iPad, uPad, we all Pad

So, we got our very own library iPad2 to work with, so we can learn how to help students use it, especially with ebooks.

[Please do not consider this an endorsement of any product; we simply need to be able to work with what students here happen to own.]

This also lets us see how our online services look on tablets, which is becoming increasingly vital.

iPad2

I’m going to work using the assumption that a student probably had a choice between getting a laptop or getting a tablet, and chose the tablet (in this case, an iPad).  I expect this will be the case for many students (and I can just hear a parent complaining “how many gadgets do you need, anyway?!?!”).

That means that they need to be able to use the iPad (or whatever tablet they got) alone to access and download library services and ebooks.

First, since this is an iPad, I created a “generic” Apple ID for the library.

I set up the iPad2 on our campus network using the basic instructions, and connected with no tweaking.  Very simple.  The minor complication came from having to move to a spot in the building with better wi-fi strength (my workroom is not suited for that).  Once I moved, everything went smoothly.

I registered with the library’s new Apple ID and said yes to the iCloud so we can backup the iPad to it.

I got the iBooks app and downloaded the iPad user guide to it.  One lonely little free ebook on the simulated wood shelving…

I also downloaded the Amazon Kindle app.  I might test with it a bit.

Downloading an ebook

Then came Bluefire, the app which should let me read our own DRM-protected epub format ebooks.

This is available for Apple iOS and Android.  I used the Apple Apps store to find and install it.

1. Load the Bluefire Reader, and tap the bottom of the screen to get the menu bar.

Select “Info”.  The first item is to authorize the Adobe ID.  I used the generic one I set up for the library.  It’s just an email address and password.  Bluefire recognizes it and authorizes this device for any Adobe Digital Editions ebooks.

2. Go to our catalog, pick your ebook, and download it.  You go through the regular checkout login via Ebscohost, and download the ebook file.

3. You get a popup that asks if you want to open this in Bluefire reader.  You say yes.

And that’s it.  It downloads into Bluefire, which seems to be a pretty decent ereader app, and you’re in business for the period we allow the checkout.

Okay, that’s fairly impressive.  The directions I had earlier for Bluefire required emailing the file to get it on the iPad, and clicking on it, but apparently Bluefire has improved so it’s a simpler process now with no intervention with another computer needed.

 

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 37 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Adobe Digital Editions on Android tablets

I’ve been working on a problem with Adobe Digital Editions eBooks….

I had a student who wanted to download one of our downloadable eBooks directly to an Android tablet.

Now, the instructions on ADE pretty much say that in order to receive an eBook, you need a Windows or a Mac computer.  Then, you use a cable to transfer the file over to your ereader, tablet/iPad, etc.

Now, bear in mind that I’m working with Android 2.3.3 booting off a microSD card for a Nook Color, which is not exactly stock Android (and definitely not stock Nook Color) but should be close enough for government work…

I’m using Aldika as the ereader software, which is listed on the ADE list as working with their eBooks.  (I can’t use Bluefire as it won’t accept my Nook, perhaps thinking it is a regular Nook Color.)

I found references to being able to download Overdrive eBooks, which is the eBook provider the local public library use.  However, the Overdrive software, once installed on my device, wouldn’t recognize a non-Overdrive eBook, even though Adobe Digital Editions is also used for and reads both.

I tried a direct download from Dropbox.  I can get it on the device, but it’s still locked up in a URLLink.acsm file which I can’t open, even though Aldika has been authorized for my Adobe ID.  Mostly, the “Open With” function doesn’t seem to be working.

I can’t download it at all as an email attachment in GMail or as a file from Google Docs.

So, if anybody asks, they need to copy it over from a PC or Mac via cable, period.  That method, at least, I know works.

 

Who deserves printed books?

Wow.

I just read a very strong essay by Seanan McGuire “Across the Digital Divide“.

The part that really sticks out:

“This doesn’t change the part where, every time a discussion of ebooks turns, seemingly inevitably, to “Print is dead, traditional publishing is dead, all smart authors should be bailing to the brave new electronic frontier,” what I hear, however unintentionally, is “Poor people don’t deserve to read.”"

If you can’t afford a ereader device, and an internet connection, do you deserve to read?

Do eBook promoters realize that is what they can be interpreted to be saying?  Surely not.

Long live the printed page editions; they are still the key for a lot of people to read.

Well put, Seanan McGuire.  While I advocate eBooks myself, I know full well that they are NOT the only version of works that should be allowed to survive.  In the past, present and future worlds, printed books are still going to be needed, in large part to provide access to everyone who needs them.

Rosetta in any other language

Making a note and link for myself on this, for whatever it might be worth to anyone else:

The packaged language self-instruction courses I’ve seen or seen reviewed are not really intended for libraries.  We’ve gotten them from several manufacturers, and their use in library circulation is not always optimal.

Example: Rosetta Stone courses, which have a tough review from the Irish Polyglot.  Thanks for the detail on that by somebody who knows more about the subject (learning a language) than I do, since he’s learned several.

From the looks of it, the main advantage of the heavily advertised Rosetta Stone courses (in his opinion) is the online help — and that is not good for libraries, since it depends on one user/owner and not several different people in a row checking this out.  The rest sounds much like other courses.  No magic “easy” button there.

The catch is, people see the heavily advertised product and think that will somehow be better (read “easier”) and want us to buy that and check it out to them (to save them paying for it, since providing the online help is presumably why they tend to have a heftier price tag than some other courses).   It’s on TV, it must be good (or has a good advertising budget).  It’s used by the military and government, it must be good (or was low bidder for the specifications required, perhaps so it could advertise it was used by the government/military, not to mention getting a lot of business).  These are perfectly legitimate promotional techniques for a business, and I don’t fault them for that.

If patrons try to register it, it may lock up on them (already registered by a previous user).  They can’t use the online services reliably.  And that, apparently, according to this review, makes it no better in many respects than much less expensive course packages, which haven’t been advertised as heavily (or priced as high).

Mind you, I am not criticizing the Rosetta Stone courses as such.  First, I don’t feel qualified (I’m certainly no ployglot), and second, they are not intended, as I already stated, for libraries to check out — they are meant for individuals to buy for themselves to use, and function — as far as reviewed — as they are supposed to function.  Used individually, they can contend they are worth what they charge, and you get what you pay for.  No dispute there from me (although the Irish Polyglot may differ).  If you use something “off-label”, you take your chances on how well it might — or might not — work.

But I’d rather not buy any more of them, if we can find a library-oriented alternative.

 

Nook Color part 2

Now it’s time to see about an upgrade to full Android on the Nook Color.

Backup the original system

Before any tinkering with the operating system, I decided to find a way to do a  backup to restore to the original settings.  Even though I did not plan to “root” the original hardware’s operating system on the built-in hardware (which would have voided the warranty and cut me off from seeing how the “normal” version operated), I didn’t want to take a chance on losing that “normal” capability.

Backup instructions are here on AndroidTablets.net from the very detailed work of Faceman, and much appreciated.

I downloaded and installed the Win32DiskImage software.

I’d bought a 2GB microSD card when I got the Nook Color.  Since it didn’t have to be high-speed or run the operating system, just be available for imaging the original system, I could go with one of the slower cards.  Many microSD cards come with an adapter to work with regular SD card slots, so it worked in my laptop.

RapidShare made me wait to get the 2GB  image file of the 3.0.2.8 CWR file (about 6 minutes), which is just how they operate.  If you don’t want to pay for the no-wait, faster downloading, you can join and pay for the service.  Since I don’t use it often enough to justify that, I scrolled down and picked the free download option, which is slower.  Much slower.  You get what you pay for, after all.

1,887.44 MB (1.8GB) for the CWR 3.0.2.8 image file.  Walk away and do something else for a while.  And… it failed.

Okay, try downloading the compressed rar version of the file.  That also means I need freeware 7-Zip to uncompress it afterwards.  Much faster download.  Uncompressed with 7-Zip to get the image file, and used the Win32DiskImage to burn the image file to the microSD.  Faster this way even with the extra step.

Flip the Nook Color over and open the compartment in the loop corner, and then insert the microSD, as per instructions.

Get a different boot and it loads ClockworkMod Recovery v3.0.2.8, with a menu (and on the landscape orientation, where it stays, like it or not.  Not a problem.).

I used the Volume Down button to scroll down to Backup and restore and the big N (Nook) button to select Backup and again to start it.  And away it goes.  Progress bar and the file names show.

When done, it goes back to the main menu and the top option is selected, which is to reboot now.  I remove the microSD card and hit the N button.

Normal boot.  I put the microSD card in my laptop and find new directories on it and a backup in place.  Looks good.  Set that aside and save it just in case.

Setting up for Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” from a microSD card

I ordered a Sandisk 8GB class 4 microSD card after reading this info about one function on the SanDisk brand that is much faster than many others, which makes it faster for running Android on the Nook Color.  I found I can also get these through the local Radio Shack stores.  Apparently one specific crucial function is faster on this brand than many others.

Rather than “root” the Nook Color, I wanted to just boot from the microSD with a full Android operating system.  That would not affect my warranty or the normal function.  Card in, boot from that.  Card out, boot to normal Nook system.

So, I went to the next set of instructions.  My thanks for that post to glasskeys.com, by the way.  This is for the 2.3 “Gingerbread” version of Android.

The Google Apps download link was broken at the time (there was a hard drive crash notice) so I used the “found via” link instead for that and the mirror site.

The instructions given are mostly for Macs, but I just used the Properties function on the microSD card (which was my “H” drive) and found it was Fat32 format with 7.39 GB available.

I used the Win32 Disk Imager to burn the generic-sdcard.img to the microSD card (my “H” drive).

Then I copied the update-cm-7.0.3-encore-signed.zip and gapps-gb-20110307-signed.zip files to the card, leaving them — as per instructions — still zipped.

Inserting the card starts the normal Nook system, so I shut that down and then turn it back on.

And boot.  There’s the penguin.  Lots of work being done, inflating files and such.  Finally it shuts itself down.  That’s supposed to happen.

I turn it on again.  We got Android!  And it circles around and around the little Android logo. Finally a menu option to use the Setup Wizard.

Can’t connect yet — have to set up the wireless and type that long password for my network in again.

And now I have the Android Market offering apps to install.  These are basics like GMail, YouTube, Google Maps.  I pick some.

Gmail app comes up, I okay it.  Google Maps, Street View on Google Maps, YouTube.  I okay the location data since it won’t be especially precise without GPS.  And it says my Google Account is now linked to this phone.  (Okay, 2.3 is not entirely up to date on tablets…)

Set the time/date stuff.

The manual for 2.3 is here.

Android 3.0 “Honeycomb”

Manual for 3.0 is here.

The Gingerbread version went so well I decided to check out the same thing for the later version, 3.0 “Honeycomb” Android.

Found another article on How to Run HoneyComb for use with the Nook Color.

That worked… up to a point.  I got to where I needed to enter my long password to get to my home wireless network and it got complicated.

The only way to put in this long password was to turn on the feature to make the password visible.  However, I found I could only access that option when holding the Nook Color in Portrait mode.  Following that, to actually enter the password and get it all in while remaining visible, I found I had to then turn it to Landscape mode.   Sounds simple now, but took a while to figure out the necessity while trying to do it.  7″ screens are not optimum for this particular activity, it would seem.

The automatic time/date did not work correctly.  Have to play with that some more.

Ended up finding 3.0 is much slower than 2.3.3, and a higher learning curve at this point.  Think I’ll wait for 3.2 or later to come to the NC.

Backup the card

Now, if I lose the card, or it fails, or whatever…  I wanted to backup the 2.3 version.

Win32 Disk Imager loaded.  Insert the card to be copied, and read the card to a file on my laptop.

Swap in a blank identical microSD card and write the image to it.

Tested it.  Now I have two identical microSD cards with 2.3.3, which is the more stable of the later versions.  By making changes on one, then backing up to the other every so often, I can keep them in close sync.

Gingerbread (2.3.x) on the Nook Color

I’ve gotten a few apps on this.  The Kindle app works fine, although not in as much detail as the version on my laptop (such as letting me easily sort to groups, for example).  I got some Kindle books to test and they work well, although I notice that the bottom line of the page on some books tends to be partially hidden behind the task bar — not illegibly, but a minor annoyance.  The sync with online Kindle works fine when I have the network on — I got these on my laptop, and they automatically synced and downloaded onto the NC next time I ran Kindle on it.  Ebooks are available offline although the placekeeping function is restricted to the NC.

The Nook ereader software also loads on here, so I have those eBooks via that if I want.  I’m thinking about the Aldiko ereader for general use, though.

I got the Dolphin browser, which I saw highly recommended for Android.  You can use gestures instead of a toolbar or key/mouse for the more common actions (if I can use them enough to remember them).  Here’s an example (based on iOS):

Firefox has a beta version for Android, but I ran into a problem getting that.  The Firefox installer thinks I have a standard Nook Color, and so won’t install as it expects the limited standard version of Android.  I have no idea how to tell it that I’m running off a full Android version.    Turns out, checking around with other users posts, that even if I could get the apk file and install manually, it probably wouldn’t open.  So, no Firefox add-ons.  Nuts — I wanted my LastPass and XMarks, especially.

Of course, I could get some of my add-ons such as Xmarks in the Android version, but I have to pay for Xmarks on Android.  I’m not sufficiently committed to Android at this point to do that, but for Xmarks, I might give in later.

Instead, I have the regular system and the 2.3 system browsers set up to go to Symbaloo, where I have my more common links in several tabs, including one specific tab for Android.

And I haven’t even gotten Angry Birds yet….

 

New Director!

We have a new director as of September 1: Robert Frizzell.

Nook Color part 1

Broke my left radius (the forearm bone on the thumb side) in a fall just before Memorial Day.  By mid-June, 3 pieces had crumbled off, and a surgeon had to put in a plate to tie those back to the main bone.  So I’ve been in a cast most of the summer.  (The posts I’ve done since then were mostly already written before that; I just tweaked a word or two and posted.  Good thing I had some backlog posts.)  Now I’m catching up, editing my one-hand-typing posts.  And now you know that I am verbose even when I have only one hand to work with.

Anyway, since I had to be home a week recovering from the surgery, I had an excuse to get a toy to play with, right?  (Of course, as it worked out, the reaction to the surgery was much greater than expected and I didn’t feel up to it then.  But it was a good excuse, anyway.)

I don’t have a smartphone, but I wanted to experiment with Android, so that meant a tablet (with wi-fi only, and no phone costs).  If I can replicate what students are doing, I have a better chance of explaining how to do it when someone needs help, especially with eBooks.

I’d seen a lot of good comments about the Nook Color being a cheap way to get a tablet as well as an ereader.  People had already figured out how to “root” it (break into the operating system and modify or replace it in the device).  However, that sort of thing voids your warranty.

The alternative, which would not void the warranty, would be to put the full Android system on a microSD card and boot the Nook Color from that, which is also possible and described many places.

I considered a Kindle, but they are locked tight in terms of software, and don’t run even a modified Android — a Kindle only teaches you to use a Kindle.  In addition, the Kindles (at this point in time) don’t handle the epub format used for our library’s and the public library’s downloadable eBooks.  Also, the Kindles currently available don’t have color, which I might want for some reading.  A full Android operating system, however, could run the Kindle app and that would let me get eBooks that way as well.

The regular tablets are more expensive by a good chunk, although many of the screens are larger.  I could put up with a 7″ screen for just experimenting, I hoped.

So, please do NOT consider this an endorsement of a product; it is simply what I was willing to work with and what I wanted in a tablet for the price I was willing to pay at this point in tablet development.

I charged the Nook Color up.  The custom plug has the “N” symbol on it that is green when fully charged, and multi-colored when charging (or when you’re using it plugged in).

Had to dig out my very long WPA2-secure password for my home network and set that up, along with email and such.

The volume, even at max, is pretty minimal, so I’ll need to use headphones/plugs for this.  The sound on those is fine.

There were several videos to introduce it, although some of them wouldn’t run.

Software at startup was 1.2.0.

The screen is capacitive, like an iPad, so you need a finger to work it.  Response can be slow, especially on the web stuff.  I found that for some functions on web sites, it helps to use the spread-fingers motion to enlarge the part I need in order to activitate the correct one of several close choices (say, “Page 1 2 3 4 5 6″).  For web use, laying the NC on the long side makes it easier.

More to come in the next post in this series.

 

Foundational progress

It looked like it was time to pay the piper as the contractors brought in concrete drainage pipe in preparation for our building expansion.

From September 4, 2011

This is a shot of the southwest corner.

More recently, it looks like this:

From September 4, 2011

The big spiked roller machine by the corner is used to tamp down the harder material, which is being trucked in to make a better surface than the existing clay soil.  As the surface is packed, it carries the vibrations into the building even better.

When the air conditioning went out Friday (Sept. 2), it was like a massage and heat treatment just to work here…

Eventually, this part of the building gets buried within the new structure, and the new entrance will be from this angle.

We’re surrounded by fences and have only one avenue in and out for the next year or so, but it really looks like progress.

 

Are search algorithms channeling your opinions?

[note: this is a backlog post while I'm dealing with a broken wrist.  A little one-handed editing and posted.]

I’ve just viewed a very significant TED talk by Eli Pariser.  I highly recommend watching it.

He points out that Facebook, Google, and many other sources and searchers for us use mindless search algorithms to give us what we supposedly want — but is that what we really need?  No variations, no dissenting opinions, no friends with different ideas?

It’s certainly something we should be very conscious of, and think about, and allow for.

* I may not agree with some opinions, but they may be very influential for people I have to work with/deal with/serve, and I need to be aware of them.   (Given some I’ve seen promoted in very public arenas lately, I need to “inoculate” myself in advance by exposure to these memes in order to resist the impulse to respond inappropriately out of sheer astonishment to somebody who shows up promoting those viewpoints.)  I need to know that people actually hold different opinions, sometimes wildly at odds with mine, so I can politely talk with them and — if appropriate — point them towards the facts they need (or give up on them and move on, in too many cases).
* I need to see some other solutions to problems, and perhaps incorporate part or all of them into what I favor, if they have some good (or at least practically achievable) factors.  These might be things I vote on, or recommend my representatives vote on, and I need all the options.

Perhaps we need a setting on Facebook and Google and everything else that amounts to “favorites algorithms on” and “off” so we can at least have the option of unfiltered information.  Yes, it means plowing through a lot more stuff, much of it useless/annoying/distracting, but at least we make our own decisions about it and don’t rely on software that only considers what will please us most.