Thursday, May 31, 2012

PDF Convertor, Part II



I had mentioned an online PDF Convertor
back in January 2012. It converted Office documents and other formats to PDF.

It would be good also to have something that could convert PDFs to Word or Excel or PowerPoint files. With that in mind, there's a free PDF Convertor that can do that.



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Google's Tribute to Bob Moog


Google is using their homepage today to celebrate the 78th birthday of Robert "Bob" Moog, the inventor of the Moog synthesizer, an electronic musical instrument that changed the sound of music.

People have a chance to play with a simple virtual synthesizer. By clicking on the piano keys, or by using a computer's keyboard, visitors can play their own tunes and experiment with different synthesizer sounds. When the logo is clicked on, the white keys can be played using the row on the computer keyboard beginning with the TAB key, and the black keys with the row of numbers above.

The sound controls are shown in four sections, above the keyboard, echoing Moog's modular design. The first section contains volume controls. The large knob changes the master volume, and the three knobs to its left control the treble, middle, and bass levels, respectively.

The second module contains the oscillator controls. Google's synthesizer contains three different oscillators, all of which generate "raw" waveforms. The first column of three knobs control the octave range of each oscillator, creating sounds ranging from the extremely deep and barely audible to ear-piercingly high and sharp. Each of the three knobs can be controlled independently. Experimentation with these controls may lead to interesting results. The two large knobs in the oscillator controls allow you to change the tuning of two of the oscillators. This acts in a similar way to loosening or tightening a string on a guitar. Finally, the column of three knobs on the right side of the oscillator controls will allow you to choose different waveforms for the oscillators. These can also dramatically affect the shape of the sound.

The third module contains the filters. Once more, these will greatly influence the sound of the synthesizer. The two knobs in the upper left and the lower left corners of the filters module shape the sound by cutting off the highest frequencies and emphasizing certain tones. The knob between them controls portamento, or glide: the degree to which the synthesizer will "slide" between played notes. The other three knobs in the filters selection will apply more modifiers to the sound. Play with these and see what you come up with!

The final module, envelope, will change the overall shape and length of the sound. The top envelope knob controls "attack," or how abruptly a tone will begin to play. The second knob controls "release," which determines how long it will take for silence to resume after a key is released. The last knob controls "sustain," or how loud the note will be when it is held down.

It also contains a four-track recording device that will allow you to capture your masterpiece and share it with friends.

http://www.google.com

To view past interactive Google Doodles, click the link below:

http://www.google.com/doodles/search?query=interactive

Friday, May 11, 2012

What are Infographics? / Pinterest Infographic

You may have heard the term 'Infographic' lately. It seems like they're being used everywhere now a days, but what are they?

According to Infographic Labs:
Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge.

What does this mean? It takes all those plain statistics and brings in a visual element. It makes statistics look fun and more understandable.

So let's take a look at an Infographic on Pinterest!


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Media on Demand Guides

We posted back in March on how to download Media on Demand books to your Kindle and since then we've made two new guides! One for kindle users who want to transfer their books via USB cord, the other for Nook users.

Media on Demand Guides
Click on the link to download the PDF instructions

Guides for the Kindle

Guide for the Nook
If you have a different eReader and would like us to make a guide for Media on Demand for you, comment in this post with which eReader and we'll get back to you!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

How to Cite a Tweet in a Paper?

Begin the entry in the works-cited list with the author’s real name and, in parentheses, user name, if both are known and they differ. If only the user name is known, give it alone.

Next provide the entire text of the tweet in quotation marks, without changing the capitalization. Conclude the entry with the date and time of the message and the medium of publication (Tweet). For example:

Athar, Sohaib (ReallyVirtual). “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).” 1 May 2011, 3:58 p.m. Tweet.

The date and time of a message on Twitter reflect the reader’s time zone. Readers in different time zones see different times and, possibly, dates on the same tweet. The date and time that were in effect for the writer of the tweet when it was transmitted are normally not known. Thus, the date and time displayed on Twitter are only approximate guides to the timing of a tweet. However, they allow a researcher to precisely compare the timing of tweets as long as the tweets are all read in a single time zone.

In the main text of the paper, a tweet is cited in its entirety (6.4.1):

Sohaib Athar noted that the presence of a helicopter at that hour was “a rare event.”

or

The presence of a helicopter at that hour was “a rare event” (Athar).

From the MLA.org website.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

eReader Comparison Chart Spring 2012

UPDATE 9/11/12: 

We have a new version available! Click here to go to the newest eReader post!


We've updated our eReader Comparison chart and gave it a new look! You can view it below or download the PDF! Enjoy!



If you have any questions, you can always call us up, or attend one of our eReaders made Easy programs! The next one is Friday, May 18th, 2012 from 6-7:30pm at the library!