Blurts

I am now writing more within Google docs than with any computer-based program. It just makes sense to me to be able to access from different locations and machines. I also have based saved a couple of times by the document history feature.

I like the idea of sharing with colleagues. I must admit that I get few takers when I offer this feature. Patience is a virtue.

I see today (another account from MacWorld) that Google offers a new way to share. You can set access to a folder and anything you add to this folder is available to those you designate. This seems handy if you work consistenty with the same group.

I opened up Google docs to see how difficult it was to implement this feature and I was greeted by a graphic explaining just what I would have to do. No hiding this new feature.

I have not found iTunes U that useful for assisting me professionally, but I have found things that are quite interesting and offer material relevant to some of my hobbies. I enjoy listening to jazz and have a few attempts to explore beyond the standards. The Ken Burns series of Jazz was a start and I highly recommend this DVD collection. My new find is the iTunes U series by Georgia State faculty member Dr. Gordon Vernick – History of Jazz (just visit iTunes U and search). You can download the entire collection to your iTunes account. I guess it is all learning in the end.

A recent ruling by the FCC indicates –

The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

I guess I have on occassion had something positive to say about a product or service (and sometimes some negative things to say). i am, or at least I consider myself to be, a blogger. I can assure you that none of my product or service related comments have been financially motivated. Or, if so motivated, none of my comments qualify in meeting the requirement – “receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product”.

This NY Times article examines the controversy surrounding Google’s plan to digitize “the world of books”.

This is not just about out of print books anyone –

Many scholars initially sided with Google in 2004 when its scanning project, originally designed to create a kind of universal card catalog, drew lawsuits from the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. But the settlement transformed Google’s plan into something far more ambitious.

Online users of Google’s digital library and store would get free access to 20 percent of any book and be able to pay to read the rest. Every library in America would be able to offer free, full access to Google’s library at one terminal. And universities would be able to purchase access to the entire collection. Revenue would be split among Google, authors and publishers

As a textbook author, I am somewhat unclear as to what this approach would offer and what content it would cover. If a university library gets the entire collection, would that mean that a previous edition of one of my books would be available via library computers? One could debate the book business forever and clearly change is afoot in the textbook area, but without inventives somewhere quality instructional materials may represent the next educational crisis. I am thinking we may see a form of government subsidy via grants.

This article from the NYTimes examines the increasing availability and the dangers of e-book piracy. Clearly, this issue will give publishers wanting to publish on popular e-book readers cause for concern. What about educational books? I am guessing K-12 will not be damaged, but higher education will have to take a serious look at this problem.

I realize this is not an exceptional photo. I post it because taking this picture nearly got me thrown out of a college football game today. This is a picture of the video screen at the UND vs. South Dakota game. Actually, I took this before the game began just to test the light. Barnie came running at me from somewhere and told me that I would have to put my camera away or I would have to leave. I am still trying to determine exactly what the issue was. Eveyone takes pictures with their cell phones (including Cindy) and others were taking pictuers with point and shoot cameras. Is it because I am a big guy and have a camera with a big lens? I can’t believe images taken at a football game that I attend in North Dakota have any commercial value.