Why the re-design?

Just in case you wonder about the new "look" of Google (yes, the word "Google" is brighter) and the new/updated "left-hand nav" on the page of search results, this is what they have to say:

The Google design, turned up a notch
by Jon Wiley, Senior User Experience Designer
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

"In short, we tried to take all the things we strive for at Google and make them better: powerful technology, snappy results, simplicity and a fun and quirky personality. Our goal was to take a design known by millions of people and make it better. As a designer, it’s hard to think of a more exciting challenge."

LibGuides at New Trier High School

What are LibGuides? LibGuides are a library knowledge sharing system. Libraries use it to create attractive multimedia content, share knowledge and information, and promote library resources to the community, usually in the form of pathfinders on specific subject areas. They are being created by university and public school librarians. Librarians have access to the "community" of information on each school's portal.

One LibGuides community member – Buffy Hamilton aka the Unquiet Librarian, media specialist/teacher-librarian at Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia is an proponent of LibGuides within the K-12 space. On her blog last month she posted the top ten reasons she likes LibGuides: Unquiet Librarian blog on April 16th, 2010 .

Librarians at New Trier High School have started using LibGuides to create pathfinders for

class projects. See an example below.

Web Resources for Africa - Africa Project -LibGuides at New Trier High School

Google gets a new look

Here's a short video explaining the new look and updates to Google search:


Plus blog posts from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Blackbird Pie

Intrigued by "fresh-baked tweets" :reading about Blackbird pie http://bit.ly/b6dERc which embeds tweets on websites: http://bit.ly/amOGCGless than a minute ago via TweetDeckJudy Gressel
judygressel

Ready to try Google Chrome Again: Speed Demon

Apparently speed is all about the new java script. "Google Chrome uses a JavaScript engine called V8 that has been developed in-house to be extremely fast. The latest version of V8, which is in the new Chrome beta, is reportedly 30-35% better than the last beta channel release. Google even notes that its overall performance with Chrome has improved between 213 – 305% when compared to the very first Chrome beta released back in 2008." Christina Warren @ Mashable


Enjoy the video:

Google Bringing e-books to your Browser?

Apparently, we were not the only ones thinking about e-books today. PC World just posted this article. More information available from today's Wall Street Journal.

Use the Power of Crowdsourcing with Mashpedia

Try Mashpedia for real-time searches and explore online content about almost any topic. In every article you get a basic definition, the latest related news, videos, images, twitter messages and relevant stories from Digg (chosen as favorites by the crowd.)  .
• It's not a Search Engine: "Mashpedia provides articles for specific topics such as concepts, subjects, personalities, events, places, companies, products, etc., but not for broader, unspecific searches."