7 posts and columns on reference

Voices

End of Era for Britannica

in News on March 14 at 5:30 am PT

In 1768, a Scottish engraver named Andrew Bell and a printer named Colin Macfarquhar set ink to paper to create three cross-referenced volumes known as Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Sit Back, Relax and Do Some Research: Qwiki Opens Information Visualizations to the Public

in Social on January 24, 2011 at 11:54 am PT

Qwiki today will start letting the public into its site, which constructs narrated visualizations using photos, videos and text for three million topics.

Apple Hits New Milestones: 10 Billion Apps Downloaded, 160 Million iOS Users and More

in Commerce on January 22, 2011 at 11:30 am PT

Apple said today its App Store has hit more than 10 billion downloads worldwide, equating to roughly 62 apps for each one of its 160 million iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users.

News Byte

Finally, a Quick Way to Check the Codex Sinaiticus on the Go

in News on January 10, 2011 at 1:30 pm PT

Here’s a new app that’s sure to class up the reference folder on your phone. The British Library today released Treasures, a mobile multimedia look at more than 100 prized items from its collections, including the original version of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the world’s oldest Bible, hand-painted medieval books, Nelson’s battle plan for Trafalgar and doodles by Leonardo. Truly priceless items–and speaking of price, if you act now, this app can be yours for the low, low introductory price of $1.99 for the iPhone and Android versions, and $3.99 for the HD iPad versions, all available in their respective marketplaces.

Fancy Charts of the Week: Mobile App Loyalty–”They Use or You Lose"

in News on September 28, 2009 at 7:30 am PT

This week, BoomTown has found an interesting chart to peruse about the loyalty people have for their smart-phone apps. The takeaway for developers: Try to stay in Quadrant I! In other words, Sally-Field-at-the-Oscars territory–it’s where they love you, they really love you.
sally

First Impressions of the New BlackBerry App Store

in Mossblog on April 1, 2009 at 11:09 am PT

Walt gives his first impressions of the new BlackBerry App World. The store has hundreds of apps available at launch, and RIM says it expects around a thousand to be available in its first week. Like Apple’s store, RIM’s offers both free and paid apps that download directly to your device.
BlackBerry App World

Wait…Encarta Is STILL Around?!?

in News on March 31, 2009 at 7:45 am PT

In January, Wikipedia claimed nearly 97 percent of the visits that Web surfers in the United States made to online encyclopedias, according to research outfit Hitwise. MSN Encarta received 1.27 percent. Little wonder, then, that Microsoft is discontinuing it. The company announced Monday it would stop selling Encarta software by June and would shut down the encyclopedia’s MSN Web sites on Oct. 31.
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