Web browsers

Mmm. I tend to stick with Internet Explorer, certainly at work. I do use Firefox at home- security issue or something- and it is very clean-looking but not a great deal of difference from IE as far as I can see. I have favoutrites on both otherwise I’m lost. Saves so much time of course,  especially as it’s organised, librarian-style, into folders and topics.

I looked at Azadeh Brown’s reviews of the 3 main browsers. I had to install Google Chrome at home as there are no admin rights to do it via the NHS. I’m not keen on Google Chrome as it’s too simple. You’re expected to know what to do. I also don’t like the fact that everything revolves around the Google universe. Log in to this, link your account to that- all with the Google login box which I’ve come to hate as I tried to set up a blog with them (on Blogger) and think I now have an account embedded in our library pages somewhere… Oh dear.

I thought it was clever (too clever?) that it imported some of my favourites, but not all. And one said

Gone

in those dark overtones when I clicked on it! I hope it hasn’t decided I don’t need that any more anywhere on my home pc (it was  BBC Weather) . NHS Evidence loaded ok though, though not especially any quicker than usual.

Don’t think I’ll bother, though the tab-games sound fun. May try some of the suggestions another day.

2nd post about blogs

Well the tags worked- just invented my own.  No cat and class rules then?

Although I like the fact that it’s eay to blog I still can’t really see the point. Who wants to know what AlwaysLateLibrarian thinks about them, or QR codes???! I do see the sense of an organisation having one though, either as a way of marketing themselves- BOGOF offers for example, or for useful or essential information eg transport delays.

Post about Blogs

Having now set up this blog it seems to be really easy to use. Even adds the photos I want WHERE I want them! Oh for Word and Publisher to be so easy…

Still haven’t tried the tags though.

Thing 2 QR codes

Following on with the Autumn theme I created a QR code from the NT page where my text came from. May well have disappeared now as although the leaves still aren’t completely “autumny” in the real world this page may well have fallen off its website!

Autumn in the National Trust.

They could use it in a poster to advertise a season of themed activities.

The other code I tried was for UpToDate:

We have in fact used this already in publicity for this resource which our library provides for staff.

Last year I was impressed by something I saw in an academic library. Alongside certain textbooks on the shelf were laminated tags with the QR code of the same title as an e-book. How useful when all the essential material is on loan.

Back to the first task! Creating word clouds with Wordle.

I was inspired to finally start this blog because I had volunteered to create one of the Things. That done I got quite excited even though it was way past the 3rd Thing by then!

So, a bit late, here are my Wordles:

As the leaves were starting to turn when I looked at Wordles I chose a piece of text on Autumn that I found on the National Trust website. This first one I quite liked as for me it looked like all the twigs randomly fallen on the forest floor. Having changed the colours many tmes – I was trying to get the BROWN to be in brown , YELLOW in yellow etc but it won’t for all of them at once!- I eventually settled on this one but I didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t return to a previous design if you subsequently decided that it was the best you (it) had created. Not good for someone who is indecisive- or keeps thinking that the next one will be better (it isn’t) .

I then thought I’d like to be pictorial and create a leaf shape with my words. I came up with 2 designs which I liked:

This above has a stalk at the left-hand end which I liked.

Then I switched to Tagxedo which Nat had used for Valentines day. I was more pleased with this shape for the purpose and the fact that yellow was in yellow ( but not the red in red) but not the colours. Can’t win em all. So I tried again:

More like a leaf again with better contrast for the outline, but this time no greeney colours which would have been nice for “leaves”. Gave up after a good half hour of playing.

Post 2

Well it seems to be visible- to me at least. Hope some of you can comment in due course.

Found it very confusing registering as it’s not clear what the username will be used for (login? how you’re known to the outside world? – V important as I wanted this name and no other…) , who will see your email ( or is it always hidden?) and various other things which weren’t easy to check or included in the notes. Think you have to have done this before to know what it all means, or be psychic. Seems to be ok though.

How do you find the tags?!

Here at last!

Finally fathomed out how to create a blog. Maybe it won’t be visible as I found in the past. Let’s hope it works this time!