No, not that kind of tablet…

Basic tablets (they’re available with all sorts of bells and whistles, the most notable being multitouch), are cheap additions to the classroom, and affordable enough that teachers and professors can simply buy the tablets themselves. The overhead projector might be dead, but for educators who miss the great lessons they could deliver with a few…

Empty Inbox

My to-do do list and my “Follow Up” folders aren’t empty, but going into the July 4 weekend, it’s nice to see an empty in box. GMail’s strategy or replacing the “delete” button with “archive” means I felt more comfortable moving things out of my in box.  I also like that GMail uses tags, not…

Making the Switch to GMail

Our wonderful IT folks have set up a push-the-button-and-it-just-works conversion from MS Outlook to GMail. My only real concern is that this gives me yet another GMail account where I might lose something… is there a way to cross-link GMail accounts? Time to Google for an answer. Update:  As part of the transfer process, I…

What Do These Thingies Mean?

Perhaps on a different browser there is mouseover text, but on my iPad, I have no idea what these do. A helpful label would be, you know, helpful. Ars Technica Mystery Meat Icons. Similar:The Ensigns of Command (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 2) Data plays MacGyver to sa…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaTom Bissell writes…

USDA’s MyPlate – Home page

I have mostly a good first impression of the website touting MyPlate, the USDA’s replacement for the food pyramid. It wasn’t entirely clear that the items on the plate were clickable — probably because the graphic treatment of the plate resembles a button, and my brain said to me, “Oh, that’s a plate, how cute”…

WordPress duplicate images driving me crazy

I’m using the Atahualpa Theme with WPTouch Pro. When I view pages with my iPad, I get a strange double image. Similar:IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE — Berkeley Rep audio productionSinclair Lewis’s 1935 anti-fascist novel…CultureDress Rehearsal for Laurel Ballet "Alice in Wonderland"My daughter is playing the “Caterpillar …Home'Thought Leader’ gives talk that will inspire your thoughtsSaving…

Writing Text, Writing Code, Writing Connections

Julie Meloni put together this panel. When she invited me to submit a paper, I had already committed to another panel, so I offered to chair. I started with the joke about how the computer programmer died in the shower. (He read the instructions: “Wash, rinse, repeat.”  I also invoked Cory Doctorow’s urgent plea, in…

iPad vs. Netbook for a 1:1 | EdReach

Here’s an interesting reflection — are iPads worth the extra cost, when compared to netbooks? EdReach says no. (More on that later.) At Seton Hill, students get a very nice MacBook (and they trade up after two years), as well as an iPad. It’s been great being at a university that is so supportive of…

Gmail Motion BETA

One of the better April 1 gags I’ve seen in a while. Love the “lick a stamp and place it down” gesture. Gmail Motion BETA. Similar:This is what happened when a KDKA-TV journalist showed biasSocial media platforms are full of peopl…CultureAppreciating the production values and so-stupid-it-might-be-brilliant comedy in Avatar: T…The daughter is showing my wife and…

Doctorow’s take on HarperCollins self-destruct ebooks

What if each ebook came with a black box with wires and a red LED.. Or maybe a computer voice intoning a countdown… HarperCollins has informed libraries that henceforth, ebooks will be sold on the condition that they can only be circulated 26 times before they self-destruct. HarperCollins argues that this reflects the usage characteristics…