How ‘Google it’ could be redefined in the smartphone era

How ‘Google it’ could be redefined in the smartphone era

We may increasingly Google things without typing at all. (Alan Diaz/AP)

Here’s a look at five ideas that could impact the way we live, work and play.


1. Context as the new search. Here’s a remarkable stat
— the average Android smartphone user searches the Web only 1.25 times a
day from a Web browser. The future of finding information — or Googling
— on smartphones may be a lot different than the traditional Web
searches we conduct on PCs and laptops. This can happen thanks to the
contextual data smartphones know about us, as Quartz explains: 



In contrast to the paltry number of times users of Everything.Me are
searching the Web each day, they’re engaging in context-based
interactions with their customized home screens dozens of times a day.

Read more...

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A New Kindle Fire, Just in Time for the Holiday Season - NYTimes.com

The “X” in the Kindle Fire HDX is a reference to the screen’s clarity. It packs in 323 tiny dots per inch, making it sharper than high definition.

If it’s October, that must mean the holiday buying season has begun — and that means Amazon will offer a new color tablet.

It’s the Kindle Fire HDX. It costs $230, and it’s terrific. The battery goes for about 11 hours, or 17 in a power-saving, reading-only mode. The stereo speakers sound great. The plastic case weighs less than the prior version and has narrower margins around the screen. There’s a mediocre camera on the front for video chatting (not on the back on the 7-inch model). The one big misfire was putting the power and volume keys on the back; you’ll spend the first week hitting the Off button by mistake while trying to turn it up the sound. Read more...

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The 'Other' E-Book Pricing Problem | Art Brodsky

Art Brodsky

The 'Other' E-Book Pricing Problem

Posted: 07/17/2013 12:03 pm

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Apple, American Library Association, Apple eBooks, Book Publishers, Justice Department, Antitrust, Apple Antitrust, Apple e-Books Lawsuit, Apple Ebook Antitrust, E-Books, Libraries, Books News

While the e-book world takes a minute to digest the court ruling finding Apple conspired with book publishers to jack up the price of e-books to consumers, it's worth noting that there is another e-book pricing battle going on.

Consumers are the ultimate victims here, also, but those most directly affected are public libraries. Some book publishers don't lease e-books to libraries at all, depriving library customers of versions of popular best-sellers. Others set the lease rates exorbitantly high, squeezing the already squeezed library budget.

The American Library Association (ALA), and particularly former President Maureen Sullivan, have raised the issue loudly and persistently, but the publishers haven't been terribly responsive. Now, state and local governments are just starting to become involved on behalf of their libraries and the library patrons. Read more....

The Future of Libraries: Short on Books, Long on Tech | Mobiledia

The Future of Libraries: Short on Books, Long on Tech

Where's the books?

By Margaret Rock | June 10, 2013

This isn't your childhood library. The Hunt Library at North Carolina State University is beautiful. The main floor looks more like a sleek Apple showroom than a stuffy library. And instead of a Genius Bar, there's an Ask Me alcove, where you can get help on everything from laptops to flash drives.

Rather than the Dewey system, color-coded walls, stairs and elevators help you find not just books and research papers, but also media rooms, video game collections and even a 3-D printing lab to create plastic models. But the best part? Built with state funds and private donations, it's open to the public.

Welcome to the library of the future.


"There's a lot of talk about how libraries should change, but very few ideas of how they should be shaped," said Vaughn Tan, a member of the Harvard's University Library project. "Every library should figure out what they want to be and just do that." Read more...

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