Interesting timing

So this weeks topic is Wiki and FireFox. Interestingly enough, one of this weeks big news stories, outside of Lohan's imprisonment, is the Wikileak's release of Afghan war documents. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19230-how-wikileaks-became-a-whistleblowers-haven.html

I created and used a Wiki during a class during library school. This was during a group project. If you Google me, it's still up there. In general, I like wikis. For example, Wikipedia for all it's faults, I love it still. I just haven't had to use or create one since that class. I started one on Wikispaces for those interested http://favoritereadersadvisorysuggestions.wikispaces.com Unfortunately, not a lot of work has gone into it yet.

One thing I do work with a lot at home is FireFox. What I didn't know about or at least use fully are the tools that are a part of it. This will be fun. Another thing about timing, as I was putting this post together, my husband sent me a link about FireFox and Explorer bookmarklets. They're handy dandy little shortcuts within a website. http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/32_incredible_bookmarklets_chrome_firefox_safari_and_internet_explorer. Some great ones, two favorites are let me google that for you and Kittenify that turns any page images into kittens.

It's like they know me

Love my Google account. It's fun, it's lively, it's a one stop source for all my various Internet needs. One of the more interesting features is the Google Reader. Keeping track of favorite blogs and RSS feeds is only one component. The recommended items is the spot to check out. I haven't selected anything I like or dislike so I'm getting random bits of things to look at. Today, I've read about marketing graphic art, Dinobots and Tracy Morgan. I don't think I wouldn't want it any other way

Oooh shiny!

I confess, I'm a magpie when it comes to new things. I'm interested if it's shiny, sparkly, has a view screen or lots of buttons. Maybe I'm more of a toddler at heart than a --something. What can get lost is its original use.

Texting is a quick way to communicate. Now that I finally have a package through my phone carrier, I'm using it much more often than I thought I would. It's replacing my phone calls to people. There is more that it's replacing.

As I was on my way to work this morning, I was listening to the Take Away on NPR. They were discussing how people in China were beginning to use texting as a primary form of communication. As they text, the phone will translate their Romanized characters into the Chinese characters. As a result, many are finding difficulty in handwriting the characters. Here's an article about it in the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-characters-20100712,0,6032882.story Many are concerned and active about regaining full literacy in their language. According to the article, Government programs have been launched to address this problem. It's the beauty of technology to resolve a problem, however, it also can replace something beautiful.