March 2009
24 posts
Students, put down those pencils and pick up... →
I agree very much with MICHAEL LEVINE and ANN MY THAI on the importance of computer games, PC or game console, for education. Digital games are not means to all ends, by no way, but they can support learning. Children spend lots of time gaming. So why not use these instruments for learning, too? There are lots of great game platforms and simulations out there to adapt for use at school.
“How much longer are these things going to be around? Not my books, though maybe...”
– Talking Points Memo | Frightful Kindle
Right now most people can’t imagine a time when e-books will sell more e-copies than paper prints. Paper books take up some space in our lives, fill rows of shelves in our rooms and we keep them even if we’ll never read them again. In the end it...
“So now what? It’s time to start getting into details about what...”
– Outside.in Saves Newspapers
Where does the future of newspapers lie? Perhaps the way to go really is to go where newspapers couldn’t go before. They were never able to deliver news tailored to neighbourhoods or even smaller areas because they lacked the resources. Now they could do it and use...
“The proposed curriculum […] emphasises traditional areas of learning -...”
– Pupils to study Twitter and blogs in primary shake-up | Education | The Guardian
In my opinion this is a step into the right direction. With the internet and all its resources we’ve already left behind the ages when it was necessary to cram as much knowledge into students’...
Report: Apple and AT&T to partner on U-Verse,... →
There will be a new and better iPhone this summer. No one doubts this. Other the $99 non Windows OS netbook which some people speculate might be an Appel netbook. Wishful thinking or reality? We’ll find out soon.
I would really like an Apple netbook, a device that offers more than an iPhone and is more elegant than a netbook and offers better functionality.
Sorry Twitter, Facebook Is The Data Gold Mine |... →
Data of Twitter and Facebook are very different. Both offer value. Now that Facebook added Twitter like status updates it should really offer more value per user.
The Race for a Better Read - TIME →
There are even more e-readers in development than I had thought. The kindle is out in its second iteration. The Sony Reader is already in its I don’t know what generation and there have been others like the Franklin and the Iliad. Hearst is preparing a reader, another one is coming from Plastic Logic. Then there is the German txtr. Perhaps Apple will try to compete as well with some rumoured...
“The tech and media savvy hipsters currently at SXSW could very well be a...”
– Smartphones: Smartphones (Or Whatever You Call Them) Trump Netbooks, Notebooks at SXSW
Netbooks are just too bulky to carry around all day. Smartphones are lightweight and feature rich. They have to evolve further and will undoubtedly do so over the coming months and years. In ten years they will...
Linked Data | Linked Data - Connect Distributed... →
Heard about the Semantic Web before but never about Linked Data. Came across it in a TED video of a talk by Tim Berners Lee who sees linked data as the next stage of the evolution of the net. It’s all about the availability of data and how it is linked in the end.
“Smartphones are becoming increasingly capable of using enterprise-grade...”
– Palm, Sprint Give Pre Plan Details — Palm Pre — InformationWeek
I don’t agree here. Smartphones won’t replace laptops because they are too different. They might be good at lots of things but lack some of what’s essential to laptops. Future in between devices will...
Rumor: Is the Apple Netbook Really an Ebook? →
Interesting new ideas though I’m not that certain whether Apple would digitize tons of books on their campus. If it were for the secrecy maybe. Usually one would outsource a task like this to China or India for the cost alone.
Nevertheless I’d rather expect Apple to come up with some other device than a netbook. A multfunctional tablet that does ebooks too, would be much more in style...
AppleInsider | Dow Jones claims confirmation of... →
Rumours of an Apple Netbook with touch screen get Apple nerds going. Two sources lend credibility to the rumour. Only time will tell if Apple ever enters the netbook. I don’t think they will. Instead they’ll anstonish us once more with a new idea that might shake up markets.
Welcome to the Hive Mind; Learn How to Search... →
The hive mind … Had the same idea about a name when I thought about Twitter and what it represents.
Besides that I welcome the new search functions of Twitter. They add value, immense value. I guess there will be lots of development in this area over the coming months.
Wolfram Alpha is Coming -- and It Could be as... →
Computational Knowledge Engine for the Web - more details.
“The way humans normally communicate is through natural language. And when one’s...”
– Wolfram Blog : Wolfram|Alpha Is Coming!
Wolfram is creating a Computational Knowledge Engine for the Web. They use the tools they know best, Mathematica and NKS to build a knowledge engine that understands natural language questions. It’s a different approach to getting answers compared...
WatchDailymotion - txtr E-Book Reader @ Cebit 2009, a video from newgadgetsde. txtr, ebook, e-book, reader, product presentation
German language presentation of a prototype unit at CeBit 2009. What is shown looks promising, a snappy interface, accelerometer, simple navigation, resizable text and a lot more.
txtr →
German kindle competitor starts to build an online community around the coming e-reader. You can setup an account with txtr to save texts from your desktop or clip texts from your browser to your account. All saved texts can be grouped into collections, shared with others and accessed from everywhere even from the iPhone (with a txtr app).
“A number of high-profile U.S. newspaper chains have filed for bankruptcy or...”
– Seattle Paper May Shift to Online-Only: Reports
We’ll hear this over and over for the next years, sadly enough (depending on your point of view). NewsPAPERS will be dying a slow death. High production costs, skrinking subscriber base, loss of the classifieds business, less advertising and...
YvoSchaap.com - TwitterThoughts →
One clever form of data mining twitter for trends and viral ideas. There is a lot of potential in this idea.
Always Innovating launching touch-screen Netbook |... →
Another video from Demo 09 (right before the demo on stage). Planned release date for the US (alone ?) they say is May to June. Pricing is $299 the central unit alone and $399 with additional keyboard.
It has got a glossy display as do many netbooks. The UI was developed by Always Innovating and made for touch use with “fat fingers”.
This thing is kicking up some dust.
WatchAlways Innovating, Inc. introducing the Touch Book
This is an interesting device and a clever concept. If it is really up to what Always Innovating promise this might be a game changer in this market. For $299 I would most certainly get one if only for the experience.
“In Web 2.0 “[…] the content issue […] is about online content...”
– Announcing Media 2.0 Best Practices | Resonance Partnership Blog
That’s an issue one should always keep in mind when participating in social media and beyond. What’s done can hardly ever be undone. 