New Technology: Gadgets & Trends 5 Years Later

1. New Technology:Gadgets & Trends5 Years Later David Bott Manager, IT & Networks St. Catharines Public Library March 6, 2012

2. Gadgets - 2007

3. Digital Cameras • Point-and-shoot • Digital SLR • Get that perfect shot • Instantly preview every shot • Edit & print your own digital pictures • Make digital movies • Post pictures online • Flickr.com • MyPhotoAlbum.com • Facebook.com • Weblogs (aka “blog”)

4. MP3 Players • iPod dominates the market • iPod Touch does much more than music • Audio, video, games, web browser, email, chat, camera/video • Pretty much an iPhone without the phone or GPS • Purchase & download online • Rip from your own CDs • Download from St. Catharines Library using Freegal

5. GPS Devices • Global Positioning System • System of 24 GPS satellites • Device uses Trilateration • Various Implementations • Factory-installed devices for cars • After-market installations • Portable Units, specialized units • Most smart phones include A-GPS • Newer units include • Live traffic updates via Navteq • Limited to major metro areas • Bluetooth, Voice commands

6. Cell Phones - Convergence • One device to do it all! • Krzr, Blackberry, iPhone • Phone • Audio & Voice Recording • Video & Pictures • Internet • E-mail • PDA • Camera • Games

7. 2012: Convergence is here Television Camera Gaming Device Portable Computer E-reader MP3 Player GPS Payment System

8. Trendy Tech in 2012 • Single-purpose devices (e-readers) • Multi-purpose devices • Tablets and Smart Phones • Digital Media • Access issues • Storage issues • Cloud Computing • Social Networks • QR Codes • NFC • Lytro Light Field Camera

9. E-readers • E-ink technology • Monochromatic, long battery life, easy-to-read, limited mainly to reading • Various vendors • Kobo, Sony, Nook, Kindle** • Requires “side-loading”content via Adobe DigitalEditions

10. E-readers on Steroids • Kobo Vox, PanDigital • Not quite a full-fledged tablet experience • Customized OS that lacks full access to apps via Android Marketplace • Lower price: Lower power CPU, less memory, lower resolution screen • Browse the web, email, play games, watch movies… and read a book • Install additional apps • OverDrive Media Console to access SCPL Digital Media Collection • Colour screens • Wifi-enabled • Download ebooks & audiobooks “OTA” (over-the-air) • Screen also has glare and can be difficult to read in bright light • Much shorter battery life than plain ereader(hours vs. days)

11. Tablets • Similar functionality to smart phones, except bigger screens • Lack phone capabilities, however, some have 3G data capabilities • Lower-end models are generally wifi-only • More expensive models have 3G capabilities, more memory, faster CPU • Apple iPad • Android-based tablets • BlackBerry PlayBook

12. Smart Phones • iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone • Most include 3”-4” touch screen, camera, wi-fi, 3G/4G, A-GPS • Apps: • Customized applications designed for smaller screens • Browse the web, check email, text, play games, place holds, renew items, download audiobooks, listen to music, watch movies, you name it! • New generation of “superphones” • Larger screens (4.5”+), higher resolutions, multicore processors, more memory

13. The Library on your Device • The library offers a number of online services • Download eBooks and Audiobooks via OverDrive • Works with Windows/Mac, smartphones, tablets and e-readers • Download music for free (legally) using Freegal • Thousands of artists, hundreds of thousands of songs from the Sony Music catalogue • MP3 format (no DRM); yours to keep • Search catalogue, renew items and place holds using BookMyne on your smartphone • Check the app store on your device

14. Digital Media – Accessing • Virtually all media is digital • Audio, videos, pictures, ebooks, personal documents, health records, tax records, etc. • Sharing / accessing data easily can be a problem • Streaming video to TV & mobile devices rather than burn to DVD or change formats • Look for DLNA-certified devices (Digital Living Network Alliance) • Enables sharing of digital media between consumer devices such as computers, printers, cameras, cell phones, and other multimedia devices • Access online (Netflix, Youtube) and locally-stored content • Boxee, AppleTV, PopcornHour, DLNA-certified TVs & BluRay • Gaming consoles such as PlayStation3, Wii, XBox

15. Digital Media - Storage • People are creating and acquiring large amounts of digital media: • Pictures, home movies, music, videos • Data gets spread out among multiple USB drives, DVDs, etc. • Sharing data between devices can be problematic • Migrating data to a new computer can also be problematic • Drive failure on a PC can lead to catastrophic data loss • Network-attached storage devices (NAS) can provide RAID-protected, centralized, expandable storage (ReadyNAS, Drobo, Thecus, Synology) as well as additional services (remote access, backup to cloud, file sharing, media streaming, etc.) • Backups are still important: multiple drive failures, theft, fire, flood, accidental or intentional deletions can all result in data loss

16. Cloud Computing Delivery of computing as a service rather than a product Shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices over the internet Provides computation, software, data access, and storage resources without requiring cloud users to know the location and other details of the computing infrastructure End-users access service via web browser or mobile app

17. Cloud Computing - Examples • iCloud • Take a picture with iPhone and it syncs with iCloud • Picture is then automagically sent to your other devices • Googe Docs • Online collaboration and file sharing • Simultaneous access & editing of documents • No more e-mailing files back and forth • Lacks some of the more advanced features found in Word & Excel • Online Backups and Disaster Recovery • Carbonite syncs files on local devices to storage “in the cloud”

18. Social Networking - Facebook • Facebook • In the 1980s, some houses at Harvard had a paper directory of basic student information and a photo • Mark Zuckerberg developed an online version for Harvard students in 2004 • Facebook expanded to include other universities, high schools, employers and eventually anyone with a valid email address • 800 million worldwide users • Allows easy sharing of information between friends: messages, pictures, videos, as well as applications like games

19. Social Networking - Twitter • Twitter • Microblogging site that allows users to send and read short messages (140 characters) known as tweets • Direct messages at people using @ - @StCathLibrary • Tag messages using hash tags - #TradeCentre • Tweet messages to your followers; they re-tweet to their followers; and so on • Exponential dissemination of the message • Social impact • Used to organize protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Iran • Used during Haitian earthquake • Used on news sites for trending topics and viewer interaction - #CNN #TradeCentre

20. Social Networking - LinkedIn • LinkedIn • Facebook for professionals • Education, experience, associates • Business and professional networking • Used for creating and maintaining professional relationships

21. Social Networking – Up & Coming • Pinterest • a pinboard-styled social photo sharing website • allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections • "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting.“ • Instagram • a free photo sharing application • allows users to take a photo & apply a digital filter • share it a variety of social networking services including Instagram'sown

22. QR Codes Quick Response Code First designed for the automotive industry Became popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity Smartphones with cameras put a barcode reader in every pocket See them in magazines, ads and posters

23. QR Codes

24. QR Codes

25. NFC Near-field communication Being integrated into current generation of smart phones Applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi

26. Lytro – Light Field Camera • Lytro camera captures entire light field • Focus after the fact • Focus and re-focus anytime • No auto-focus, no shutter lag, no modes, dials or settings • Mac only software; Windows in development • To share “living pictures” image must be uploaded to Lytro web site or recipient must have desktop software installed (free) • $400-$500 • http://www.lytro.com/living-pictures/279

27. Free Courses at the Library • Downloading Audiobooks & eBooks twice per month • Seating is limited; register early • Tech Time – Drop in computer class • ask questions on computer software issues, Internet, electronic resources, Library's catalogue, social networking, etc. • March 17 & April 28, 10:00 - noon • Computers 1 & 2 • Internet 1, 2, 3 & 4 • Job & Career Searching • Using the Catalogue • Finding Health Information on the Internet • Genealogy • Ancestry Online Research 101

28. Almost Free Courses • E-mail($5.00 fee) • FaceBook1 & 2 ($5.00 fee) • Microsoft Word 2010 Basics ($5.00 fee) Check our newsletter for dates and times http://www.stcatharines.library.on.ca/content/library

29. Questions? • This presentation can be downloaded from:www.stcatharines.library.on.ca/content/present