techNOcool

So you will notice that to leave a comment on this blog you will need to sign in to make a comment.

I am sorry to add this extra barrier to participating in the discussion. But the comment spam became too much in the last few days which necessitated the change.

Thanks for joining the conversation.

Posted by James Fadden at 5:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A while ago I posted about techNOcool: Flock - The Social Web Browser and Jason made this comment...

The browser is to now, what the OS was to the late nineties, which is something that used to be cool, but now is just tech. :) I remember being psyched about Windows95, but by the time Windows98 came out, people just wanted the damn thing to work so that they could get out to the internet.

I missed much of the practical nature/reality of what he was saying until I started to play with Netvibes. Netvibes allows users to create a page that allows you to bring in the various pieces of the web that you use regularly. Thus, now instead of needing to be on a computer with a browser that has all of the preferred plugins I only need a browser and my netvibes. My plugins are any where I am.

I have not figured out the universe - ecosystem thing yet but which I think is the key to making it "social" but that would be icing on the cake. Any one else with experience with netvibes? I would like to compare notes.

Hat tip to Jason...

Posted by James Fadden at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I ran across this article, which I can only describe as...

...Well, for the time being.

While this isn't the most innovative thing, (I'm sure many campuses have implemented at least some kind of remote classroom access...), I can't help but believe that something is very, very wrong with the model that U of I has implemented.

Three Million Dollars for TEN students? They've estimated that their break-even point will come with 700 students, meaning each class would cost roughly $4300/semester. It's not a particularly busy time of year for this sort of thing, (enrollment and such...), but the article mentioned they are targeting non-traditional students.

While this sort of thing doesn't really apply to us, I think its still exciting to see how campuses are shrugging physical campus limitations and expanding through technology. It will be interesting to see how different generations respond to this sort of learning. (Right now, targeting the non-traditionals of Gen-X and Gen-Y might not be the correct fit. I'd imagine the younger Millennials who have grown dependant on computers might be a better marketing target...)

Thoughts? Will Allegheny College ever go global with a remote classroom model?

Posted by Matt Gullatta at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The post on thumb drives a while back got kind of a bizarre comment last night, that I let through.

I am certain English is not their first language (domain was from China), and that their intention was to induce me to click on the link I've already removed, but somehow they captured a very poetic sentiment about our site.

For those who don't feel like clicking the link and reading through the comments, here are darrenh's comments:

"Do you really think this is new thing? Your blog is really good to me, I
read it to get useful info, but sometimes I'm bored to tears."

Alas, Darren. It's not just this blog. Anyone reading the story of my life would find this comment very apropos.

It's interesting how spam is getting cleverer and cleverer. The fact that this comes from China makes me consider the world at large, and how 19th century Europe used to snicker and look down on the American nouveau riche. I'm certain that most Chinese "Engrish" is far better than my Mandarin.

And back more towards IT, you never really hear about viruses much anymore. Did they go away? Or are they just good enough at writing them that you no longer notice them anymore... Are typical users of the internet getting savvy and not clicking on offers too good to be true?

I'd write more, but I've got to get back to work. Today, life is good to me, but sometimes I am bored to tears. In the mean time, I must advocate the forward click of travel if one has great mind adventure fortitude to Diarrhea Bear.

Posted by Jason Ramsey at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This blew my mind. Thought it had to be April Fools on us, but Amazon has got quite an idea going here.

Amazon has rolled out buying by text. You text a product name, ISBN, or UPC to Amazon, and they give you the option to buy the closest matches. You get a phone call to confirm your order.

Imyt hav2 break dwn n gt txtn on my ph.

Posted by Jason Ramsey at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)