50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn't Know This Time Last Year) 2006 Edition

50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn't Know This Time Last Year) 2006 Edition

Somewhat USA focused but interesting nonetheless...some remarkable items that mostly escaped major headlines.

Flickr Color Selectr

Flickr Color Selectr

Wow! What a neat tool. Not only will it scan Flickr for images that are Creative Commons licensed, but also you can color match - pick from the color slider and hue map and then you will receive a bunch of Flickr images that are redolent with those colors. Neat!

Preparing For Apollo

Techcrunch � Blog Archive � Preparing For Apollo

Marketing hype or next big thing in multimedia publishing? Worth keeping an eye on. The discussion opinions are divided on this one. It might mean that we will see some interesting stuff come out of the merger of Adobe and Macromedia...but methinks it is a touch too soon. I reckon that phase might be mostly hype to show people that the merger was a good thing...but once they get it sorted...could be pretty good!

Google Answers Shuts Down; Yahoo! Answers Up and Running

O'Reilly Radar > Google Answers Shuts Down; Yahoo! Answers Up and Running

Looking for answers? Aren't we all? Well, maybe not. Some interesting numbers on what is happening with the various answers services that are out there.

What is this all about? An extension of the newsgroups idea, answers.xx.com (where xx = insert name of major internet company), is that you post questions, especially those that you had trouble finding an answer for, and then a community would post answers for you. There are various business models for this and this short article mentions these.

Interestingly, people prefer a free answer to a good answer...and even then, there have been a few commentaries out there that support the notion that the experts' answers are not necessarily better answers.

In another post, I mentioned ChaCha. I reckon that this whole area has a lot of potential but also we have not yet seen the truly remarkable power that can be derived out of effective linking of large numbers of brains (soft and hard).

ChaCha: A Human-Powered Search Engine

ChaCha: A Human-Powered Search Engine

Here's an interesting twist on searching the net. Human help. At the moment, this is a free service. It is very unclear how their business model will work but looks like it is worth a try in the meantime. I'll be interested to hear how our colleagues who are professional searchers rank this service...useful or not?

Microsoft unveils public robotics software | CNET News.com

Microsoft unveils public robotics software | CNET News.com

This might not initially seem to have much to do with eLearning...but think about the possibilities enabled by a simple programming interface to a multitude of control units. This might be a simpler approach to extend some of the earlier work on simulators and haptic feedback.

New surgical center is a big technological cut above the rest

New surgical center is a big technological cut above the rest

Some more amazing technology that facilitates surgery training...although I found the perspective interesting...paying attention to the health of the surgeon rather than the patient.

Douglas Adams - hyperland - Google Video

Douglas Adams - hyperland - Google Video

This is a wee bit long but it is fascinatingly prescient in its view of what became the World Wide Web. Douglas Adams was the author of the Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy and several other notable, innovative, humourous books, along with radio and TV scripts for the BBC.

Fans of Douglas Adams will point out that, in amongst his humourous writings, there were often ideas that were bizarre and yet had this core of brilliant imagination and foresight. This mockumentary illustrates much of what has become staple to the net. If you're not a fan of Adams' dry British humour, you might find this a bit flat...but for Adams' fans, this is a fun 50 minutes.

Search strategies on Google

 A short piece from Jon Udell...

Link to Jon's Radio

...just how do you search for stuff...on Google, or other sites for that matter. Some interesting thoughts on how we use our own search strategies...of course, those with proper training in this will shake their heads at our ineptitude. And yet, with the newer tools, are the traditional search strategies, with Boolean logic, and clearly defined sets, always the right way to go?

Portable software for USB drives

PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives

To heck with ultralight laptops...what if you didn't need a laptop at all...just put all your apps onto a USB stick. Now, that would be portable. I've wondered about doing this for a while now. Well, this might be the push that I've needed to try this out.

This would be particularly great for traveling...I'm getting kinda tired with airport security and their inconsistent practices...turn it on, turn it off, battery removed or not, put in same basket as jacket or not...or my favourite...just turn it on so we can see a little light come on somewhere. What kind of security is that? If I had the smarts to build something nasty into a laptop or other electronic equipment, I would also likely have the smarts to make an LED light up when I pressed the On switch. How brainless is that.

As that whistleblower on CBC pointed out last week...the vast majority of security measures at airports are purely cosmetic...just being seen to be doing something. Sigh.

Anyway, this might help with those situations where security is being more picky than usual. They are not likely to disallow a USB drive.

Why you don%u2019t need an extended warranty 11/06

ConsumerReports.org - Why you don%u2019t need an extended warranty

I've saying/practising this for years...now this is supported by the august body, Consumer Reports...and vehemently so, I might add, with stats to boot.

Just Say No! No matter how pushy that Future Slop salesman gets...in fact, the more pushy they are, the more you should back away...back away from the counter...indeed, on a number of occasions I have walked out on a deal because I was ticked off at how pushy the salesman was about this.