GPS Tracking

I've been using JogTracker on my Android phone for a few weeks now, and I'm generally impressed with the accuracy and features, especially considering that I am using the free version of this geo-tracking app. I just start a new tracking session, toss my phone in my backpack, and try to remember to stop tracking when finished. It's a big drain on the battery of my HTC phone, but that isn't really surprising (everything is). I like the different modes to select from (walking, cycling, even wheelchair) when you begin a new tracking session, and the interface and companion website are both quite user-friendly. You can easily share tracks and view your history online. You can also export them as GPX or CSV formats containing the GPS data or download a KML file to import into Google Earth. Don't have an Android phone? Try MotionX GPS for iOS. It's not free, but it works very well too.

Help me choose new glasses

It's time for a new look. Please help me choose from these three frames. Use the poll in the sidebar to the right to vote for your preference. Thanks!

Update
The results are in. With 44 votes, it seems Frame A was the favorite. Thanks to everyone who participated! I'm still not convinced to go with Frame A--seems a bit boring to me overall. But your input is persuasive. I think you might be a better judge than me. :-)

Google Reader Play

Thanks to a tweet from Stephen Ransom, I just discovered Google Reader Play. It displays the RSS feeds you've subscribed to via Google Reader in a nice slide show format, and it encourages you to star, like, or share the things that catch your eye. You can trigger it either by clicking the link above or choosing "View in Reader Play" from the folder settings as pictured here.

Paper not done yet? Corupt [sic] it!

Well, here's a creative solution. Don't have that paper done yet? Buy yourself some extra time by submitting a corrupted file to your teacher. I just discovered the Document Corrupter web site via the Tech :-) Happy blog where Keith Ferrell points out the humorous misspelling of "corrupted" on the site. There's even a shuffle option to "make it harder for tech-savvy teachers to recover the file"--well done, slackers. 

Of course, I had to try it. Sure enough, attempting to open the corrupted file inexplicably crashes my copy of Word, though it opens fine with Text Edit. So, if any of my students get any ideas--forget it. I'm on to you!

Potty-Training

Potty-Training

Trying whatever it takes today to potty-train our digital native. :-)

New Editors, Features Announced in Google Docs

Real time collaboration, better comments, autofill and formula bar in spreadsheets, faster performance, standalone drawings. Awesome improvements announced for Google Docs!

Second Life Viewer 2 and Shared Media

Second Life just became way more useful! Viewer 2 uses WebKit, making it easy for content creators to rely on Flash and other web browser plug-ins to display dynamic and interactive content from the web in world. This is really exciting!



Imagine the possibilities for working with email, EtherPad, Google Docs, Wikis, You Tube and other typical Web 2.0 tools within the immersive environments of Second LIfe!

For more information, check out this post on the Second Life blog: Shared Media: Bringing the Web Inworld with Viewer 2

Get Viewer 2 and start exploring on your own.

Habitudes for College Students by Angela Maiers

Wow, we just live-blogged and streamed a presentation here at the University of Northern Iowa. The guest presenter, Angela Maiers spoke about Habitudes for College Students. It was awesome, and so was the technology we used to stream and capture it!

About 10 minutes into the event, I realized that I was streaming the video via Ustream, Twittering, and moderating the Coveritlive blog (which had the Ustream and Twitter feeds embedded as well) all via a wireless connection from my MacBook! Geez, if I'd actually thought about it in advance (hey, it was a busy day), I would have guessed this would never work via WiFi. Not only did it work--it worked great! Amazing (and fun!)

Here are the some archives of the event.

Ustream archive is here...
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1321813

Accordant stream is here (complete with the presenter's PowerPoint)...
http://www.uni.edu/unimedia/zeitz/habitudes/

Coveritlive archive is (as well as below)...
http://tinyurl.com/dgl5lz

Online, Social, Collaborative Comic Strip Creator

Wow, I just learned about this very intriguing online comic strip creator--Pixton. Thanks to Twitter users @jdornberg and @monarchlibrary

Missing iPhone Features

I've been using my iPhone 3G for a couple of weeks now--long enough to
get used to the keyboard, thankfully, and also to compile the
following list of missing features. Now, I'm hoping that some of these
"missing" features are just hidden features that I've yet to discover.
If that's the case, please post a comment to correct me & point me in
the right direction. BTW, overall I'm extremely pleased with my iPhone
& even the AT&T service. I'm composing this blog entry on my iPhone
from a waiting room, in fact.

The List:

1. Is Bluetooth crippled??? I can't send photo, contacts, etc, via
2. Bluetooth?
3. No search, especially in iCal, Notes?
4. No copy/paste?
5. Where are my todo items from iCal?
6. No select? Why can't I double-click or click n drag to highlight text?
7. I should be able to send a URL from Safari to Mail or other apps.
8. Maps: I'd like to rotate screen for horizontal view like safari &
9. photos.
10. External keyboard support would be nice--bluetooth keyboard or something to use during meetings.
11. Inline spellcheck (auto complete/correct is good a start).
12. Camera is good, but no flash?
13. No option to record video? What's up with that?

Google's Chrome Browser

David Pogue recently published a great overview of Chrome, the new open-source web browser from Google. As Pogue describes, many of Chromes features are neither new nor innovative--the same features have been provided by Safari, Firefox and Opera browsers. But that doesn't detract from the value or potential of Chrome. To the contrary, Google has brought together some of the best featues of other browsers AND expanded upon them with better security, performance, and some truly innovative and exciting new features. 

One of my favorite features is forehead-slapping simple--"create application shortcuts". This creates shortcut icons on the desktop, start menu or quick-launch bar of Windows for the current site. But these shortcuts don't just open a browser window. Rather, they open in a seemingly "browserless" window that makes web-based apps and Web 2.0 services look and feel more like traditional desktop-based software. Do this for sites like Picnik and Gliffy, along with Google apps like gmail, docs, calendar, sites, reader, iGoogle, Blogger, etc., and you've basically got a fully-functional computer that, as long as you have an internet connection, requires no other software than an operating system and Chrome. 

While I suspect only early-adopters and keen web developers have begun using it so far, I predict that future releases and word of mouth will garner Chrome a marketshare that rivals or suprasses Firefox and other popular browsers. I can't wait for the Mac and Linux versions of Chrome to be released soon. 

My Fav Free Windows Apps

Here are some of my favorite free applications for Windows XP and Vista. Happy to receive your suggestions as well. FYI, click here to view my fav free Mac apps.

Firefox web browser
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox

Safari browser (really is fast and attractive interface)
http://www.apple.com/safari

Thunderbird email client
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/thunderbird

iTunes (of course, especially for podcasts, free single of the week, and iTunes U)
http://www.apple.com/itunes

Free RSS Reader
http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/FeedDemon/Default.aspx

Free alternative to MS Office
http://download.openoffice.org

Skype instant messaging and video conferencing
http://www.skype.com

Second Life virtual world
http://www.secondlife.com

Picnik (no software to download here, just a great web service for easy and capable image editing)
http://www.picnik.com

Free anti-virus security software
http://free.avg.com

Free theft recovery
http://iconico.com/locatepc

Free (& less annoying) alternative to Adobe Reader for viewing PDF files
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

Cute PDF (free app to print almost any document to a PDF file)
http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp

Real Alternative - Free (& less annoying) alternative to Real Player
http://codecguide.com/about_real.htm

Free alternative to Zip compression and uncompression
http://www.izarc.org

Core FTP Lite (free FTP and Secure-FTP or SFTP client)
http://www.coreftp.com/download.html

Kompozer (free HTML editor with capable CSS editor built-in)
http://kompozer.sourceforge.net

MPEG Streamclip (video converter, can download YouTube videos too)
http://www.squared5.com

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free and very functional Photoshop alternative
http://www.gimp.org

Font Conference - Hilarious!

This is a really funny video for you font connoisseurs--or, actually, anyone who's ever used a word processor. If the video is clipped-off below, then use this link to view it.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

New great stop in Stockton, IL

We're on our way home from a great 4th of July weekend in Chicago, and we just stopped at a great new pit stop about half-way. Stone Cabin Coffee recently opened on the East end of Stockton, IL, along HWY 20. It's a really nice coffee shop with two levels of comfy seating (big leather sofas and coffee tables), free Wi-Fi, and good drinks. It's a really nice place to take a break and feed Lucy. I predict this is going to become a regular pit stop for us in the future!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Free Mac Software

I just replied to a request for recommended free Macintosh software at the NECC 2008 Ning site. I figured I might as well repurpose this information, so here goes... My favorite free Mac apps:

Adium - IM client, works with multiple services
Camino browser
CamTwist: broadcast your desktop as a video source in skype, etc (though not iChat)
CocoThumbX: Great utility for creating thumbnail images of files including BMP, TIFF, GIF, PNG, JPG, PICT, PDF, EPS, DOC, RTF, RTFD, HTML, CSS, TXT and QuickTime supported Movies.
Cyberduck: FTP and SFTP client
EasyFind: Even faster than Spotlight
Firefox browser
Flock browser: The social browser
Flip4Mac: Play WMA and WMV files in QuickTime Player--no need for Windows Media Player!
iSquint: Convert video files for iPod or other handhelds
Jing: Free screen capture (still image and video) for Mac & PC
Joost: Internet TV
KompoZer: A more recent spin-off of Netscape Composer, then Mozilla Composer, then Nvu, now KompoZer--very good built-in CSS editor for newbies
MacTracker: Know everything about your Macs (and all others)
MeBeam: No software to download, just enter a room name to video conference with multiple people for free!
Miro: Internet TV (and video podcasts, torrents, etc.)
Mousepose: OK, this one ain't free, but it's worth the price for highlighting areas of your screen for demos and screencasts!
NeoOffice: OpenOffice for Mac (free alternative to MS Office)
Opera browser
Paparazzi: Easily create screen captures of full web pages
SecondLife: Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE)
Skype: VoIP and video conferencing solution
ThumbsUp: Another great thumbnail maker for files
Thunderbird: Great alternative to OS Mail, a Mozilla project
Transmission: BitTorrent client
Jiggler: Jiggle the mouse at specified intervals to keep your Mac from sleeping
Onyx: Enable hidden features of OS X or run maintenance scripts.
SuperDuper: Backup utility software, create a bootable clone of your startup disk.
Vienna: Free RSS/Atom newsreader
VLC: Video player, plays multiple video formats
Web Minimalist: Great simple and free HTML editor with built-in preview--excellent for teaching HTML and web design
YemuZip: Great Zip compression utility, create Zip files in native PC or Mac formats

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Road trip

A trip to Ocracoke it ain't, but we're on the way to Grandma's. We realized Lucy's highchair (Chicco brand) was easy enough to pull out of the trunk and use at this rest area. I'm checking my email, using Twitter mobile (http://m.twitter.com), and Blogger from my cell phone while Lucy eats. Life is good with the mobile web!

Here on campus!

Having a great time with 17 students in our new IT Masters 2008 cohort. This morning, we've been exploring some mobile tools like GOOG-411 and SMS.

Flock for Blogger

I started using Flock again, and I'm really preferring it to a standard browser for posting to my blog. Blogger's WYSIWYG editor is adequate, but frustrating. For example, things flake out for me sometimes when I'm creating hyperlinks, and there's seems to be no easy way to remove or discontinue a link. Inserting images is royal pain, because new images always seem to appear at the very top of a post, no matter where I've positioned the cursor at the beginning of the process. Argh!

Flock is a spin-off of the Firefox browser described by its creators as "the social web browser". Available as a free download for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux platforms, Flock is unique among a sea of browser options, because it cleverly integrates an impressive number of social networking tools. While it might be handy for the occasional Facebook or MySpace user, it's incredibly useful for people who use many social networking tools and web-based services. Flock gives us easy access to them all simultaneously. Sign-in to your favorite services and networks like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Picasa, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, WordPress, Xanga, del.icio.us, etc., and Flock will offer to remember these accounts and integrate them into the sidebar and media browser thereafter. That means you can follow your Twitter updates and Facebook friends right in the sidebar--no need to visit those sites to get the latest information and media. You can view media streams from Facebook, Picasa, Flickr and YouTube, compose new Gmail or blog posts, and follow RSS feeds from virtually any source all while using other websites in the main browser.



As you can see in the screen capture above, I'm using Flock's blog editor now to compose this post, and it works great! I just dragged in the picture from my Picasa media browser. As I write this, I see there are some updates in my Twitter feed and new Facebook activity displaced in the sidebar. Everything seems to work well and feels much more responsive than using Blogger's editor. I think this is going to be habit forming.

If you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to download Flock or at least read more about its features. Version 1.1. is already very impressive and way ahead of other browsers in terms of networking and media features. That being said, I hope they'll soon add even more integration features with other services I use, including Ning, Picnik, and Google Docs or Zoho.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Convergence

A great example of convergence in the mobile phone market.

Earth Hour

Google turned out the lights on their home page today to encourage people to participate in Earth Hour from 8:00 - 9:00 in their local time zone. Says their page...

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.

It's an easy idea--turn out your lights for an hour tonight (a good time to watch a movie in the dark, I guess) to help conserve energy. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative website provides directions for using the energy saving features of your computer. Many people don't realize how much energy computers actually conserve or that many power adapters for rechargeable electronics consume energy when plugged in even when not connected to the device they charge. Judging by the load times of the CSCI website, it seems a lot of people are following the link from the Google home page today.

What's odd, though, is that while Google describes this as a global awareness initiative, Google's international home pages don't seem to be participating. Here are pictures of the Polish (www.google.pl), French (www.google.fr), and Japanese (www.google.jp) versions of the Google home page today.