nirak.net - Musings of an LIS Student

I need to write two papers, but I am having trouble even coming up with topics. I have several attempts, but about halfway through I give up - either because the research is already pretty conclusive and I feel silly writing about it or because I’m just not interested in the topic. I wish I consistently tagged my Zotero items so I could see if there was anything I’d collected a lot about, but I never did get into the habit of tagging in Zotero (partially because many systems insert tags for me).

Anyway, the two classes I need to write papers for are Library Information Systems and Information Storage and Retrieval. I have all day Saturday to work on these, and can take all day Sunday if needed, so I’m not too worried… yet.

Other topics that have been on my mind:

Creative Commons

Several people have posted about Creative Commons and the murky space it occupies between public domain and copyright protected. Since I started my Free Artwork project, I have been thinking a lot about why I might choose different licenses and what it means to buy into Creative Commons. I also have been looking into what Creative Commons detractors are saying, and thinking about ways it could be better. I have to admit, the number of licenses one can apply to work is confusing. Besides the Creative Commons standard choices, there are several others on the website, like public domain, BSD, and GNU-GPL.

I’ve been thinking about the content I produce, and why I produce it, and what license I might want to apply to what content. Certain applications make this easier than others. Flickr makes it pretty easy to have fine grained control over my work, and the new video function makes it easy, for the first time, to find video to reuse. However, that video is still wrapped up in Flash, and since Flickr doesn’t allow downloading of video, the CC license is moot (unless you just want to embed on a webpage, which, frankly, Vimeo and Youtube already cover.) I can CC license my blog content, but, to be honest, I have not found much use for CC licensed text, except to use in displays and such. (Wikipedia has proven enormously useful for displays.)

Windows on the XO

Another thing I want to write about is the continuing frazzle on Windows for the OLPC and Negroponete’s statements. I think emotions are running very hot in the whole debate, and I’m afraid the whole project will splinter and fall apart. I really hope development on Sugar continues- though I find the system slow and buggy right now, I still see amazing potential. I love the XO machine, and I love Sugar, and I don’t necessarily believe the two have to go hand in hand- but I think the conceptual aspect of Sugar really needs to fork from the work that needs to be done with power management, speed, etc, on the XO. I installed Xubuntu and it is pretty snappy- as much as I love the IDEA of using Python to create an OS (thereby opening up the possibility to modify on the fly) I just don’t know that it works for a low power machine.

I blogged a little about my thoughts on XP for the OLPC on OS Agnostic before all the recent stuff came up.

Wikis for work

My work has been using an internal wiki (using MediaWiki software) for organization for some time. It’s working pretty well- there are a few people contributing most of the content, but that is true of most wikis. Recently, some professors have started using the wiki for class projects- which is great, but also a little outside the scope of what we set up the wiki to do. So I have been investigating other, lightweight wikis, and have fallen in love with PmWiki. It’s flexible, powerful, and best of all only requires PHP to work. Instead of storing in a database, it stores in flat files. This is good for several reasons- for one, backup is a snap- for another, making a new wiki is as simple as copying a folder and chmoding one folder. I have since started using PmWiki to organize my own life and it has been quite useful. I’m debating moving it to my home server (which, by the way, I have yet to create). I could also run it off my keydrive.

I’ve been investigating other project management solutions for work, and the more I study the intricacies, the more confused I get. I know the folks at the Center for History and New Media use Basecamp for their projects, which I like, but I don’t particularly care for the monthly pay system (it’s difficult to handle through the libraries) and the limit on the number of projects you can set up. $150 a month will get you 50 projects, $49 a month will get you 35 projects. We have been using the open source ActiveCollab, hoping the new version would be bigger and better- but then the new version went closed source. The project forked into a new project, project|pier, but not much has happened with that yet.

Whew! That’s just a little of what has been going on inside my head. The semester ends May 2nd, and May 5th I start on my practicum- which will be implementing a site using Drupal. Plus, THATCamp is coming up in late May, and there’s a lot floating around in my head for that as well.

Off to attempt, again, to come up with a paper topic.

Images: Jeffrey Beall and teemow. (the OLPC illustration is mine)

karin :: Apr.24.2008 :: Uncategorized :: 4 Comments »

Most of my presentation slides were made with open source software. Ubuntu, OpenOffice Impress, Gimp, and Inkscape allow me to put together a pretty nice looking set of slides. It has become more and more common lately for me to complete my tasks entirely in open source, but I’m not completely moved over yet. I wanted to use Ubuntu during the OLPC presentation, for instance, but I couldn’t get it talking with the projector, so I had to boot into the Windows side.

Then there are the applications I can’t quite seem to ditch completely, at home and work: Acrobat, for PDF creation and tweakage; Photoshop, for batch processing and the occasional thing GIMP doesn’t do; Windows Movie Maker for occasional simple movie editing, and a few other bits and pieces. Then there’s the fact that I can’t watch ABC.com TV shows or download MP3 albums from Amazon.com without Windows or a Mac.

What frustrates me is that some of this is because I’m just used to doing things a certain way, and some is because stupid content providers unnecessarily lock me out of using Linux and/ or open source applications. Little is actually because there is a problem with the open source solution (though sometimes it is- the lack of an open source video editor that is really truly simple is a constant annoyance.)

Sometimes, when I’m knee deep in trying to find a command line solution for breaking my xorg.conf file (AGAIN) I wonder why exactly I torture myself this way. I do look longingly at all the pretty shiny Macs I see at conventions- I loved my iMac and almost never had problems with it (until the monitor died that is. Now it makes a decent cat bed.) It’s easy for me to think my life would be so much easier if I just had a Mac, but the truth is, it wouldn’t. I would not want to give up the Linux only programs I have come to know and love, so I would then be using three operating systems instead of two. (Yeah, I know about parallels. I wouldn’t mind trying it if I can afford a Mac someday.)

The truth is, frustrating as it is for me, I like pushing my computers and seeing what they can do. I like fiddling with settings and plugins, and there’s no better system to do that on than Linux. I also like fiddling with the constellation of ever changing devices in my house and finding new ways I cam make them talk to and work with each other.

I also really like knowing that I created something entirely with open source tools, because it demonstrates what I already know: Open source can be used for most everyday tasks. I’ve seen presentations on open source where the slides were designed in keynote. Truth is, open source applications won’t get better unless people actually use them, and give feedback, and file bug reports at least occasionally. No one wants to work on software that no one will use- so if I want open source software to get better, I have to use open source.

The good news is, the software is getting better. I can’t count the number of times I’ve spent hours trying to fix a broken display or trying to solve an audio problem to find the solution weeks or months later, either wrapped up in a nice little GUI program or at the least detailed instructions even a command line newb like me can follow. Ubuntu’s 6 month release cycles mean that every 6 months, they add features that make something that was hard for me easy.

A lot of people avoid open source because they see it as unnecessarily hard- and I can’t say that I haven’t had experiences that prove that point. BUT, I have also found some open source programs that are delightful to use (Inkscape comes to mind, as does AbiWord, and out of the box Ubuntu.) If you believe in the open source movement at all, if you think it has potential, if the idea of community supported and built software is appealing, you have to use the software - at least occasionally.

One of the easy ways to start is to try portableapps.com - all open source programs, all packaged so you can run them even if you don’t have permissions to install software. These don’t have to be installed on a USB drive- you can install them right to your desktop, C drive, or anywhere else you want. You can also request a free Ubuntu Live CD- it’ll take a while to get to you, but it’s a low effort way to try out Linux without changing anything on your current system. For those more adventurous, you might try installing Edubuntu on an older machine for a child. Libraries can start small by setting up just one public terminal with some flavor of Linux and open source applications- perhaps gOS would be a friendly start.

I suppose this is a call to action of sorts. Give open source a chance- you may find something you like.

karin :: Feb.15.2008 :: Free as in Freedom, Library, Linux, Open access/Open source, Uncategorized :: 3 Comments »

I’m more or less done with classes now (a few postings here and there, but other than that, done.) I look forward to almost a month and a half off school. I also have the week off between Christmas and New Year’s, and a somewhat relaxed gift buying schedule this year due to some no gift agreements and thinking ahead for once.

So of course, I’m thinking “what can I get done?”

I have a lot of ideas. Here’s a partial list, though I may only get a fraction of this done, it’s good to have a list to work from.

• Work on several presentations. I want to have two or three ready to go, complete with slides, in case a presenting opportunity comes up.
• Clean up computers- both my computers have become very bogged down with extra software and files. Plus I’ve been saving everything willy nilly for a while now.
• Clean house- it really needs it.
• Start cooking all meals at home- and make them good. I’ve been eating horribly lately, a result of lack of time.
• Turn old computer into a server. I want to install Omeka on a test server- what better way than to set one up at home?
• Research- I have a few topics I want to research in some detail, including open source ILS and Drupal for websites (which will involve some amount of play with my Drupal installation), positions/structures in digital humanities centers.
• Make screencasts - one I have in mind is how I use Zotero- not just how TO use Zotero, but how I use it for my own personal research.
• Finish at least some of the blog posts I’ve half started.
• Buy a couple of domains for projects I’ve started, and at least get wikis running.

I also plan to do a lot of reading, playing video games, and lazing about, so who knows how many of my ambitious ides will come to fruition.

karin :: Dec.02.2007 :: Uncategorized :: 3 Comments »

Mark took the nerd test, so I had to too.  And since his results got messed up, I’m posting mine as an image.

Pretty much what I expected.

karin :: Aug.02.2007 :: Uncategorized :: 2 Comments »

It’s been a while since I got tagged. I posted 4 random things about me a while ago, and never finished with the other 4. So here they are:

5. I swing dance. Not incredibly well, but proficiently. My husband and I will (hopefully) take a lindy hop in November.

6. I have an anti-green thumb. (Would that be a black thumb?) I can kill anything. The three bushes we planted in front of the house are dead. The plant Heather gave me is dying (sorry Heather!) I’ve planted 5 basil plants this year, all are dead. OK, one’s only mostly dead.

7. I used to be a pack rat, now I fantasize about my house burning down so I can get rid of all my stuff. I don’t REALLY want my house to burn down, but I do want to pare down what I own.

8. We still have the kitten. Except he’s not really a kitten anymore. He’s sweet, but needs a new home- there are personality conflicts with the other cats.

I tag Heather and Christa to say something random about themselves. No number, just give me a tidbit or two.

karin :: Aug.02.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

I’ve started making a mental list of windows programs I am *really* going to miss now that I’m using Ubuntu as my main OS. There’s Photoshop, of course- mostly for the “patch” tool and the layout- I’ve been using it since v2. I’m hoping I’ll get Photoshop running through Wine, but we’ll see. Gimp is a good enough replacement, I just need to learn how to use it.

Most of the programs are little convenience things, though. Like a little program called “FSCapture” that I have been using to make an annotated screen captures. (I can use Gimp to make screen captures, but there are not as many features, it’s not as easy, and it’s just not the same.) Or the Lifehacker program “Texter,” which I have used some and enjoy. Besides that, there’s the shortcuts- windows+E doesn’t make the file browser come up, windows+D does not show the desktop. I’ll adjust, or add my own shortcuts.

Of course, there’s also my Portable Apps. One of the big things that kept be back from using Ubuntu full time is the fact that my portable applications won’t run. What to do? Well, I already have the linux version of many of my portable applications installed. Open Office, Abi Word, Thunderbird, Gimp, VLC, are all in the Ubuntu repository. The big holdout was Firefox, and especially my Zotero database- I didn’t want to have to export every time I switched computers. Luckily, the new version of Zotero includes the option to store your Zotero DB elsewhere- so I can share the database between computers using my Flash drive. My other most used program, FileZilla, is made obsolete by the fact that I can open up an FTP server as if it were just normal files on my desktop. Neato. I use del.icio.us for bookmarks, so that’s not a problem.

I don’t want to sound like switching to to Ubuntu is all doom and gloom- in fact, there are several programs that far outstrip any of their Windows or Mac competitors, like F-Spot and Amarok. Plus the desktop experience is far and away better than Windows.

karin :: Jun.06.2007 :: Open access/Open source, Uncategorized :: 10 Comments »

So one thing about the replanting in the front is that now anyone can walk up to our front windows. I had not anticipated how much this would bother me. This is the front before and after:

It looks much nicer (it’ll look even better when we get an actual lawn to grow), but you can now see right into the living room on nice nights, when the window is open and the fan is on. I do not like that. It’s compounded by the fact that my neighbors put a camera on their roof that moves. I don’t know that it can look in our window, but the thought of it creeps me out. Maybe I’m just paranoid.

So what to do? We’re thinking of trying to grow some kind of climbing vine plant (something not too aggressive) on a trellis outside the window. This way, we can pull it out later if we want to without too much trouble, and if we keep it trimmed it should not be too much of a problem. If we make it, say, half the height of the window we can still get plenty of light during the day. I wonder if it will look funny, though. Once it’s warm out, we’ll have the AC on and the windows shut.

karin :: May.30.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

After our presentation, someone (I can’t remember who!) asked the question “I’m starting a project, which should I use: A blog or a wiki?”

The questions kind of took me aback, and I’m afraid I answered rather ineptly. To me, the difference are pretty clear, but I couldn’t, on the spur of the moment, articulate that into a soundbite. After thinking about it for several weeks, I think I have a bit of an answer:

Use a wiki if you need to create information collaboratively. Use a blog if you only need to disseminate it.

This question is something I am considering doing a poster presentation on- mostly because I think I can come up with some nice visuals to go with it. I was thinking a mindmap looking thing that shows the structure of a blog opposed to the amorphous quality of a wiki.

karin :: May.29.2007 :: Uncategorized :: 2 Comments »

Two things I read today -

American Libraries Direct linked to a post by LIS student Tracy Nectoux on Libraries versus Bookstores that’s a great view on a topic I have been thinking about a lot. Ever since I started library school, there’s been discussion about how libraries can be more like retail. I agree with this in some instances- adding comfortable seating and learning how to provide excellent customer service is not a bad thing. But in the talk of how to become like a bookstore, it’s easy to look past what makes libraries unique. There’s a reason I want to work in a library and not a book store, and it has to do with many of the things Tracy talks about.

Another LIS student, Brett Bonfield, has a post on ACRLog called Time For Academic Librarians To Tune In To The Semantic Web, which is a great intro to the semantic web for librarians (it’s neither too technical or too simplistic, a hard balance to strike.)

I don’t usually do posts where I link to other things- mostly because approximately 2,000 blogs are out there doing the same thing. But these two posts really illustrate to me the brilliant crop of LIS students we have out there. “Some people” seem to think we’re all a bunch of dullards, but from my experience, I’m surrounded by brilliant, motivated people. In the LIS Students Ning Group, we have more amazing, talented people- many of whom are already quite well known in the library world. I’m honored they’ve decided to join, and I learn so much from everyone in the group. With this crop of library students on the way, libraries *will* change, and for the better.

karin :: May.24.2007 :: Uncategorized :: 1 Comment »

The presentation went well, though there are things I wish I had done differently. My co-presenter was really good, worked in humor really well (something I need to work on) and was, I felt, much more natural in front of an audience.

But I’m done! And I really can’t wait to do it again.

The keynote by Rachel Bridgewater (What We Talk about When We Talk About 2.0) was really great. She’s a great speaker, I would love to be half as good as her someday. It sounds like she is doing really cool things in her job - especially the information literacy instruction. I have my notes from her presentation on my flickr account. (I don’t do liveblogging, but I can at least post my written notes!)

I also saw Marvel Mering and Nora Hillyer talk about “Criss Library On-Line Information Literacy Assessment for English Composition.” This is the third time I have seen Marvel Mering present, and I’ve liked every presentation so far. After I went, Michael Sauers presented on “The Social Web.” I think I stole part of Michael’s presentation. Sorry! There was overlap in some of the presentations- Rachael talked about Google Docs, Michael talked about Wikis and Flickr. I was fairly brief with the web applications, though- the focus was on portable applications of the kind that can be put on a keydrive.

I took away a few lessons to help me in future presentations-

1. Have extra material in case I talk too fast or something I want to present has already been talked about. I cut a lot of portable applications out of the presentation because I was sure I would run long. I should have been ready to present those anyway.
2. Make sure the projector is on - I worked part of the time thinking the projector was on. Luckily someone pointed my error out.
3. Bring EVERYTHING you think you might need. When we got to the room, we realized that the projector was in the middle of the aisle- set up for a presentation using a remote. That wouldn’t work for me since I was giving a demo of software. I had Geoff bring down my 25′ VGA cable, so it all worked out dandy.
4. Try to work in humor. I’m not good at this, and I need to work on it.

A few pictures below. I’m tired now…

PS-
I posted the presentation on my Online C.V. and Marcee and I have a wiki.

karin :: May.18.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »