Sunday, December 31, 2006

Computer Content On TV? Vice Versa? Just You Watch. . Ever since their invention, the television set and the home computer have remained separate devices. Next year could be the time they come together. By Paul Farhi. [washingtonpost.com - Technology - Industry News, Policy, and Reviews] 9:27:05 PM      Google It!.

Google Video Search. By David GurteenOne of the sure fire predictions for 2007 is that Internet Video is going to get HOT! So over Christmas I was poking around to discover what was new and was delighted to discover the Google AJAX Search API and the Google Video Bar. Quite simply this code allows anyone with a website or weblog to easily build Google search engine functionality and in particular video search functionality into their site. It took me just a couple of hours. I have three very simple demo pages here: Google Video Search Demo 1 Google Video Search Demo 2 Google Search Demo 1 Take a look at the source code (in Firefox right click the page and select View Page Source) and you will see just how simple the code is! But then take a look and see how I have incorporated the code into my site. First, I have added a Google Video Search button to my Media Player. Now not only can you play videos and multi media files that I have embedded in my site but you can also search for and play Google Vi Gurteen Knowledge-Log, December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] When this is combined with ReadRead or some other audio stream search tool then the power is vastly multiplied and the words bring back images -- more or less like personal remembering of things past in wetware. -- BL 7:53:06 PM      Google It!.

Make up your own iPod-ready guides, tours, vodcasts. Mogopop's opening graphic kinda shows you what it does: make up your own iPod ready content in a flash, publish it for your students and others to download and discover what other people have been up to, too. But, please,... edu.blogs.com, December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 7:47:18 PM      Google It!.

Interoperability for Individual Learner Centred Accessibility for Web-based Educational Systems - Nevile&Treviranus, Educational Technology&Soc. This paper describes the interoperability underpinning a new strategy for delivering accessible computer-based resources to individual learners based on their specified needs and preferences in the circumstances in which they are operating. The new access Online Learning Update, December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 7:20:15 PM      Google It!.

How Does Educational Technology Benefit Humanity? Five Years of Evidence - Hernández-Ramos, P., Educational Technology&Society, 9 (4), 205-214.. This article presents a review of the 25 finalists (Laureates) in the Education category of the Technology Benefiting Humanity Awards, which started in 2001. Most of the applicants can be considered social entrepreneurs working to improve educational syst Online Learning Update, December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 7:19:06 PM      Google It!.

Technology Vs. E.coli Outbreaks. jcatcw writes "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found the patterns of illness in both of the recent E. coli outbreaks [~] packaged spinach and Taco Bell [~] using PulseNet, which uses a customized version of BioNumerics to conduct comparisons and analysis of samples in a SQL Server database. PulseNet holds the DNA fingerprints provided by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). It operates at a national level and can link small, localized cases in a nationwide pattern. 'We can now see the connections you would not have seen before, which has revolutionized the world of food safety,' according to John Besser, clinical laboratory manager at the Minnesota Department of Health and a member of the Association of Public Health Laboratories."[Slashdot] 10:24:46 AM      Google It!.

Attributes of effective knowledge workers. This has been lurking in my RSS aggregator for the last couple of months, patiently waiting for me to get around to reading it (one of the core benefits of using RSS feeds). David Gurteen provides a nice starting point for discussion around attributes of effective knowledge workers. While I would certainly want people with these attributes working for me and around me, I am less certain that these are uniquely related to knowledge work. Nor, for that matter, am I certain that that matters. Your thoughts? What makes an effective knowledge worker? By David Gurteen At the Osney Media European Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Forum last week In London we broke into several "discussion pods" to discuss topics of interest. Earlier, I had proposed a theme of "What are the habits of effective knowledge workers?" and was pleased that this was one of the topics selected. There were about five of us at our table and we started by getting into a discussion abo McGee's Musings, December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 10:02:13 AM      Google It!.

Thinking Out Loud about a Post on Second Life. **Warning - Stream of Consciousness Post Ahead** ...so I'm working on this much longer post about second life and some of the recent critiques of SL...but as I sit here, up waaay too late, and having been roaming around in SL tonight, the little mantras of "what is the requirement?" - "what does this do differently or better than what has come before?" Kept running through my head. One answer to the former question is...there is no requirement. No requirement you can pin an ROI to. No requirement you can justify to a boardroom. Really - at this point there isn't - so stop looking. There was also never a requirement for Picasso. There certainly was never a requirement for Calder. None for Cummings or Ginsberg or Mozart or Simon&Garfunkel. Did they however advance our collective understanding of the possible? Of the range of human potentiality? Damn straight. 2003. 3 years ago people. That's when SL went live. 3 years. I've been involved in acquisit e-Clippings (Learning As Art), December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 9:58:23 AM      Google It!.

Can web services really make money?. As the year draws to a close many use this as a time to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. On the forefront of my mind is how to create a sustainable business in the arena of web technologies - something that has me completely baffled. I have been struggling to work out how many of the Web 2.0 services are making money, and in turn repaying the investors who have plowed copious amounts of capital into these ventures. There are a few exceptions; Google, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook, Bebo but where do the others get their revenue from? Yesterday I was reading about Digg and how they have secured a second round of funding - it seems, as cool as the service may be, people are asking the question: how will they make any money to justify plowing a further $10 million into it? A success story is 37Signals and their brands; Basecamp and Backpack, along with a decent book - but even they have found the need to seek investment. What about all those services that crop up for a few Dave Tosh : Weblog, December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 9:54:33 AM      Google It!.

Google's book-scanning efforts trigger philosophical debate - MICHAEL LIEDTKE, Associated Press. Already facing a legal challenge for alleged copyright infringement, Google Inc.'s crusade to build a digital library has triggered a philosophical debate with an alternative project promising better online access to the world's books, art and historical Online Learning Update, December 31, 2006. [Conversation] [Stephen's Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ Edu_RSS Most Recent - RSS old] 9:48:04 AM      Google It!.

Virtual Reality Getting its Own Network?. loganrapp writes "We've all watched the Matrix, and regardless of how we felt about them, the concept of plugging into a virtual reality appeals greatly to us. It appears that a nonprofit group called the International Association of Virtual Reality Technologies plans to build a network purely for virtual reality. Its name? Neuronet, and the first generation is planned for 2007, with "consumer applications" planned for 2009. There is some fear, however, that the whole thing is a scam."[Slashdot] 9:34:14 AM      Google It!.