Thursday, July 26

Do You Use Keyboard Shortcuts?

  I am sure most people reading this blog know the common, useful shortcuts like ctrl-C for Copy, ctrl-V for Paste, and ctrl-F for Find. Did you know that there are so many shortcuts, using the mouse is almost optional? As you may expect, Wikipedia has a useful table that compares system shortcuts in Windows, and Mac OS.  One that SMDC folks will find useful is the shortcut to restart computers: for our Macs it's ctrl+cmd+eject,  and for the Windows 7 machines it is Windows key>right arrow>enter.  Aleph (pdf on navigating in Aleph) also has some useful hotkeys. F5 for the Loan tab, F6 for the Return Tab, F4 to Exit the current session, and ctrl+Tab to move between panels.  If no one objects, I am going to program F12 to pop up the Temporary Password Override.
  Most of our multimedia software have keyboard shortcuts, but it can be daunting to learn them all.  One strategy I've used is to get keyboard covers that fit over the top of the keyboard (kbcovers makes good ones for Mac).  These are nice because they are easily removable, and have the added benefit of protecting the keyboard from dust.

Thursday, July 12

Student who has 11,000 dowloaded songs without paying.

Recently a college student intern at NPR wrote a blog post admitting she had downloaded 11,000 songs without paying for any. (She copied many from her college radio station where she worked.) Her post has generated a storm of publicity. While this doesn't mention fair use, it does show the current attitude of many towards copyright and dowloading music - and by extension movies, TV shows, etc. - they don't pay for. A moving response arguing this hurts artists more than anyone was written by musician David Lowery. The New York Times among others has covered the controversy.
Rich

Everything is a Remix

There are five videos on vimeo that are worth watching.  Four of the them are entitled Everything is a Remix, and The Internet Blacklist Bill can scare anyone who uses the internet. 

Monday, July 9

Pinterest users

Here are two interesting articles for Pinterest users.  Make sure you are taking these 3 precautions and Why I Tearfully Deleted My Pinterest Inspiration Boards.  Both are written by attorneys and the article provide much to think about.