Category Archives: Technology

19-year-old creates incredible Skyrim expansion | Crave – CNET

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A young man pours his heart and soul into an add-on for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that adds dozens of hours of new gameplay, quests, and more — for free.

via 19-year-old creates incredible Skyrim expansion | Crave – CNET.

Amazing creativity. An example of what can be produced through access to open data, in this case the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim SDK (software development kit or creation kit). The 19 year old creator of the Falskaar add-on, Alexander J. Velicky, is hoping to get a job with Bethesda Game Studios.

Related: The Elder Scrolls Online

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Skyrim

Wearable Computers Create New Security Vulnerabilities | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

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Among other things, Google Glass is bringing to light how wearable computers and the new wave of web-connected objects collectively known as the Internet of Things are introducing new security vulnerabilities to the puzzle of mobile computing.

See the full article: Wearable Computers Create New Security Vulnerabilities | Gadget Lab | Wired.com.

Vinyl Making a Comeback?

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UVinyl — Universal Music’s vinyl branch — is developing a “crowd-funded vinyl service” that will release limited-edition records of old “deleted” albums if there’s enough demand. “The Vinyl Project” will re-press deleted and rare records into vinyl, and release them with digital downloads and personalized art prints.

via Universal Music Reviving Vinyls With Crowdfunding Service | Mashable.

The power of crowdfunding used to revive outdated technology. I’m not sure this would have happened if DJs, sound mixers, musicians and artists were not still using vinyl records and continuing their popularity. One area at least where the music industry is creating goodwill and partnerships promoting music development instead of restrictions.

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Placing Literature maps book scenes in the real world | Crave – CNET

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Go behind the scenes of a new site based in Google Maps that combines geography, technology, and literature into a crowdsourced map of real locations from novels.

Eventually, users should be able to harness the site to put together trips, like a visit to the China sites mentioned in “The Joy Luck Club,” or a regional tour of Laura Ingalls Wilder locations. The potential for use in education and academic research is also tremendous. 

via Placing Literature maps book scenes in the real world | Crave – CNET.

Placing Literature

Take A Graphic Stroll Through Your Own Personal Meta Data | Co.Exist

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With the recent reveal that the NSA has been monitoring Americans’ email “meta-data,” the term has suddenly transformed from an obscure, techy vocabulary word into something on the tip of the average cable-news watcher’s tongue. Email meta-data is, of course, information about an email (like who sent it and when it was sent) as opposed to the content of the email itself. But if it isn’t clear what that means exactly, a recent visualization project by researchers at the MIT Media Lab called Immersion provides “a people-centric view of your email life” by providing an interactive tool to dive into your own meta-data.

via Take A Graphic Stroll Through Your Own Personal Meta Data | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation.

immersion: a people-centric view of your email life. You will need to login via a Gmail account. You can also check out the demo.

Immersion will only display interactions between your personal contacts in a visualization map. It will not actually display more specific metadata than this.

immersion

How Social Media is Changing Mentorship | Mashable

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In our professional lives, mentors make a difference. Whether you’re looking for that promotion or need help starting your own business, mentorship can often be the key ingredient to success.

But don’t just take my word for it — statistics also prove the benefit of having a great mentor. Professionals who have mentors make between $5,610 and $22,450 more annually than those on their own. 

In today’s digitally-connected world, it’s easier than ever to connect with the movers and shakers in your industry and solicit advice and mentorship. So how do you use social media tools to find the mentor your business needs? And what’s the etiquette for using tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to connect? Let’s take a look.

For the full article see: How Social Media is Changing Mentorship | Mashable.

Topics discussed:

  • Find A Mentor On Social Networks
  • Connect Personally Using Social Media
  • Bring Groups Together, Plane Rides Not Required
  • Go To Class In Your Pajamas

Robot & Frank: A Movie Worth Watching

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Robot & Frank (winner of the Sundance 2012 Alfred P. Sloan prize) is one of those quiet little films that falls into the overlooked but definitely worth watching category. The film portrays the importance of family, coping with an aging parent’s mental deterioration, odd friendships, change and bittersweet endings.  Add in Susan Sarandon as the local librarian, a robot as a health care provider, book and jewel heists and it all adds up to a very good film. The film also gives a glimpse into the near future, that of robots as companions.

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The Digital Museum Where Outdated Apps Can Live Forever | Gizmodo

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There’s a crew of hero historians [and librarians!!] out there slurping up the Internet for posterity in case we want to see it later, but what about all the apps? Well now there’s a place for them too. Parts of them, at least.

Capptivate.co was put together by Alli Dryer of Bottle Rocket Apps, and serves as the realitely new resting place for apps of old. The site doesn’t index full copies of the apps, or provide any of their functionality, but instead it hosts a distinct kind of snapshot: a little five-second video that showcases each’s signature look and feel.

via The Digital Museum Where Outdated Apps Can Live Forever | Gizmodo.

Caaptivate.co

35 Free Live Webinars for Librarians in July | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org

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35 Free Live Webinars for Librarians in July | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org

Ellyssa usually publishes a new list early every month. I highly recommend following her blog, the iLibrarian on the OEDb website.

McKinsey disruptive technology report | Business Insider

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Even though we don’t always see it every day, technology and businesses are moving at a breakneck pace, dismantling industries, saving lives, and transforming the world.  

McKinsey recently released a report on the 12 technologies that are disrupting the global economy, from advanced robotics and next-generation genomics to self-driving cars.

Here’s a chart from the report on how fast these technologies are getting better:

via McKinsey disruptive technology report |  Business Insider.

McKinsey Disruptive Technology