Thursday, October 30, 2008

Task 13 - de.icio.us Tagging

This is another interesting idea. I did find a couple of sites I didn't know about previously but I don't know about anything really practical use wise. Maybe I'm just too entrenched in my websurfing ways.

I will put this site down as nice to know about and keep it in the back of my mind because as I said I found a couple of sites I was previously unaware of so you never know when I may need it again in the future.

Signing off!

Task 12 - LibriVox

I think this project has good potential but is slightly hamstrung in that it can only deal with pre 1923 works at the time of writing.

Still it has works from authors such as Alcott, Verne, Wells, Voltaire and Shakespeare to name but a few so if you are technically savvy enough and you want to load a free version of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" onto your mp3 player this is the site for you.

Signing off!

Task 11 - Google Books

I liked Google Books an awful lot more than Library Thing. I thought it was easier to use and quicker.

It's potential is enormous as a research tool especially with the announcement that all the law suits have been settled.

Whilst I won't be building up the library I will be keeping an eye on this one in the future.

Signing off!

Task 10 - Library Thing

The first thing I thought when I joined Library Thing was "Blimey first time" as my user name got accepted. Totally off topic I know but I was amazed.

Once I had joined and started adding books I couldn't get past how slow it was. Perhaps I was on at the wrong time but I can't see myself sitting there and adding in every book I owned. I'd rather be reading them.

Here is the link to my 5 book library (I actually own more than that)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/davidamiles

Signing off!

Task 9 - Library RSS Feeds

Cannot honestly say I liked this task. It was very similar to task 8 in that it involves finding RSS Feeds. Yes it introduced us to new search sites for locating feeds but I found the sheer quantity of information overwhelming.

I think the problem I have with searching through RSS feeds is, to use an old and cliched phrase, information overload. There is just too much. I probably need to spend more time with topix or syndic8 and learn to use them correctly. Then again I probably won't.

Signing off!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Task 8 - RSS feeds

Well this has been an interesting lesson. I have heard of RSS feeds for many months now but never bothered to look into them before.

Using the Bloglines reader it was very simple to subscribe to 10 different feeds and to be able to check the results. I may, when I have more time, check out some different readers as I noticed that Bloglines does not come up in many of the default reader lists.

Anyway it was very simple to do and may find uses for it particularly when it comes to training.

I probably won't choose to use it at home though as I kind of like browsing all the different sites and actually typing in the addresses. It just seems lazy to have the whole net (well you know what I mean) brought to you. I know this is crazy but I can't help it.

Signing off!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Task 19 - You Tube

What a great course to do this is.

There won't be too many other days when I can sit at work browsing You Tube and legitimately claim to be working. I started off having a look at some videos from the Chris Moyles BBC Radio 1 show. You either love him or hate him but since very few people (statistically) from Australia will know of him I chose not to include any links here.

I did discover though that it can be best to press the play button and then pause the video playback so that the loading gets a chance to get ahead of the feed. Otherwise the video keeps stopping and starting to make for a very interrupted viewing experience.

After that I searched for a particular advertisement that I remember very distinctly from the 70's. One that every now and again I still sing to myself. It took me about 10 minutes to find it. I suppose all credit should go to the advertising executive who came up with the campaign if I can remember it 30 years later. So for your enjoyment here is a link to a very old Tic Tac commercial. Remember it is a Clean, Fresh Explosion of Mint! (Note: You may have to turn the volume up).

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4d6m7TbLvvw


Also interesting to see some fairly famous actors (male and female) of the era in there.

As a side note (and possibly a bit controversially) from there I found a link to an almost as old TAB Cola commercial from the early 80's. It was my first exposure to Elle McPherson and as a 13 year old I loved this commercial.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LhGJvGhIzaw


You won't get such blatant sexism like this in commercials these days (unless of course it's a Diet Coke ad). As for the guy on the beach all I can say is what an understanding wife/partner he has.

Signing off!