4/5: New at the library this week

Videos:

• Hard candy
• Mrs. Harris
• She's the man

DVDs:

• Anne of Avonlea
• DaVinci's inquest, season 1
• Babel
• World War II: when lions roared
• Road to Bali; Road to Rio
• When it was a game
• Nacho libre

Books:

• At some disputed barricade / Anne Perry — July 1917: Joseph Reavley, a chaplain, and his sister Judith, an ambulance driver, are bone-weary as they approach the fourth year of the conflict; the peace of the English countryside seems a world away. (World War One Series #4; read an exerpt)
• Secrets of a family album / Isla Dewar — Obsessively neat Lily, a writer who writes about writers, is asked to interview the enigmatic Rita Boothe, journalist, photographer, self-styled culinary expert and wit. Sitting in Rita's living room, leafing through a book of photographs from the early seventies, Lily comes across a picture of an incandescently sexy young woman sitting in the back of a limousine swigging Jack Daniels. It is her mother, Mattie.
• Bad blood / Linda A. Fairstein — Defendant Brendan Quillian, a prominent young businessman, is charged with the brutal strangulation of his beautiful young wife, Amanda. His conviction is not a certainty: Quillian was conveniently out of town on the day of the killing, and he has hired a formidable defense attorney who seems one step ahead of Cooper as the trial opens. But with the help of detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, she is confident she can prove Quillian paid a hit man to commit the crime. (Alexandra Cooper Series; read a sample chapter)
• Step on a crack / James Patterson — With the unexpected death of a beloved former first lady, the nation falls into mourning as the world's most powerful people gather in New York for her funeral. Then the inconceivable occurs. Billionaires, politicians, and superstars of every kind are suddenly trapped by one man's brilliant and ruthless scenario.
• The suspect / John T. Lescroart — When Dr. Caryn Dryden is found floating dead in her hot tub, homicide inspector Devin Juhle targets a suspect close to home: her husband, Stuart Gorman. After all, Stuart was recently asked for a divorce, and he stands to gain millions in insurance. His alibi - that he was at his cabin on Tamarack Lake that weekend - doesn't keep him out of hot water. But maybe a shrewd attorney will.
• The best life diet / Bob Greene — a lifetime plan for losing weight and keeping it off. Bob Greene helped Oprah achieve her dramatic weight loss, and he can help you too. You'll eat the same delicious food that Oprah enjoys, and, just like Oprah, you'll have Bob to encourage you at every step.
• An Irish country doctor / Patrick Taylor — Barry Laverty, M.D., can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree and little else in the way of worldly possessions, Barry jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice.
• The road / Cormac McCarthy — A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. They sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearting, a cart of scavenged food-and each other. (read an exerpt)
• From Baghdad, with love : a Marine, the war, and a dog named Lava / Jay Kopelman — When Marines enter an abandoned house in Fallujah, Iraq, and hear a suspicious noise, they clench their weapons, edge around the corner, and prepare to open fire. What they find during the U.S.–led attack on the "most dangerous city on Earth," however, is not an insurgent bent on revenge, but a tiny puppy left behind when most of the city's population fled before the bombing. Despite military law that forbids the keeping of pets, the Marines de-flea the pup with kerosene, de-worm him with chewing tobacco, and fill him up on Meals Ready to Eat. (read an exerpt)
• Do-it-yourself home improvement : a step-by-step guide / Julian Cassell — Covering everything you need to know for any home task. From quick-fix repair jobs to major construction, this is the ultimate visual guide to every aspect of home improvement.

IRS Urges Caution about Internet Sites that Resemble the Official IRS Site

Following on our previous post about obtaining tax forms online from the IRS website, the IRS Urges Caution about Internet Sites that Resemble the Official IRS Site.

Daylight Saving Time on your computer

Daylight Saving Time comes early this year, thanks to a recent federal law change. We will "spring forward" this Sunday, March 11, by setting our clocks an hour later and we won't "fall back" until November 4. Because these time changes are built into the operating system of most of our computer-based devices, we normally don't have to give that much thought: our computers and all of their programs just update on their own.

But this year, we'll need to update the information our computers use to make that change. Some computers, especially those running Microsoft Vista and Microsoft XP with automatic updates enabled, will have already received the special update to accomplish this. Other computers and devices will require a manual download. Here are some places you can look to find more information specific to the versions you have on hand (or to help decide what it is you have):

• Microsoft's Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center
• Daylight Saving Time on your Mac
• Is Your Windows XP Ready to Spring Forward?
• And there's even a patch for your Windows-operated cell phone: Updating Windows Mobile-powered devices for the new Daylight Saving Time

(via Librarians' Internet Index)

updated to add:

• And for other software than your basic operating system, The Calendaring and Scheduling Consortium offers Extended Daylight Saving Time Links, Advisories and Changes (via Brad)

Sony CDs removed from library shelves

If you've been following the tech news over the past couple weeks, you may have heard some confusing stuff about programs included on Sony music CDs that can make your computer vulnerable to malicious takeover or even break your computer entirely. The gist of the story is that in order to protect their music from what they feel to be illicit copying, Sony included on certain CDs a program required to play the CD that can open vulnerabilities in your computer. This program affects Windows computers, according to present knowledge, but just today news was released that some Sony CDs also contain programs written for Mac operating systems although the impact of these have not yet been fully evaluated. The library has confirmed that none of the CDs in its collection are those that have been identified to date as containing this program. As a precaution, the library has also removed all Sony CDs from the shelves, pending clarification of their status. Those who have Sony CDs in their own collections may want to review the list of the identified affected CDs (more on identifying the CDs). If you may have played one of them on your computer or you are concerned whether you may have this program installed, you can run a quick test to see. If you indeed do have the program, you may want to consult a computer expert regarding its removal, since current analysis indicates that the "fix" being distributed by Sony causes further problems when it removes the program. In the meantime, it's probably a good idea to back up all of your important files, just in case you end up sustaining damage to your system. To learn more and to stay up to date on the news of this problem, try a google search on the terms "sony rootkit". Update: USAToday reports that Sony is pulling all of the affected CDs off the market and will offer exchanges to customers who have purchased them. Details on the exchange program are due to be released later this week. Further update (2/24/06): Final Sony page about the rootkit, what titles contain it, and how to update or uninstall the program. Similar programs are reported to be showing up on some DVDs as well, making this a topic to continue to follow in the news.