Did You Know?

Very interesting video regarding past and future growth of technology, Sony played this video at their national conferences: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

So You Have A New Apple Mac

At the FETC conference in 2008 I received my first real exposure to the Apple MacBook. I have to say I was smitten. Between financial considerations and the seemingly never-ending rumors of new models and lower price points coming, the stars finally aligned and I purchased my first MacBook Pro last summer. It was a sweet deal. Because I was eligible for the "back to school" special I not only got the MBP but also a free iPod Touch and a printer.

LET THE LEARNING BEGIN

So I begin the transition to browser buttons in the upper left, a sometimes difficult to navigate Finder system and new names for functions. But reflecting, it really was not difficult. That said I am still learning. In the process I know others that have "drank the Kool-Aid" and now have their own Apple product(s). Now I share their excitement and challenges and in the process have fun learning and helping others.

FIRST THINGS

Just like getting a new musical instrument in 7th grade, all the features you saw in the advertisements may not be as easy as they appear. So my advice - don't worry about it - just enjoy your new toy for a while. The Apple site has some really great tutorials that I recommend taking the time to view. The other challenge is getting things that always worked - to work - on your computer. So what I decided to do is list some downloads, plug-in's and features I have found useful and may help flatten that learning curve for you.

Adobe Products - (link) this area is too large to list. I ordered Adobe CS4 Web Premium with my MBP at the "order with your new computer" educational price. At a minimum you are going to need Adobe Reader if it is not there already.

Camtasia - (link) is now available for the Mac. Camtasia is software for making a movie from content you record off your computer screen. If your institution supports Relay it is also available for the Mac.

Evernote - (link) Use Evernote to save your ideas, things you see, and things you like. Then find them all on any computer or device you use. For free.

Firefox - (link) A must have for any computer Firefox has more than 6,000 add-ons to help you customize it to your exact needs, plus thousands of Personas to instantly change the way it looks.

Google Chrome - (link) Another browser worth downloading and looking at. Good load speed and security. Takes a little orientation to get used to.

Google Earth - (link) Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places, and share with others.

Handbrake - (link) HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

iWork - (link) iWork is the Apple version of Microsoft Works. I like it better that MS Works for Mac - plus it's cheaper! Even so you should start using Google Docs if you are as techy as you say.

Seesmic - (link) On Twitter? Seemic is my runner up for best Twitter client for Desktop, Web and Mobile, manage multiple Twitter accounts, Facebook feeds and pages and access Twitter Lists

Skype - (link) With Skype make free calls over the internet to other people on Skype for as long as you like, to wherever you like. It is free to download.

TweetDeck - (link) My favorite Twitter client is TweetDeck. A personal browser for staying in touch with what’s happening now, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook and more. TweetDeck shows you everything you want to see at once, so you can stay organised and up to date.

VLC - (link) A must have if you want to play video files from your Mac. VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats.

X-Marks - (link) Another must have for All your browsers. Xmarks is a free add-on for your browser that synchronizes and backs up your bookmarks across multiple computers. Xmarks helps you find the best sites on the web based on what millions of people are bookmarking.


This is far from an inclusive list. But just to get started this should keep you busy for a bit. What do you think needs to added to this list? Let me know!

Twitter Explained

Thanks, Mike!

Those that know me realize that I am a huge Walt Disney World Fan. I love to visit Disney World but between trips I subscribe and surf a number of fan based sites, blogs, and podcasts. Because of technology there is a huge amount of information available online. In a future post I will share some of my favorites.

There is one person in particular I enjoy his thoughts and comments. His name is Mike Scopa. Mike formally posted regularly to Mouse Planet. He is one of the regulars on WDWToday, a fan based podcast, and now posts on Allears.net. Although he gets harassed about his age (which is very close to mine) he is know for Scopa Towers (the secret rename of Pop Century Resort) because of his belief of the quality and value of the resort. He is also a runner and gives advise to those who would like to participate on one of the running events that WDW hosts each year.

If you are a WDW fan I encourage you to check out Mike's posts. The most noteworthy is his keynote at Mousemeets titled "Why We Do What We Do", his personal narration of the Candlelight Processional , and his "Scoping the Parks" post titled "Thanks Walt".

Enjoy!

Introductory Course Makeovers

Here is a link to a post about Introductory Course Makeovers.

Instead, the world is competitive. Since the dawn of time, humans have competed against each other for food and resources. In modern society, each person must compete for education, jobs, higher salaries, etc.

Science Prof is doing his students a favor- he’s teaching them that it is not sufficient to meet some objective standard for success. Instead, students must compete against and outperform a certain number of their classmates in order to succeed. When these students enter the working world, they will be expected to outperform their co-workers if they want a promotion. If they go into business, their business must outperform competing businesses. This is simply the way of the world, and Science Prof is preparing students for that world.