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Equipment in the Technology Center Digital cameras are quickly becoming a popular alternative to the traditional film camera as they continue to increase in quality and drop in price. They create pictures in digital format without film or developing costs. Memory cards in some of these cameras can hold over a hundred photos, although most cameras hold less. Many digital cameras have integrated screens that allow you to see the photos you've taken right away, delete bad shots and make room for additional pictures. The memory cards can be emptied and reused an unlimited number of times. Photos can be transferred to a computer to be edited, printed, saved, e-mailed, or published on the Web. They can be printed on special glossy paper that results in pictures comparable to traditional photographs. Two digital cameras are available for demonstration by the Technology Center Staff: an Olympus C700 Ultra Zoom 2.1 megapixel camera and an Olympus 3040Zoom 3.3 megapixel camera.
A scanner takes a digital picture of anything placed on the scanner surface. Scanners can be used to digitize any photo to be saved, printed, edited, or e-mailed. Newer scanners come with OCR (optical character recognition) software that allows you to scan in any printed page and convert it into a text document, such as Microsoft Word, where it can be edited and re-formatted. Scanners available for demonstrations and use within the Technology Center: Epson Perfection 1250 Photo scanner, HP ScanJet 5470c, and the Nikon Super CoolScan 4000 ED
USB drives provide extra, portable disk space to use for saving your files. These small auxiliary drives will plug into almost any new computer. The capacities range from 16mb to 512mb. They are very portable and more dependable than floppies. Borrow one for a three week loan period, or borrow one in the library for a day.
The Darien Library has a wireless network that will allow patrons to connect to the Internet using their own laptop computers and WiFi (802.11b) network cards. Wireless network cards are available to be checked out for use within the library.
The 61" NEC gas plasma screen is available for use during instructional programs. A Smartboard overlay allows the instructor to interact with applications by touching the screen, rather than using a mouse. Related software also provides an on-screen keyboard which enables full functionality through the Smartboard overlay.
Digital video cameras have increased in popularity as the technology improves and the prices drop. Digital video will not degrade in quality due to aging, usage or copying. The digital video camera works like a traditional camcorder and even saves the video to tape. The tape, however, is in mini DV format. DV tape saves digitized video using up a large amount of memory. Digital videos can be transmitted to a computer using a "fire wire" and then edited. Video editing software allows users to clip the video, rearrange clips, insert "transitions" or fades, add voiceover, soundtracks, graphics or titles. The finished production can then be transferred back to DV tape or compressed to be saved on CD, DVD, or posted on the Internet. A digital video camera is available in the Technology Center for demonstration by the Technology Center staff.
The computers in the Technology Center are equipped with recordable CD drives. These save files onto recordable CDs (CD-R and CD-RWs). CDs are more dependable and have more capacity than floppy disks. One CD can hold the equivalent of over 500 floppies. Recordable CD drives can also be used to create music CDs. The CD-R discs can be written to one time only, but the CD-RW can be written to and erased several times.
Zip Drives are similar to floppy disks, but they are are more durable, have a higher capacity, and are more expensive. Zip disks and drives are available in 100mb, and 250mb capacities. The iomega zip 250 USB drive available for use in the Technology Center works with any PC in the Tech Center.
MP3 players are small devices that play music saved in MP3 format. MP3 files are transferred from the computer to the MP3 player. The player does not use tape or any other movable parts. The files are stored in solid state memory, similar to the type found within computers (RAM). Depending on the amount of installed memory, MP3 players can store anywhere from 30 minutes of audio to several hours. The average size per MP3 is between 3-5mb. The library owns an MP3 player made by Intel. It has 128mb of memory. Many players have removable memory.
All of the library computers are connected directly to the Internet using a T-1 connection. This provides fast connection and download speeds when browsing web sites or accessing any of our 20 online databases.
Multimedia for Instructional Use In addition to the 61" gas plasma display, the room also contains a DVD player, S-VHS deck, live cable feed, and full 5.1 surround stereo system for training or instructional programs. |
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