EEVL Xtra is a new free Web service from EEVL: the Internet Guide to Engineering, Mathematics and Computing. EEVL is one of the eight subject-based ‘hubs’ of the Resource Discovery Network (RDN) - a superb UK-based non-profit directory of high quality online information. EEVL Xtra cross-searches 20 different collections in engineering, mathematics, and computing. Rather than just pointing you to these databases, it ‘deep mines’ them so that you can search them direct from EEVL Xtra. [via Information Today]
SOSIG Subject News is a new weblog from SOSIG, the Social Science Information Gateway, one of the eight RDN subject-based ‘hubs’ along with EEVL (see above). “SOSIG Subject News links to the research sites behind the latest news stories, including Government publications, research reports and existing key websites. Users can view entries by subject whether it is Education, Politics or Business and Management, giving 17 blogs in one and all are available via RSS”. [via EdTechUK]
A new version of the Dublin Core User Guide was issued at the end of May. Dublin Core is a specification for using metadata to describe electronic documents. It has been adopted by, amongst others, the archiving (including Open Access ’self-archiving’) community to describe the material archived in their repositories. Dublin Core specifies up to 15 metadata elements (such as author, title, date, URL, etc) which can be applied to each article in an archive/repository. It was adopted as an International Standard (ISO 15836) in 2003. The updated version includes guidance for new terms approved by the Usage Board, as well as new sections on the DCMI Abstract Model and references to newly recommended documentation available for implementers.
A new edition of the ISBN standard was published on 1st June. The new edition, which has been in preparation for over three years, contains the most far-reaching changes to the ISBN since it was first standardised in 1972. With effect from 1st January 2007, the ISBNs will increase from a 10-digit number to a 13-digit number and for the first time they will be identical to their relevant barcode numbers. [via Catalogablog]
Acryclic is the codename for Microsoft’s first entry into the world of advanced image-editing software. Currently ‘in beta’ (in development), it is available as a time-limited free download from Microsoft’s site, expiring Saturday 1 October 2005. Note that it’s a large download (77MB) and is designed to run on Windows XP SP2 (but may also work on Windows 2003). Microsoft’s Acrylic is a direct threat to Adobe’s industry-standard Photoshop, coming only a month after it revealed Metro, a tool that could face-off Adobe’s Acrobat PDF suite. According to Microsoft, Acrylic is a professional illustration, painting, and graphic design product targeted at designers working in print, web, video, and interactive media, and is based on Creature House Expression 3 (a vector drawing application resurrected from the ashes of Fractal Design Expression by Creature House, then acquired by Microsoft in 2003. It is based on unique ’skeletal strokes’ technology which brings a natural painterly style to vector art). Acryclic combines both pixel-based painting with raster- and vector-graphic editing features, and features panoramic photo-stitching. Considering that Photoshop sells for over £450 on Amazon, the final Microsoft product is unlikely to be cheap - so try it out for free while you can! [via Digit]
YouTube - a digital video repository, sort of like flickr for moving images. [via Michael Fagan’s del.icio.us bookmarks]
YubNub: a command line for the Web OS, an app that lets you access any number of web apps from one screen: a (social) commandline for the web. Creator, Jonathan Aquino: “I was tired of setting up the same Firefox keywords on each of the 5 computers that I use. By putting my keywords into YubNub, I can hit ‘am mark twain’ for an Amazon search, or ‘gmap vancouver’ for a Google Maps search, no matter which computer I’m on. But on a bigger scale, YubNub is the realization of a very big idea: the URL command line of the web OS”. It seems to be creating quite a stir amogst the geekier web community. I haven’t got the energy to get my head around it just now - but simply using it like a web search engine immediately brings up pretty impressive 100% relevant web pages - WOW! this is quite amazing! Also see Aquino’s weblog. [via Hotlinks]
Rmail: RSS to EMail - Not a new idea, but a new free app for doing it. It ‘does what it says on the tin’ - emails you the latest posts from subscribed weblogs. At first I thought surely most people just use RSS Feed Readers such as the excellent web-based Bloglines (and many others available). But… there must be many who do not know and could not care about RSS, so Rmail offers them a familiar method to get updates and effectively increases the audience of any weblog which offers it. You just add a bit of (supplied) code to your weblog. When a new message/story is posted, subscribers to an Rmail ‘feed’ get a short descriptive message about it in their mailbox, with a link to the the full post. [via blog news channel/inside Google]
ELF Library Books - avoid late fees and fruitless trips to the library with ELF. ELF is a free web-based and email tool for library users to keep track of their library borrowings. Think of ELF as a personal assistant whose task is to help you keep track of your library loans. It generates a feed to inform you when books you’ve requested are available at your local branch (including a link to operating hours) and when your checked-out books are almost due. It checks everyday and sends you email notices when items are coming due, overdue or when reservations are ready for collection. You can also get up-to-date realtime information by browser. They even have a demo on their website. Annoyingly, they do not explain anywhere why they are called ELF. Mostly just American libraries are covered by ELF at the moment, but already a couple of UK libraries have joined this scheme - libraries in Plymouth and Bristol. Maybe someone will start up a UK-based ELF? Or, for all I know, perhaps libraries already operate their own alert system? [via The Shifted Librarian]