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<p align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">OPLIN 4cast #59 -
June 12, 2007</span></b></p>
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<p>The <em><b>OPLIN 4cast</b></em> is a weekly compilation of
recent headlines, topics, and trends that could impact public
libraries. You can subscribe to it in a variety of ways, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>RSS feed</strong>. You can receive the <em>OPLIN
4cast</em> via RSS feed by subscribing to the following URL: <a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2">http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Live Bookmark</strong>. If you're using the <a
href="http://www.mozilla.com/" target="_blank">Firefox</a> web
browser, you can go to the <em>4cast</em> website (<a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/">http://www.oplin.org/4cast/</a>)
and click on the orange "radio wave" icon on the right side of the
address bar. In <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/"
target="_blank">Internet Explorer 7</a>, click on the same icon to
view or subscribe to the <em>4cast</em> RSS feed. </li>
<li><strong>E-mail</strong>. You can have the <em>OPLIN 4cast</em>
delivered via e-mail (a'la OPLINlist and OPLINtech) by subscribing to
the <em>4cast</em> mailing list at <a
href="http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast">http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast</a>.</li>
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<p class="style4">This week’s <em>4cast</em><b>:</b></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">1.<strong> Ask Goes 3D (Funny Glasses
Not Required) </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Does any other search engine stand even a remote chance of
becoming as popular as Google? Many users (<a
href="http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2006/09/ten_reasons_lib.html"
target="_blank">librarians included</a>) point to <a
href="http://www.ask.com/" target="_blank">Ask.com</a>, which <a
href="http://blog.ask.com/2007/06/introducing_ask.html" target="_blank">just
unveiled a major redesign</a> that some are hailing as the next great,
evolutionary step in search.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://www.wired.com/software/webservices/news/2007/06/new_search"
target="_blank">Ask Relaunches as Search Takes a Turn</a> (Wired) </li>
<li><a href="http://searchengineland.com/070604-211402.php"
target="_blank">Ask Relaunches: Now "Ask 3D"</a> (Search Engine Land)</li>
<li><a href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/004566.html"
target="_blank">Radically New Ask.com</a> (PC World's Techlog) </li>
<li><a
href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/new_askcom_ui_gives_more_user-satisfaction.php"
target="_blank">New Ask.com UI Gives 20%+ More User Satisfaction</a>
(Read/WriteWeb) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2. <strong>What's That Search Engine
Got That This One Don't?</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Of
course, Ask.com and the other "second-tier" search engines are fighting
an uphill battle. Not only does Google have deeper reserves, but
they're also entrenched to the point that many searchers aren't even
aware of the alternatives.</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070605-product-loyalty-consumers-mistake-familiarity-with-superiority.html"
target="_blank">Product loyalty: consumers mistake familiarity with
superiority</a> (Ars Technica)</li>
<li><a href="http://searchengineland.com/070604-105606.php"
target="_blank">Insight Into Google's Search Quality Efforts</a>
(Search Engine Land) </li>
<li><a
href="http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2007/05/tired_of_the_sa.html"
target="_blank">Tired of the Same Old Search Engine?</a> (Stephen's
Lighthouse)</li>
<li><a
href="http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2007/05/better_searchin.html"
target="_blank">Better searching without Google</a> (Phil Bradley's
weblog) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">3. <strong>Please Sir, Might We
Digitize Some of Your Manuscripts?</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Microsoft's <a
href="http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=&scope=books"
target="_blank">Live Search Books</a>
has been in beta since December, but only recently began adding
still-in-copyright content from a slew of major publishers. The
difference between them versus <a href="http://books.google.com/"
target="_blank">Google Book Search</a> or Amazon's <a
href="http://www.amazon.com/Search-Inside-Book-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=10197021"
target="_blank">Search Inside the Book</a>? Why, Microsoft asked
permission!</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://blogs.msdn.com/livesearch/archive/2007/06/01/live-search-books-now-with-in-copyright-content.aspx"
target="_blank">Live Search Books: Now with In-Copyright Content</a>
(Live Search's Weblog)</li>
<li><a
href="http://www.resourceshelf.com/2007/06/02/more-content-being-added-to-microsoft-live-book-search-dont-forget-about-other-sources-including-amazons-search-inside-the-book/"
target="_blank">More Content Being Added to Microsoft Live Book
Search, Don't Forget...</a> (Resource Shelf)</li>
<li><a
href="http://blog.stephenleary.com/2007/06/microsoft-live-books-improves.html"
target="_blank">Microsoft Live Books Improves</a> (The Reflective
Librarian)</li>
<li><a
href="http://www.hunterstrat.com/news/2007/06/01/microsoft-adds-copyrighted-books-to-live-search-books-beta/"
target="_blank">Microsoft adds copyrighted books to Live Search Books
beta</a> (Microsoft News Tracker) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">4.<strong> The Twits Are Getting
Louder </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was still unclear <a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?p=70">back in March</a>,
but <a href="http://twitter.com/" target="_blank">Twitter</a> seems to
be catching on across the 'Net, signaling the dawn of another trend - <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-blogging" target="_blank">micro-blogging</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://news.com.com/The+case+against+Twitter/2010-1038_3-6187291.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news"
target="_blank">The case against Twitter</a> & <a
href="http://news.com.com/In+defense+of+Twitter/2010-1038_3-6187323.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news"
target="_blank">In defense of Twitter</a> (CNET) </li>
<li><a
href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2007/tc20070604_254236.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech"
target="_blank">The Twitterization of Blogs</a> (BusinessWeek) </li>
<li><a
href="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/05/for_the_uberconnectedyour_guid.html"
target="_blank">Your Guide to Micro-Blogging and Twitter</a> (PBS:
MediaShift)</li>
<li><a
href="http://scanblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/welcome-to-twittcapades.html"
target="_blank">welcome to the twittcapades</a> (It's All Good)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Joel Husenits
Managing Editor
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
2323 W. 5th Avenue, Suite 130
Columbus, Ohio 43204
Phone: (614) 728-5252
Fax: (614) 728-5256
E-mail: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:editor@oplin.org">editor@oplin.org</a>
Web: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.oplin.org">www.oplin.org</a></pre>
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