Firefox 3.0 to be released June 17
Mozilla developer center says that after more than 34 months of active development, and with the contributions of thousands, the much anticipated next version of Firefox will be ready for download on June 17.  This new version is purported to be faster and include a number of useful new features.

They are hoping for a Guinness world record-breaking download day.

Learn basic web design skills with video tutorials
Is an instructional video worth 10,000 words? 

Mashable highlights some video tutorials that show you right on your computer screen how to do just about anything you want.  Create your first website or your own WordPress theme.

Mobile picture books
Hot sellers in Japan are made-for-mobile picture books for kids.  One publisher plans to have 50 titles and 10,000 downloads by next September. [via iLibrarian]

How Americans use the Internet for purchase decisions
“The internet plays an important role in how people conduct research for purchases, but it is just one among a variety of sources people use and usually not the key factor in final purchasing decisions,” notes this Pew Internet & American Life report (PDF).

Among online Americans who use the Internet for product research, online resources make shopping more efficient by helping them explore options and compare features.  Although many use online resources to look for better deals, few actually make the purchase online.  Among the product purchases examined were music, cell phones, and new housing.

New instant copyright licensing services
In response to growth in blogging and social networking, iCopyright has launched two new instant licensing services – Instant PDF E-Prints and Instant Web Post – to help online publishers promote lawful reuses of their copyrighted content while protecting their rights.  See LISWire for details.

The idea of saving links for later reading without necessarily adding them to my bookmarks certainly resonates with me.  Thus I was happy to have these suggestions from Read/WriteWeb.  Each has a slightly different focus, but all are worth exploring. 

Many allow you to read from a browser, phone, email, feedreader, via API or even offline.

•  ReadBag 
•  Instapaper 
•  LaterLoop 
•  LinkRiver 
•  FriendFeed: Read Later 
•  And don’t forget you can “Star” items in Google Reader to peruse later.

I recently took advantage of the Encyclopaedia Britannica Online’s offer of a year’s free access to the resource for bloggers or anyone writing for the Internet, and now follow their blog via RSS. 

I have enjoyed the potpourri of articles coming my way and thought I would share this one on Merriam-Webster’s Open Dictionary.

The dictionary “is a place to record new or specialized words or old words with new meanings, and some of the more intriguing new words and expressions… Some of these words are being used in active English but have not yet found their way into the pages of print dictionaries.  Others are clever or useful coinages.”

The latest entries include “facebooking,” “biblioklept,” “refreshify,” and “imho.”  Contributions to the Open Dictionary are welcome — simply click here.   

Five must-have tools for online workers
The folks at Read/WriteWeb are accustomed to working full-time online. 

They lend the fruits of their experience to those less so by calling attention to “some tools that would make their lives online much more effective and efficient.”

Among the essential tools are a multi-service IM client, cross platform screensharing tool, a custom search engine, a startpage and a blog with contact information.

As they note, “The difference between working with powerful tools and working without them is huge.”  Check out the post for details.

Tips for dealing with information overload
Google Blogoscoped asked a number of folks at various companies and organizations for tips on how they handle information overload.  A number of tips - some expected, some not - are worth reading, and comments with your own tips are invited at the site. 

Some people admit that they really aren’t coping very well, but I like this one from Matt Cutts, at Google.  “At the beginning of the day, write down the 1-2 things you really want to accomplish that day.  That will help keep you on track.” 

So sensible.  It’s too easy to get side-tracked by all the stuff that comes at you during the day and you end up not getting anywhere.  Of course, you also have to remain open to recognizing the need to refocus your energy based on the latest information.  So hard.

 LinkedIn is a popular free social networking site focused on enhancing your business and industry connections, rather than on the mostly social aspects of sites like MySpace and Facebook.

Digital Inspiration has a LinkedIn guide that helps you use it more effectively.  You need to be logged in for any of the tips to work and then get the tip links on Amit’s site.

Tips include how to export LinkedIn connections, remove connections, find people you may know, find out who has viewed your profile, change your LinkedIn URL, enable network feeds, add your blog RSS feeds to LinkedIn, and more.

50 open source resources for online writers
I found an interesting group of open source applications for those of us who write online at iLibrarian.  Compiled by the folks at Job Profiles, the apps are organized by category and include:

• Word Processors
• Reference
• Organization
• Helpful Tools
• Web Tools

A look through the list showed me a few that I use with some regularity.  Notepad++ is an often used favorite, and I find myself regularly keying Launchy which I wrote about recently.  PDFCreator, one of the popular free PDF resources, and the ever useful FileZilla FTP are among those making an appearance.  Check them out.

Learning Webinar from WebJunction 
As someone who has long linked librarianship and education/training in my career, I was happy to see that WebJunction, an online community for library staff, is sponsoring a one hour “webinar” on June 10th, called Cultivating a Culture of Learning in the Library.  The elearning opportunity is free and closed captioned.

“In this webinar you will learn why you need to get your staff out of the classroom and instead focus on creating a culture of learning in your library,” they state.

Some of the points that will be explored…

• The differences between training and learning
• The benefits to libraries for creating a culture of learning
• The key elements of a learning organization
• Tips for creating a culture of learning in any size library

[via Librarian in Black] 

I’m still reading about - insead of buying - GPS systems, so I was interested in PC Magazine’s article on how to buy the right GPS.  It includes the ten top-rated GPS devices from a variety of manufacturers. 

The reviewers start by suggesting, “The best way to shop for a personal navigation device (PND) is to start with the basics, including a large, readable display, pre-loaded maps, and a strong receiver.  Next, you should tackle the question of how much control you want over your routes—many devices can help you avoid tolls, traffic, and even speeding tickets.  After that, consider the extras you’re willing to spring for; do you really need a built-in multimedia player or camera?”

Screen visibility is key so that you can see it in all sorts of weather and both day and night.  A bright screen with an antiglare coating is recommended.  Most screen sizes fall between the 3.5 and 5 inch range.

For those who routinely find themselves in heavy traffic, it may be worth it to pay a subscription fee (typically about $50/year) for real-time traffic reports based on your location.  Those out on the open road a lot might be interested in a system that offers roadside assistance location.

If you like devices that offer a variety of other services, there are GPS systems that also handle music, video and photos.  Just make sure you have plenty of memory storage space.

 The top ten GPS systems reviewed:

• Cobra Nav ONE 5000 
• Dash Express
• Delphi NAV300
• Garmin nuvi 760 (Editors’ Choice)
• HP iPAQ 310 Travel Companion
• LG LN750
• Magellan Maestro 4250
• Mio DigiWalker C720t
• TomTom GO 920
• V7 NAV740 (Editors’ Choice, budget)

Reviews of the best budget GPS systems were posted earlier.

WordCat has created a free app for Facebook users, making it easy for them to search WorldCat libraries and monitor favorite WorldCat lists right from their Facebook pages.  Search results are returned from WorldCat.org, which includes the collections of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide.

The application includes a Home screen with WorldCat search box, as well as quick links to WorldCat searches based on personal interests a user has input in his or her Facebook profile.  Also included is tabbed access to:

• a built-in advanced WorldCat search
• a “Something to Read” panel that displays books recently added to other users’ WorldCat lists
• a panel where the user can invite other Facebook friends to install the WorldCat application

On a user’s Facebook profile page, the application adds a custom Facebook “box” with basic WorldCat search. The user can expand or collapse the box’s visibility, and reposition it to a preferred location by dragging its title bar.

The WorldCat app can be added either from the WorldCat plug-ins page or through a Facebook account directly from this link. 

WorldCat also has a blog aimed at end users. 

Free ebooks, whitepapers for better web design
Take a deeper look at web design with comprehensive resources such as these free ebooks listed by Mashable.    

You’ll find a nice mix of resources ranging from developing ecommerce sites to user-friendly flash content.

New YouTube developer tools turn any website into a video sharing hub
There’s lots of buzz about YouTube’s effort to change the site from a video destination to an all-encompassing web video platform with new developer tools. 

Wired Blog Network says “the new extended API allows developers to essentially build their own private YouTube, using YouTube to handle video transcoding, but keeping the uploading interface local and branded for their own site.”
 
Firefox 3 beta 4 released
The need for speed — Firefox 3 beta 4 brings an impressive speed boost and more refinements to Firefox’s sleek new user interface, says Wired Blog Network.  The new beta shows “blazing speed improvements, particularly with JavaScript-heavy pages like Gmail which load in about half the time of previous releases.”

The fourth beta release of Firefox 3 (there will be a fifth beta later) also features new improvements to the user interface, particularly in Windows Vista where the UI now matches the look of other platforms.

You can download Firefox 3 beta 4 here.