Blurts

OK – Jan. 26 and the mysterious Apple announcement are now only a couple of weeks away. If you are a college prof, CourseSmart (a consortium of publishing companies selling ebooks) has likely approached you with their wares. There is already “an app for that” and you might explore “eTextbooks” if you are an iPhone or iPod Touch owner (see screen image from ipod below). CourseSmart has generated a video speculating how a “tablet” might expand their present approach. It is worth a look.

There was a time when you could not attend an ed tech conference without encountering several sessions on Second Life. Now the hype is gone and this piece from PCPro asks the question – Whatever happened to Second Life? The interest in virtual sex was certainly a serious liability for educators, but I agree with the assessment of the article that the interest in FaceBook and other social services took over. This was my reaction from the beginning – use technology to encourage exploration and interaction of First Life.

Nice list of resources from LifeHacker provides background on new computers and their operating systems.

The newest consumer buzz proposes 2010 as the year of the tablet. This piece from NYTimes writer Nick Bilton argues that if Apple delivers on a new product that content providers are more than ready to collaborate. Other digital detectives have discovered that Apple owns the domain iSlate. A blogger Cindy follows claims to have purchased several “slate” domain names.

I do hope that Apple comes out with a media tablet. I am not committed to online content as a replacement for books, but I think hybrid products are the next thing. The publishing field in which I have some experience has hedged on the paper-based / online connection. The present model has been to offer both – a stand alone book and online ancillaries. There is a reluctance to move some content out of the book and expand it online. I thinking hedging prevents full development presently and would expand rather than contract costs if done well. We need someone to take a chance and assume there is a market for a true hybrid.

Interesting documentary, Inside the Mind of Google, airing now on CNBC. The program will be repeated if you TIVO.

I find this difficult to believe, but the OnlineFamily.Norton site is reporting that “porn” is the 4th most common search term by the 7 and under crowd. How do they collect these data? Does any other service have data on search topics by age? These results are now frequently cited by educational bloggers.