June 2015

Streaming Music Services:

Two streaming music services have made headlines recently. Google Music now enables people to listen for free, with intermittent interruption by ads, similar to Pandora. This service lets you choose the type of music you’d like to listen to by the activity you’re completing and the genre of music you would like to hear. You can learn more about the service from Wired or you can simply check it out for yourself.

Another streaming music service released in June is Apple Music. While it is a paid service (similar to Spotify), Apple is currently offering a three-month free trial. Paying for the service will allow you to download albums and playlists for offline listening. You can read more about it from The Verge.

Drone Delivery:

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the first use of drones for deliveries beginning July 17th. Specifically the drones will be delivering pharmaceuticals to a free clinic in West Virginia. You can read more about it here.   

From Amazon:

New Kindle Paperwhite -

Amazon updated their most popular e-reader with a higher resolution screen, and compatibility with their new font Bookerly. You can read more about it here or check out the product page.   

Amazon Echo Now Available for Regular Purchase -

Back in February Amazon announced Echo, a smart bluetooth speaker complete with a siri-like assistant named Alexa. At the time purchase was limited to prime customers by invitation only. Amazon has now begun shipping those orders and the general public can now purchase Echo. Read more about it from Yahoo Tech, or check out the Amazon Product page.  

Device to let the blind ‘see’ with their tongues:

The FDA recently approved a device that will allow the blind to ‘see’ with their tounges using a glass mounted camera that interprets visual objects as electronic pulses. You can read more about it from Yahoo Tech.

Gmail’s Undo Send Option:

Ever regret an email the moment you send it? With Gmail’s “Undo Send” option which has been released for the web, you can now have up to 30 seconds to take it back. You can read a bit more about it, and learn how to turn the feature on from Forbes.

OS X El Capitan:

During Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in early June, in addition to showcasing Apple Music, they also gave everyone a look at their new operating system - El Capitan, which will be a free upgrade for existing Mac users when it is released in the fall. Changes include updates to the spotlight search, the ability to view two windows at once in full screen mode, and enhancements to the notes application. You can read more about El Capitan from CNET.

New Tech to Stop Drunk Driving:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently announced two new technologies that will determine blood alcohol content. One monitors the alcohol content in the air within the car, and the other through near-infrared tissue spectroscopy. You can read more about both from Yahoo Tech.

April 2015

Microsoft Build 2015:

Microsoft held it’s Microsoft Build conference last month. During this event they showed the world their new operating system Microsoft 10 along with Microsoft Edge, which is set to replace Internet Explorer, and an improved Hololens (an augmented reality headset). It was also noted that it will soon be easier for iOS and Android app makers to bring their apps to the Windows phone as well. Read more about Microsoft’s announcements from The Verge.

3D Printed Airway Splint:

3D Printers are used for a ton of fun things, but here is yet another instance of 3D printed medical objects. Three babies have been saved with a 3D printed airway splint, and the coolest thing about this is that the splint will actually grow with them. You can read more about it from The Verge.

Periscope:

Periscope is a tool to provide live video of an event with their tagline being “explore the world in real time through someone else's eyes.”  While currently only available for iOS, there is work being done to also release the app on other platforms. It was used during the Therapy Dogs event during finals week and in the first ten days after the app’s launch over a million people signed in! You can read more about from Tech Crunch.

How Old do you look? - A Microsoft Product

In conjunction with its build event Microsoft released a product (how-old.net) that will guess your age and gender based on an uploaded photo. So far it has proven to be less than accurate, but some have done interesting things like have this tool determine the ages of Disney princes and Harry Potter characters. You can read more about it from Tech Crunch.

March 2015

Amazon Prime Members can place Orders with Buttons

So this might seem a bit like an April Fool’s prank, but Amazon is seeing it as the way of the future. Amazon Prime members can now order buttons, called Amazon Dash, that allow them to quickly place orders for certain products, such as Tide detergent, that they purchase on a regular basis by simply pressing the button. Don’t worry, there are measures in place so that you don’t order hundreds of bottles of detergent unintentionally. Read more about it from The Verge.

3-D Printing at UMass Amherst

The library at UMass Amherst has recently opened a “MakerBot Innovation Center” as part of their Digital Media Lab. It houses 50 3-D MakerBot printers along with several 3-D scanners.  20 Faculty attended a pre-grand opening training session, and the library is putting together a basics of 3-D printing one credit course for students to learn about 3-D printing. You can read through all the details from Matt Enis at Library Journal.

More about Drones

The February 2015 post explored drones that could bump into things without detriment to the person, object, or drone. This article from The Next Web explores the variety of ways that drones of different types are being used to improve the world from helping with search and rescue to delivering needed medications. You can read more about uses for drones here.

Apple Event

During the Apple Event on March 9th, the company made a number of announcements. These included the reveal of the new Apple Watch which is set to come out this month, along with an updated line of MacBooks, as well as an updated Apple TV. All of the products can now be viewed in the Apple Store, but if you’d like a quick overview of the most interesting parts of the event check out this article from The Verge.

Google Maps and PacMan

If you open Google Maps right now you’ll notice that there is a PacMan button at the bottom left of the map. Turn any location (including the F&M campus!) into a fancy game of PacMan. You can read more about it from The Next Web or try it for yourself: maps.google.com.  

Turn Your Handwriting into a Font

Do you really like your handwriting? You can turn it into a font for free from MyScriptFont.com. Read more about it from makezine.com.

February 2015

Digital Collections:

The Smithsonian Libraries created a searchable interface to highlight several different artist book collections from a number of the branch libraries. Read about the project on their blog and browse/search through the collections here.

In addition to the Smithsonian the British Library is expanding it’s “Endangered Archives” collections. The New York Times describes the expansion in a blog post. If you’d look to check out the full collection you can do so here.

A digital archive of Troubles Art has also recently be launched in Ireland. You can read more about it from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and you can view the collection here.

More from Amazon:

Amazon Giveaways  

Amazon has introduced a new feature which lets anyone create a contest from their site. You choose what you want to give away, enter the details of the contest, and Amazon gives you a link to share with your audience. You can find all of the details from Amazon or read about it on The Next Web.

Amazon Echo

Amazon has created a smart bluetooth speaker that has a Siri-like assistant named Alexa. For more information Mashable provides an overview here and you can check out Amazon’s product page. If you’d like one for yourself you’ll need to sign up for an invitation. For a limited time Prime members receive a $100 discount.  

Collision Tolerant Drone:

The company Flyability has recently created a drone that can be flown into people or objects without detriment to either the drone or the object its running into called GimBall. It is thought that tis type of device might be used in search and rescue instances where it is too dangerous to send in a person. You can read more about it from the Verge or Yahoo Tech.

Visit Historic Places with Google Maps or Zip-line through the Rainforest:

Google maps let you travel all over the world without ever leaving the comfort of your desk chair. You can check out historic places and the Amazon using the street view feature. What places have you explored through maps?

Apple’s Electric Car?

Rumors abound that Apple is working on an electric car and, while it may not come to fruition, the number of employees assigned to the task indicate that they are relatively committed to the project. You can read more about it from the Wall Street Journal or ReadWrite.

IKEA’s Wireless Charging Furniture:

IKEA has announced a line of furniture that will charge your devices that utilize Qi wireless charging technology and it should be available sometime this spring. If your phone doesn’t use this technology IKEA will also sell covers that make your phone Qi compatible. You can read more about the line from the Wall Street Journal tech blog or from Mashable.

January 2015

Lending Wifi Hotspots - Chicago and New York

Public libraries in Chicago and NYC are lending Wifi hotspots as an attempt to eliminate the digital divide. It will be interesting to see how heavily the program is used and what other public libraries will begin similar lending programs. You can read more about Chicago’s new program from the Chicago Sun Times and NYC’s program from cNet.

Knight Foundation Awards

This past September the Knight Foundation asked this question: “How might we leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities?” Projects were submitted by the end of that month, and the winners were announced at the beginning of this year. You can read about the 22 winning ideas in this press release. Many of the projects focus on turning existing types of physical data/items into usable digital collections.

The International Consumer Electronics Show

The international Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held from Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas. There were a multitude of products presented from self driving cars, to 3-D Printing, to Polaroid prints. 

For a quick look at some of the best check out the must-see list curated by CNET.

Self-destructing Book

This is basically what it sounds like. To increase publicity for the release of his new book, Private Vegas, James Patterson is giving away 1000 electronic copies - but the catch is that they disappear after 24 hours. Read about it from Jon Fingas at Engadget.

December 2014

Jane Austen’s Manuscripts Online:

For all of you Austen fans, the handwritten drafts of a number of her works have now been digitized and made available for viewing online. Now you can take a look without traveling all the way to the UK!

Hachette selling books on Twitter:

Hachette has taken a new approach to selling books by using the social media tool Twitter. While this is still in the experimentation phase it will be interesting to see where it goes. The New York Times has the details here.

Inside the Kindle Design Lab:

While there are a variety of e-readers for consumers to choose from, many have opted for a version of Amazon's Kindle (myself included). Casey Newton from The Verge goes inside the Kindle design lab to explore what might be next for the product. You can read about it here.

Almost 2400 MS Dos Games Available in the Internet Archive:

The Internet Archive is now home to over 2000 MS-DOS video games, which have the ability to be played from within your browser. The variety of games include the likes of Tetris, Oregon Trail, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Abby Ohlheiser of the Washington Post gives a few more details here.