Over the last few days there has been a lot said about the new product from Apple, the iPad. Admittedly most if it is very positive, however I have one or two reservations about this device: Flash media files are not supported, the user feedback (or lack there of)from the virtual keyboard my be an issue for some users (so you need to buy an external keyboard) and for me the biggest let down is the lacking ability to have multiple apps open at one time. These points are where I think Googles much taked about future equivalent may win a greater slice of market sales for this particular type of device.
I am not alone is my opion this article from the Telegraph reflects my concerns, is a great article that makes a lot of sence.
I can see the future computing in education moving over time towards these types of devices as the mainstream and this only means great things for the learner as long as we dont forget those learners who's' disabilities may find touch sensitive interfaces an issue.
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Google could be developing its own rival to the Apple iPad
Google could be developing its own rival to the Apple iPad, after an engineer at the search company posted a video online showing a mock-up of the Chrome operating system running on a tablet computer .
The video – posted to the Chromium website, home of the open source project being Google's Chrome web browser and operating system – shows a mock-up of a possible tablet user interface. It shows how both sides of a single, large screen could be used simultaneously to carry out computing tasks, such as writing emails and searching the web.
Although Chromium is not an official Google website, the concept video has been put together by Glen Murphy, one of Google's Chrome OS designers. Google is also reportedly in discussions with Taiwanese consumer electronics giant HTC about making a touch-screen tablet computer. HTC already makes many of the mobile phones that run Google's Android operating system, and designed and built Google's own-brand handset, the Nexus One.
Documents uploaded to the Chromium site suggest that tablet devices running Chrome OS will need a screen of between 5in and 10in, and will have an optimised touch user interface to enable users to easily manipulate programs and software on-screen.
It could also support multi-touch gestures, such as dragging motions to scan up and down pages and documents. The device could be used in portrait and landscape modes, with a "dock" of program icons that could be hidden to free up more space on the screen.
Apple last week unveiled the iPad, a touch-screen tablet-style computer similar in look and feel to a large iPod touch. The device earned mixed reviews from technology and industry experts, who criticised the iPad for its inability to multi-task and lack of Flash support, though many also said that the iPad would kick-start a trend for tablet-style devices.
Several other consumer electronics companies, including HP, are thought to be working on their own tablet-style computers.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Google is phasing out support for Internet Explorer 6
Search and advertising giant Google is phasing out support for Internet Explorer 6 in its cloud services, starting with Google Docs and Google Sites, from 1 March.
Google announced in a blog post on Friday that from the beginning of March, certain key functionality in Google Docs and Google Sites "would not work properly" with IE6 and older versions of other browsers.
"Please take the time to switch your organisation to the most up-to-date browsers available," said Rajen Sheth, Google Apps senior product manager, in the blog post.
The company is urging Google Apps users to move to IE7, Firefox 3.0, Chrome 4.0 or Safari 3.0, or more recent versions of those browsers. Net Applications put IE6's share of the general browser market in January at about 20 percent, bettered only by IE8 at 22 percent. In April, Forrester Research found that 60 percent of enterprises used IE6 as their default browser.
Google has not specified precisely which Apps functionalities in older browsers will be affected. However, the company said it wants to support HTML 5, the latest version of markup language HTML, which is not supported by older browsers.
"Older browsers were not designed to handle new web-based applications, which means they don't support modern web technologies like HTML 5 and advanced JavaScript processing," a Google spokesperson said. "For example, IE6 doesn't support HTML 5, and IE6 and [Firefox 2] do not process JavaScript nearly as efficiently as newer versions of IE and FF."
The dropping of support means Google will not fix issues specific to older browsers and will not develop new features for them. However, users will still be able to access Google Docs and Sites using the software.
"With Google Docs, we plan on continuing to support view-only mode in IE6, and we will still support viewing of Google Sites in IE6," the company's spokesperson said.
Goggle's phasing out of support for IE6 has nothing to do with the recent security problems Google encountered through IE6 use, according to the spokesperson.
"No, this was already planned and is being done so we can continue using the latest web technologies to bring new, innovative features to our users," the spokesperson said. "We're following other companies that have done the same, like Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft for Office Web Apps."
Earlier this month, Microsoft admitted that Chinese attacks on Google and other companies had exploited a hole in IE6, which was also present in IE7 and IE8.
At the time, the flaw did not have a patch, leading the French and German governments to recommend that users update to the later versions of IE, or switch browsers.
The UK government urged users to update their browsers, but said that switching browsers was unnecessary. Various government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) use IE6 on all desktop and laptop computers.
The DoH issued advice to its users on 21 January saying they should upgrade to IE7. "It is recommended that organisations still using Internet Explorer 6 on the affected platforms upgrade to Internet Explorer 7," it said, in email advice seen by ZDNet UK. Internet Explorer 7 has gone through an internal accreditation process, said the DoH, and as a result has been verified to work correctly within the central NHS system, known as the NHS Spine.
Microsoft released an out-of-band patch for the IE zero-day on 21
Google announced in a blog post on Friday that from the beginning of March, certain key functionality in Google Docs and Google Sites "would not work properly" with IE6 and older versions of other browsers.
"Please take the time to switch your organisation to the most up-to-date browsers available," said Rajen Sheth, Google Apps senior product manager, in the blog post.
The company is urging Google Apps users to move to IE7, Firefox 3.0, Chrome 4.0 or Safari 3.0, or more recent versions of those browsers. Net Applications put IE6's share of the general browser market in January at about 20 percent, bettered only by IE8 at 22 percent. In April, Forrester Research found that 60 percent of enterprises used IE6 as their default browser.
Google has not specified precisely which Apps functionalities in older browsers will be affected. However, the company said it wants to support HTML 5, the latest version of markup language HTML, which is not supported by older browsers.
"Older browsers were not designed to handle new web-based applications, which means they don't support modern web technologies like HTML 5 and advanced JavaScript processing," a Google spokesperson said. "For example, IE6 doesn't support HTML 5, and IE6 and [Firefox 2] do not process JavaScript nearly as efficiently as newer versions of IE and FF."
The dropping of support means Google will not fix issues specific to older browsers and will not develop new features for them. However, users will still be able to access Google Docs and Sites using the software.
"With Google Docs, we plan on continuing to support view-only mode in IE6, and we will still support viewing of Google Sites in IE6," the company's spokesperson said.
Goggle's phasing out of support for IE6 has nothing to do with the recent security problems Google encountered through IE6 use, according to the spokesperson.
"No, this was already planned and is being done so we can continue using the latest web technologies to bring new, innovative features to our users," the spokesperson said. "We're following other companies that have done the same, like Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft for Office Web Apps."
Earlier this month, Microsoft admitted that Chinese attacks on Google and other companies had exploited a hole in IE6, which was also present in IE7 and IE8.
At the time, the flaw did not have a patch, leading the French and German governments to recommend that users update to the later versions of IE, or switch browsers.
The UK government urged users to update their browsers, but said that switching browsers was unnecessary. Various government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) use IE6 on all desktop and laptop computers.
The DoH issued advice to its users on 21 January saying they should upgrade to IE7. "It is recommended that organisations still using Internet Explorer 6 on the affected platforms upgrade to Internet Explorer 7," it said, in email advice seen by ZDNet UK. Internet Explorer 7 has gone through an internal accreditation process, said the DoH, and as a result has been verified to work correctly within the central NHS system, known as the NHS Spine.
Microsoft released an out-of-band patch for the IE zero-day on 21
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
A computer aimed at the 60+
A new computer aimed at people aged over 60 who are unfamiliar with PCs and the internet has been unveiled. The simplified desktop - called SimplicITy - has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks such as e-mail and chat. The computer comes pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie Singleton. More than 6 million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet, according to government figures.
Now I can see this being of great interest to Specialist Colleges, Work Based Learning Providers and the Adult and Community Learning Sector due to its simple interface, Open Source operating System and applications.
I have contacted the manufacture of this product to see if it will available to other markets other than the 60+. We will have to wait and see want happens.
To find out more watch the BBC video. Sorry the video can not be embeded.
Now I can see this being of great interest to Specialist Colleges, Work Based Learning Providers and the Adult and Community Learning Sector due to its simple interface, Open Source operating System and applications.
I have contacted the manufacture of this product to see if it will available to other markets other than the 60+. We will have to wait and see want happens.
To find out more watch the BBC video. Sorry the video can not be embeded.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Is the answer right under our noses? What are the alternatives?
Being a bit of a gadget addict I watch the Gadget Show on Channel FIVE. Although this show presents a number of products each week that don’t necessarily have an appropriate use in education from time to time they come up trumps! For example in the past the presenters have demonstrated gadgets like the iPhone, iPod Touch, the Flip and Busbi cameras, and a number of really useful online tools with candid reviews of each item.
My point is that sometimes we need to look for alternative sources of information in places where educationalists wouldn’t normally consider. Why not spend 12 minutes watching BBC Click over a cup of coffee or surf through the Gadget Show website?
Two brilliant free service websites mentioned recently on the Gadget Show were:
AlternativeTo helps you find the alternative software for your computer or mobile phone.
Rather than search numerous sites looking for alternative or free software just use this one site.
You can search for alternative solutions by operating system or by the product you want to replace. I ran a quick search to find an alternate to Power Point and AlternativeTo gave me eight options.
youconvertit helps you convert media file formats i.e. documents, images, audio, video and units of measurement into your required format without buying or installing anything on your PC.
It is important to note that youconvertit doesn’t support Microsoft Office 2007 formats (.docx, pptx, xlsx etc) at the moment. Still this is a really useful tool, which is free with no registration required, simple to use and fast!
To use youconverit simply select your preferred option from the tabs at the top of the screen browse to the file or URL you wish to convert, select your preferred output file format and add your email address. Then wait for an email which contains a link to download your converted file.
If converting from text document to an mp3 file is something you need to do in a hurry and for free why not try http://www.robobraille.org/Text-to-Speech. Fantastic!!!
My point is that sometimes we need to look for alternative sources of information in places where educationalists wouldn’t normally consider. Why not spend 12 minutes watching BBC Click over a cup of coffee or surf through the Gadget Show website?
Two brilliant free service websites mentioned recently on the Gadget Show were:
AlternativeTo helps you find the alternative software for your computer or mobile phone.Rather than search numerous sites looking for alternative or free software just use this one site.
You can search for alternative solutions by operating system or by the product you want to replace. I ran a quick search to find an alternate to Power Point and AlternativeTo gave me eight options.
youconvertit helps you convert media file formats i.e. documents, images, audio, video and units of measurement into your required format without buying or installing anything on your PC.It is important to note that youconvertit doesn’t support Microsoft Office 2007 formats (.docx, pptx, xlsx etc) at the moment. Still this is a really useful tool, which is free with no registration required, simple to use and fast!
To use youconverit simply select your preferred option from the tabs at the top of the screen browse to the file or URL you wish to convert, select your preferred output file format and add your email address. Then wait for an email which contains a link to download your converted file.
If converting from text document to an mp3 file is something you need to do in a hurry and for free why not try http://www.robobraille.org/Text-to-Speech. Fantastic!!!Friday, 6 November 2009
Using the iPod Touch for Teaching
I shared a link with a colleague recently to a site call Learning in Hand its shows how the iPod Touch and iPhone can be used for teaching/training - It’s a great site, with lots of useful, ideas, and applications for using an iPod touch or iPhone in education.
It’s written by Tony Vincent, a technology specialist who uses the site to share his passion for new technologies). Tony was one of the best speakers during Handheld Learning 2009.
If the iPod isn’t your cup of tea Tony’s site also examines the way Podcasting, PDAs and Netbooks can also have a big impact on teaching/training/learning.
The Impact of Mobile Technologies - MoleNet phase 1
I spotted this interesting publication whilst at the Leading Innovation: Embracing Technology Conference at the National Exhibition Centre.
“The Impact of Mobile Technologies” publication produced by the LSN, examines the impact of mobile technologies on the processes of teaching, learning and also looks at how the application of mobile technologies affected attainment, retention and classroom discipline.
Molenet one involved approximately 10,000 learners and 2,000 staff, spread across 32 mobile learning projects. Valuable lessons from each project were feedback to Molenet and are shared within this publication.
In many cases projects used mobile devices for gathering and presenting evidence through e-portfolios. The report offers useful tips and examples from each project evaluation.
The complete publication can be downloaded without registering (for free) from the LSN website or you can request a hard copy by emailing molenet@lsnlearning.org.uk
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