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Not necessarily related to anything library-ish, but still pretty cool.  It's easy to forget that the amazing, "invisible" things we can do with technology actually do take up physical space.

An interesting web vendor that is offering interactive textbooks, which is in some ways the repackaging of the original "multimedia" CD-ROM's of the early 1990's, but now offered as a "book." They claim to be partnered with McGraw-Hill and Pearson, and it looks like a user needs to have a perpetual account to use their material although offline access is allowed. Some features such as streaming video and music are separate from the book so they are not true stand alone files, and purchasing a book as an app is currently only for a handful of titles. The list price of several of the books is very steep, and my main concern is how well the multimedia is integrated with the text and if there is any ability to share or transfer a license, which I can't find listed in their website FAQ.

Stories from library patrons talking about positive interactions with libraries, librarians, and library workers.

An interesting page from an interactive News Museum that shows the daily front pages from approximately 900 newspapers worldwide. While not as useful as Google as it doesn't include full articles and the archive is only selected "of interest" topics it does give a quick view of what is important in the world today.

An article that brings up what we lose by having everything recorded, Some points are made in how our memories change over time and instead seeing an optimized or idealized memory we would see out past differently. Also, our methods of interaction and learning will change as things get broken down more and more by probabilities and assessments based on metadata from recorded conversations.

Motion control: Startup company GestSure uses Kinect for Windows to allow surgeons to look through medical images without having to touch unsterile equipment. While most of the headlines about Microsoft this fall will concern its new operating system, Windows 8, and its new Surface tablet, the company is also working hard on a long-term effort to reinvent the way we interact with existing computers. *I knew my Just Dance skills would pay off!

Free courses from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and more...

Academic Earth is pretty awesome too. http://www.academicearth.org/

I'm taking Stanford's CS101 course, actually, and I recommend it. There are some nice exercises, and the lectures allow you to toggle back and forth between an interactive study guide.

Cute!

Create the Library Your Community or Campus Needs Join Library Journal and a roster of design experts for our latest 4-week interactive online course. Starting January 27, 2016, Library Design Workshop will guide participants through complex issues of library space design projects such as space programming, fundraising, and finding the right design team.