Week 9: #22 Downloadable Media

Right now, I don't have a home computer or ipod or MP3 player, or whatever else one would need to take advantage of this service. Hopefully, next year I will have purchased at least a computer to access the HCPL website or one of the others if this is something I want to persue. Frankly, the HCPL website, I think, can hold its own in comparisons. It is very well designed and easy to use. I perused the Librivox and Wowio sites and thought ours was just as good if not better.

Week 9: #21 Podcasts, Smodcasts

I checked out the Podcast website http://feeds.feedburner.com/yarncraft There were a lot of crafty things to look over. Originally, I tried to click on the most recently added podcast on touring Italy, but nothing would come up. Then I tried to click on how to tell your real age and the computer froze on a blank screen. I opted for a podcast on marriage relationships and lo and behold I actually was able to access that site. But I finally decided to go with crafts since I'm interested in them. Before doing this exercise, I didn't know what a podcast was except I knew about itunes. So, this was informative to me. I also visited the Yahoo!Search website and Podcast Alley, but they didn't look very exciting. I would definitely go back and explore podcast.net when I have more time.

Week 9: #20 Discover youtube and other video sharing sites

This site was really fun to explore. I chose "Nora the piano playing cat" because I thought the video was so cute, and I like cats. I mean, who wouldn't think Nora was adorable? I guess there are lots of people out there sharing their videos with the world. I hear about it all the time on television or read about all of this in magazines. But I never really checked it out myself before. It would probably be a good training tool for libraries or they could use youtube to give virtual tours.

Week 8: #19 Web-based Apps: They're not just for desktops

I signed up with Zoho Writer http://writer.zoho.com/index.do and read through the introduction by Helene Blowers. I can totally see someone in the business world using this web site. The idea of being able to access documents from any computer and having instant collaboration with colleages you need to share them with is a great idea. I like the fact that the user doesn't have to download any software. I guess this would be a great tool for students who are doing group projects. They could work on the project together and not have to leave the comfort of their homes or dorm rooms. I e-mailed the website for my husband to checkout in case he's not aware of it.

Week 8: #18 Social Networking: Making friends in the comfort of your own home

I checked out "My Space" http://www.myspace.com/ to see what it was like, as I hear it mentioned so much in the media and by word of mouth. It was actually a pretty well designed website with alot of attractions on it to entice you to peruse. I originally thought that it was just someplace kids go to tell others about their lives, interests, likes and dislikes, etc., but it had much more to offer. I did not sign up, however, as I really don't have the time to chat with total strangers. I have a hard enough time just keeping up with my family and friends. I also took a short tour of "Yahoo 360", "Zanga.com" and " Threadless." "Yahoo 360" was not interesting to me at all. It seemed to be more of a site to really just create a blog. I watched a video blog on "Zanga" about table tennis. I guess it was advertizing a video game or something. Maybe that's why I didn't find it appealing. The last website, "Threadless" was a t-shirt site to order t-shirts. I think this must appeal more to kids or twenty somethings. The only t-shirts I like are the souvenir shirts I buy from places I visit. At least now I know what some of these chat rooms are like when I hear about them in conversations.