Subscribe to RSS FeedTechTips: Read It Later With Instapaper
How many times a day do you come across articles or interesting items online that you don’t have time to read at that moment? The most common method of saving such content is to create browser bookmarks. However, over time browser bookmark lists can become very long and unorganized. Another common approach to saving content [...]
TechTips: URL Shortening
URL shortening is the process of taking a long URL and turning it into, well, a shorter one. For example, instead of using the 168 character URL http://library.ohio-state.edu/search~S7/?searchtype=a&searcharg=+gee+e+gordon&searchscope=7&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=ae+gordon+gee, one could use the 27 character shortened URL of http://tinyurl.com/geebooks. The mechanism for resolving a shortened URL is relatively simple. The long URL must first be registered [...]
TechTips: Extending Cellphone Battery Life
I recently purchased a new Android-based mobile phone. I spent the first day checking out all the features and options, downloading a bunch of applications, and experimenting with the GPS and location-based services. It didn’t take very long to notice the battery drained relatively quickly. The problem with the current generation of phones is that all [...]
TechTips: What is Website Clickjacking?
Clickjacking describes a Web page / browser attack where user initiated mouse clicks trigger an unintended action, such as disclosing passwords and other confidential information. This action is done primarily by hiding clickable Web page elements inside an invisible frame. Clickjacking can affect all the major Web browsers — Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and [...]
TechTips: Does Spokeo.com Violate My Privacy?
There has been a lot of discussion over the the past few weeks about a personal data aggregation service named Spokeo. Just yesterday, I received an email about the site with a subject line containing the word “scary.” The bottom line with Spokeo is that all the information pulled together with this service is already [...]
TechTips: foursquare
Foursquare is an location-based social networking service (some call it a game) that is a combination a Facebook status, a Twitter update, and a Yelp restaurant review. Users “checkin” at different locations, unlock badges, post “to-dos” and “tips” for different locations. The goal of the service is to help users find new ways to explore a city [...]
TechTips: Twitter Phishing
The other week I got a ‘tweet’ from a new colleague. The update seemed harmless enough. It enthusiastically pointed me a web site they thought was humorous. Suspecting nothing, I clicked on it. I thought it a bit odd when my browser opened to my Twitter account requesting that I log in, odd since I [...]
TechTips: Cloud Computing
I mentioned the concept of cloud computing in an earlier TechTip on Netbook computers. Many library staff members are already experienced users of cloud computing – without even knowing it. Some are using the cloud in the form of GoogleDocs. Staff users of Facebook take advantage of cloud, as do those that use photo sharing [...]
Welcome to TechTips
Welcome to the TechTips blog. The goal of this site is to inform and educate the students, staff, and faculty of the Ohio State University Libraries System about the various emerging technologies that may impact the services that libraries provide. -Eric Schnell
