Update from the Tech World

Big yawn and a stretch from me. It's been too long since I blogged here, and it's nice to stretch my fingers some and get back to typing. 1337 Librarian here, your faithful techie extraordinaire. Remember me? I'm the one who gives the updates on technology, answers your burning librarian questions, and reviews a lot of books and stuff. Yeah. Me. And it's Tuesday, which means it's time to talk tech.

First, a disclaimer. I've been on vacation for a while, and when I returned, I had over 1000 technology blog posts waiting to be read. That's a lot of blog posts, and time was short. So you want to know what I did? I marked them all as read. Sue me. I didn't read them. I skimmed over them to see if there seemed to be anything terribly important I was missing, but all seemed more or less okay, so I whisked them off my blog reader and into oblivion. So . . . there's a chance I've missed some developments in the past month or so, and if that proves to be the case, you have my apologies.

Of course, the nice thing about the tech world is that they never miss an opportunity to review what's been happening. I'm sure I'll catch up quickly.

Speaking of never missing an opportunity, Apple's doing it's conference thing again. Tomorrow they're launching something music-related. Traditionally, early September is when they launch new iPods. Of course, the debate now is what exactly the demand for new iPods is. For many people, MP3 players have been replaced by all manner of new devices: iPhones, iPads and the like. What's the need for such a specific piece of technology these days? Then again, if any company has proved it excels at showing what the need for a piece of technology is, it's Apple.

Still, chances are the Apple conference won't be iPod-exclusive. There are rumblings that Apple will launch a new version of it's Apple TV device, perhaps to compete with Google's upcoming gadget. (On a side note, can I just say how much it pleases me that there are finally things that are in the pipeline that will hopefully crush cable/satellite's grip on television channels? Cable and satellite are both outdated, and they need to be replaced pronto.) Rumor has it that Apple will start renting television shows for something like .99/show. When you consider that there are sometimes only a handful of shows people really want to follow that aren't available online already for free (I'm looking at you, Mythbusters), this is a price point I can get behind. It would let me watch the shows I want at a fraction of what I'd pay for cable or satellite.

Other potential items for the conference: iPad software updates, iPod Touch updates (front facing camera and Facetime, anyone?) and who knows what else. Suffice it to say, it should be interesting to see what comes of it. Tune in next week for an overview and rundown of the basics.

Mantor Monday: Welcome Back!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Browsing Room! Some of you have been here before, and hopefully, lots of new readers will find us as well. (Spread the word!) I'm Bookjones, and I blog here on Mondays, when I talk about what's up and coming here at Mantor Library, and Thursdays, when I post things that interest, amuse, or amaze me from the odd corners of the internet where libraries, books, and culture meet. I'm sure our other blogging librarian, 1337 Librarian, will be introducing (or re-introducing) himself tomorrow. We both love comments to our posts, so don't be shy! Introduce yourselves!

The University of Maine at Farmington campus is alive again with incoming freshman , and we've kicked off Orientation with two sessions of "Meet Me at Mantor" today, our orienteering activity to help familiarize new students with our somewhat-less-than-intuitive floorplan.
September 1st is the first day of classes, and Mantor will be switching to Academic Year hours;
Monday - Thursday 7:45am - 11:00pm
Friday 7:45am - 5:00pm
Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday 11:00am - 11:00pm
We're closed Sunday Sept. 5 and Monday Sept. 6 for Labor Day.
If you haven't already, check out our homepage, and as always, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter.
See you around the Browsing Room,
Bookjones