bun would have been much funnier and less cliché. I'm certainly not offended, just disappointed."
However, I am most confident that librarians will purchase the doll in droves and wreck much fun with them! Where is the best place to host the image gallery?
Another adventure down the SLS path to blogdom - What's Gnu is getting bloggy with it! More news, more often, now with an RSS feed!
"Welcome to the new What's GNU? from SLS Reference Service. The new blog format lets us update daily (even hourly!), share the writing, and archive automatically. It lets you search by keyword or browse by category or date. Most importantly, What's GNU? continues to provide the reference-related news, resources, and events that you've been reading for almost six years!"
Roselle Public Library's Blogger Book Club got a mention in this month's School Library Journal! Time to Join the Club highlights two leading library-sponsored, online book discussion groups.
"Weber has launched a book review Web site that's part of her school library's site (www.norwalk.k12.ia.us/schools/ms/mcenter/iowateenreviews.htm) and has worked with eighth graders, encouraging them to read at least one of the nominees for the Iowa Teen Book Award. Weber posts the student reviews on the site and has received many enthusiastic reactions from students. During the summer, Weber also works part-time at the public library, where she has created two Internet book discussion groups—a "Princess Diaries" group for girls and a "Guys Read 2" group for boys. She hopes to attract at least 15 members to each group. "Many teens see chatting online as cool and going to the library to talk about books as not so cool," she says. "I also think teens with disabilities and teens [who] would not normally be comfortable talking in front of others… would be prime candidates for this type of discussion." Homeschoolers could be another group of potential members....
Dennis and Amy Cawley, RPL's head of youth services, are trying an experiment. They have subscribed to Blogspot (www.blogspot.com), a $50-a-year service that lets group members post their comments online. They're hosting a summer Blogger Book Club (bloggerbookclub.blogspot.com) for readers going into grades four through six linked from the library's site. Program participants will discuss the candidates for the 2004 Rebecca Caudill Award, the state's children's book choice prize for middle grades. In early June, Cawley said there were seven kids interested in signing up, and she hoped to sign up 15 to 20 readers by midsummer."
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