Creative Librarian

Frank Cervone discusses the benefits and drawbacks of open-source software. The article’s tone seems a little negative but he does a good job of outlining the facts.

Open-Source Software — laura

Friday, July 18, 2003

Tim Bray, The Door Is Ajar, co-created XML 1.0 and he’s a respected voice in online tech circles. His analysis of the future of web browsers is based on 20 years of experience in the industry. He considers this a good time to try to start getting web surfers to switch to browsers other than Internet Explorer.

The main reason to switch away from IE is that it’s dead. There won’t be any more developments on the PC platform and the Mac version is now fee-based. The Mac people have already started switching to Safari simply because it’s so much faster than any of the alternatives. PC users are keeping a hold of IE though, despite the fact that it is already behind on supporting current technologies, much less new ones.

When talking about web technologies in browsers, I automatically think of flash, which so far contributes very little to the sites that use it and make them much slower and more difficult to use. But it also means things like the PNG image format where, with real transparency, web page designers can create beautiful roll-over effects with a single image and line in a style sheet instead of 2 or 3 images and an extra javascript. Mozilla, Safari, and Opera all support PNGs. IE doesn’t.

Web technologies also means Cascading Style Sheets. Without going into too much detail, CSS has been known to cut web page sizes in half without making them look any different. Along with page size are usability benefits. A simple style sheet switcher lets users choose how they want to see the site: more contrast, more muted colors, larger font; one click and you have a much easier time reading the content. IE does support many things but there are others it doesn’t and now never will. So instead of 2 lines in the CSS file, there’s a whole external javascript to do the same thing.

This doesn’t even mention the usefullness of tabbed browsing or built-in pop-up blocking. How many times have you gone to a public computer to find half size windows with porn ads 50 deep?

Many find the idea of having to use a new piece of software scary but the truth is that in general they work the same. There are forward, back, home, and reload buttons and an address bar. Favorites and bookmarks are the same thing and take you back to places you want to remember. The rest you can take your time discovering or look up when you want them. And for free, you don’t lose anything by trying.

Computing News — laura

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Windows Critical Flaw

Microsoft TechNet

There’s a flaw in the Windows code from 98 on up that leaves it open to the attack of the hacker’s choice. They recommend running the patch immediately.

Must resist Windows joke.

Computing News — laura

The King is Dead…

long live the king?

AOL has discontinued the work on the Netscape browser. But to keep from completely alienating all of the users and the independent developers who contributed to the open-source project Mozilla (Netscape was almost Mozilla with a corporate wrapper around it), they have committed to giving money to the Mozilla Foundation for its continuing development.

IE is as good as dead with the only updates available for a fee to Mac users and not at all to PCers, so this leaves Mozilla the largest browser still being actively worked on. I would recommend anyone looking for something new to try Mozilla, or if you’re using OS X, Safari. Both offer a number features not found in IE, including built-in popup blocking. You have to try tabbed browsing to really understand how convenient it is. New features will be found in those browsers long before anything comes from IE.

Computing News — laura

Buyers Bewildered By Techno-Speak

Not news to librarians who deal with the general public, but it does reinforce the idea that there is a section of our population who need beginner classes in modern technology and might be more willing to trust their local librarians than other strangers. As our technology and culture both evolve, we need to be on the lookout for new oppotunities for service to maintain our relevancy. This is such an opportunity we are uniquely qualified for.

Computing News — laura

Monday, July 14, 2003

NLG Project Planning: A Tutorial

NLG Project Planning: A Tutorial “is provided to assist you in developing a project plan for a National Leadership Grant application. While we hope you find it helpful in preparing your application, your use of the tutorial is not a requirement of applying for a National Leadership Grant.”

Library Links — laura

Saturday, July 12, 2003

EFF Opposes Printer Manufacturer’s Broad DMCA Claims

In a nutshell, Lexmark is trying to use the DMCA to keep people from using printer toner cartridges manufactured by other companies in their printers. When will companies realize that trying to monopolize customers’ choices just makes their products less attractive.

Oh wait, it works for Microsoft…

Friday, July 11, 2003

Marketing 101

Marketing is an important task that seems to be overlooked in many libraries. Just offering useful services doesn’t work if your patrons don’t know they’re available. Even a simple marketing strategy can make your library and your services much more visible in your organization, giving you extra leverage when it’s budget time.

Act Your Age delivers an understandable bare-bones primer on marketing theory to help you get started.

Creativity and Public Domain

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (as explained in the link) was written using several characters that had passed into the public domain. It makes a good demonstration of the value of expiring copyright.

Monday, July 7, 2003

Open Censorware

Aaron’s Censorware

Ed Felten half-seriously suggests that we create censorware that doesn’t overblock and has an open list, so that US libraries who want to receive federal funding can do so without unduly harming free speech.

Up for the challenge, I’ve written a simple censorware program (the censor code is only a couple of lines): censor.py

It looks like it would take some tech knowledge to implement, but being able to honor CIPA without censoring important material would be worth it.

Open-Source Software — laura