Licence 2 Test Drive - Part B week 5

More Google! Google really will take over world one day. The different features are useful and easy to use. I recently learned about Google Translate and it is a really useful feature,even though it's not necessarily spot on accurate. I also like my iGoogle page, especially the little search bar I was able to add to search Logan Libraries' catalogue! My page is personalised with a TARDIS theme. The great thing about igoogle is that the things you use regularly are in one place and you can have one spot for television, politics, etc. Google is extraordinarily useful and while I would like to be fair and say that other search engines are good too, Google is delivering quality products and while it continues to do that it will continue to be popular!

Licence 2 test drive part B week 4 Web Browsers

I knew a little about web browsers: that I had one, that there were different types...I have used Internet Explorer of course, and Safari on a Mac, and my brother is Linux crazy so I am using Firefox right now. Well after watching the prize-fight -lol :D - looks like my brother's right, Firefox really does have good stuff going for it. My phone is not a 'smart phone', I just use it to make phone calls, very oldfashioned I know. But it is good to know of the options out there. I have just installed the Foxy Tunes add on for Firefox, it looks like a good one for me. As for a good one for a library, I like the look of gTranslate, that could be very useful.

Learn 2 Test Drive part B week 3 - Podcasts

I had learned something about podcasts through the Joneses program. I like listening to audio and there is certainly an important place for podcasts in this time-poor world. I am very interested in Kimmidoll's ideas on the role of podcasts regarding the library talks and local studies. I have not used podcasts myself, but I have just started using my new mp3 player and my usage may increase! It's great to listen to an audio file while in transit or while out walking. As more people have ipods and mp3s, the more popular podcasts will become. And of course for university students or visitors to an exhibition, podcasts are spot on the money!

Week 8 - Search Engines

The last session of the Joneses! I confess I have been putting off this entry, I'm not keen on searchenginewatch. It's a very 'busy' site, and I had to look for a while before I found the 'Ratings and Stats' section where the search engines were directly measured up against each other I think it's great to have sites that are dedicated to the search engines themselves and that can monitor them, but I personally don't find these sites that useful. As for the search engines themselves:
1. I always use Google, I know it's the most popular, and I think that's because of the simple layout. If I am looking for something very specific and have already tried an advanced search, boolean terms and so forth, I would be inclined to look at a specific database that related to my topic, eg the Health and Wellness database that is accessible through Logan Libraries' catalogue.
2. Bananaslug! how could you not like something called bananaslug. An interesting alternative way of searching, and also one that could turn up interesting results. Probably a good idea to use this if you are starting a project as you can combine your search terms with a random word from one of the categories. I tried 'Jane Austen' and clicked on 'Themes from Shakespeare'(random theme was charity) which was probably a good combination.
3. I know people who like Ask.com (they liked it better when it was Ask Jeeves!), it is good that it offers you different combinations of search terms, and questions that you might be asking.Nice and simple, yes please!
4. Yahoo doesn't appeal to me, I don't like the ads or the layout, but I think my likes and dislikes in a search engine reflect what I search for (ie research and scholarly stuff!) rather than recreation.
5. I like Dogpile's layout, it is very easy on the eye. It is a metasearch engine which means it combines the search results of the others like yahoo & google. I also like the white and yellow pages search facility-BUT it is AMERICAN so no good for me. No Australian version unfortunately.
6. There is a sound idea behind Wink, but again it is very American and I think the data it retrieves is too limited.
Well, I have learned a lot through the Joneses, but the best thing I learned is that there is so much more to learn!!! Web 2.0 is growing and changing and developing all the time!