apple – The Answer Wall

December 2, 2019December 5, 2019

Whenever I sign in to a Mac here, it keeps asking me to sign in w/ my apple ID.

I’ve got a question in to some of my helpers and I’ll let you know what I find out. Even though your profile is private on our public machines it’s probably a bad idea to link your Apple ID to any of them.

Update 12/5: that’s a first-time login behavior that our systems folk were able to fix up until the most recent MacOS update; they’re working on it.

June 20, 2019June 20, 2019

Can I have one of those Apples?

Fruit in the library? Sure, have at it. Computers in the library? Sorry, they must stay here.

March 22, 2018March 22, 2018

Apple music or Spotify?

Apple Music boasts more individual tracks than Spotify, and has far more exclusive content. Also, if you already use a Mac/iPhone, Apple Music will integrate seamlessly compared to Spotify. However, Spotify’s discovery tools (like Discover Weekly) make finding new artists easier and requires less intervention from you. That same discovery allows for better radio stations than Apple Music. Spotify also has a free tier, which Apple music doesn’t. Personally, I like Spotify for the radio reason alone. For a more detailed rundown, check out bit.ly/AppleSpotify-BC.

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.