The Computer Next Door

My Favorite Site for Learning Software

One of the leading reasons for the digital divide is that some people learned about computers in school, and some people (maybe you) did not.  If you were never formally taught about computers, the Web, or interactive media and you don't have a "shucks, let's-just-hack-away-at-it" approach to things, you may find it difficult to play catch-up with software these days.

This becomes especially critical if it's a productivity software, is in any way related to the work you do (or long to do), or is a software program that otherwise keeps you in business - whoever you're working for. So if you don't have a deep-pocketed employer picking up the tab on software or computer training, what do you do, and where do you go?

Your choices will most likely boil down to: 1) Enlist a friend or family member to help you, 2) sign up for a class near you, 3) read a book on the subject, or 4) find help online.

In the past I tried options #1 and #3 with limited success - until I discovered online learning. I find the online learning approach to be the most effective approach because of the way I personally like to learn. I like a lot of visual reinforcement on new concepts, and therefore prefer some form of  multimedia presentation.  Multimedia training allows me to see and hear the material, and work along at my own pace.  It's easy to literally "rewind" the multimedia program (which usually takes the form of an online or DVD video) to review something I didn't quite get the first time around.

I have checked out a few of the online trainers, and always come back to Lynda.com.  Lynda.com is a venture started by Web designer Lynda Weinman. Weinman wrote some leading books on Web graphics and Web design many years back which I found helpful (not to mention funny).  Weinman has subsequently expanded her business (greatly) to cover subjects from numerous other trainers (there are currently over 24,000 video tutorials available online on Lynda.com).  It is a great resource.

There's only one hitch:  It isn't free. You can sample a few sections of courses online, but eventually if you want more you will need to subscribe.  Monthly the site subscription runs $25; annually, subscriptions start at $250. What you'll get is unlimited access to the instruction - all you can view. (Check out the free titles available).

If you're trying to be more proficient with a particular computer software program, it's useful to go through the full tutorial on the application - made up of multiple QuickTime movies that allow you to follow along as the instructor uses the program.

Additionally, the site has instruction on general computer-related topics that are not software specific (e.g., using graphics for business presentations, or general concepts about digital photography.) These type of courses tend to be more presentation-like rather than the "over-the-shoulder" tutorials.

I'm a monthly subscriber, and a happy one.  Whenever I have a question about a major software program that can't be easily answered by the manual or the online help, I just go to Lynda.com, and then select one or two of the little sections within the related online course that seem most appropriate.  Usually I find what I'm looking for.  They don't have instruction on absolutely every computer program out there, but they have a lot.

For more information or to try a free lesson (or two, or three), go to: www.lynda.com.

Out of Copyright (and Onto Your Hard Drive): Creating a Personal Digital Libary from Public Domain Materials

 If you like collecting the classics, you're in luck: now you can do it for free (or very inexpensively).

A classic book on drawing, available as a free PDF file

A number of organizations are busy as beavers these days, building online digital libraries of books (and sometimes other works) in the public domain. You can take advantage of this wealth of free online material, and use them to build your own private library.  Although the digital books are accessible in different formats, I'll refer to them all books available online or in digital format as "eBooks". (see also my earlier post: EBooks and the Virtual Library)

WHERE TO FIND PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS

So where do you find eBooks in the public domain?  Some places to begin browsing or searching for titles are:

Google Book Search  (10,000+ public domain titles)

Google has been working with some large libraries (including the University of Michigan Library) to scan their collections, allowing the public to search not just for titles but to search inside virtually any book. If you do a search on Google Book Search (currently in Beta test), you will see the results labeled based on how much you can peek inside: either it is a "Full view," a "Limited preview," "No preview" is available or you can get a "Snippet view" of the book. To find public domain books you can download or view online, uust filter out your results to see only the "Full view," books. You results will look like this:

Full view means this book can be downloaded or read online

The Google online reader is fairly easy to use, and is rich in its links to related resources (such as where to buy the book or borrow it locally if you prefer a print version). Google also allows you to save your eBooks  to a personal, online library, eliminating the need to download large files.

The Google online reader

Internet Archive (270,000+ public domain titles)

The Internet Archive has a grand vision to archive virtually all media, from old web sites to moving images and software.  The public domain books in the Internet Archive's Open Library can be accessed either by reading them online in a "Flip Book" format, by downloading the eBooks as PDF files, or by opening them in the Internet Archive's proprietary book browser.

I like the Flip Book experience for the way it simulates the online reading experience in a fun, simple way.  If you're looking for more functionality, try the proprietary (DjVU) browser.

Project Gutenberg (20,000+ public domain titles)

Options for eBooks here include read books online as "pure text" (very fast, but no graphics), downloading text files, downloading  "Plucker" files for reading on a Palm organizer, and

Gutenberg Partners, Affiliates and other Resources combined have list of 100,000 titles

World Public Library (500,000+ titles)

Every now and then this group opens access to their titles, but at other times (like now) you need to join.  But not to worry - it's still pretty cheap ($8.95 annually) to get access to their large selection in 125 different collections. In addition to classic literature, classic children's books, and science fiction, the World Public Library subscription also includes access to audio Books in MP3 format, technical reference books, and government publications. So...plenty of stuff to look at or listen to for less than $10 a year.

BUILDING YOUR OWN  DIGITAL LIBRARY

You now know where to get hundreds of thousands of public domain eBooks. So where are you going to store these books, and how do you build a personal library of your favorite titles?  Should you download the eBooks, or read them online?

Some things to consider are:

• Type and size of each eBook
• How frequently you will use the title
• Your reading preferences

Type and size of the file is probably the biggest consideration. Some older titles in the public domain have been scanned in from old volumes, and are basically a series of pictures of the actual pages. For example, a PDF of the original  classic "Bambi," which, while very pretty to look at, also takes up nearly 15 MB of hard disk space. Eeek.  More than about 10 of those titles, and you'll have to start thinking about an external hard drive.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, anything stored strictly in text format (.txt files)- with no pictures  will occupy only a tiny amount of space.  For example, the "Plain Vanilla Electronic Text" version of Sir Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake" which I downloaded from Project Gutenberg takes up a mere 472 K of hard drive space.

Suffice it to say you can feel free to download classic titles in "Plain Vanilla Electronic Text" format  pretty much willy-nilly.  Not only will hundreds or even thousands of these fit on your hard drive easily, they can also be downloaded onto a hand-held device with little concern.

How frequently will you use the eBook? If you will want to refer to the book frequently, or if it's a favorite author or book of poems, you may want to keep it on your computer.  A one-time read could be something you want to read online and not keep on your drive.

Finally, what is your reading preference?  After you try the digital online readers on the various "library" sites, you will know if you like their different proprietary online readers -  or not.  If you don't want to have to be on the Internet when you read your eBook, you can use your favorite digital reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Digital Editions, and just read it on your computer (or hand held, if you prefer small screens).  These each have their own trade-offs in functionality and ease-of-use.

You need to experiment to find what you like.  For my part, I have been taking the Smorgasbord  approach:  storing what interests me (and fits) on my hard drive, bookmarking "found library" of materials on Google Book Search, and bookmarking the other archives mentioned above, for reference.  Now, I just really have to read all this stuff...