The Tree of Me

A few weeks ago I was one of 5 lucky competition winners on Inside History's Facebook page. All I had to do was tell them about the best e-resource at the State Library. What did I win? A lifetime subscription to the iPad version of Inside History magazine. Here is my simple answer.   An e-resource is an electronic resource which could include databases, books, journals and newspapers in an electronic  format. The NSW State Library has many of these available for those unable to visit in person. The best e-resource at the NSW State Library is always the one that I am currently using. So at the moment the best e-resource is the 19th century British Newspaper collection. I should also mention that previously I have won a copy of In Her Own Words - The Writings of Elizabeth Macquarie . To win that I wrote about my favourite woman in my family research. So if you want to win one of their regular prizes, log onto Facebook, like Inside History and look for their competi...

Currently I'm on a holiday in England. Before I left I agonized about whether to bring my MacBook Pro with me. However, I erred on the side of common sense and left it at home. Into my bag I popped my iPad. How has it proved invaluable? 1. Each evening I download the photos I've taken onto my iPad so at least I have another copy. I could also upload them to my flickr account but I haven't had time. 2. I have a copy of my Reunion files on my iPad. Any changes I make (I've already made several) can be transferred to my main machine when I get home. 3. My daughter has lent me her SIM card so Internet access has been simple and well used. 4. I have had access to free wifi on several occasions. 5. Google maps has been getting a thorough workout. 6. My app Feedler has enabled me to keep up to date with all the blogs I follow. 7. I've been able to easily reply to a few work emails that were important. 8. My Lonely Planet travel apps have been very useful. 9. Th...

This morning I have been downloading some digital books from the Reading Room at Ask about Ireland . I have decided to download them to my iPad. That decision was easy. It is so much easier to read these documents on a iPad than on my laptop. Now to my problem - do I view them in iBooks or iAnnotate PDF ? I've downloaded Fingal and its Churches (a scanned digital book) to both to see which is superior. iBooks At the bottom of the screen there are thumbnails of the pages to quickly move to a specific page. I can't highlight the text as I would like. iAnnotate PDF It is more difficult to move to a specific page. As the book is scanned, I can't highlight text as I could with a normal pdf file. I can however, still user the ruler tool and draw a box around selected text. If I email the summary, it only says I have a line drawing on a specific page, so this is of little use. If I make a note, and email the summary, the contents of the note are in the summary. This s...