Diigo Bookmarking App Update

I am so appreciative of the ability to bookmark to the Diigo cloud.  Now a new feature has been added - the ability to save email to Diigo.  Diigo users receive private Diigo email address.  This should be a great feature to save all of those emails that are flagged as important.  Even if the Diigo bookmark is "private" - I would never bookmark any sensitive or private email content.

For more information, go to https://www.diigo.com/tools/post_by_email

Changing the Tab Names in Microsoft Office 2013 Ribbon Menu

In Microsoft Office 2013 the ribbon tabs are in all caps.  I guess the Microsoft Office developers did not know that all caps are difficult to read and they also indicate shouting!  I discovered a article today that includes screen shot on how to change so that only the first letter is capitalized.  The article is at http://www.askvg.com/how-to-get-rid-of-all-caps-tab-titles-in-microsoft-office-2013-ribbon/

Basically, you right-click on the ribbon menu tab to get the Customize Ribbon menu. Then you click on the tab name on the right side of the menu and select rename (this is where it is a bit annoying because the name will be not be all caps).  Click the space key after the name and then OK.  The tab name will display with only the first letter capitalized.  It is an easy fix for those of us who do not want to see all caps.

Update on Identity Thefts and Cyber Criminals

Cyber criminals are alive, well, and busy stealing identities.  PC World has a good article, How Your Identity Gets Swiped Even if You're Careful, by Dan Tynan online at http://www.pcworld.com/article/2050328/how-your-identity-gets-swiped-even-if-youre-careful.html

According to the article, three of the largest data mining companies, LexisNexis, Dunn & Bradstreet, and Kroll Background America Inc., have been hacked. The site, SSNDOB, is selling personal identifiers on the black market.  The only way to know if our personal data has been compromised is to order a free credit check.  Information on ordering the credit check is online at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

To learn more about privacy rights thefts, go to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse at http://www.privacyrights.org/data-breach/new
I use the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse as a learning activity in the informatics courses I teach for Chapter 24 on Legal and Ethical Issues.  I  ask the students to find three information breaches and then to discuss how the breaches could be prevented.  The positive feedback on the assignment is awesome.  

FTP Software - Trials and Successes

FTP or file transfer protocol software was the main way to use cloud computing sites ten years ago.  It has largely been replaced with cloud apps such as, Dropbox and Google Drive.  Dropbox and Google Drive replicate the experience of having a different storage location on the computer.  In contrast, FTP software triggers the user to login to the remote site.  After logging in, the files and folders of the local computer appear on the left side of the window and the files and folders of the remote site appear on the right side of the window.  You click on files and folder to move them from your local computer to the remote site.  There are no sync capabilities as there are with Dropbox and Google Drive.

I had the FTP address, login and password for the Lippincott site but it did not work with the FTP software on my laptop computer (WS FTP).  I could view the site using the web browser so I knew the address was correct.  That made me believe I needed to find another FTP software.  CNET always provides great reviews of software, so I searched for free FTP software and found WinSCP at http://download.cnet.com/WinSCP/3000-2160_4-10400769.html 

I was able to successful access the remote site with the updated WinSCP software.

VitalSource Bookshelf for Electronic Versions of Many Books

I wanted to preview the electronic version of Informatics and Nursing.  Lippincott provides an eBook that uses VitalSource Bookshelf.  The software can be downloaded from http://support.vitalsource.com/kb/vbs-ht/download-the-latest-version-of-vitalsource-bookshelf

VitalSource Bookshelf is also the platform used by Elsevier for electronic books.  You have to first download the software to your desktop computer (it works on Macs and Windows computers).  After the software is installed, you create a username and password, to log.  Accounts is a menu selection in VitalSource Bookshelf.  Select it and enter the code for the eBook.  You can instruct the software to sync the eBook(s) with other devices

After software and eBook are installed on the Mac or Windows computer, you can install the software on your mobile devices.  I installed it on my iPhone and iPad.  When I signed in to the VitalSource Bookshelf site, I could see the Informatics and Nursing textbook with badge indicating that it was ready to be downloaded. The download took only a few minutes.  The eBook version of our textbook includes page numbers, which allows users to cite it in scholarly works.

The mobile version got terrible reviews from the Apple app store, but I did not experience any problems.

Because there are different platforms for eBooks, the features may vary.  For example, the eBook versions from Barnes and Noble and Amazon differ. eBooks from Amazon are read with the Kindle app.  eBooks from Barnes and Noble are read with the Nook app.

Stethoscope - There is an App for That

Students in one of my classes have discovered some amazing healthcare apps. That fact sparked me to do additional searching.  I discovered several FDA approved healthcare apps which I will review in separate blogs.  The ThinkLabs digital Stethoscope has the potential as an outstanding teaching/care provider tool for pre-licensure and nurse practitioner nursing students.

The ds32+ Stethoscope costs $239 (about twice the cost of a good traditional stethoscope).  It looks very similar to the traditional stethoscope except it has a pad with buttons where you can from bell to diaphragm and also amplify sound.  It works in conjunction with an iPhone and iPod Touch app, ThinkLabs Stethoscope app, which provides a visual of S1 & S2 heart sounds (the "lub dub" heart sound noises for non-healthcare provider readers). The app cost is $69.99. 

Read more at http://www.thinklabsmedical.com/

iPhone App Detects Heart Rhythms

Thanks to Martha for sending me an article about the federal drug administration (FDA) approving medical apps.  AliveCor is an example of an app that has been approved by the FDA for monitoring heart rhythms.  The monitoring electrodes are two raised areas on a case that snaps on the back of the iPhone.  As of now, it is available only for physicians and prescribed patients, not the general public.  The cost is $199.  The app is free from the Apple app store, but works only with the AliveCor Heart Monitor.

According to the video below, the monitor records Lead 1.  For those not in healthcare, Lead 1 is one of twelve leads that monitor heart electrical activity in the standard 12-lead electrocardiogram.

For more information on how the portable monitor works, go to http://www.alivecor.com/#subworks