What's wrong with tech in US K-12 education today
If you surveyed the different directions K-12 school districts take in the United States, you'd find nothing less than a hodgepodge of technologies. The mess that was known as "Novell Hell" universally bows down to a diverse array of technologies including Active Directory, campus-wide Wi-Fi, iPads, Chromebooks, and a little bit of everything else in between. While it's reassuring that most districts I'm in discussions with are moving to cloud-based Google Apps or Office 365 for their email, the end-user device side of things is murkier.
I'm not going to call myself an expert in K-12 technology and policy, but seeing that I spent the last four years supporting and training users' technology needs at my former high school district, I've got good experience understanding the issues affecting teachers and students alike. After attending educational tech conferences year after year, the common consensus stands: everyone in education knows where they want to be, but the paths some of them take to get there are muddled with too much idealism and not enough realism.
Givit takes on music videos
Social sharing and video-editing service Givit gets more musical, in an announcement made during SXSW in Austin today. The Givit app is exclusive to iOS and seeks to be to videos what Instagram is to photos.
The new focus is all about music videos or setting moments to music, and iPad, iPhone or iPod touch users shooting, editing and sharing the creations -- straight from the device. "Anyone can now create an amazing music video or reimagine their favorite moments right from their iPhone, adding new clips, sound or transitions and share socially however they choose", Givit CEO Greg Kostello says.
Reduce the size of your music files with MP3 Quality Modifier
If you’ve built up a large MP3 collection over the years, then fitting everything you’d like onto your phone or MP3 player could now be a challenge. You could just try to be a little more selective in what you transfer, of course, but MP3 Quality Modifier offers another option, quickly changing the quality of your MP3 files to save disk space.
Just as you’d hope from a program designed to save resources, MP3 Quality Modifier is itself very efficient. There’s no adware, no installation required, it’s just a 726KB download which you can unzip and launch immediately.
Microsoft brings enterprise communication service Lync to Windows Phone 8
This morning, with no fanfare, Microsoft rolled out its Lync 2013 app for Windows Phone. Lync is a Skype-like product that is bundled with some versions of Office, but is geared towards an enterprise audience. Corporations can run a Lync server to keep better control over the service, but users can also communicate with outside people by using Skype from within Lync, as the two services are becoming better integrated.
The new Windows Phone 8 app offers VOIP, messaging and other communication features. Lync had previously been available for Windows Phone, but was not supported in the new Microsoft mobile operating system until today.
Keep your software up-to-date with Soft4Boost Update Checker
It’s no secret that keeping your installed software up-to-date is a very good idea, for a lot of reasons (improving security, fixing bugs, boosting performance and more), but if you don’t have the time to regularly visit developer’s websites then individual updates are easy to miss.
Install Soft4Boost Update Checker, though, and the program can check your PC on demand, alerting you to any new updates in just a few seconds: much easier.
Expand GIMP's possibilities with GIMP Extensions for Windows
GIMP is the most powerful free graphics editor around but you can extend it even further with the right extensions. You’ll need to find them first, of course, because GIMP doesn’t have any built-in mechanism to show you what’s available. But if that’s too much trouble then you could always install GIMP Extensions for Windows, which gives you more than 50 in a single package.
You’ll get GIMP Paint Studio, for instance, which equips the program with additional brushes, patterns, palettes and more.
Is there anything more annoying than a pair of talking shoes? Probably not
Art, Copy & Code has partnered with artist Zach Lieberman, Google, and interactive collective YesYesNo to create what it calls a smart talking sneaker with personality.
The Talking Shoe, which Google has been showing at the South by Southwest (SXSW) tech conference in Austin, Texas, includes an accelerometer, gyroscope, Bluetooth and other everyday technologies, that combine to “translate the wearer’s movements into funny, motivating and timely commentary”. In the video that shows off the sneakers, example phrases include “This is super boring” (when you’re just sitting around), “I love the feeling of wind in my laces”, “Are you a statue? Let’s do this already” and “Call 911 because you’re on fire”.
OMG! Unicorn Apocalypse is a real game
Samsung owned the Oscars, by running a series of long commercials about a software company using Galaxy S3s and Note IIs to create game Unicorn Apocalypse. The TV spots were compelling marketing. You simply must watch the 90-second spot featuring filmmaker Tim Burton looking to make zombie unicorn movie "Horn of Darkness".
Unicorn Apocalypse went live on Google Play today (South Korean time). The "game is the winner of Samsung's contest to create the game discussed in the Samsung TV commercials", the company explains. "As the world crumbles and burns, a lone unicorn wreaks havoc on the last of humanity". Reviewers wreak havoc on the game, with 80 one stars out of 142, as I post. Hey, but they are polarized. Another 37 give Unicorn Apocalypse five stars.
Facebook clones Google+
Three days ago, I told you "Suddenly, Facebook looks more like Google+, only better", based on the product launch demos. But seeing is really believing. Photographer Thomas Hawk, whom I've followed online for a long time, has the new FB News Feed. His side-by-side shot of the two social networks is a real shocker. You're not seeing double.
I suppose there are few obvious ways to present big, bold images in the feed and supporting links around them. But this copycatting is something. "Content in the new news feed feels a lot like Google+", Hawk explains. "I’m not saying Facebook copied Google+ here, and imitation is, of course, the sincerest form of flattery and all that, but check out the two content envelopes side by side in the photo...They are pretty darn close".
Microsoft brings Facebook to Bing Desktop
Microsoft rolled out its Windows 8 version of Bing Desktop in late 2012 and brought with it the cool wallpapers that are a part of the search engine's home page. Now, the company has quietly updated the app with another major feature -- Facebook integration. Without any announcement, version 1.2.113.0 launched, but has yet to find its way to all users.
The app is not all about the wallpaper, though that was my main reason for installing it upon original release. Bing Desktop also lets you conduct searches right from the desktop without opening any browser, as well allowing access to the top news stories, images, video and other popular content.
What mobile developers should learn from Twitter's OAuth keys leak
This week, Twitter’s OAauth keys leaked to Github. So what does that mean? Don’t panic. The consequences of a client application’s key being compromised are not as serious as user credentials being compromised. The risk associated with this breach is that a malicious application tricking you in participating in an OAuth handshake could access the Twitter API on your behalf. Attackers might come up with clever ways to exploit this leak.
In the meantime, avoid using Twitter through any application that you do not trust. If you seem to be redirected to Twitter after clicking a link or through any other means unexpectedly, don’t consent to an application accessing Twitter on your behalf even if this appears to be pointing to an application you trust.
Is Windows 8 as bad as Vista, or even worse?
That's the question on my mind today, as an executive from yet another PC manufacturer disses the operating system. Yesterday, Jun Dong-soo, who heads Samsung’s memory chip operation, told Korea Times: "Windows 8 system is no better than the previous Windows Vista platform". Remember, Microsoft gave developers Samsung slates in autumn 2008 to test Windows 8. Samsung shipped touchscreen models for the previous operating system, when few other OEMs did. So the slap is no small one, and worse: "MS’s rollout of its Windows Surface tablet is seeing lackluster demand", Dong-soo asserts.
I don't agree with him, by the way. On Monday I explained: "How I came to love Windows again". Two words: Surface Pro. I find Windows 8 to be remarkably efficient and fun to use on the touchscreen tablet convertible. Modern UI really is modern, trendsetting. But I'll be first to concede that users won't get the same kind of experience using just mouse and keyboard. Touch changes everything.
CCleaner is coming to Android 'soon'
Although there are many free system cleaners available for Windows and Mac OS X, CCleaner is one of the most popular, and for good reason. It’s thorough, trustworthy and very easy to use. It’s among the first programs I always install on a new system.
The good news for Android owners is developer Piriform is working on a new version of its cleanup tool specifically for the mobile platform that will offer one-click cleaning to “help keep your Android devices running like new”.
Geeks rejoice! Windows Phone 8 welcomes Newegg app
For many of you this may not sound like a very big deal -- an app that allows you to buy computer parts from your phone may sound ho-hum. But, when that app comes from Newegg then it may get your attention. The retailer is perhaps one of the favorites on the web for those looking for everything from hard drives to RAM to all sorts of Radio Shack-style accessories.
Today, the company rolled out its official, fully-supported Windows Phone 8 app. Version 1.4 is the first to offer full support for the new Microsoft mobile operating system -- "This is the Newegg.com mobile application. The app allows Windows Phone users to search, shop, read reviews and make purchases", right from the retail giant. This is not the first Newegg app for Windows Phone and there are still a few missing pieces in the puzzle. Sadly, it still lacks some features. For instance, Lockscreen notifications and even a double-wide tile are both lacking. Then again, the new app does bring fast-app resume and it is super quick on loading, per early tests.
What I really think about Google Chromebook Pixel
Second in a series. Fourteen days using Google's first computer, my decision is made: I would buy one and will someday (taxes are brutal, so my options are limited short-term). I firmly believe that most buyers willing to spend $1,299 (32GB WiFi) or $1,449 (64GB 4G LTE) will be satisfied with Chromebook Pixel. That's because I presume they wouldn't dole out that much without really examining how the computer would fit their lifestyle; also, Google seeks the same people coming from Windows who might buy MacBook Pro 13-inch.
Seven days ago, in my first-impressions review, I looked at the overall experience and price benefits from the perspective of hardware. Here, I start to answer larger question: Can Pixel be your main and only machine? For most people, the answer is an unequivocal "No". But "most people" isn't Google's target market.
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