{"id":3951,"date":"2011-08-01T08:10:23","date_gmt":"2011-08-01T15:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/?p=3951"},"modified":"2011-08-03T13:39:48","modified_gmt":"2011-08-03T20:39:48","slug":"best-bytes-keeping-up-with-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/?p=3951","title":{"rendered":"Best Bytes: Keeping Up With Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Submitted by Janet Crum, Director of Library Services, City of Hope<\/em>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nWe all know we need to keep up with changing technology, but that\u2019s easier said than done.\u00a0 Back in March (when I thought this column would be due in April), I asked my colleagues on the MLGSCA email list to share the sites they find most useful for keeping up with technology.\u00a0 Now, better late than never, I share their recommendations, along with my own.\u00a0 In that spirit of sharing, I hope you\u2019ll add your recommendations in the comments.\u00a0 How do you keep up?<\/p>\n

Please note that most of these sites offer a variety of ways to get their content: web site, RSS feed, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and email newsletters.\u00a0 I use different means for different sites, depending on whether I want to be sure to read everything or have the occasional bit of tech news sprinkled in with my social media updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

General Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

CNet<\/a>: Recommended by Rikke Ogawa for technology reviews, CNet includes news and how-to articles as well as reviews of a variety of technology products, including car tech, cell phones desktop and laptop computers, digital cameras, home audio, and TVs.\u00a0 You can browse by category and compare products and prices side-by-side.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the first sites I visit when trying to decide which make and model of gadget I want to waste money on<\/span> buy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fast Company<\/a>: Recommended by Melissa Just and seconded by yours truly.\u00a0 Fast Company focuses on innovative technology, design, leadership, and \u201cethonomics\u201d (ethical economics).\u00a0 I often learn of new sites and products from their email newsletter, but you can also connect with them via Facebook, Twitter, or even a subscription to their print magazine (how retro).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hacker News<\/a>: Recommended by Rikke Ogawa for tech news.\u00a0 This no-frills site aggregates tech news stories submitted by users.\u00a0 It seems useful for scanning the latest news on a variety of tech topics. <\/p>\n

Lifehacker<\/a>: Recommended by Melissa Just\u2014and me too.\u00a0 I love Lifehacker, especially for the wonderful range of topics covered.\u00a0 There\u2019s lots of tech information, but they cover all sorts of other topics too.\u00a0 For example, on the morning I wrote the first draft of this column,\u00a0 the top-level page featured articles on grilling steaks (made me hungry), Mac OS X Lion and Snow Leopard (I wonder how long it will take Apple to run out of cats), using Google + Hangouts to set up a surveillance system (yes, really), cleaning electronics with disposable chopsticks (I didn\u2019t know MacGyver did housework), and quite a bit more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mashable<\/a>: Recommended by DeDe Leshy, Mashable focuses on social media and the web, though they often cover other topics as well.\u00a0 I find Mashable to be a great source of information on new social media sites and innovative uses of social media tools, as well as general information about the technology sector.\u00a0 My favorite Mashable headline so far: \u201cBill Gates to Reinvent the Toilet.\u201d\u00a0 I will refrain from plumbing (har har) the comedic depths of that one.<\/p>\n

Smart Planet<\/a><\/a>: Laura Brown likes this site for green tech news and recommends their email newsletter.\u00a0 I\u2019m intrigued by the variety of information on this site.\u00a0 A sampling: an HIV drug made in genetically modified tobacco plants, a space-based warning system for tsunamis, and genetically-modified mice with super endurance (I could use that modification!).\u00a0 Smart Planet can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and they have an RSS feed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ZDNet<\/a> is recommended by Rikke Ogawa.\u00a0 ZDNet, a subsidiary of CBS and publisher of several tech magazines, features the latest information and product reviews for tech companies, hardware, software, mobile tech, security, and more.\u00a0 It offers a variety of RSS feeds, email newsletters, apps, and social media presences to help you drink from the tech information fire hose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

7 Things You Should Know About…<\/a>: Nancy Crossman recommends this EDUCAUSE site for quick explanations of new technology.\u00a0 Each entry includes a brief description with a link to a 2-page PDF listing (surprise) 7 things you should know about an emerging technology, along with a scenario illustrating how it can be used in education.\u00a0 Entries are posted monthly.<\/p>\n

Profhacker<\/a> is a tech blog from the Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em> that I read regularly.\u00a0 The ProfHacker bloggers cover a variety of tech topics of interest to instructors in higher education; common themes include personal productivity tools and techniques, managing information, writing, mobile tech, and various clever uses of gadgets.\u00a0 They\u2019re all about helping educators get more done in less time with less pain.<\/p>\n

Medical Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

DeDe Leshy recommends two sites for keeping up with technology in medicine:<\/p>\n

iMedicalApps<\/a> describes itself as \u201can independent online medical publication written by a team of physicians and medical students who provide commentary and reviews of mobile medical technology and applications.\u201d\u00a0 The site seems to average at least one post per day, and you can browse posts by device type.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It Ain\u2019t Rocket Surgery<\/a> is a blog by Steve Welch, Senior Vice President of Communications at the American College of Chest Physicians and Executive Editor of CHEST<\/em>.\u00a0 He describes the blog as \u201cintended to help busy health-care professionals find useful online and mobile resources that will enhance their self-education and professional research efforts, or point out important topics of discussion related to online information and content.\u201d\u00a0 Recent posts cover social media, iPhone and iPad, and more.\u00a0 The only downside is that there seem to be very few recent posts, with one post every month or two since the first of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And finally\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t overlook your social network as a source of tech information.\u00a0 I regularly learn about new sites and tools from my friends and colleagues via their posts on Facebook or Twitter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, what did I miss?\u00a0 Please add your comments, sharing your favorite sites, tips, and tricks for keeping up with the deluge of information about technology.\u00a0 And many, many thanks to the people noted above who shared their recommendations with me.\u00a0 Thanks for doing a lazy writer\u2019s work for her<\/span> sharing your knowledge to make this column better. \u00a0I really appreciate it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Submitted by Janet Crum, Director of Library Services, City of Hope We all know we need to keep up with changing technology, but that\u2019s easier said than done.\u00a0 Back in March (when I thought this column would be due in April), I asked my colleagues on the MLGSCA email list to share the sites they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3951"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3983,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951\/revisions\/3983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mlgsca.mlanet.org\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}