WebP: a new image format we may be encountering

WebP (pronounced "weppy") is a new image format developed by Google that employs both lossy and lossless compression.  Facebook embraced the new format but many users didn't know what to do with the files they downloaded.  The CNET article notes "When people upload JPEG photos, the social-networking juggernaut converts them into the WebP format. And now it also apparently has begun delivering those images to people with browsers that can handle them, which today means Chrome and Opera."

Since "Windows, OS X, Photoshop, and most other software can't handle WebP" one may ask, "Will this cause us grief in the Student Multimedia Center?"  For those who can't handle the new format, one workaround is to log into Facebook using Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox.  As these browsers don't support the new format, users will download a JPEG file instead.  And (for now) may be much happier.

Images of microforms captured with iPhone

Awhile ago someone in the Microforms room was taking photos of images on the screen of a reader/printer, instead of printing or scanning. I thought it odd but it was what worked for that user. Earlier this week, I was helping someone scanning an article about an old Wilmington neighborhood with a photo of a big house. She wasn't very satisfied with the images produced with scanning. Getting photos to scan or print well from microfilm can be challenging. Often the image on the photo is not great quality to begin with, and sometimes scans or prints don't bring out the subtleties that are there. After trying several settings, including the grayscale setting on #7, it occurred to me to suggest taking a photo with her phone (looked like an iPhone). She did so and seemed happy to also have that in addition to her other scans. The photo on the phone looked a little greenish as the screen has a light green hue, but it seemed to capture some of the subtlety she was looking for.

Get To Know The Rebel A Little Better

Hi all! I stumbled upon this great, short photography 101 blog post the other day and found the information very useful. The blog looks at some of the main components to the Rebel that we all see but most of us don't understand like aperture, white balance, and focal point. It's short sweet and to the point and can get you a little more acquainted with the Cannon Rebel. Enjoy!

Presentations made easier

Towards the end of the semester, there is always a mad rush of people trying to finish up presentations.  With PowerPoint getting less and less popular by the minute, students may be looking for a new, innovative way to put together a professional looking presentation.  SlideRocket is a tool that I just recently found out about, that takes a new approach to presentations and business communication.

SlideRocket not only allows you to start from scratch creating new presentations, but also gives the option of importing an already started PowerPoint or Google presentation.  The formats are completely compatible with SlideRocket and can be edited there, so if you are are struggling with a PowerPoint presentation, but don't want to start all over, you aren't out of luck.  You can also quickly make presentations online with a full set of design tools, and share and collaborate with partners.  Then, publish a presentation URL and share it instantly.  It could really make group projects a lot easier, and cuts out all of the time it takes emailing and saving files to flash drives.  Your presentations are accessible anywhere - online, offline, or mobile.  I've seen so many groups come in with problems like they lost their files because they didn't save properly, or they need help saving so they can access it later.  SlideRocket could be a really helpful tool to them - saving isn't an issue, they can access it anywhere, and they can work on it together even when they aren't actually together.

More fun with iMovie!

Hey guys, so Konrad and I have stumbled across another problem with these wonderful iMovie projects. We had two different students come up trying to save the project and events folders to their own hard drives and/or flash drive. Here's the kicker. The folders saved fine, but when we tried to open them up on another computer only the information in the events folder was showing up. The problem was the the hard drives and flash drives were only formatted for PCs, not macs. So even though the folder would show up on the drives they would not open when put into a mac. Unfortunately, the only answer that we could offer these students was to reformat their hard drives because we were out of ours for burrowing. Just a heads up for anyone else that comes across this problem!

Review article on computer privacy uses familiar looking photo

The Review's story about a computer privacy bill, that has nothing directly to do with us, used a file photo of a student at a Mac in Room B. The photo caption makes it seem that it's the Senate -- with a "senator" not very hard at work and looking suspiciously like a college student...! On the plus side, it's good to know that we're thought of as a recognizable place with computers on campus.

Which Companies Make Efforts to Protect Your Information?

So many times we live for the moment --save it or buy it quickly without thinking that there may be a reason not to put our information out there for all to see or find. If you delete your account or last post, is it really deleted from the companies' servers? It's something to think about as we work in the Center and sometimes recommend these online tools or resources. The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently assessed company practices and policies for protecting your privacy and data online and you can quickly scan this list for some of your favorite companies and think about this, the next time you use them... As a side note, the Library tries very hard to protect user data. As just one example, we clear the circulation history throughout the day and all of the computers have Deep Freeze so that data added by a user is wiped and the computer is fresh on restart. Don't forget to restart!