Downloadables now for the iPod

At last!
Our Netlibrary subscription now includes books that can be downloaded to any iPod, iPhone, iTouch. My colleague Laurie has an iPhone and she has downloaded several books. But here is the tip: be very patient. Follow the directions, plug in your iPod device, and walk away. Stay away for a while, up to an hour. It takes a while because it loads it onto iTunes first, then your device. When you come back it will be all done.
Jeff will have 2 public sessions on the Downloadables, on Saturday May 30 or Saturday June 27. Both are at 9:30 a.m. in the Plaut Conference Room. Click here to register.

Office 2007 loaded

Jeff has been busy loading Office 2007 onto all the computers in the Technology Center at the New Canaan Library. The look and feel of Office 2007 is quite different: there are ribbons instead of toolbars. The commands are all under tabs and actually are better organized once you get used to it. The Reference Staff will be offering classes in Word 2007, Excel 2007, and PowerPoint 2007 during March, April and May. Go to the computer class list on the website to see dates and times. Register online. Or give us a call at 203-594-5003. The staff is always available to help when you are using the Office suite and have a question or a problem.

New e-screen and software!

New at the Library is our e-screen.
Now when you enter the Library through the West Plaza Entrance (otherwise known as the sliding glass doors) be sure to look up at our new e-screen which shows all the programs happening at the Library, today and upcoming.
The e-screen is connected to a PowerPoint program running on a computer. PowerPoint programs can be edited and added to quickly and easily, and they can be set to run in a loop, continuously with set time intervals for viewing.

Also new are 2 software programs on the public computers: Photoshop Elements and PDF Creator. Adobe Photoshop Elements is a photo editing program which allows the user to maximize color, remove red eye, crop and edit photos. PDF Creator allows the user to take any Internet file or word document and turn it into a PDF file. The file can then be printed or emailed with ease.

Going Green with Print Management on October 27-28

In an effort to join the Green movement the Library will be changing its print system to Envisionware Print Management. We hope to reduce the amount of wasted and abandoned printouts and thereby reduce the amount of paper and toner used. Print management is a system that many libraries in the area use to management the printing of pages from the Internet and other computer programs. When you want to print you put in a password and send the print job to one of the brand new Kyocera printers. There is a black and white printer as well as a new color printer. Both printers are Ecosys printers which mean they to are going green, using less toner and fewer plastics. The cost of the prints will remain the same, 10 cents for black and white, 50 cents for color prints. Look for the installation on Monday and Tuesday October 27 and 28. Unfortunately we will have to close off all the public pcs on those two days for the installation.

Online Blunders

Consumer Reports recently featured an article about common mistakes that computer users make that can invite identity theft. They mention things like using the same password for multiple accounts or webpages, clicking on that ad that says your computer is not secure, downloading free screensavers and other software, and bragging that your mac computer doesn't get viruses.
Click here to read all 7 of the mistakes users make.

Self-checkout

You do it at the Grocery Store, you do it at the Home Depot, now you will be able to do it at the Library. Self-checkout! Coming in August is a fancy new workstation. Swipe your Library Card, and the items you want to check out. Take your printed receipt and go! Please come and check it out.

Screen savers and Going Green

Don Willmott on his Livewire blog for June 11, 2008 decries the continued use of screen savers! Screen savers were useful on the older monitors, but they are not on the new LCD monitors as there is no "burn-in," a permanent shadow branded onto the screen when static images were left on the screen for long periods of time.
Willmott says that if you are not sitting in front of your computer turn the monitor off. Or put the computer to sleep. And you will save money and energy.
Read Willmotts blog here.