1-to-1 Lashback

Alan November recently posted on the Edustat Blog about laptop program lashback. It's an interesting article (with many comments that follow). Among several interesting points, he argues that labeling a program a "laptop program" dooms it to inevitable failure, because it puts the focus on the technology instead of the learning. The article includes a list of institutional changes that must occur in order to build "capacity" for technology-infused programs to succeed.

MS Office 2007 Converter for Mac

Microsoft has released a beta version of a conversion utility program to convert Office Open XML files created with Office 2007 (for Windows) to files that MS Office 2004 or Office X on a Macintosh can read. It seems there are many shortcomings. For examples, charts and graphs are converted to graphics, and tables background colors, etc., don't seem to translate. But, hey, this might come in handy for us distance education instructors who may start receiving assignments in Office 2007 format soon.

The House is Coming Along

We're a few weeks into a renovation project, and the place is really coming along! It's exciting to see the changes (and feel them--we insulated too). Lucy is going to have a nice warm home--we just hope we're not killing the character of our 80-year old place.

Kids: Buy a Toy, Join Our Virtual World

Magda recently forwarded an article about online gaming and virtual worlds such as SecondLife, Runescape, and Club Penguin. But one of the most fascinating examples is Webkinz, a virtual world designed for kids 6-13.

The experience starts by purchasing a "lovable, plush" pet from a local store. The toy pet comes with a secret code used to unlock the pet's virtual home on the Webkinz web site (Webkinz World). There, kids can design their pet's room and use Kinzcash to decorate room, buy food, clothes, etc. In fact, like The Sims, students must care for their pet in Webkinz World (feed it, keep it happy, exercise it, etc.). Students can earn additional Kinzcash by playing games and taking quizzes, etc, and they can invite their friends into Webkinz World to interact and chat with each other online. The whole concept is astonishing, especially considering it is designed for 6-7 year-olds! Check it out yourself--take the tour of Webkinz World to see it in action.

Apple Growth 3x That of Industry Growth Rate

I knew I should have bought Apple stock a few years ago!

Apple posted its 2007 Q2 financial results Wednesday, far exceeding even optimistic analysts' expectations and pushing its shares over $100 for the first time. Earnings grew a whopping 88% year-over-year, and Apple reported a sales growth of 36% in the second quarter (more than three times that of the industry growth rate of 11% for personal computer sales in Q2).

Obviously, strong iPod sales contributed to Apple's success in Q2, but I was interested to note that Mac sales accounted for 56% of revenue (1.5 million computers sold in Q2--36% growth) and music-related sales accounted for 44% (10.5 million iPods sold in Q2--24% growth).

Notebook sales (laptops) accounted for 59% of Apple's computer sales in Q2. Earlier this month, Apple announced that it had now sold more than 100 million iPods since its introduction in 2001. I heard somewhere--I think it was on the MacCast podcast--that sales of iPods have outpaced any other consumer electronic device in history, including the Sony Walkman.