Monday, October 29, 2012

Introducing Playaway Views


Playaway View is the simplest way to enjoy digital video
content on the go. It comes with the video content already
pre-loaded on it and ready to play. Each Playaway View has a
3.5” full-color LCD screen, weighs just over 5 ounces and holds
up to six hours of content.

Playaway View offers our library and our patrons access to
award-winning programs from providers such as PBS, National
Geographic and more. With Playaway View, our library can provide our
patrons with portable educational programming and entertainment that
was designed with libraries in mind.



Thursday, October 25, 2012

youTube

youTube

a Popular Websites for Beginners Overview



What is youTube?

youTube is an online video website. Users create content (videos) and upload them to youTube to share them with friends, family, or just the world. Users can visit youTube to watch videos, create playlists of videos, and comment on videos.

In recent years, more commercial entities have partnered with youTube in order to offer official channels with official content (i.e. Music videos from Vevo).

There are all sorts of videos on youTube: friends taping birthdays, animals playing outside, indie web shows (like television shows), and more!

Who uses youTube?

A lot of different people are using youTube for a variety of reasons. Children use youTube to look up video game walk throughs, Teens use it to listen to music. Many adults use it for friendly how-to videos. Some use it to watch the news.

What can I do with youTube?

  • Submit/Upload videos
  • Watch Videos
  • Comment on Videos
  • Create Video Playlists
  • Rate Videos

How do I get started?

You go to youtube.com. You can watch videos without an account, but in order to upload content or comment, you will have to create an account.

For more information 

 Online Resources:
Library Resources:
You can request books in our system about youTube. Click here to see what is available in SWAN.

About Popular Websites for Beginners series

Popular Websites for Beginners is our bi-weekly series that highlights a trending or popular website. We'll give you an overview of the website and resources to learn more about it. If you have a specific website you want us to highlight, drop us a comment!

For more posts in this series, click on the 'Popular Websites for Beginners series' tag below!

Monday, October 22, 2012

What to expect when you're expecting Office 2013

You may have heard that there's a new Office coming to town... and it's true. Office 2013 is scheduled to be released in early 2013. While you're waiting for the release, here's some good articles that will tell you all about the changes to expect in 2013! (Please Note: The views expressed in the articles are not the views of the library.)

Arstecha's Office 2013 Preview
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/office-2013-preview-the-speed-read/
"Microsoft has released a wave of preview versions of its upcoming Office 2013 office productivity software and services, with the first public preview released on July 16. Ars continues to dig into the previews, looking at each aspect of the platform’s client software and cloud services—including the apps for the Office add-in developer framework. So far, here’s what we know, and a round-up of our in-depth reviews:" [Read More]
Office 2013 Beta Review:
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/office-2013.html
"How do you know Microsoft is a huge corporation? Because it launches products with a staggering amount of inconsistency among them, including some super-cool solutions alongside dreadful concepts that never should have been born. There are a few things that Microsoft really excels at, and that's being a player in the big league, top-notch support, serious business attitude, a strong presence and dominance in the office space." [Read More]
Computer World's Office 2013 Beta Review
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9229157/Office_2013_beta_review_Microsoft_almost_nails_it
"The just-released beta of Microsoft's Office 2013 gives the application suite one of the biggest aesthetic facelifts the package has ever received, with a flatter, Windows 8 Metro-like look, Ribbonless operation for those who favor a cleaner interface, better integration with the cloud, and a number of features designed for tablets and touch devices. The look of the new suite fits right into Windows 8, but works just as well on earlier versions of Windows." [Read More]

If you're interested in testing it out, you can preview and learn more about the new Office 2013 at Microsoft's Office Preview website: http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/en

Learn More about Office 2013 and when it will be released:

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Reddit

Reddit

a Popular Websites for Beginners Overview



What is Reddit?

Reddit is a bookmark/link community. The main purpose is to submit links and then you can comment, rate them up, or rate them down. It's also known as a social news site [Definition: A social news site is where users submit news (or links) and where they rank on the front page is determined by popularity instead of relativity or content].

Reddit has a lot of subreddits [Definition: Topics, i.e. 'Technology" "World News", etc.] to which content is posted.

Who uses Reddit?

Reddit is mostly used by Young Adults, of which most of them are male. If you're interested in knowing more statistics, there is a fun Prezi you can go through with more breakdowns [Link to "Who uses Reddit?"]

What can I do with Reddit?

  • Bookmark/Submit Links
  • Comment on submitted Links
  • Vote Up/Down Links

How do I get started?

You go to reddit.com and create an account. Creating an account is easy and does not require an active email account to use. Once you have created an account, you can start submitting links.

For more information 

 Online Resources:

About Popular Websites for Beginners series

Popular Websites for Beginners is our bi-weekly series that highlights a trending or popular website. We'll give you an overview of the website and resources to learn more about it. If you have a specific website you want us to highlight, drop us a comment!

For more posts in this series, click on the 'Popular Websites for Beginners series' tag below!