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<p align="center"><span class="style5"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>4cast
#80: Kindle, Firefox, Manifestos, SEO</b><br>
</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">November 20, 2007</span></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>
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<p class="style4">This week’s <em>4cast</em><b>:</b></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">1.<strong> Amazon's Kindle Starts a
Fire</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/kindle" target="_blank">Kindle</a>
(Amazon's new wireless, handheld eBook device) was released this week,
followed by <a href="http://www.rexblog.com/2007/11/18/17321/"
target="_blank">lots</a> and <a
href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=7098" target="_blank">lots</a> of <a
href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/19/amazon-kindle-ebook-1.html"
target="_blank">reviews</a>, and a few ruminations about the future of
books and libraries.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/70983/page/1"
target="_blank">The Future of Reading</a> (Newsweek)</li>
<li><a
href="http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2007/11/kindling.html"
target="_blank">Kindling</a> (ALA TechSource)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.walkingpaper.org/525" target="_blank">all
afire for the kindle</a> (walking paper)</li>
<li><a
href="http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/11/kindling_openne.html"
target="_blank">Kindling Openess and Impact</a> (O'Reilly Radar) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2.<strong> Speaking of Fire... </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox" target="_blank">Firefox</a>,
the free, alternative web browser to Internet Explorer, is readying <a
href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071120-afirst-look-at-firefox-3-beta-1.html"
target="_blank">Version 3</a> for release (for the very brave, an
early <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html"
target="_blank">Beta 1</a>
version is now available to download and test). Although Firefox
continues to increase in popularity, some are beginning to question
whether newer versions of Firefox are really all that.</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/20/firefox-3-beta-1-the-memory-use-says-it-all/"
target="_blank">Firefox 3 Beta 1: The Memory Use Says It All</a>
(TechCrunch)</li>
<li><a
href="http://librarytechtonics.info/bits/533/hacking-firefox-customizations-for-my-library-nablopomo-8/"
target="_blank">Hacking Firefox: customizations for my library</a>
(LibraryTechtonics)</li>
<li><a
href="http://labs.nypl.org/2007/11/17/we-like-firefox-do-our-users/"
target="_blank">We Like Firefox - Do Our Users?</a> (NYPL Labs)</li>
<li><a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/technology/12link.html?_r=2&ex=1352523600&en=611a0e6f3018d3a6&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin"
target="_blank">Will Success, or All That Money From Google, Spoil
Firefox?</a> (New York Times) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">3.<strong> We, the Librarians... </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>As
libraries invest more time and money into technology, they often come
to rely heavily on ILS vendors, resulting in sometimes messy,
dysfunctional relationships and misunderstandings. Roy Tennant recently
wrote a manifesto that sets some basic ground rules for library/vendor
relationships. </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://techessence.info/manifesto/" target="_blank">Library
Software Manifesto</a> (TechEssence.Info)</li>
<li><a href="http://blog.librarysupportstaff.org/?p=429"
target="_blank">Library Software Manifesto</a>
(LibrarySupportStaff.Org) </li>
<li><a
href="http://blogs.talis.com/panlibus/archives/2007/11/which_api_yours.php"
target="_blank">Which API - yours, mine, everyone's?</a> (Panlibus) </li>
<li><a
href="http://johnmiedema.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/johns-eight-laws-of-library-technology/"
target="_blank">John's Eight Laws of Library Technology</a> (John
Miedema) </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">4.<strong> Someone Will Find Us, I
Just Know It </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization"
target="_blank">Search engine optimization</a>
(SEO) describes a set of strategies that webmasters can use to improve
their site's search engine ranking and draw more traffic (see <em><a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?p=112" target="_blank">4cast
Podcast #25: Library Web Presence</a></em>
for some library-specific tips). Because many businesses rely on web
traffic for their revenue, a whole slew of shady, spammy SEO practices
have emerged in an attempt to stay two steps ahead of the constantly
changing Google search algorithms.</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/10/search_engine_o.html"
target="_blank">Search Engine Optimization and the Race to the Bottom</a>
(O'Reilly Radar)</li>
<li><a href="http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-01-07-n13.html"
target="_blank">The Basics of Search Engine Optimization</a> (Google
Blogoscoped)</li>
<li><a
href="http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/itbloggingsection/2007/04/search_engine_o.html"
target="_blank">Search engine optimization, Google Local and broadband
access</a> (Blogging Section of SLA-IT) </li>
<li><a href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/002142.shtml"
target="_blank">Cats and Mice: The Shifting Sea of Search Results</a>
(SEO Book) </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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