Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing gets companies cheap help online from USA Today.

April 15: the poetics of texting at Bozeman Public Library

I don't know anything about this, but it sure sounds interesting!

Robert Bennett, assistant professor of English at Montana State University, and visiting English professor Ben Leubner, will explore the links between American poetry and new information technologies at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 15, at the Bozeman Public Library's Community Meeting Room.

"The Poetics of Texting and Twittering" will be preceded by a reception, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Link to MSU press release

Last class will be at the American Computer Museum

Our final session of "New Technology: What's the Big Deal" will be held at the American Computer Museum, 2023 Stadium Drive. This is just west of 11th st. and south of Kagy.

Here is a link to their web site and directions

http://www.compustory.com/

Want to Fix Your Own Computer

Here is a web site for a company that sells parts and tools, and provides step-by-step instructions for repairing Macs. Similar companies provide support for other brands.

http://www.ifixit.com/

Good luck!

Montana Broadband Speed Test

The Montana Dept. of Commerce is doing a survey of internet speed the residents are experiencing. You can participate by taking the speed test!

http://mtspeedtest.org/

Link to FCC broadband Plan

Here is the web link to the FCC plan

http://www.broadband.gov/plan/

THE FCC National Broadband Plan

The FCC has released its plan for increasing broadband speeds and accessibility. You can also check your own connection speed from this site.

Reducing the anxiety of paying online

Here is a good article from the NY Times on how to minimize your risks when buying on line.
Richard


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/technology/personaltech/18basics.html?pagewanted=1&8cir&emc=cirb1

Cool things to do with an iPhone

Thanks, Dan, for finding this cool video of something else you can do with an iPhone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzQLRPwZjIo&feature=player_embedded

Dan, let us know when you have recorded your own video like this :-)

Anatomy of an Internet Rumor: John Roberts Retiring

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/03/the_backstory_of_the_john_roberts_retirement_rumor.php

The false announcement of John Roberts' retirement was a powerful example of how technology can spread rumors very quickly.

It has been reported that a Georgetown University law professor "released" the rumor in a law class, asking his students not to tell anyone about the private information. Instead of keeping this news to themselves, students immediately shared the information (even before class was out!), and the rumor spread widely.

Within about 30 minutes, the professor retracted the rumor, saying he was only experimenting to see how word travels.

Google's Translate Service

To translate a phrase, or an entire document from one language to another, try Google's Translate Service:

http://translate.google.com/#en|el|

Location-based services - ads that follow you!

New cellphones have GPS capability that lets the network know where you are. This information can be used to send you location-based targets advertising. Read more;
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15612291&subjectID=894408&fsrc=nwl

Searching based on images

Google has introduced a new application, that uses images taken by cell phone to search the web! No need to type in search terms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/business/20ping.html?emc=eta1

Why: how search engines make suggestions

This article discusses the methods that search engines use to anticipate what you are looking for and make suggestions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/opinion/22viegas.ready.html?emc=eta1

The Best Tech Ideas for 2009 - technology Oscars

The Thursday edition of the New York Times has interesting articles on new technology and reviews of providing useful assessments. This link gives the best choice for 2009 (The technology Oscars!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/technology/personaltech/31pogue.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Free sources of audio books and e-books

A non-comprehensive list...

National Academies Press. Articles produced by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council, all operating under a charter granted by the Congress of the United States. While at first glance, this appears to be an online bookstore, many of the publications are available as free PDF downloads and/or audio files.

LibriVox Audio books, read by volunteers. Quality may vary, of course, but it is quite a comprehensive selection.

Gutenberg project View 30,000 free online books. It is not too hard to find a particular author or category, but it is a little tricky once you get to the download option, as there are several options, including "HTML," which downloads the book in a format that looks like a Web page, or "Plain Text," which downloads the book in what looks like a plain typewritten site. There are also several options once you choose HTML or Plain Text, including "main site," "mirror site" and "P2." It is easiest to just click "main site."

Radio Lovers Old time radio shows for listening online or download. Some particular episodes are a little hard to find, but a pretty comprehensive list of titles. You should be able to listen online without downloading any special software or registering for an account.

Radio drama revivalsModern dramatizations of old radio programs. You can listen online without downloading special software.

Bozeman Public Library / Montana Library2Go If you have a Bozeman (or other Montana city) library card, you can access free audio books that can play on your computer or on an iPod or other portable mp3 device. You must first download a utility to your computer called "Overdrive." There are some nice tutorials that explain how the process work. The selection is quite limited for Mac users.

Go to the Bozeman Public Library Web site, and in the upper lefthand corner is a pull-down menu with the header "I want to...." Chose "download audio books" and you will go to the MontanaLibrary2Go site. Or, choose this link to go there directly. Click the "New to digital media" link in the green bar on the left to access the tutorials and directions or the graphic with download digital media Guided Tour.

Tips for using Google Maps

In case you can't tell, both Richard and I are fascinated with Google Maps and think it's a very worthwhile tool to learn. Here are just a couple of ways you can use Google Maps.

Get directions from one location to another

Choose an alternate route, if desired

View a standard map, terrain map, or satellite map

Find out what's near to a location, such as pizza places, parks or grocery stores

Read reviews posted by other Web users of nearby restaurants, etc.

Create a Google account and save a custom map, with pinpoints to mark locations

Draw a line on the map to show (and share) directions with another person

Use "Street View" to see a location just as if you were standing there on the street

This is a good overview video (You can watch it on YouTube without creating a YouTube account)

Google offers some nice tutorials here:Tips on using Google Maps. You can choose whether you are a beginner or expert, world traveler or business owner. (You can also watch these tutorials without registering for anything)

The State of the News Media 2009

Fantastic reports on traditional and new/emerging media by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/index.htm

Six emerging trends:

How to finance the news industry? Micro-payments and non-profit funding probably are not viable solutions. People are overlooking some viable alternatives.

Power is shifting from journalistic institutions to individual journalists

News organizations are focusing on multiple forms of distribution, including citizens contribution content

More partnerships among news organizations

"Cable chatter"--cable news giving rise to minute-by-minute judgment in political journalism

In campaign coverage, the press has become more reactive and passive, and less of an enterprising investigator of candidates

A caution on social networks

Judy noticed this news item - we will be discussing privacy next week and go further into some of the cautions that we should be aware of.

From CBS News- "Please Rob Me" http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/25/tech/main6241430.shtml

What is the shape of the Internet?

An interesting story in the March 2 New York Times on how the internet is being shaped by its users.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/science/02topo.html?pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

Redrawing the Route to Online Privacy

An interesting New York Times article on privacy and the internet. We will be talking about these issues later in the course.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/technology/internet/28unbox.html?scp=2&sq=privacy&st=Search

Richard