Gadgets, Gadgets, & Gaming

Presenters:
Barbara Fullerton, Manager, Library Relations, 10-K Wizard
Sabrina Pacifici, Editor & Publisher, LLRX.com & beSpacific.com
Aaron Schmidt, Director, North Plains Public Library, OR
Erik Boekesteijn, Jaap van de Geer, and two other unnamed fellows from the Delft Public Library

This presentation is a light-hearted staple of Internet Librarian. This time the presenters snagged the Tuesday evening session.

Wi-Fi Detector Shirt - $30 - Lights up when a wireless network is detected. (“It really works!” claims Aaron, but you can't wash it with the batteries installed.)

Asustek Internet Radio - Can connect to the Internet using a standard LAN connection. Accesses 10,000 stations. $27

64 GB chip coming in 2009 (Sorry, I blinked during this one!)

Archos 30 GB 404 Camcorder - $300

Palm Centro - $399 or $99 with instant discount and a 2-yr. Sprint service agreement. This is a relatively inexpensive alternative to an iPhone.

iPhone - $399

Wireless SMS Keyboard that rolls up. Use it and save your thumbs! Powered by the cell phone. Not yet ready.

The Mandylion Password Manager manages up to 50 login records at one time. Windows only. Keyfob size. Includes a self-destruct feature! $49.99.

Trivia contest: According to Californians, where do you place memory sticks (flash drives) for safe keeping? The freezer! A prize was rewarded for the correct answer.

Cable Cat untangles your computer cables. Looks like a cute cat. $7

Canon Snap Concept. Tiny camera with a one-button interface. Wear it as a ring. Not yet released.

Sunray SX2 - solar-powered golf cart made by Cruise Car. Can go 35mph. $7000

Blackjack cell phone uses Mobile OS and has a 1.3 pixel camera. Download music and videos. $199

Meebo Firefox Sidebar - better alerts, easy link sharing. Price: free!

Touchscreen wireless patient forms clipboard. Bacteria-resistant touchpad computer. Eliminates repetitous filling out of paper forms when you go to see a physician. Use the touch pad for data entry. Free to partipating doctors.

MyGo Cane offers the potential to replace seeing eye dogs as guides for the visually impaired. Mini wheel at tip of can. Smart sensor and a camera combo capable of measuring the ground and pushing auditory feedback to the user.

Format war update: Blu-ray discs are outselling HD-DVD 2:1.

e-ink based ebook readers - Sony Reader PRS-505. Capacity: 192 MB, which will hold several hundred books. $300.

iGo Everywhere85 is for mobile gadget users. Charge all your rechargeable techno-toys for $130.

Vudu - Broadband set top box that’s an on-demand movie rental service. Price to rent a movie can be as low as $.99 up to $20 to purchase it. Price: $249

Trivia: What two computer companies are merging? Acer and Gateway

Darth Vader and Yoda slippers - $34.99. Also look for a complementing Darth Vader flashlight on eBay.

HP: Cloudprint. Print documents on any printer almost anywhere. System assigns a document code, which is transmitted to your cell phone. Print in PDF format. Free! HP has done a "soft opening" for this service so it's not getting any buzz yet.

Skitch is in beta for Mac OS X only. It simplifies the way you take screenshots and will work with Flickr. It's free! Jing is a comparable tool for Windows users.

iPod Video Googles. Plug into video iPod and project a virtual 24-inch TV. Please don't watch this while driving! No external power is required because it's powered by your iPod. 80 GB iPod can run for more than 4 hrs. Cost? $199.99.

Instant messaging: choose your application at www.readwriteweb.com/archives/instantmessaging_round-up.php.

The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is coming soon to Starbucks.

Gadgets Going Green

Pop-open cafe building looks like a folded origami building that just pops up and into place. Could it be converted into a mobile library branch?

A recycling washer and dryer was designed by an industrial design graduate students at the University of Wisconsin. It's presently just a concept design. It will recycle and reuse water while (we hope) cleaning clothes.

Gidget gadget case. Recycled case for MP3 players that's made out of billboards. $28!

Wattson monitors energy use. Price: $300

Marcus Levison-Hays Electrobike Pi is a solar-charged electro bike. It runs on a single charge for 25-30 miles. Only $7200. Get out your calculators and figure the break-even point on this purchase.

Canon Rebel XT uses 35% less power. Self cleaning. (What is it cleaning? The case?) 13% lighter. $480.

Blackle is an all-black interface for Google that uses less power on CRTs. A Desert Mountain High School student was telling me about this last week and encouraging her class to use it to save energy.

GreenPrint software eliminates those annoyingly wasteful pages with nothing on them but a page number or URL. $30-75 at www.printgreener.com.

Staple-less staplers that look like cats. They cut a tiny flap in the corner of the page that is tucked into a tiny pocket. $5.99-7.99

One laptop per child is now a reality with hand-cranked power and wireless broadband. $200/computer. They were designed for use by children in third-world countries. During November, buy one, donate one for $399.

On to the gaming portion of the program. That really was about more than gaming. Four guys from Delft in the Netherlands are visiting American libraries and shooting a documentary. I believe you can learn more about this group and see some of the footage here. I can't connect to the website. Perhaps everyone who was at the evening session is trying to get more information about the Shanachie Tour, too.

They started by demonstrating a push system that works on Bluetooth-enabled phones. What does this mean? They could -- and possibly are -- using it to push out a book chapter every day at busy places, such as a train station, in Delft. The range is 10-40 yards. They told us as librarians they want to reach out to their community and allow them to pick content out of the air.

Then the Dutch Men in Black -- they all wore black t-shirts with shiny silver LBI logos on the front -- shot some video footage of the crowd and interviewed blogger librarians Jenny Levine (the Shifted Librarian) and Sarah Houghton-Jan (the Librarian in Black) about their visions for the future of library service.

They showed clips from the library documentary they've been shooting at public libraries around the U.S. Included were clips of after-school teen gaming programs (including a frenetic Dance, Dance Revolution clip featuring two boys who end up with perfect scores) and a teen music and video production facility. A staffer at Salt Lake City Library showed them the handmade, limited edition zines they collect. Someone dressed as the Statue of Liberty in New York City said the Internet, not the library, was the trusted resource for him. Two staffers at a small library sang a song about the wonders of their Open Source automation system -- this was quite funny and included a line about being able to afford to give the staff raises.

I filled my still camera's memory card with videos of these clips. It was dim in the meeting room, however. I plan on posting some of the better ones.