Most Wired January 24, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, History.1 comment so far
CNET News is reporting that Forbes has crowned Seattle as the most-wired city. I live in Denver, which came in at number 8. I guess I just take it for granted that I can get online just about everywhere I go. Broadband and wireless were both considered in compiling this list. How wired is your home?
Seattle tops ‘Forbes’ most-wired cities list | Wireless – CNET News
One Billion and Counting January 23, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Data, History.add a comment
Depending on who’s statistics you want to believe, there are either 1,000,000,000 or nearly 1,500,000,000 Internet users. That is a lot of people, but not even a quarter of the world’s population. A few numbers stand out.
- China leads the way in terms of total numbers with 179.7 million, followed by the United States with 163.3 million.
- Canada has around 80% of its citizens connected.
- India had only around 3% of its citizens connected.
As underrepresented counties continue to develop their network infrastructure, we can all look forward to a different Internet in the future.
ComScore: Internet Population Passes One Billion; Top 15 Countries
Short History of the Internet January 7, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, History.add a comment
Interesting short video on the history of the Internet. I enjoy this sort of thing, thinking that knowing where you have been may shed some light on where you are now, and possibly where you might be next. Credit to Free Technology for Teachers blog for this find. Free Technology for Teachers: The History of the Internet
History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.
The Future That Could Have Been January 2, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, History.2 comments
Very interesting audio slideshow (digital storytelling?) about a project to invent the future from the early 1960’s. The future could have included movable cities transported by hovercraft. Actually, we could use that idea in my district where we have need for new schools in some areas, with underused schools in others. Need more capacity? Just float in a school from one part of town to another!
Predictions for 2009 January 1, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, History, Opinion.add a comment
I’m not sure predictions are all that helpful, but they are sort of fun to write anyway. They also give me a chance to look forward, and forward is progress, right? So here goes:
- Just like last year, smaller and portable will be more important. If laptops and other gadgets don’t get smaller and more portable, they will at least get less expensive. This is good news for the classroom, at least for the classroom that is ready to turn over some control of the learning to the learners. It won’t mean much at all to a teacher-centered classroom.
- Net Neutrality will continue to be a non-issue for most people. With the new administration coming in, Net Neutrality might actually come to pass. For those who say we don’t need any guarantees in place about accessing information in this age of information, I am glad the same argument wasn’t listened to when it came time to write the Bill of Rights. Classrooms won’t notice this issue even if it isn’t in place.
- Computer displays built into eye glasses will not be common place in the coming year. By the time virtual displays are available, which won’t be any time soon, you won’t need to wear glasses to see what is on your display.
- The coming year will be more difficult for Internet start-ups that give away their product for free. This means fewer cool new sites for our students to figure out how to use to further their own learning. It also means that the best sites will need our patronage and support. We’ll need to do a better job of spreading the word about the best tools and the best ways to use them in our classrooms.
- Smart phones will get even smarter. This one seems like a done deal.
On to 2009 to see how the predictions turn out! Let’s make it a better one than the last one.
2008 Predictions In Review December 31, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in History, Humor.add a comment
About a year ago, I made a few modest predictions for 2008. I tried to make them generic enough to fit most developments, and even included an out for the unpredictable.
What do I think the new year will bring? The trend to smaller, more portable, networked devices will continue, mostly from the cell phone industry, although one hears rumors of new portable devices. I also think that open source will continue to invade the business world. I also think that Net Neutrality will be both more important, and more imperiled. Oh, and of course, something will come along that I didn’t expect, I probably won’t understand, and I’ll dismiss it as an unimportant passing fad, just like I did with Twitter in 2007.
Smaller, more portable devices made a big impact with netbooks in 2008, so that prediction looks sound. Open source is still only marginally accepted, so I’ll call that prediction as off target. Something I didn’t expect? I suppose LOL Cats would qualify for that, although I’m sure the site started long before I heard about it. LOL Cats? It is a site where visitors create captions for animal pictures, and vote for which ones they like. My youngest spends hours collecting her favorites!
more animals
2008: the Year of Online News Over Print, TV Still King December 24, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos, Data, History.add a comment
Pew Research released another survey, this time showing that the Internet is now more popular than newspapers for Americans as a source national and international news. TV holds the top spot. This news is being reported by several online sources, so I’ve only linked to the earliest source in my Google Reader collection. I haven’t been watching TV today, so I can’t say if the survey is getting much coverage there.
TitusOneNine – Americans prefer news from Web to newspapers: survey
2008: the Year of the Laptop December 23, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Hardware, History.2 comments
Looking back, 2008 will be remembered for many things. On the technology front, 2008 is the year of the laptop. According to a CNET News article, laptops outsold desktops for the first time (world-wide) in the last quarter of the year.
Global notebook shipments exceeded desktops on a quarterly basis for the first time ever, with Netbooks playing a decisive role, iSuppli said on Tuesday.
For the classroom, laptops have many advantages. Space is often at a premium in classrooms, and desktops computers take up a lot of room. Laptops, on the other hand, can be deployed in any room instead of a dedicated lab room and stored when not in use. Laptops can also be used in any part of the room, something that isn’t easy to do with a desktop computer. Wireless networking also eliminates the need for cabling. There is the negative of having to manage battery power. Do you have access to laptops or a lab? Which do you prefer?
