Tech Talk

Are there times when you want to leave a voicemail message on someone's mobil phone but do not want to disturb them (or perhaps you are trying to avoid a potentially awkward conversation)?

Slydial is a new service that allows you to dial the Slydial phone number (267-759-3425) from any landline or mobile phone, enter a person's mobil phone number, and be directly connected to their voicemail.

I find it useful when I want to leave a message for my husband when I know he's in a meeting, when I want to leave non-emergency messages for co-workers, and when it's early in the morning and I do not want to disturb someone.

This service is free (you pay for the phone call). You do not have to sign up although signing up allows you to access advanced features. For more information, visit www.slydial.com.

8/8/08: The day is almost here for the 2008 Summer Olympics from Beijing, China. Television coverage will be carried by NBC on Channel 4 network television, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, Telemundo, NBC Olympic Basketball Channel, and NBC Olympic Soccer Channel. There will also be coverage online at www.nbcolympics.com. Click on TV & Online listings. You can even sign up for email and/or mobil phone alerts to make sure you don't miss your favorite events! Check out the Official 2008 Olympic site, the competition schedule, Wikipedia, China's Official English website. Let the games begin!

Have you seen Google Knol? ABC News calls it the "Silicon Valley behemoth's answer to Wikipedia." They are both user-generated encyclopedias but Google Knol identifies authors and those authors could earn a profit from their articles (with the profit growing as the article receives more hits). I did a quick comparison of both sites using the search term "Madonna." There were three results in Google Knol (all about the singer Madonna). I clicked on one author's name and was presented with "Biographical knol not published" (I found this with quite a few other searches I did).

Wikipedia came back with many different results, including:

• Mary, mother of Jesus
• Madonna, entertainer
• Madonna del Ghisallo, a hill close to Lake Como in Italy
• Madonna lily, a plant
• Madonna University, a college in Michigan
.

While neither site is perfect (and I would not necessarily rely on either of them for authoritative information), I find Wikipedia to be a great starting point for research. It allows me to learn the language of the subject I am researching and it can often open up new paths to follow. Google Knol is new but it is a site I will continue to watch.

Welcome to Tech Talk, Wilton Library's new blog where you can find information on new technology along with tips and tricks to help you deal with current technology. Kathy Leeds, Library Director, along with Mary Anne Franco and Dave Palmieri of Network Services, will share their thoughts on the many technologies they deal with (or hope to deal with) each day. Stay tuned!