As most everyone who uses it must have heard by now, Google has announced that it is shutting down Reader. Sigh. Dude, that's my window to the internet! I will have to find another window through which to view the internet, and that's a hassle.
I remember there was some talk of Reader closing quite a while ago, but nothing came of it for so long that I had mostly forgotten about it.
I've also just been informed by my Hotmail account that Microsoft will soon be 'upgrading' this account to Outlook. This comes after several previous invitations to upgrade to Outlook, all of which I have declined on accounta I think the Outlook interface is ugly. And the only customization you can do is change from one glaring, dramatic color to another. I'm going to miss the little graphics you could put on your Hotmail account.
It's been a rough couple of days for my web habits. I suppose next I'll hear that Amazon is going to stop shipping to Massachusetts.
Showing posts with label RSS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RSS. Show all posts
Friday, March 15, 2013
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Never You Mind, PubMed
Sometimes an RSS feed reader can throw you off. For example, I saw that this new NLM blog, ReferencePoint, had posted a Fact Sheet sheet on the difference between PubMed and Medline.
I took notice, because this is a question that I think causes some confusion among the non-librarians among our patrons where I work (that is to say, pretty much all of our patrons), and that I usually brush over with something eloquent along the lines of "we use them pretty much interchangeably, but basically Medline is the database of citations, and PubMed is the search interface we use to access it, the way the internet is, you know, the internet, and Google is a specific interface to help you access it."
If the person seems to care at all, I might say something about the other interfaces for Medline, such as Ovid or the one in Web of Knowledge, and how they're kind of like other search interfaces such as Yahoo or Bing, and how some people prefer one or another of them for various reasons, but they all serve basically the same function.
In any case, I was interested to see how the experts at NLM would, no doubt much more clearly and accurately, explain the difference.
But then when I clicked to read more, there was no post! Removed for editing, perhaps, or updating, or because it incorrectly identified PubMed as "an especially rancorous panda." Who can say? Only the first few sentences linger, a ghostly remnant in my Reader.
Perhaps it will be reposted in the future. In the meantime, feel free to just substitute what I said here if anyone asks you about this topic.
I mean, the bit about PubMed being an especially rancorous panda. That'll get people's attention.
Edited to add that the post NLM blog post did go live, and you can see it here if you like.
I took notice, because this is a question that I think causes some confusion among the non-librarians among our patrons where I work (that is to say, pretty much all of our patrons), and that I usually brush over with something eloquent along the lines of "we use them pretty much interchangeably, but basically Medline is the database of citations, and PubMed is the search interface we use to access it, the way the internet is, you know, the internet, and Google is a specific interface to help you access it."
If the person seems to care at all, I might say something about the other interfaces for Medline, such as Ovid or the one in Web of Knowledge, and how they're kind of like other search interfaces such as Yahoo or Bing, and how some people prefer one or another of them for various reasons, but they all serve basically the same function.
In any case, I was interested to see how the experts at NLM would, no doubt much more clearly and accurately, explain the difference.
But then when I clicked to read more, there was no post! Removed for editing, perhaps, or updating, or because it incorrectly identified PubMed as "an especially rancorous panda." Who can say? Only the first few sentences linger, a ghostly remnant in my Reader.
Perhaps it will be reposted in the future. In the meantime, feel free to just substitute what I said here if anyone asks you about this topic.
I mean, the bit about PubMed being an especially rancorous panda. That'll get people's attention.
Edited to add that the post NLM blog post did go live, and you can see it here if you like.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mulishly Clinging to Old Tech
I had missed the news that RSS is dying, but was soothed from the potential panic it would have caused by this handy roundup at Stephen's Lighthouse, which has links to three posts explaining that rumors of its demise may be somewhat exaggerated.
The takeaway seems to be that it probably isn't dying, it's just not an exciting hot technology and not that many people use it or care about it. Boooor-ing.
Those who do use it, however, seem to find it valuable, so it will probably keep existing.
Whew! As one who does use it, I can tell you right now that I would wither and die without it. OK, so I mean my blog-reading would wither and die without it.
I'm reading 200+ blogs, all of which I enjoy and learn from in various ways, but almost none of which I would be keeping up with if I had to visit each site individually to check for new content.
I just don't have that kind of time!
Why, just this very day a post appeared on a long-silent blog that I moderately enjoyed. I would have given up checking for updates and left that blog for dead long ago, but thanks to RSS, I instantly knew the author was back. There was this little "thanks to anyone who's still reading me!" note, and I thought, "don't thank me, thank...the knife!"
Wait, that's The Simpsons. And it was about a knife. I mean "thank...the RSS!"
You know, it's just easy.
I suppose if you don't care about following 200 blogs, it won't be as important to you, and that's fair. I'm not about to tell anyone they need to be reading 200 blogs.
But at this point in my life, I am, so I don't care if RSS is cool or not, I'm stickin' to it.
.
The takeaway seems to be that it probably isn't dying, it's just not an exciting hot technology and not that many people use it or care about it. Boooor-ing.
Those who do use it, however, seem to find it valuable, so it will probably keep existing.
Whew! As one who does use it, I can tell you right now that I would wither and die without it. OK, so I mean my blog-reading would wither and die without it.
I'm reading 200+ blogs, all of which I enjoy and learn from in various ways, but almost none of which I would be keeping up with if I had to visit each site individually to check for new content.
I just don't have that kind of time!
Why, just this very day a post appeared on a long-silent blog that I moderately enjoyed. I would have given up checking for updates and left that blog for dead long ago, but thanks to RSS, I instantly knew the author was back. There was this little "thanks to anyone who's still reading me!" note, and I thought, "don't thank me, thank...the knife!"
Wait, that's The Simpsons. And it was about a knife. I mean "thank...the RSS!"
You know, it's just easy.
I suppose if you don't care about following 200 blogs, it won't be as important to you, and that's fair. I'm not about to tell anyone they need to be reading 200 blogs.
But at this point in my life, I am, so I don't care if RSS is cool or not, I'm stickin' to it.
.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Not Just One Saint
Well, here it is November. All Saints Day! That's got to be way cooler than Some Saint's Day. Time to party!
I party in celebration of the return of Drugs and Poisons, a nifty little blog about, well, drugs and poisons, which is presently discussing mouthwash. I don't generally use mouthwash myself, but I like those bits Wired does on "What's Inside" various things, and I'm likewise pleased to know that mouthwash is not poison.
If anyone in the world reads blogs but does not have an RSS reader, I would highlight this as a fine example of something they do that's good: a blog can lie quiet for months, but as soon as something new is posted, I've got it!
Now if I had been just going to look at the site every so often like an RSS-less mariner drifting on the internet seas, I would have been disappointed many times by now, and perhaps even given up.
This particular blog, which is rendered in white text on black, also makes me grateful for the ability of feed readers to make everything come out in a uniformly readable way. White on black looks cool and all, but I swear it makes me a little cross-eyed after I read it for a while.
Speaking of eyes, I also party in celebration of the fact that I finally got around to buying some new glasses. It's only been since July that I had my eyes checked to get a new prescription. And since April before then that I barely passed the vision test at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and narrowly avoided having to come back and wait in line for three hours again to get my license renewed.
I think no one would imply that I don't get stuff done. Sometimes. Eventually.
I also party in celebration of the end of Daylight Saving Time, which promises a little more light in the morning. Getting up in the dark is just no fun.
On the other hand, this also promises that soon it will be deep night by the time I get out of work, but these are the trade-offs we must make.
.
I party in celebration of the return of Drugs and Poisons, a nifty little blog about, well, drugs and poisons, which is presently discussing mouthwash. I don't generally use mouthwash myself, but I like those bits Wired does on "What's Inside" various things, and I'm likewise pleased to know that mouthwash is not poison.
If anyone in the world reads blogs but does not have an RSS reader, I would highlight this as a fine example of something they do that's good: a blog can lie quiet for months, but as soon as something new is posted, I've got it!
Now if I had been just going to look at the site every so often like an RSS-less mariner drifting on the internet seas, I would have been disappointed many times by now, and perhaps even given up.
This particular blog, which is rendered in white text on black, also makes me grateful for the ability of feed readers to make everything come out in a uniformly readable way. White on black looks cool and all, but I swear it makes me a little cross-eyed after I read it for a while.
Speaking of eyes, I also party in celebration of the fact that I finally got around to buying some new glasses. It's only been since July that I had my eyes checked to get a new prescription. And since April before then that I barely passed the vision test at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and narrowly avoided having to come back and wait in line for three hours again to get my license renewed.
I think no one would imply that I don't get stuff done. Sometimes. Eventually.
I also party in celebration of the end of Daylight Saving Time, which promises a little more light in the morning. Getting up in the dark is just no fun.
On the other hand, this also promises that soon it will be deep night by the time I get out of work, but these are the trade-offs we must make.
.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Hail!
Response to Initial Assignment
A couple for me personally might be:
- Updates on news, events and resources relevant to my work
- Staying informed about what colleagues are writing and thinking about: networking
A lot of smart librarians are writing blogs these days, discussing interesting and important topics, so subscribing to some good feeds can be a great way to keep up with what's going on, as well as to participate in the conversations.
And for patrons:
- General notices of new arrivals of books, journals, and other resources
- Personal notification about materials they're interested in (they could set up feeds in PubMed or through another search application)
- News of events at the library
RSS feeds could be assigned to all sorts of aspects of the library's work, allowing patrons to follow things they're interested in. Announcements of lectures, classes, even a highlighted 'resource (or tip) of the week' could be distributed through RSS feeds.
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