Monday, June 07, 2004

Sun Opens JDesktop Integration Components [Slashdot] 9:57:26 PM      Google It!.

Concept Maps Discover Digital Repositories: a Look at Tufts VUE. This article by Phillip Long from the June issue of Syllabus brings together two of the subjects I find most interesting: concept maps and digital repositories. "Tufts University has built a new tool, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, called the Visual Understanding Environment (VUE, http://vue.tccs.tufts.edu/) for building Concept Maps. Using a highly flexible, visual interface, VUE maps, structures, and semantically connects electronic content drawn from local file systems, the Web, or FEDORA-based digital library systems." Long describes the potential of the new VUE tool this way, "When concept maps and the ideas they represent are connected to digital resources themselves--not just their links--concept maps also become content maps. VUE extends the power derived from graphical representation of knowledge into a tool for mapping against and drawing from persistent collections of content contained within digital libraries. Using OKI's Digital Repository Open Source Interface Definition (OSID), among others, VUE allows users to search, browse, retrieve content from digital repositories, and upload resources into digital collections. The FEDORA digital repository was used in the initial implementation of VUE. However, VUE can be used along with other digital repositories such as DSpace, ArtSTOR, JSTOR, or any repository that implements and exposes an OKI interface. VUE represents a first step toward bridging traditional boundaries among search tools, digital repositories, and applications for teaching." This is an exciting, promising development, one that could potentially greatly extend the value of instructional repositories. I'm reporting on it right away even though I've not yet had time to download and fully explore the VUE software. JH [EduResources Weblog--Higher Education Resources Online] 9:46:50 PM      Google It!.

Computer Use a Boost to Young Minds, Study Finds. CHICAGO (Reuters) - Preschool children who use a computer appear to develop better learning skills than peers who lack computer savvy, U.S. researchers said on Monday. [Reuters: Technology] 1:52:49 PM      Google It!.

Freescale touts 1Gbps UWB chip roadmap. Get there in 12 months' time By Tony Smith . [The Register] 1:51:57 PM      Google It!.

Furl helps "you save, share, and recall anything you find online." [Scripting News] 1:45:09 PM      Google It!.

Free Software Use in Brazil Spreads Beyond Gov't. SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - Open programming software is gaining momentum in Brazil with the help of the government, which says it wants to develop domestic technology without having to pay hefty license fees charged by software giants. [Reuters: Technology] 1:39:41 PM      Google It!.

'Father of the computer' honoured. Alan Turing, who is credited with revolutionising computer science, is remembered 50 years after his suicide. [BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition] 1:39:11 PM      Google It!.

Google's Ph.D. Advantage [Slashdot] 1:36:36 PM      Google It!.

McAfee founder returns with 'legal p2p radio'. Mercora doesn't share music - it webcasts it By Tony Smith . [The Register] 1:34:42 PM      Google It!.

Study: Humans weren't made to multitask [Science Blog - Science News Stories] 1:07:22 PM      Google It!.