1. New Technology: Gadgets & Trends
David Bott
Manager, IT & Networks
St. Catharines Public Library

2. Gadgets

3. Digital Content MP3, MP4, WMA, WMV, AAC, FLV, OGG, DivX
What is it & where do I get it?

4. Web 2.0 – The Interactive Web
Blogs, Wikis & RSS
Podcasting
Social Networks
Cool Applications
Picasa
Google Earth

5. Operating Systems & Security

6. Gadgets: Memory Memory Storage USB Thumb Drives
Floppy disks are slow, low-capacity (1.44 MB) and unreliable
USB Thumb Drives
Faster, higher capacity & more reliable
Replacing floppy disks and CD-R / DVD-R
New generation of USB drives
U3 and PortableApps.com
Applications run right from the drive
Cameras, MP3 Players, Phones
Require storage for content
Compact Flash
SD Cards
MMC

7. USB Thumb Drive with U3 Stores data & applications U3 PortableApps.com
Office applications & documents
, browser & bookmarks
Passwords, anti-virus
Free & commercial applications U3
Proprietary software pre-installed on certain models
PortableApps.com
Free alternative that you can install on any USB drive

8. 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”)

9. MP3 Players iPod, Zune, Zen, Yepp
Purchase & download music from online music stores
iTunes, AOL Radio, Puretracks.com
Rip from your own CDs
Download free content
Podcasts, vidcasts

10. Digital Video Recorders & Players
Not your father’s VCR
Pause & rewind “live” TV
Appliances:
TiVo*, AppleTV
ExpressVu PVR
Cogeco DVR
Sony, Panasonic, Phillips
PC-Based:
MythTV,
Windows MCE
Portable
iPod, Archos
Cell phones
Sony PSP

11. GPS Devices Global Positioning System Various Implementations
System of 24 GPS satellites
Device uses Trilateration
Various Implementations
Factory-installed devices for cars
After-market installations
Portable Units
Software & USB GPS Receiver
Laptops, Palm Pilots & iPAQs

12. PDA – Personal Digital Assistant
PocketPC, Palm Pilot & even Linux & Internet
Address Book
Calendar
Task List
Applications
Word processing
Spreadsheets
Media
Audio & Video
Digital Camera

13. Fun & Games For the serious gamers: Some devices have: Sony PSP
Nintendo DS
Some devices have:
Built-in web-browsers
Wireless
Media Player for movies and music

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

15. Wireless Technology 802.11 a/b/g/n Bluetooth CDMA & GSM
Computers, PDAs
WLAN - 30m up to 100m
11 Mbps, 54 Mbps, 108 Mbps+
Bluetooth
Keyboards, mice, headsets, cell phones
PAN - 10m
CDMA & GSM
Cell phones
PC Cards (for laptops)
Must be in digital coverage area for enhanced services

16. Digital Content How do I get it? Subscribe (RSS - Push)
Requires RSS Reader
RSS Owl, Sage
iTunes (Download – Pull)
Direct from website (twit.tv)
Some content is free
Some is paid

17. Web 2.0 – The Next Generation
Interactive Websites
Slashdot.org
Digg.com
Social Networking
MySpace.com
Facebook.com
SecondLife.com
User-Created Content
YouTube.com
Dynamic & Customizable Content
iGoogle.com
Mash-ups

18. Mash-ups? Many developers publish their API:
Google Maps, Amazon
Can provide maps for real estate listings, restaurants, etc.
Combining content from different sites or services into a new site:
maps.google.com
MTO camera feed
Mash ‘em up
Up-to-date traffic information with pictures

19. Putting Mash-ups to Good Use

20. Putting Mash-ups to Better Use

21. Blogs, Wikis & Podcasting
“Web logs”, online journals
Amateurs to professionals (Anderson Cooper, Rick Mercer)
Wikis
Websites that allow visitors to add, edit and delete content
Great for collaborative authoring
Wikipedia.org
Podcasting
User generated audio or video content
Resides at a unique web feed address
Users can subscribe to content

22. Cool Applications Google Earth Picasa Widgets Hi-res sat images
Layers of data
Roads
Parks
Restaurants
Landmarks
Terrain
Etc.
Picasa
Organize photos
Widgets
Floating Desktop Icons
Weather
News
Stocks
Clocks
Photos

23. Operating Systems Microsoft is Dominant on the Desktop
Security has always been an issue
Viruses, Worms & Spyware
Apple has a small niche market
Very secure
Linux is another alternative
And it’s free!*
Free as in beer and free as in speech
Dell has recently started offering Ubuntu on their systems

24. Windows XP Dominant desktop OS at present
Most hardware and software support
Security** is an issue
Most users run as “admin”
Can be made secure

25. Mac OSX Innovative Graphics & Features Better Security**
Aqua & Quartz
The Dock
Widgets
Exposé
Better Security**
LUA
Few viruses
Built on BSD
Inter-operable with Windows

26. Windows Vista “Eye Candy” Improved Security (LUA)**
Aero Glass
Sidebar and Gadgets
Improved Security (LUA)**
Hardware and Software Compatibility Issues

27. Linux Free* & Open-source Thousands of free applications Secure**
Few viruses
Choice
Many different distributions
KDE, Gnome, XFCE, Fluxbox
Inter-operable with Windows
“Live” CDs

28. Important Notes
Free*: There’s nothing preventing anyone from charging money for the software. Some do, as they may provide support or regular upgrades. Free-libre open-source software (FLOSS) permits the end-user to modify, upgrade or build-upon existing software, as long as they return the modified code to the community

29. Important Notes Security**: No computer is really secure
Any time your computer is connected to a network, you are vulnerable
Security vulnerabilities occur in:
Operating Systems
Applications
Programming Languages
Users can be tricked into phishing scams or unknowingly install malware.

30. Security - What You Can Do
All Operating Systems are vulnerable
Security requires a layered approach
Turn on firewall / Get a router
“Least-privileged User Accounts”
Don’t use “root” or “admin” accounts
Keep OS and Applications up-to-date
Turn off unneeded services
Use Firefox
Anti-virus and Anti-spyware
Don’t eat yellow snow on the internet

31. Links Social Networks Audio & Video Google Products
Audio & Video
Google Products
GoogleEarth, Picasa, GMail, Blogger
User-driven Content
Mash-ups
Linux
Firefox Web Browser
RSS Readers
Extensions for Firefox
Podcasts
U3 & PortableApps

32. Questions?
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