Shazam

 

Hi Everyone,

During the evening, I often times log onto one of our local radio stations to listen to music.  I sit in my comfy chair with a diet pop and a good read or my iPad.  During that time, it never fails, I hear a song that I would like to put in one of my playlists.  Unfortunately, the DJ doesn't always tell you the name of the song or the artist.  This can be an oldies favorite or a new song by a new artists that I would like to listen to again. Tracking it down isn't always easy until I discovered Shazam.

Shazam is a free app available for multiple platforms such as Android and Apple.  It will record a small sample of the music while it is being played and then search for the song and artists.  Once Shazam identifies the title and artist, you have the option of being redirected to the iTunes store, YouTube Videos as well as other site options for purchasing.  I, however, go and search the SCDL online catalog to see if we have it first.  I like to make sure it is really something I would like to buy or just listen to now and again.

 

To check out this month's featured app:

Visit your device app store and type in the keyword Shazam to locate and download the free app.

 

How to use the Shazam app:

1.  Start playing a piece of music from the radio or other source.

2. Open up the Shazam app and tap the launch button.

 

 

3. You will see a Listening screen with a spinning wheel that looks like a record.

 

NOTE:  You must not talk while Shazam is listening to the music. 

4.  After Shazam identifies the song and/or artist a new screen will appear with detailed information about the artists, track preview option, your present and previous searches (tags), purchasing, sharing, and video information.

 

 

5. There is also a Similar option .  Tap it to find other songs and artistics in the same genre.

 

Enjoy the Music!

 

Amazon Prime Lending vs. Library Lending

Not too long ago we announced with much fanfare that Stark County District Library card holders (and card holders at about 11,000 other libraries) are now able to check out library books to read on their Kindles and Kindle apps.  Here in Stark County, library lending of eBooks has already seen a lot of success, with almost 2,000 downloads in October of 2011. 

But then, earlier this month, Kindle announced that Amazon Prime members will now be able to loan about 5,000 titles directly from Amazon for "free."  First of course, one has to be an Amazon Prime member, which costs $79 dollars a year.

First to discuss exactly what is included in this new deal from Amazon.  When you find a book and go to buy it for your Kindle, if you you are an Amazon Prime member and the book is included in the library, you will be given the option to "Borrow for Free"

Here's the caveat- you can only check on one book at a time, and can only check out one book per calender month.  Meaning if you borrow a book on January 1st, finish it and return it, you will not be able to check out another book until February 1st.  No doubt this measure is meant to encourage people to buy books rather than "borrow" them.  Also you can only use this feature if you have a Kindle.  It will not work on Kindle apps for iPhones and iPads.

On the other side, there are library eBooks.  I can only speak for the Ohio eBook Project and the SEO Library Consortium, which is who the Stark County District Library deals with to get eBooks to our customers.  The eBooks and audiobooks on these sites are, unlike Amazon Prime, actually free.  You can also check out up to 10 at a time from each site (so that makes it possible for Stark County Library card holders to check out up to 20 books at a time).  And of course there is no added barrier of only being able to check out one a month.  You can find books to read on Kindles and Kindle apps, as well as books for other eReaders, such as the Nook and iPad. 

But of course the difference between libraries and Amazon is that Amazon exists to make money, whereas libraries exist to promote literacy and access to information.

And so it will be interesting to see how long this new program from Amazon works.  It has already drawn the ire of not only librarians, but authors and publishers who say this lending is a perversion of the contracts they have with Amazon, calling it "an exercise of brute economic power."

This blogger's advice to Amazon is to tread carefully.  There is no such thing as being too big to fail, just ask Netflix.

Computers In Libraries Conference

I will be speaking at the Computers in Libraries 2010 conference on April 13th. My subjects of conversation will include the growth of our mobile training lab, purchasing, maintenance, policies regarding training and developing an effective class curriculum for the community. I will keep you up-to-date on the things I discover.
Dee R

Excel: Custom Lists

Click Office button > Excel Options > Popular tab > Edit Custom List
Type the new list in the List entries window > OK
To import a custom Auto Fill list from your spreadsheet
Highlight your list >Click the Office button > Excel Options > Popular tab > Edit Custom List
The range of cells you previously highlighted should be present in the Import list
Click the Import button and the new Auto Fill list appears in the Custom Lists window

Excel: Custom Sorting

1. Create your list in Excel. If possible include a header row for easy identification while sorting.
2. Highlight the information you need to sort.
3. Click on the Sort & Filter button found on the Home Ribbon.
4. Select Custom Sorting
5. The Sort pop-up box will appear. Select the column you need to sort information by: Last Name, Address, etc… If your column headers do not appear as options for sorting in the Sort by option, click on the box next to the My data has headers.
6. If you need to sort by more than one criterion, click on Add a Level and repeat above instructions.
7. Click on OK.
Additional sorting options include: Sort On which includes Cell color, Font color and Icon; Order which includes: A To Z; Z to A; and Custom List.

Microsoft Tip of the Week Outlook: New Message Alerts

Sometimes you are working in your profile on the public floor and you do not want the New Message Alert to fade in and out for the patron or customers to see.

To remove the New Message Alert:
1. Click on Tools on the Toolbar
2. Select Options
3. Click on Email Options
4. Click on Advanced E-Mail Options
5. Click off Display a New Mail Desktop Alert.


6. Click on OK.

Microsoft Tip of the Week Excel: Repeat Rows At Top

Microsoft Tip of the Week Excel: Rows to Repeat at the Top

Sometimes it is necessary to have the column headers to print on every Excel Spreadsheet. This can be done using the Rows to repeat at the top option found on the Page Layout Ribbon.

Click on the Page Layout Ribbon and locate the Sheet Options launch arrow.

A new Page Setup box will appear.
Click on the small box next to the Rows to repeat at top. A new Page Setup-Rows to repeat at top box will appear requesting which rows you would like to repeat.
You can click on the row number to highlight the area or highlight manually using your mouse.


Once you have the correct information entered, click on the box again to return to your Page Setup box.
Click OK to secure your task and return to your spreadsheet.

Microsoft Tip of the Week Word: Adding a Text Box

Microsoft Office 2007: Tip of the Week
The Insert Ribbon: Adding a Text Box
The Insert Ribbon Groups include Pages, Tables, Illustrations, Links, Headers & Footers, Text, and Symbols.
One of the upgrades to 2007 includes additional options for the Text Box.

There are total of 36 styles to select from. You can change the size, shape, and color of each box using the formatting Ribbon that appears after you insert the text box.


Give it a try:
Open your word document
Click on the Insert Ribbon
Click on Text Box in the Text group
Select Mod Quote
Change the color to Red using the Text Box Styles Group then Shape Fill or the shortcut colors option
Change the shape to a happy smile face.

Microsoft Tip of the Week Excel: Using Text Orientation and Wrap Text

Excel

Using Word Wrap and Text Orientation on the Alignment Section:

When you need your text to wrap within a fixed width of a cell use the Wrap Text option on the Alignment Section
Click on the Cell(s), and then click on Wrap Text
Give it a try:
Type “Joe Doe is a Waiter.” in cell A1.
Click out of the cell and then click on the cell again.

Click on Wrap Text

Using the Text Orientation for text orientation within a cell:

Click on the cell(s) that you would like to change the orientation. Click on the Text Orientation button on the Alignment Section of the Home Ribbon.
Select the option you need from the menu.

Microsoft Tip of the Week: Make a Cover Page for your documents:

Click on the Insert Ribbon, and then click on the Cover Page button. You will get Cover Page options to select. Click on the cover page you would like to appear, and then fill in the necessary information.

Microsoft Tip of the Week: Line Spacing Options

Microsoft Tip of the Week: Line Spacing Options

On the Home Ribbon in the Paragraph section, you will find the Line Spacing Option button. Listed are the typical features found in previous Microsoft products. A feature that has been brought to the front in 2007 is the Add and Remove Space before and after Paragraphs. If you have an extra line space between paragraphs in 2007 and can’t remove them using other options, it may be necessary to remove the line using the Remove Space Before or After Option.

Give It A Try:
Type:
Books:
Heaven Can Wait
Walk the Line

Now, highlight the lines and click on the Line Space button and try adding and removing extra spaces after each sentence.

Microsoft Tip of the Week: Using the Clipboard

Using the Clipboard
To open the Office Clipboard you must be on the Home Ribbon.

You will note that items are grouped together based on relationship. At the bottom of each grouping are small arrows referred to as Launches.


If you click on the arrow at the bottom of the first group or Clipboard your Office Clipboard will open.

To close the Office Clipboard click on the X located at the top right hand corner of the Clipboard.

Give It a Try:
Open the Word program.
Open the Clipboard.
Type on the document: Snow is a good thing not an inconvenience.
Highlight the text then click on the copy button or use Ctrl + C
You will note the sentence appeared on the Clipboard.

To copy the sentence onto the document, click on it.
When you keep the Clipboard open, you may store up to 24 items to use on the document.