Makes you think

Italian artist Filippo Minelli has a taste for large provocative installations around the world. Here's his take on the Web 2.0 thing

Hard Lesson

My son was working on a video project (gotta love the ease of using Mac's integrated programs). 2 1/2 hours of video, stills, soundtracks, stuff, added up to about 37 Gb, sitting in an external hard disc.

Job 3/4 done, looking nice, then the hard-disc is disconnected & the iMovie project file gets corrupted. Unuseable. Pretty sad son. 

An iMovie file is actually a kind of locked folder, called a package. We opened the package & found Timeline Movie, a "thumbnail" of the movie project so far (son is a regular saver luckily). That showed us enough to rebuild the lost stuff. And son went on to create a stunning little movie, with some original soundtrack (thanks Garageband), titles, transitions, etc, from iMovie & a natty DVD menu from iDVD.

But when you're editing movies, don't do anything else! You're just asking for trouble...

Motionboxbox offers a v generous movie storage online; I wonder if we'll see online editing? Not any time soon I think.

Eon is discovering the power of the new web

Some grassroots action in England, against a E-On, a German company proposing to build Britain's first new coal-fired power station.

They've been the targets of all kinds of action, including events on April 1st ('Fossil Fools Day').
Activists are encouraging:

"One easy, comfy action can happen from this computer you're looking at. The tactic is called 'google-bombing'.

The more links to a site, the higher it climbs in google rankings. So, if enough people make the word 'EON' link to the No New Coal site, pretty soon it'll top the list of anyone searching for EON.

Two weeks ago www.nonewcoal.org.uk wasn't in the top 50 sites when searching for Eon. As I write this it's already number 13. (In Australia, doesn't show up, but rates no. 6 when "eon coal" is searched.)

So a simple online action can help us get our electronic placards in their face without getting out on the cold winter streets.

If you have a website, blog, myspace, bebo, forum account, etc then please place a link to http://www.nonewcoal.org.uk."

Thanks to If Just Today for the link.

Another aspect of the new read/write web: civic participation! Apparently the blogosphere is not just a heap of intrverts who need to get a life...

Infomania

I've started a blog for work, & I'm training some colleagues too. I must be completely out of my mind.

I'm still a bit puzzled by the blog thing. I enjoy meeting people in person. In cyberspace, are people even real? And the relationships are very different; a bit detached? Intimate in a sort of anonymous way. It reminds me of backpacking in Europe. Friendly strangers, who shared such details, then moved on.  I like the connections - the people are real, by the way! And I like the way ideas float in & out of my head & end up on the screen for me to see later. And for you to see, I hope!

My array of blogs are meant to have individual themes run through them. This works to an extent, which might seem to contradict the words above. All a bit odd.

And as for information overload... I read on the Macquarie Dictionary site the word infomania is back, the meaning slightly altered. I think Arthur C Clark came up with that, in the 70s? He saw it as an obsession, a mania, & risky too.

It's got this strange pull, this blog thing. It's the modern pamphleteering, and oddly addictive. 

Use it carefully (ho ho), & you get a lot out of it.

Podcasts & Vodcasts

Just had an inspired professional development session. The topic was podcasts. Yes, they've been around for years, & I've even made one or two; but the difference here was Macintosh.

I'm biased I know, but the Mac is just effortless. The free software is so well integrated. It's just click, drag, drop, record (with the built-in gear), tidy up, share, done. 

These were the steps:

1... Photobooth to make a picture (one for the iPod, Wallace & Gromit might say). 2 clicks

2... Garageband to create a podcast episode. 3 clicks + file name.

3... Photo shows up within Garageband. 1 click, 2 drags to place in the podcast.

4... 1 click to start recording, 1 click to stop.

5... Give yourself 4 click-&-deletes to cut out the umms & ahhs. 

6... Drag voice track to make space for intro music.

7... Say, 6 clicks to find some music in Garageband (there are over 1,000 tracks, so you may need longer).

8... Export the podcast. 4 clicks + file name.

Finished. It's that easy. Go into Dick Smith's & try it. Take a small person & show them Photobooth. You'll crack up laughing.

(22 clicks, 2 file names typed, 1 photo, 1 recording.)

At the session, we used Photobooth's 'green screen' effect to put ourselves in Paris or on the Moon. We did a basic video podcast (a 'vodcast') using Photobooth, then edited a fancier one using iMovie. Far too many sound effects to play with!

Sidetrack: the instructor didn't like the new iMovie (V7) as much as the old iMovie HD (V6), I view I share with her. We agreed Apple is probably hoping we'll buy Final Cut Express if we get frustrated with iMovie. iMovie HD is now free to download (OSX 10.4 recommended). Final Cut Express is $A268.

I hear the old hands saying, that's all very well, oh yes, nice toys, silly frills, but is this effective, & I don't have time to play around I've got work to do etc. etc. etc.

Two quick replies. Of course, you have to have good content: logical arguments, facts checked, something worth saying. And of course, present it well. 

What would you choose, good spelling or poor? Clear or fuzzy? Colour or black & white? Animated or static? In fact, it's a no-brainer.

A good lead, & a dodgy one

I've found an excellent resource for starting a blog: The Edublogger. A good mix of tricky advanced stuff, & straightforward clear instructions for early steps. One of the best.

The first 5 tips for writing better posts were v useful for me, who's in about 3rd gear with blogging.

But then I followed a link from an example, & found Scribd. This site allows you to upload a multi-page file, which are converted to a kind of Flash movie (Flash Paper) that simulates the pages. Sounds great, except there didn't seem much content control. A quick stroll around the Scribd groups showed some odd groups, & some odd material in the groups. Eg, the Apple group had lots of ads for a Chinese mp3 player, plus '40 ways men fail in bed'. Can't recommend that yet. 

The awesome power of the internet is partly in the ease you can publish almost any stuff, but that means that almost any stuff is up there. You have to use your own judgement. Filters don't work properly, ask Mr Howard, former PM of Australia, who wasted $84 million on dud software. Use recommendations, & use your head!

Boolify

This one is MUCH simpler than isadora!

Searching the web has gone a bit crazy (I just searched for 'Apple' & scored 377,000,000 on Google). The answer is Boolean searches. You can see those odd AND, NOT, OR bits  in the address bar to show them working.

If you're not sure what they mean, or want to teach simple Boolean logic, Boolify does it beautifully. If you can put 2 Lego blocks together, Boolify is for you. Just drag n drop the blocks to set up a search, & the result shows underneath straight away.

This Wikipedia article elegantly explains the principles (scroll past the Set Theory), but Boolify lets you see it happen. Worth a try.

Isadora

Just downloaded a copy of Isadora, a real-time interactive performance program (THERE'S a mouthful of words). It allows dancers on a stage to interact with a computer, which is connected to... whatever you like.

The application holds a hundred different actions, which are programmed to respond to events, times, to sound or light inputs, even motion - via a camera "talking" to it. That's the "interactive performance" bit of it. The output can be projected onto a screen (or the dancers), or fed into another program. Images, sounds & movies can be preloaded, or you just see what the dancers create on the spot. We saw a short performance today using Isadora; the techies said the show was quite different from four rehearsals they'd had just earlier!

It calls to mind a fantastic Australian invention, 'Stagestruck' which was created for the centenary of federation (8 years ago). It is a brilliant virtual production program, with costumes, sets, music, choreography, etc. all in the program. But Isadora is for real dancers.

Yeah yeah, it's not strictly Web 2.0, but wow it's exciting... getting computers to respond to creativity always stirs me, & this piece almost gives you the spectrum of immense artistic control, to "let the computer have a crack at it". The interactive web and the interactive stage are just tools for human ingenuity.

2,740... count 'em

Colleagues at work have been going down the Web 2.0 path, & found this very tidy, exciting, slightly frightening site from Israel, www.go2web20.net. Go 2 Web 2.0 has catalogued over 2,700 "Web 2.0" sites! Great interface lets you hover over each logo, giving you a 10-word summary. Click & you get a 1 para summary, & a link. This will need to be explored...

Google Docking

I've been using Google Docs a bit lately. V nice straightforward tools. The word process is a simple process, the spreadsheet looks good, & the calendar was OK. I had some trouble finding my other calendars, but I'll come back later

I'm hoping I can sync calendars in my Sony Ericsson phone, iCal & Thunderbird... yeah I know, why three? But the issue for the Read/Write Web is, how do you find the best tool when so many are offered?

The Hack Half-Hour hacks MySpace

All hail the Australian Broadcasting Corporation! How on earth do they manage to put up so much serious quality media for 8 cents a day???
I discovered ABC2 the other night when we finally got the set-top box going.
Quick sidetrack: one of the warnings on the STB was, 'do not put this on top of your TV - it may fall off'. But it's a set-top box!!

Our very first programme was Hack, a JJJ show with outstanding credentials. What a delight to see it now! & the topic: MySpace security. Freeaaky! Here's the summary. And you can watch it on ABC's iView, their awesome streaming service. Go to Catch Up, & find Hack half Hour. Beware! pretty hungry for bandwidth! Schools will need to work out how to manage this fantastic resource.

Steve on Hack talked to Sophie, who has over 200,000 MySpace friends. It started when she was bed-ridden for long periods, & has given her great experiences, & some authority! Then he spoke to Ty, a professional hacker, who found enormous holes in MySpace's security. The finale was an edited forum, covering a great array of well-reasoned opinions. My favourite was "really, we need to take responsibility for who we are online."

It's compelling viewing. If you're wondering about the youth of today, what'll become of us etc etc., please watch this: you'll be so encouraged!

Newer, lighter, nicer

I want a new computer. The new solid-state jobs look great; now I just have to justify the purchase. My biggest problem is my current machine, a beautiful Macbook Pro. It works too well.

I love my Macbook. The apostles of Bill Gates & Microsoft may goggle at this, but they're just easier. Yes! Quick eg: You want a new application. Step 1: copy into the Applications folder. Finish. That's all you do. To remove: delete it. That's it. And I've got Windows running simultaneously on a "virtual machine" platform-in-a-program. Why on earth? Work needs it. But back to solid-state computers.

The Register has an excellent article on small, cheap computers. One of their recommendations is the Asus eeePC. (I'm so glad they agree with me!) It's got a 9-inch screen, it weighs less than 1kg, it's about half A4 in size, and the battery lasts up to 8 hours. The secret is the hard disc... it hasn't got one, just a row of flash-memory chips. Yours for about $A500.

Imagine a school of these, connected wirelessly. Students carry them easily, they're economical, light & sturdy, batteries last a school day. Web, word process, spreadsheet, all there, & more. The money saved buys a Photoshop computer, a video edit computer for each class, and employs a local techie.

The computer, with the help of the Read/Write Web, becomes a tool, to do something wonderful with.

Remember GIGO?

Garbage In, Garbage Out. If you input nonsense the program outputs nonsense. It's not rocket science.
I just wrote a post for another blog Energy Crisis? Rubbish!. I had a few references, found a few more on Google, which I trusted. Why? I read them, carefully. There's a risk of GIGO, but pretty small if I was paying attention.

If you read carefully, 9 times out of 10, you'll spot the flaky stuff. A Wikipedia article had a word tagged "weasel word". Excellent. If the warning light goes on when you read something, ask yourself why.

Careful, discriminating readers will be hard work for the crooks & con-artists. The plethora of fantastic new communication tools (& toys) makes it that much easier for the good - & bad - to say something. And that means that taking care is even more important.

Google Chrome: that shiny & new?

Lots of chatter about Google Chrome lately. My first response was, another browser? Great! Us Mac-heads have been spoilt for choice for a while now. My second response was, oh, another Google toy. That's great, but since Google censored itself - for George Bush at the APEC conference in Sydney (technical issues my eye) - I've been a little uneasy about Google's reach. Anyone who gives Microsft a kick can't be all bad, but we sure don't want another Microsoft!

My third thought was, hey, I've seen all the new features in Opera! the sophisticated tabs -hello Microsoft!- and the thumbnail pages. Opera was even blogging before Google too. But you weren't American, Mr www.opera.no

Do it the Easy Way, or the Hard Way

At work we are planning a 2nd-hand book facility. A way for sellers & buyers to find out about each other, without us having to handle money or even do anything once the machines were running. After lots of discussions, hypotheticals, disaster planning, to-ing & fro-ing, I produced a very nice overview using Freemind & Freemindshare, & even started chatting to the database guru. Then I was shown someone else's solution to exactly the same challenge. A simple wiki. The New Web provides the answer easily, with open-source tools. Makes you feel good (once you've caught up!)

By the way, many thanks to Edubeacon for the help, & what a thorough blog

For Every Flickr there's a Drivl

Web 2.0's most ridiculous sites
This cheered me up.

The Virtual & the Real

Primary school homework is online. Well, at this stage it's a case of: find your class page, click on the links, do the interactive page from the BBC or whoever. Look, it's a start! And congrats to the chalkies for being so brave. I mean that.

What interested me was the Integrated Studies link, learn to play Mah Jongg. Mah Jongg is an ancient Chinese solitaire game??? My only proof this is total nonsense is a Chinese friend seeing the computer game & not linking it in any way to true Mah Jong - which is in fact a 4-handed game, similar in many ways to poker & rummy, & played everywhere there are 4 Chinese in one spot. Here's a discussion of computer Mah Jong, which goes back to the "ancient" days of the early 80s! It finds no good evidence of an old, real, version.

And what started this? A long time ago I played Mah Jong against my sister, over many years. It sort of works 2-handed, but with fewer chance throw-ins. So by checking my own age (don't ask), I know I pre-date any personal computer toy. Ah, I remember my dad starting up his "Macintosh" 128K, like it was yesterday. 1984 I think? The Happy Mac. The piece of paper, corner folded, on the desk. The little dustbin "under" the desk, that bulged. I distinctly recall the thought, "This is the future, from now on, all computers will work like this..."

Sorry, where was I.

There are two lessons here: internet is often mistaken, or plain wrong; it's strength (& weakness) is the ease any old stuff goes up there. And don't confuse computer-based, virtual & real: computers can do things nothing else can; but real is real, and "virtual reality" is in fact "imitation reality".

LibraryBytes: Transparency

LibraryBytes: One more L2 Thought ...

A quick thought on transparency: we are all newbies. Get used to it. Everything is so new, so get used to being surprised. Get used to saying, "that's cool - I didn't know you could do that!" Get used to SHARING.

Free your Mind (+ some great tools)

One of my favourite programs (yes, you're allowed to use tha word!) is Freemind. Freemind lets you put thoughts down as you think of them, and showing the connections to your earlier thoughts. Forget about the outdated Word-Processed shopping list style of note-taking, this one is seriously mind-expanding. & one of the best ways to publish is with Freemindshare.

Here's a public mindmap I put up to illustrate the Read/Write Web's scope: it's more than podcasts, blogs & Youtube:
Web Tools & Games
Instructions: drag the diagram around to get a better view. If a thought-bubble has a little dot at the end, click to show more connected thoughts. Cool, huh?

The only downer is, I can't edit the shared diagram (easy with the original software). C'mon V.2!

The Web always was interactive...

The Phrase Web 2.0 is rubbish. It was invented as a promotional gimmick, trying to sound advanced, mysterious, "in". But the concepts behind it (interactivity, community, ease of sharing, etc.) are as old as the Internet. The Internet was invented in order to share information, remember?

The difference now is, we can share so much more easily, and share more things. And that IS exciting, and worth a new name. Hence: The Read/Write Web.

Sounds a bit like World-Wide Web? That's OK; we understand the global village now, we know deep down we're in it. And when we know deep down we're in the Read/Write Web, we won't need the phrase so much.

And by then the spin-doctors will have come up with a totally new (improved!) gimmick...

You read it here first!