NMC and Member News

TabExpose - Expose for your Safari Tabs - Neat!

Keene Haywood — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:11:59 -0700

If you use Safari on the Mac, you may find this utility handy. I go back and forth as to whether the system wide Expose feature of the Mac OS is useful day to day while working. Sometimes I use it and sometimes I don't. Well, some enterprising developers took the Expose idea and applied it to tabs in Safari. If you use Tabs for your web surfing, then TabExpose might make life a little easier for you. It installs a button in your Safari Toolbar that, when clicked, lays out all your tabbed websites for you to see at once. Click the site you want and jump right to it. For people who work better visually, this might be a good tool use with your tabs. Its not free, but its not too expensive (about $15). A preference setting allows one to turn off any animations on the page when they are laid out in expose mode. This helps if your computer is not the fastest in the world. Keep on tabbin'...

Keene

Mac, software, utilities

Every Wherigo...gps has a brand new hat

Keene Haywood — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:46:36 -0700

With all the talk of virtual worlds, and Second Life in particular, its easy to forget that there is a real world out there that also beckons attention beyond our monitors. Actually, it would be nice to marry both the virtual and real worlds together, because then you can really get some interesting things happening. This has not been lost (forgive the geo-pun) on the founders of Geocaching.com who have recently released a software platform called WheriGo (pronounced Where-i-Go) that enables one to overlay virtual world data onto the real world using gps technology as the bridge between the two. Currently, the software works on handheld PocketPCs running Windows CE (it will need a GPS receiver installed or attached) and on Garmin's new Colorado line of GPS receivers. The software is built with Microsoft ASP.net framework, but the developers will be porting it over to a web based platform (I assume Java) in the very near future. Check out WheriGo and see for yourself what its all about. Its a new game in town and it just might stir things up a bit. For educators who want to mix things up with some field trip experience might do well to check out WheriGo and see how this new platform works with their teaching and research.

From WheriGo's glossary comes the actual definition of the platform: a toolset for creating location-based games and other real-world experiences using a combination of GPS-enabled handheld devices and the Internet. The Wherigo family includes two main applications, the Wherigo Builder and the Wherigo Player. I think this will be very cool. The About page has some nice suggestions related to educational uses (at the bottom).

Keene

gps, mapping

Its all about Time(line)...

Keene Haywood — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:40:09 -0700

We live in a world of increasing randomness and attention deficit but every now and then, it sure helps to see things in a clear, linear fashion. Take timelines for instance. Its great to know when something happened way back when. This is particularly great for educators, and specifically educators who deal with subjects that are closely tied to history, geology and anything involving some dates. But you know, its just not easy to make a digital timeline that looks good and really conveys what you want to illustrate. Sure, you can pull out your ActionScript manuals and throw together a fancy Flash timeline animation, but who has time for that? Well, someone (Bee Docs actually) has decided to build a nice little app for the Mac. Its called of all things Timeline. Its Mac only and the latest version (v.2.x) only runs on Leopard. Its not rock bottom cheap at $40 but if you need to make timelines quickly and have them look nice it might be worth the money. The developer has a blog for the application and is open to new features and ways to improve it. Check it out... that is if you have time... :)

Keene

Mac

iPhone, iTunes...what's in (or not in) a name..

Keene Haywood — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:49:33 -0700

Sometimes a product name just fits. Like the iMac for instance. Yes, that works. But lets take a closer look at iTunes and iPhone. If there are two product names that do not work it is these two. Everyone is throwing around the name iPhone like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread (which it is by the way), but has anyone stopped to really think about the name? The iPhone's phone features are about number five down the list of what the device is really best at, which is the web. (These take up the first three slots, then maps). Yes, the iPhone is a very nice phone. Visual voicemail is great. Love how the phone numbers on websites can be touched and you can call from the browser. Great! But the iPhone is so much more and the platform promises so much more. I think the iTouch is much better as product name. So while iPhone is catchy (and I like it), it misses the mark a little in terms of what the iPhone really is about. Maybe they could call it the iDon'tKnowWhattoCallit. But then again that makes package labeling sort of awkward.

And then there is iTunes. If there is a product that has expanded well beyond its name, its iTunes, the venerable music jukebox software that is rapidly becoming a personal media browser. How long will it be called iTunes? Hmmm.... I am open to taking bets. It might never change, but one thing for sure is that the way we use iTunes and what it does goes far beyond audio these days.

Just some observations. What do you think?

Keene

iphone

What will the next iphone look like...

Keene Haywood — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:46:09 -0700

It probably will look pretty much like the current iPhone but imagine for a moment if Apple decided to put an HDMI port on the device! Just plug it into your HDMI compatible flat panel (I know everyone does not have one yet) and be able to view your iPhone's content on the big screen! I can imagine down the road that the iphone will be powerful enough that you can just dock it at home and use a larger monitor and keyboard with it and then pull the plug and head out the door with it. It might be awhile before we see solid state drives come down in price and up in capacity to equal traditional hard drive storage, but it will happen and when it does, mobile computing will really get interesting. Also, it would help if battery technology could somehow keep up with Moore's Law. Otherwise, we will get Photoshop on the iPhone that drains your battery after you apply your ten favorite filters.

The other thing to keep in mind is that iPhone runs Mac OS X. Yeah duh, right? Well, it’s the full kernel and all, tweaked for the iPhone. Its not a sub-set of the Mac OS X, its not some new OS, its Mac OS X. Why is this a big deal? Well developers can develop their apps for the iPhone and without too much work re-do the app for as a desktop application (not being a hard core programmer, I may be wrong so please correct me, but I understand this is the case). This is much more attractive than having to deal with a mobile only OS like the Symbian OS or MS-Windows Mobile which is NOT Windows XP or Vista by any stretch. And then you are locked to mobile devices only for app development. I know, everything is going mobile, but at the end of the day, I like to have a big screen to look at and I don't want to think about running Final Cut Pro on an iPhone.

Keene

iphone

NetNewsWire - an RSS reader done right!

Keene Haywood — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:19:58 -0700

There are more Mac applications on the market now than probably ever before. The field is getting very crowded. You can find an Mac app for just about any use these days. Many of them have a slick Leopard interface and take advantage of things like CoverFlow and QuickLook. All good. There is one application that really stands out and its not published by any of the 800 pound gorillas (Microsoft, Apple or Adobe for starters). Rather its put out by the extremely talented Brett Simmons. The app is called NetNewsWire and it is a full featured RSS aggregator and reader distributed by NewsGator. It does just about everything one could hope for AND its free! (It used to cost $30 and was worth every penny). That's right, all you need is a $1000 Mac and NetNewsWire is free. Just download it and go. I won't go into all the details about the features that make this app great, so go download it now and give it a try. The good folks at NewsGator are continuing to develop this with Brett and they allow you to sync your RSS feeds between computers using their servers (or your .mac account). The app has an active community and Brett readily listens tp suggestions from users.

If I had to start ranking general use Mac apps that are indispensable, NetNewsWire is one. For anyone who seriously surfs the web on a Mac, you just have to use this app. It is wonderful!

Keene

iPhone + Google Maps = close to perfection (almost)

Keene Haywood — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:16:07 -0700

The Google maps application on the iPhone is one of the best default apps on the device for now. I just works and it has worked very well since day one. It got better when cell signal triangulation was implemented in a software update allowing users to get a rough estimate of their location with fairly accurate results but still not GPS accuracy. A dedicated GPS chip in the iPhone and iTouch would be ideal and it may be coming in new models down the road. Additionally, the maps application has gotten a little bit of polish by enabling users to see the hybrid map view (both streets and satellite data), drop location pins and overlay traffic flow data. The drop pin feature allows one to add bookmarks of places that can then be used over and over again which is nice and now I have a few of these. The recent map searches is also a nice feature. However...!

The one problem is that you can't share these bookmarked pins. You cannot email them, you cannot sync them to your browser, they are stuck in the terra incognita of your iphone. If the sharing of location bookmarks could be implemented, imagine the possibilities! Not only could one share locations, but one could also use the iPhone as a geo-location data gathering device which could be very handy for education, research and just plain old showing people what you've found.

Maybe there is a way to do this, but so far, I have not found it. Perhaps the SDK will allow for some hooks into maps for more functionality?

Keene

iphone

"Storytelling in Virtual Environments" in SL - New speaker added!

anaventura — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:54:08 -0700

As announced here before, on Saturday May 17 at 10 AM PDT the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) is proposing a reflection on storytelling in virtual environments in the form of a panel in Second Life. This will be part of the celebration of the International Day for Sharing Life Stories which will have happened the day before, May 16.

We added one person to our excellent line-up of speakers: Dale Jarvis, storyteller, folklorist and performer will be in-world - and in Canada in RL. Other speakers logging in from Spain, China, New Zealand and the US, and covering areas from multimedia journalism to virtual performance.

Joe Lambert (Director, Center for Digital Storytelling) and Ana Boa-Ventura (PhD Candidate, University of Texas at Austin) will be moderating.

Come join us!

****************************
Panel in Second Life | Storytelling in virtual environments

Date: May 17, 2008
Time: 10:00 AM PDT (Check www.worldtimezone.com for local times)
Location: Second Life Campus of the Center for Digital Storytelling (@ “Teaching 2’ - NMC Campus)
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Teaching%202/209/109/23

University of Lugano Offers TEC-CH Online Program in Cultural Heritage

Alan Levine — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:25:26 -0700

The University of Lugano is launching a new distance learning program, TEC-CH Online (Online Diploma of Advanced Studies in Technology-Enhanced Communication for Cultural Heritage).

The programmer offers to practitioners and/or graduates in the Cultural Heritage field a solid background in communication enhanced by the use of modern information technologies. TEC-CH Online us based upon the experience of the Master in Science TEC-CH (on-site programme started in Lugano in 2004) and will be launched in the Fall of 2008.

The University is offering prospective participants an opportunity to sample the courses with a free trial. This Pre-opening offer includes 6 selected courses that run between April and July 2008.

All participants to the pre-opening offer will receive a certificate upon the successful completion of one or more courses. Those interested to continue and register to the full TEC-CH Online programme will be recognized the credits for the courses completed in the pre-opening phase.

For more information, see http://www.tec-ch-online.unisi.ch/pages/pre_opening.html or contact Ms. Amalia Sabiescue

Second Life simulcast: Achieving energy security through sound public policy

paulhyde — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:00:38 -0700

Event Series: Global Agenda 2008 - International Politics of Climate Change
Title of Event: Achieving Energy Security Through Sound Public Policy

Guest Speaker: John Hofmeirster - President, Shell Oil
Date: Wednesday May 7, 2008
Time: 4:30 slt
Location: University of Delaware, stadium entrance (138, 226, 29)
or http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/221/215/33

Event Information:
Staving off global warming depends on reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere. But those emissions come, in large part, from the transportation sector of the industrial world’s economy, and from manufacturing and production industries which rely on petroleum products for fuel.

Oil producers and the auto industry have been reluctant to shift away from oil-based products, and the energy industry is among the world’s most profitable. How can we reconcile the high demand for petroleum in the industrial world with the need to reduce carbon emissions? Can the United States have a sound energy policy to sustain its economy without threatening the very lives of people in less developed countries who could be hurt by climate change? The President of Shell Oil Company is a spokesman for the energy industry on these and related questions.

John Hofmeister is the next guest in the University of Delaware’s Global Agenda speaker series called “Boiling Point: international politics of climate change.” Wednesday, May 7 at 4:30pm slt.

Web Site(s):
http://www.udel.edu/global/

Podcast of previous Global Agenda speakers
http://www.ums.udel.edu/podcast/

University of the Pacific Opens Second Life Campus

Jim Phillips — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:51:14 -0700

Join us on at 1:00 PM PT on Wednesday, May 6, for the opening of the new Second Life campus for the University of the Pacific. Meet at U Pacific (166,141,22) under the iconic replica of Burns Tower.

"U Pacific" is a based on the real campus area around Burns Tower. For those at the university, you can meet at Pacific Theater for a live demonstration and virtual ribbon cutting of the Pacific campus. Elizabeth Griego will officiate the ceremony. For all attendees, a virtual dance party with live DJ will follow.

NMC Welcomes New Members - Joined in April 2008!

Nancy Reeves — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:41:38 -0700

NMC welcomes the following new members who joined in April 2008!

Ningxia Polytechnic and TV University (China)
http://www.nxtvu.edu.cn/
Savannah College of Art and Design
http://www.nmc.org/organization/savannah-college-art-and-design
University of Maryland
http://www.nmc.org/organization/university-maryland

NMC Celebrates 15th Anniversary!

Nancy Reeves — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:34:30 -0700

Founded in 1993, this year marks the 15th anniversary of The New Media Consortium! Celebration activities are already taking place as we prepare for the 2008 NMC Summer Conference and we are asking you to contribute any photos or images of the number 15 to our Flickr group!

Internet2 recognizes Bradley University NMC & Theatre with IDEA Award

elamoureux — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:04:59 -0700

Peoria, IL . . . April 22, 2008 . . . Bradley University was named the winner of a national award this morning for innovative use of Internet2 technology for its cutting edge 2007 production of The Adding Machine. An international team of collaborators, led by Bradley University’s Department of Theatre Arts, Multimedia Program, and Office of Information Resources and Technology, received a 2008 IDEA (Internet2 Driving Exemplary Applications) Award by Internet2, a national networking consortium.

The award recognizes leading innovators who have created and deployed advanced network applications that have enabled transformational progress in research, teaching and learning. BU NMC co-director and Chair of Multmedia, Jim Ferolo, was the art director and play co-producer on the work.

more: http://explore.bradley.edu/NetNews/Newsline?title=IDEA

For more information about the Bradley University production of The Adding Machine see http://addingmachine.bradley.edu/ .

Panel in Storytelling in Virtual Environments | Location: Second Life

anaventura — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:41:20 -0700

The Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) and the Museum of the Person are celebrating the International Day for Sharing Life Stories on May 16. The following day – May 17 – the CDS is proposing a reflection on storytelling in virtual environments in the form of a panel in Second Life. The approaches to this theme will be very different as a result of the panelists’ distinct academic backgrounds. Please read abstracts and bios on attached PDF.

Date: May 17, 2008 Time: 10:00 AM PDT (Check www.worldtimezone.com for local times)
Location: Second Life Campus of the Center for Digital Storytelling (@ “Teaching 2’ - NMC Campus)
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Teaching%202/209/109/23
Organization: Center for Digital Storytelling, with the support of the New Media Consortium

2008 NMC Summer Conference - Registration is Now Open!

Nancy Reeves — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:32:15 -0700

Registration is now open for the 2008 NMC Summer Conference, hosted by Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey!

Follow this link to register now!
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/registration

Keynote Presenters
Keynote presenters include Diana Oblinger, President, EDUCAUSE; Henry Jenkins, Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities; and Wole Soboyejo, Director of the U.S./Africa Materials Institute, and the Director of the Undergraduate Research Program at The Princeton Institute of Science and Technology Materials.
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/keynotes

Conference Program
The program includes over 80 breakout sessions, 20 poster sessions, 11 Five Minutes of Fame presentations, and new to the conference this year 11 Interactive sessions.
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/program

Special Preconference Workshops
Ruben Puentedura is presenting a special two-day Immersive Studio Workshop on " Digital Stories from Comics to Film: A Hands-on Production Workshop ", that will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday prior the the NMC Summer Conference.

There are also 7 other preconference workshops to chose from that will be held on Wednesday prior to the conference! These Preconference Workshops require an additional fee and ticket for admission. For a pdf of the complete Immersive Studio and Preconference Workshop descriptions, see http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-Preconference-Workshops.pdf

Hands-on Session Tickets
Hands-on sessions are a central focus of NMC conferences and attendees will have the opportunity to learn a wide range of new skills and software in theses special sessions. Seating for hands-on sessions is limited and as in the past, admittance requires pre-registration and a ticket. NOTE: Unlike in past years, hands-on session seats are available now -- but just like in past years, seating is very limited! Please register early for the best selection.
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/handsonsessions

Hotel Accommodations and Travel
NMC has secured a block of sleeping rooms at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Princeton. Special room rates of $159 for single/double occupancy have been secured for meeting attendees. When making your hotel reservation please be sure to mention that you are with the "NMC" or "New Media Consortium" group to receive the special rates. To ensure the special rates and room availability, please make your hotel reservation no later than Thursday, May 15., although we suggest making your reservations right away!

Princeton is about an hour away from most of the nearby airports, but very easy to reach by train. Please review the following link for additional information on getting to Princeton, as well as airlines, rental cars, and the New Jersey rail system.
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/travel

We are especially excited about this year's conference as the 2008 Summer conference marks the fifteenth anniversary for us! We are celebrating this in sort of a fun way by asking you to contribute any photos or images related to the concept of "15-edness" to our NMC@15 group on Flickr.
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/nmc15

More fun web 2.0 tools for the conference include:

Tag This Conference!
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/tag

Google Attendee Map!
http://www.nmc.org/2008-summer-conference/attendr

University at Buffalo Faculty Member Wins NY Emmy Award

cgallant — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:54:35 -0700

Last week, April 6th, 2008, The 51st Annual New York Emmy Awards Ceremony in New York City brought celebration and honor to Buffalo, NY as one of its own was honored and awarded an Emmy Award in the category of best News Special for 2007.

The Emmy Award winner is Chris Gallant, Directing/Editing for the news documentary They Made a Mistake: the Anthony Capozzi Story that originally aired July 7, 2007. (WGRZ-TV).

The director is a native of Buffalo, NY and is a journalist, filmmaker and Director of Photography for special projects at WGRZ-TV. Gallant received his Masters of Fine Arts Degree from the University at Buffalo’s Department of Media Study. He presently teaches a class a documentary film production course at University at Buffalo and serves on the board of directors of Squeaky Wheel, Buffalo’s media art center.

They Made a Mistake: the Anthony Capozzi Story is based on the true story of Anthony Capozzi, a schizophrenic man, who in the 1980’s was sentenced to life for two rapes that he did not commit. It is the first feature length, high definition documentary for WGRZ-TV. Anthony would languish at the Attica Correctional Facility for over two decades and then DNA evidence from the case that was tested twenty-two years later proving that Capozzi was not responsible for the rapes. One year ago this week Capozzi was freed from prison.

“This was an important story to tell.” said Gallant, “All of the hard work, long hours and the many nights sleeping on the floor in the attic of the station, were well worth it. Not only were we recognized for the work that we did by winning the Emmy Award, but were able to highlight a poignant human story demonstrating the injustice that is sometimes dealt out by our legal system”.

Gallant’s career spans over 16 years and around the country. He has worked at stations WRDW-TV/ Augusta, GA, WTOL-TV/Toledo, OH, WKBW-TV/Buffalo, NY and now at WGRZ-TV/Buffalo, NY. Gallant will present at the Interactives session in the Thursday Evening at Princeton event during the NMC Summer conference 2008. His presentation title is Documentary Filmmaking as an Instructional Tool: Challenges and Possibilities.

NMC CEO Johnson testifies to Congress on Virtual Worlds

NMC — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:08:16 -0700

NMC CEO Larry Johnson was asked to present testimony on the nature and state of virtual worlds on Tuesday, April 1, before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. Also presenting at the same hearing was Philip Rosedale, founder of Linden Lab and the inventor of Second Life.

Members of the NMC community are invited to comment on the text of Johnson’s remarks in a special CommentPress version of the report that can be reached at http://wp.nmc.org/mrpixel/

The hearing was webcast live, and an archive is available:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-ti-hrg.040108.VirtualWorld...

For more, including a pdf of Johnson's comments, please see the Committee on Energy and Commerce website:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/

Second Life Simulcasts from UD: Global Agenda and International Polar Year

paulhyde — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:11:05 -0700

Event Series: Global Agenda 2008 - International Politics of Climate Change

Title of Event: New Politics for New Weather

Guest Speaker: John Byrne - Climate/Energy Policy Nobel Laureate

Date and time: Wednesday April 9, 2008, 4:30 P.M. SLT

Location: University of Delaware island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/141/227/30

If you need a TP IM: Firery Broome

Event Information: International experts on climate change have concluded with near certainty that climate changes could bring disastrous consequences within the next century, unless the nations of the world reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. But that conclusion has not yet led political leaders to make the difficult policy decisions necessary to cope with the climate change challenge. How should individual citizens behave? What should big businesses do? How can governments create incentives for innovation and energy changes needed to deal with climate change? Political decisions must accompany the scientific conclusions being reached about climate change.

“New Politics for New Weather” is the topic of Dr. John Byrne’s talk in the University of Delaware’s “Global Agenda” foreign policy series on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 7:30pm, called “Boiling Point: international politics of climate change.” As a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Byrne shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the panel and former Vice President Al Gore. Byrne directs the University’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy. Moderated by former CNN world affairs correspondent and UD distinguished journalist in residence Ralph Begleiter.
Web Site:http://www.udel.edu/global/

Podcasts of previous Global Agenda speakers: http://www.ums.udel.edu/podcast/

Event Series: International Polar Year

Title of Event: Dramatic Changes in Earth's Polar Ice: Are We Waking Sleeping Giants?

Guest Speaker: Waleed Abdalat head of the Cryospheric Sciences Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Date and time: Thursday, April 10, 2008 4:30 p.m. SLT

Location: University of Delaware island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/141/227/30

If you need a TP IM: Firery Broome

Event Information: This is a simulcast of a live presentaion.Waleed Abdalati , who is one of the world's pre-eminent experts on the study of global climate change, will highlight the critical role that ice plays in shaping our environment and what the loss of ice cover may mean for life on Earth. The presentation will be enhanced by stunning animations produced by NASA.
For more detailed information on this event and the International Polar Year, please visit the web sites listed below.

Web Site(s):

http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2008/mar/ice032108.html

http://www.udel.edu/research/polar/

http://www.udel.edu/research/polar/events.html