Yahoo has released a web browser available on desktop and iOS (iPhone and iPad). I am going to download the iPad version because it looks very useful and innovative. Check out a video demo of Axis here:
Category Archives: News
Global Learning Technology Conference
Submit a proposal to attend the Global Learning Technology Conference hosted by my dept (MIT) and our office of E-Learning at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The conference is August 9th and 10th. Call for proposals is open now! Here is the website for the conference information:
Also, be sure to like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GlobalLearningTechnologyConference
Microsoft giving away xbox 360 when you buy a windows machine for school
This is a pretty cool offer for students. Buy a laptop, get an xbox 360. Here are the details:
“Students. PCs. Free Xbox 360. The Redmond team’s at it yet again. Similar to last year’s deal, Microsoft’s hooking students up with a 4GB Xbox 360 if they drop some cash on one of its Windows machines. It’s simple: shell out over $699 on a PC, or $599 if you’re in Canada, and you’ll be walking out with a shiny new console free of charge — naturally, you’ll have to do so at participating shops such as Best Buy, Fry’s, Newegg, Staples, The Source and, of course, Microsoft’s own stores. The promo is set to kick off here in the States on May 20th, while those living in the True North can take advantage of it starting today. And before you ask — yes, you will need to show your scholar credentials to get in on the bargain.”
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/18/microsoft-buy-pc-free-xbox-360-promotion/
Facebook IPO
Will you be buying? I will not be – not because I do not have the money (Although I do not because I am a college professor which means I cannot even afford to live). The reason I would not buy at least in the long term, for those looking for investments, is that this company can go down and fail overnight. If you do not believe me, look at myspace or any of the IPOs in the early 2000s during the tech boom. On the other hand as a short term investment for the person who watches the market and pay attention to what is happening in the tech world, this is probably a decent investment as it will go up right away just as google did. The key here is watching and knowing when to get rid of it. The best part of everything was watching and learning how big financial firms operate in the market and do things. SoFi is such a big player and any advice they have for you is something id recommend.
An article about the ipo: http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/17/technology/facebook-ipo-final-price/index.htm
Watch the IPO (FB) on NASDAQ: https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:FB
Google’s semantic search “Knowledge Graph” is live
Google has finally implemented their long anticipated semantic web search. They are calling it Knowledge Graph. Time to run some tests. Here is Google speaking about the new search:
Kinect cameras being used to help detect autism in children
Very cool what gaming software and hardware can do. Kinect and Wii motion technologies are powerful and will be doing much more in the near future.
From the article:
“Detecting autism in children can be a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process that requires the trained eye of a medical professional. But researchers Guillermo Sapiro and Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos believe that the Microsoft Kinect gaming sensor could assist in that task.
As part of an experiment at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, Sapiro and Papanikolopoulos set up a series of five Microsoft Kinect sensors in the playroom of a school. There, the motion-detecting cameras recorded the movements of the children, aged 3 to 5, and sent the collected data to a series of PCs. The computers then calculated what children were most at risk for autism based on their hand movements and activity levels. Children whose activity levels differed greatly from their peers were flagged for further study by medical professionals.
Researchers admit the cameras are no substitute for the opinion of a real doctor, but say they could still help determine which children require closer examination for signs of autism. “The same way a good teacher flags a problem child, the system will do automatic flagging and say, ‘Hey, this kid needs to see an expert,'” says Shapiro.”
My book now available on Amazon
Although not Instructional Technology related, my surfing book is now available on amazon.com
Adobe CS6 available
CS6 is finally here. You can get the products from http://www.adobe.com
Publishing with Amazon: My reflections
I recently ran a test of all publishing services for one of my classes as we are publishing a book together. After evaluating all options, we decided to publish with Amazon. So before I published that book with my class I wanted to see what the tool was really like, so I published another book. Here is my experience:
I formatted my book into PDF format and then I signed into createspace. Overall, it was very easy to use. I created a book title, entered author information, and then had to choose payment information. I then selected if my book would be color or black and white and what size it would be. At first I chose 6×9 but realized that I created my book in word and it was 8.5×11 so I had to choose 8.5×11. Otherwise there were no formatting issues. Then I created a cover. Amazon has a great cover creator template that was very easy to use. It does not allow much customization and I think it can be improved tremendously however it was good enough. I have a feeling they will not improve it as they want you to purchase the design services they offer. Once my book was created I had to choose a price. The cheapest my book could be sold for was $2.65. That means that I can sell for 2.65 or higher. At $2.65 I collect no royalty. I chose $4.99. This means that for every copy sold I get $0.84 from Amazon. Not too great but honestly my book is on amazon.com and they are doing all of the work. I am still waiting for the book to be listed on Amazon, they say it take 5-7 business days and today is day 1:) I will post the book to the blog once it is posted to Amazon. Also, you can order copies for yourself as author for $2.15 a copy and provide discount codes to family/friends.
Here is what my book looks like in the createspace store. It should be uploaded to Amazon in the next 5-7 business days: https://www.createspace.com/3864560
Now onto Kindle publishing. Well this was a bit more complicated and I will need to continue this post when it works because right now my book is in limbo with Kindle. Publishing was just as easy as Amazon’s createspace. The only difference was that I needed to reformat my text. Kindle recognized certain symbols but not others. For instance, a lot of my text, such as the beginning and end of each chapter was smashed together. Thus I had to use page breaks. It took me about and hour to reformat, so be prepared for that. Then I submitted my text for review. My book is currently in limbo because I have two websites that offer sections of the book for free on the sites. So Amazon is currently making sure I actually own those sites because they did an online content check. I am glad they are checking for copyright and people scamming the system however this is taking longer and I am now waiting two days for a response. I am hoping this issue is cleared up asap. I also hope that I do not have to take the content down from the sites before publishing with Kindle.