libraries

News junkies can rejoice over Magnesium: RSS Ticker 7. This unique download allows Web surfers to keep an eye on the news while doing almost anything.

This program comes to users in the form of a classic news ticker, a scrolling line of information that never stops. This one appears at the bottom of a user's screen and stays on top of all open items. A small line of text scrolls from right to left and details some of the biggest headlines around the world. Users can roll their mouse over a headline to get a description of the … Read more

Got plans tonight? Want to talk tech with yours truly? Live within a reasonable distance of the Wayne Public Library here in Michigan? If so, I'll be there at 7 p.m.

On the playbill for this evening: gadgets, gear, and, of course, how to score cheap deals on stuff. It's a free program, and I might just have something neat to raffle off.

Sorry for the late notice, but I hope you can make it! (Here's a map to the library in case you need directions.)

If you're looking for a way to sift through an enormous image library for specific photos, this app might be just the ticket. A simple interface based on the .NET framework features a dark gray background and large easy-to-read buttons for the programs feature set. Images are displayed as thumbnails with the ability to flip through pages if you're just looking to browse. Some editing tools are available for red-eye correction and image rotation, and you can sort photos into groups made easily accessible on the bottom of the interface. But Photology's true strength is the ability … Read more

Update at 5:10 p.m. PDT: Changes were made based on a draft version of the Windows 7 Reviewers' Guide.

Microsoft took the wraps off the next version of Windows Tuesday at its Professional Developers Conference, and the Web's abuzz with first impressions and previews--most of which are positive.

It looks like Microsoft is making the right moves to counter some of the problems with Vista: application and hardware compatibility are top priorities, and most of the UI tweaks I've seen so far seem helpful rather than arbitrary, as many of the changes in Vista seemed … Read more

A friend of mine told me recently about Tor.com, a new site managed by Tor Books, part of the Macmillan publishing group.

There's something cool going on there for just the next few days. And if you've bought an Amazon Kindle or a Sony Reader--or just like to read e-books on your laptop, cell phone, or other system--you'll want to scoot right over to the "Freebies Bonanza" page. [Update-- this content is no longer available.]

… Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--"Dude, this sucks."

You could hear a whole lot of people saying that on Saturday night as the first real evening of South by Southwest Interactive Festival's after-parties kicked into gear. So how come it sucked? Well, it was the crowds. The lines outside the Google party at Light Bar, the Avenue A-Razorfish party at Six Lounge, and the 16Bit party at Scoot Inn were so long that they instigated plenty of woeful conversations about whether SXSWi had gotten so big and so mainstream that it just wasn't any fun anymore.

I, for one, … Read more

DUBLIN, Ireland--There isn't quite an inch of dust on top of Institutione Catholica, a two-volume theological set of books dating back a few centuries. But it looks close.

The entire top of the volumes is coated in a thick, brown mass. Some of the dust has formed into balls about the size of beetles. When a graduate student picks up one of the volumes, part of the frayed binding falls off. It will be glued back on later.

The Long Room in the Old Library at Dublin's Trinity College houses one of the most extensive collections of antique … Read more

The year 2007 might be one of the biggest years for Apple in recent memory. Certainly a lot of great products have been released over the years, but none had the anticipation or the media fervor as did the iPhone. The new iPod Touch, the release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, and the funny Mac vs. PC ads we're seeing these days only added to the hype with more people starting to "Think different" than ever before. With Macworld just around the corner and promises of new Mac hardware on the horizon, the future of … Read more