Not All Bits

Info Culture

Coming soon to a device near you?

May 9, 2013
by Daniel Messer
0 comments

The Future of Nook?

A few days ago The Verge posted a story about how Nook HD and HD+ tablets are suddenly able to acquire not just apps, but also eContent from Google Play. It was kind of strange that B&N would take this step because, after all, the Google Play content store is a direct competitor to B&N’s own content store.

It doesn’t bode well, though, for the HD tablet owners because, with the lackluster (some would say disastrous) sales on the Nook tablets, opening them up like this would be a very good sign of imminent abandonment.

Today Ars Technica is reporting that Microsoft is interested in buying the Nook property for a billion dollars.

Since Android is a competing mobile OS to  Windows RT, Windows 8, and Windows Phone, I could easily see the Android versions of the Nook HD and HD+ going full Android native and losing most, if not all, B&N support. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were an “update” that set the Nook up with, say, CyanogenMod or similar, and leaves the user with an Android tablet with a pre-installed Nook app.

My theory? The big M isn’t seeing the hottest sales in Windows RT tablets, but Redmond would really like to believe in that brand and that operating system. Steve Ballmer called the Metro interface and Windows 8 a “bet the company” innovation. I could easily envision relatively inexpensive tablet readers based on Windows RT with ties to B&N. RT runs on ARM processors which power quite a few of the tablets out there already, so the software and hardware architecture is already in place. That’s pure speculation, but I think it makes sense.

Or, finally, B&N could split the line, retain the eInk devices and sell the tablet stuff to Microsoft.

Either way, we might be seeing the end of the Nook brand of eReaders as we know them.

CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE

April 17, 2013
by Daniel Messer
2 Comments

Librarians Should Know How To Code – Simple Example

CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE

There’s a big push in the library world to get librarians on the coding bandwagon and convince library professionals that an ability to code should be just as much a part of their toolkit as a web browser. That’s fine and everything, but where do you start with such a thing? At what point in one’s library school career should they be presented with this?

function newPopup(url) {
popupWindow = window.open(
url,'popUpWindow','height=700,width=800,left=10,top=10,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,toolbar=yes,menubar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=yes')
}

I mean, what? (For those who are curious, this generates a pop-up window on a clicked link. You can call on it from a web page with even more JavaScript code.)

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DC

April 8, 2013
by Daniel Messer
0 comments

Computers in Libraries – The Arrival

The flight into DC was turbulent, something I attributed to the outgassing of politicians and assorted lobbyist scum. On the ground, things were normal, if you can consider Reagan National Airport a normal place. I’ve been through quite a few airports here and there. I’ve often compared Dallas – Fort Worth to a mall, you get off the plane and you’ve got access to anything, including overpriced, but somewhat decent food.

If DFW is a mall, then Regan is a Calcutta street market the day before a major celebration when everyone is pursuing last minute purchases with little patience and less kindness.

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CiL

April 6, 2013
by Daniel Messer
0 comments

I’m Going to Computers in Libraries!

My library was very kind and I’m very lucky to be heading for the 2013 Computers in Libraries conference next week! I’m flying out on Sunday and leaving Wednesday afternoon. If ya see me around, say hi or drop a line via the contact info below! I’m all for meeting up for lunch or drinks and stuff!

Beyond that, looking at the line up, I’m pretty excited — especially from the point of view of my job as a library web content manager and web designer. There’s a great web presence and UX track that I’m looking forward to diving into and, besides all that, I’ll be seeing some friends that I rarely get to see!

So if you’re heading for CiL too, you can reach me via @bibrarian on Twitter, SMS and Google Voice at (480) 389-4070, or cyberpunklibrarian@gmail.com.

Hope to see some of you there!

KindleWallet

April 3, 2013
by Daniel Messer
0 comments

Far Better and More Useful Than a Wallet

One fine day I was trying to find something in my wallet and, not being able to, I decided to clean it out and figure out exactly what I needed. As things go, I carried a lot of crap that I didn’t need — business cards of people I was never going to call, receipts for stuff I bought a month ago, and so on. When I pared everything down, I found out that, 99% of the time, I needed three things:

  • My driver’s license.
  • My debit card.
  • My medical insurance card.

That was it. I didn’t need anything else. So I ditched the wallet and started looking for something more useful. For a week I meandered around with just my three cards in my pocket before I came up with something better, and I’ve grown to love it because it combines things I love with things I need. Simply put, I no longer carry a wallet, I carry an eReader.

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