Recorded Books has announced that as of 12/31/2009, the MyLibraryDV service will be discontinued. This discontinuation applies to all libraries throughout the nation that use this service. Per their Dec. 2009 notification which was brought to our attention on Dec. 28th:

Although the MyLibraryDV player works very well and has been popular in many areas, the overall demand from the patrons has not been as expected. In an effort to stimulate demand we recently changed our format to include more educational programming. Unfortunately, with the downturn in the economy..., we can no longer justify offering a service where the patron demand is marginal.

We are sorry to inform you that your MyLibraryDV service will be deactivated effective December 31, 2009. We still believe there is a future for downloadable video in libraries and we hope to offer a more popular version of this product sometime in the future. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause..."

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Over the past year I have been exploring various operating systems ranging from Windows XP to Linux. And I must say, I was surprised with my findings. I first started my exploration earlier this year when my Toshiba laptop of 4 years started giving me fits. When purchased brand new, the Toshiba had a Celeron processor, Windows XP Home, with 512 RAM and a 80 GB hard drive. Sounds out dated right? In 2006, upgraded the RAM to 1 GB (a $50-$60 addition) and installed Windows Vista Home. Everything was working perfectly at the time; until I installed Office 2007 Student/Home ed. I noticed Office 2007 took a long time to load on my laptop and would sometimes crash and turn my computer off.

My first mistake was installing Vista on a machine that wasn't stable enough for it. Vista claims it can run on 1 GB RAM, but I have yet to see it preform well in that type of environment. My second mistake was installing Office 2007 with a hard drive that was half way full. Both, Vista and Office 2007, require a lot of hard drive space to run. The laptop never had a virus. I did a good job of keeping it clean and free from the evil viruses that plague Windows computers. Plus, I was the only one to use the laptop. As you can imagine, it was an endless road of frustration. It was so bad that I bought a desktop and put the laptop in a closet.

After my wife and I got married in March, we took a leap of faith and moved to Oklahoma City, OK to finish our education. This is where most of my research and trial and error took place with operating systems. I wanted something "light" and easy to use. Unfortunately, Windows did not match my search criteria. Windows OS are easy to use, but by no means light. Plus, living on a student income, Windows was not in my budget. So, off to Google I went. One of the first things I noticed when started my research for reliable light weight operating systems, was the word Linux. I have heard of this OS before, but never researched it or any of that jazz. So as a curious techie guy, I started to dig a little deeper on this Linux. Come to find out it was very light and my computer's response time was quite fast. I guess you could describe Linux as the basics of a computer. The best part about Linux operating systems are they are FREE to download and to install. No licences, unlike Windows.

My Linux OS of choice and recommendation is Ubuntu. I installed Ubuntu on the laptop and it works great. But before I start praising it, I need to tell you some important details. Microsoft programs are not compatible with Linux. I will say that there are free open source programs that are like Microsoft, but not exact. For example, Office 2003 or 2007 will not run on Linux, but there is a program called OpenOffice.org that is as close as you can get to the Office programs. Also, Linux uses Firefox and Opera for Internet browsers instead of Internet Explorer. Overall, I like both Windows OS and Linux/Ubuntu. They both have their positives and negatives. Again, research before deciding on your OS and always look for reviews. And it never hurts to ask your computer guy about either of the operating systems.

Ok... I know...! It's a little late to be posting a blog about popular Christmas gifts, but if your like me and wait untill the last minute to do all your shopping, then this blog may be what you need for a last minute Christmas gift idea.

Another great Christmas gift that is popular every year are laptops/notebooks; especially with the new release of Windows 7 (Released in October 2009). Laptops are great for high school and college students. They are also great for those of you who travel a lot. Dell, Toshiba, and HP are a few companies that will have specials. Check you local Best Buy, Office Depot, or Walmart for the best deals.

Of course, I can't have a Christmas gift list without a few cellphone. And with the choices that are available to you, a new cellphone will not disappoint. AT&T has, the always popular, iPhone made by Apple. AT&T also has the Black Berry Bold. Both good choices for smartphones. Verizon has the Droids (Motorola and HTC). Both phones are touch screens and fast. Another phone Verizon has is the Black Berry Storm. A touch screen black berry that is powerful and rivals the iPhone.

And if there is a female in your life, jewelry will not disappoint. A nice ring or necklace would be the perfect finish to a good year.

As always, all of the items mentioned above are popular items. I cannot say that they will be in the store when you do your shopping, but I can say that each of these items are good gifts and are affordable, especially with the holiday sales.

From the I/T Dept. at the Bossier Parish Library System, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!