Trick or Treat, ProfHackers!
Whether you are dressing up this weekend for an early Halloween celebration or trying to stay warm amidst unseasonably cold temperature and early snow, we have some links to to get you through the weekend.
As George reminded us on Monday, this week is Open Access Week! Visit this webpage to learn about the different levels of open access, different open access resources, and the various events that occurred to both celebrate and raise awareness of OA.
The Emily Dickinson Archive, organized and financed by Harvard University, went live on Wednesday. The New York Times announced the lauch earlier this week.
Also announced this week is a new slate of Apple releases including updated MacBook Pros, iPads, and a brand new operating system, Mavericks. Whether you are an Apple user or not, you have to give them credit for monopolozing gadget headlines for the last several weeks. From the debut of iOS7 for iPhones and iPads to the new operating system, technology and business journalists and writers have been kept busy. See, for example: “Are Apple Users Upgrading to Mavericks at Record Pace?” from the LA Times; "Apple’s iPad Event: What We Wanted vs. What We Got” from PC Magazine; and “Dear Apple, Thank You For Fixing the Worst Part of iOS 7” from Business Insider are just a sampling.
You are reading us, but who is reading you? NPR claims: “You Have Questions About the NSA, We Have Answers” and also adds “5 Things To Know About the NSA Surveillance Activities.” If you would prefer to opt out of a surveillance state, Fastcompany.com posted “Think You Can Live Offline Without Being Tracked? Here’s What It Takes.” Short version: it’s harder than you might think.
Or perhaps you want to opt out piecemeal instead of in a single fell swoop. If so, Slate.com has published an essay about quitting academia, or rather about the exit narrative genre: “I Quit Academia, An Important, Growing Subgenre of American Essays.”
Lastly, the difficulties with Healthcare.gov have received quite a lot of attention this week. The website failures have received a great deal of attention in the last few days. Forbes asks “Heathcare.gov Website: Who’s to Blame?” In the Chicago Tribune “Contractors blame government for healthcare website woes” and USA Today reports “Sebelius promises to fix healthcare website.”
We’ll leave you with this video except from It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Whether you celebrate the holiday this weekend or not, we hope your weekend is a great one!
[Creative Commons licensed image by Flickr user Perry G]