Following an article on the BBC News about a robotic space ship docking under its own control with the International Space Station, I noticed that they were using this GoogleMaps mash-up site to plot the position of the space vehicles.
Sorry, the 'they' mentioned were the BBC and not NASA/ESA. But the way Google's going, you just never know ;-)
Another tracking site is:
http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml
Clicking in the ship details can even bring up its previous course.
The BBC is at the college using our Multimedia Centre to produce some newsfeeds as past of their School Report Day. Over 40 Aberdeen pupils are here to create news broadcasts that will be shown live across the UK - in this day and age, it's probably available worldwide.
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Great advice from the BBC on their website, for example audio recording tips. The main site is here.
The South by Southwest festivals end today. Along with the music and film festival, there is the festival of interactivity. The blurb on the website is enticing, and it's the sort of event that I'd love to get to just to soak up the atmosphere and see what I could take back to work:
Attracting digital creatives as well as visionary technology entrepreneurs, the event celebrates the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology. Whether you are a hard-core geek, a dedicated content creator, a new media entrepreneur, or just someone who likes being around an extremely creative community, SXSW Interactive is for you!
But it isn't in Dumfries, so I'll have to make do with the media from the Texas event. At least there should be lots of interactive media to interact with.
http://2008.sxsw.com/interactive/
As a fan of spider-diagrams, I loved the idea of a graphic artist interpreting Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg's keynote speech.
Gary Gygax passed away on Tuesday morning at home in Wisconsin. He was 69 years old and had had health problems for several years.
There are 133 articles about him on Google News
guess that without D&D (especially AD&D), the world would be a different place for many folk. No Lord of the Rings movies (Tolkien was just another academic author), no Discworld books, no Harry Potter, no Babylon 5 (much seemed based on the Traveller universe). Without people freeing their imaginations, the computer games industry would be different, the technology industry would be different. I would be different.
Not a bad achievement for the son of an immigrant to the USA who spent most of his life in the same town. The BBC have a more modest list.
Perhaps we could run SpeedCabling competitions? Maybe a book-token for the winner?
A new "sport" based around unravelling the mass of wires that can typically be found beneath computer desks the world over is taking off in the western US.
The first "speedcabling" competition took place in an art gallery in Los Angeles and was won by LA-based web developer Matthew Howell.
The challenge was devised by IT professional Steven Schkolne. Contestants are faced with a tangled mass of six ethernet cables of various lengths. Their task is simply to separate them in the fastest time.
To get them to replicate the conditions of the wires found snaking and choking their way around hard drive units, monitors and printers in offices worldwide, Schkolne first started by tangling them in a figure eight. Then he threw the bundles in a clothes dryer - no longer attached to any computer unit, naturally.
Full story from BBC News
I missed this as it's been a busy week, so thanks to Michael for referring to the feed in his blogging assessment:
BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC and MySpace, the world's largest social networking platform, today announced the launch of a ground-breaking partnership to bring new and archived short form BBC content to MySpaceTV.
The announcement marks the first global agreement of this type between MySpaceTV and a major broadcaster. Under the partnership, the best BBC video content will be made available online globally via MySpaceTV, the social networking site's popular new video platform. MySpace users will be able to visit and subscribe to the BBC Worldwide's MySpaceTV video channel in order to view, embed and virally share BBC content across the MySpace community.
Full report available at: sangha-solutions.blogspot.com
BBC Worldwide's page on MySpace - they've already got some clips from Doc Who and Red Dwarf. Lets see if I can embed the code without being a MySpace member (stifles evil cackle)...
You're probably already aware of this but...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7210358.stm
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has apologised after five out of eight boxes of surveys, by 1,400 students from seven colleges, disappeared.
Names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, gender and ethnicity are included in the documents.
They went missing when a Glasgow market research firm sent them to a consulting company in Edinburgh, the SFC said.
Students from Aberdeen College, Adam Smith College in Fife, Anniesland College in Glasgow, Barony College in Dumfries, North Highland College and Telford College in Edinburgh, have been affected.
...
The National Union of Students Scotland has advised students to change internet and banking passwords, to help protect their identity.
From the SFC site:
Students at seven colleges across Scotland took part in a survey Learner Choice in FE 2007 between 1 October and 3 December 2007. SFC contracted York Consulting LLP to carry out the survey, who in turn sub-contracted the interviews to market research company Research Resource.
The forms contain personal data which the interviewees may prefer to remain private, such as name, address, date of birth, phone number, and demographic information (such as gender and ethnicity). For many people much of this data is already in the public domain. It does not include bank data or national insurance details. Nonetheless, SFC and the contractors are very keen to alert all interviewees that this information may become disclosed in a way that they have not authorised.
...despatched eight boxes containing the original paper forms with the data collected in the survey by City Link courier to York Consulting LLP. York Consulting LLP informed us that three boxes were received. Despite extensive efforts by Research Resource, City Link, and York Consulting LLP, five boxes containing about 1,500 forms have not been found.
The SFC point out that they have "contacted students individually".
Rory Cellan-Jones, tech journo with the BBC News team writes:
I’ve been away from my normal beat for a couple of days, getting involved in coverage of the Heathrow crash landing. But reporting on this story has reminded me of how new technology has changed the lives of journalists. Ten years ago, we would not have had three tools that proved essential over recent days – Google, Youtube, and games software downloaded online.
Full story on how Internet technology aided the recent BBC coverage of the Heathrow crash landing. The discussion afterwards is worth your perusal too.
The BBC has relaunched their iPlayer. You can catch programmes from the last 7 days from BBC1 and BBC2, also the digital channels BBC3, BBC4, News24 and BBC Parliament.
Useful programmes for your career range from "World Business Report" to "Panorama: One Click from Danger".
They have also integrated the "listen again" radio features into the iPlayer so you can catch radio shows too. Crossing Continents on Thursday's Radio 4 was a feature on technology, e-athletes and cyber-addiction in South Korea (newslink).
From 13th November 2007:
The National Union for Journalists (NUJ) has admitted its first full-time freelance professional blogger as a member.
Conrad Quilty-Harper, who blogs for technology blog Engadget, had his application for membership approved at a meeting of the NUJ’s London Freelance branch last night, Tim Gopsill, editor of The Journalist, confirmed to Journalism.co.uk.
Harper was invited to attend the freelance meeting where his application was passed after he was initially rejected by the union for being a student on a non-media course.
And earlier, on the 25th October 2007:
Guardian media blogger and former Daily Mirror editor Roy Greenslade is quitting the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), because of the organisation's attitude towards new media.
Greenslade, who has been a member of the union for 42 years, announced his resignation on his blog and said it would be 'hypocritical' to remain a NUJ member 'when I am now so opposed to the union's central aims'.
In his post Greenslade said the group's policies needed to be updated to accommodate the growth of online journalism: "Journalistic skills are not entirely wiped out in an online world, but…they cannot be confined any longer to an exclusive élite group."
Explaining his decision Greenslade suggested that while the NUJ sees the internet as a threat to journalism 'it [the web] is much more a threat to the union itself.'
"[T]he union, as with the print unions of old, cannot possibly adapt to meet the revolutionary demands of a new technology," his blog post said.
Interesting times indeed. Anyone fancy a Diet of Worms? In the same way that professional photographers have been affected by sites like Flickr, cheap dSLRs and people willing to put the time and effort in to try and improve their skills, then journalism must also be affected. It comes to reason, that as news becomes more speculative, exclusives are not exclusives, the tv news complains when people rebroadcast their feeds but happily show YouTube videos without stating that they have the owner's permission. What really separates the paid journalist from the citizen journalist? Time, effort, money, resources, skills in obtaining the news, a talent for language. Some have skills and talent, others one or the other - just like in any job. Is every citizen a journalist? No. Is everyone who owns a camera a photographer? No. In days past, eyewitnesses to events would only be able to describe the event, now they have videos and still photos, some have been keeping blogs instead of written diaries.
In a knowledge-lead society, do we need to be able to distinguish between facts and opinions. Is a review in a magazine opinion or fact? Are comments left about a piece of software factual or trite nonsense left by a competitor? Only the knowledgeable reader can judge. But where do they learn that judgement from? No-one seems to be teaching online citizenship these days.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Mahatma Gandhi (source)
Are bloggers looking for a fight? I amn't. What is victory? I don't know. Anyone can use the same quote when they feel that they are being oppressed. Do I feel that bloggers are being oppressed? Wise up. Blogs are merely a medium. The person behind the computer is the important cog in the Web2.0 wheel. In our own mind, we are important. We are important to our families and friends. We matter. Does what we have to say about the world matter? Probably not. But we are social animals, we have brains and can think. So why not use the tools available to us to be sociable, to think and to converse. Geography, social class, skin colour, cultural background, age, gender, physical abilities and religion are less important than your ability to be a sentient human being. If you refuse to think, to reason, to discuss, to create, then you are an empty shell of a being.
Maybe that is what scares some in the media? A lot is just boring, brainless drivel, re-hashing old news, cutting back on investing in investigative journalism, and making decent programmes for television. If there is only so much happening in the world, but news has to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, why can't there be more detailed, in-depth news? Maybe because we, the recipient, have no time for it? In the Information Age, there is a growing divide - the news reflects this. There are just too many channels for their to be a good standard of quality programmes. Will this change in the future? I don't know, but can guess that there will be an increase in the number of niche channels.
For the record, my main sources of news are: BBC News website, Radio 4's Today programme, Radio 4 news (especially midnight), Newsnight, Channel 4 news.
Press release:
Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret's publisher, said "I'm pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits." Source
The BBC News writes:
Apple is notoriously secretive about forthcoming products and it sued Think Secret claiming that bloggers should not enjoy the same rights to protect sources granted to mainstream journalists.
A California court initially sided with Apple but the hi-tech firm lost the case on appeal. The outcome of that said bloggers should be considered as journalists and subject to the same protections.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) aided Think Secret in its legal fight to stop Apple forcing it to reveal its sources.
"I hope that Apple takes from this that it is neither useful nor wise to sue its fans," said Kurt Opsahl, an attorney for the EFF.
Full story and historical links.
From the BBC in April 2005:
The information appeared on three Apple enthusiast websites, PowerPage, Apple Insider and Think Secret. Source
Ah well.
YouTube has set up a channel that hopes to beat the bullies.
The BBC News writes:
It follows growing concern about the increase in persecution by e-mail, mobile phone and on social networking sites, known as cyberbullying.
The scheme is being launched at the start of anti-bullying week and is run jointly with charity Beatbullying.
The Beatbullying YouTube channel aims to revolutionise how young people access information on how to avoid being bullied and importantly on how to avoid being the person who does the intimidating.
Links:
More information can be found on these sites, including video clips from celebrities, some talking about how it affected them.
Tim O’Reilly, a conference promoter and book publisher who is credited with coining the term Web 2.0, began working with Jimmy Wales, creator of the communal online encyclopedia Wikipedia, to create a set of guidelines to shape online discussion and debate. (source)The article concluded that:
Robert Scoble, a popular technology blogger who stopped blogging for a week in solidarity with Kathy Sierra after her ordeal became public, says the proposed rules “make me feel uncomfortable.” He adds, “As a writer, it makes me feel like I live in Iran.”
Mr. O’Reilly said the guidelines were not about censorship. “That is one of the mistakes a lot of people make — believing that uncensored speech is the most free, when in fact, managed civil dialogue is actually the freer speech,” he said. “Free speech is enhanced by civility.”
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I have to agree with O'Reilly, and say that there is nothing wrong with being civil. If I don't like something, I can describe what I don't like about it without leaving a comment like the one left on YouTube in response to the WebProNews article.
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The Blogger's Code of Conduct wiki, where you can read about the suggestions: link.
Tim O'Reilly's articles: Call for a Blogger's Code of Conduct, Draft Blogger's Code of Conduct, or the more recent: Code of Conduct: Lessons Learned So Far
There are some interesting discussions on freedom of speech, and issues like Constructive Anonymity vs. Drive-by Anonymity.
From my point of view, swearing in public (e.g. blogs) shows a lack of community spirit. I can swear like the trooper I once, but not in front of students, management or members of the public. Not because I can't but because it reflects badly on me. Swearing has its place in society (i.e. when expression extremes of emotion), but the everyday use of swearing shows what little people think of each other (i.e. society) and what poor communicators they are. We are all better than that, or can strive to be better than that.
Read this, and see how few times Mr Douglass swears. Do you think that your life is harder than his was? Thankfully, very few people reading this can truthfully answer "yes". If you do answer "yes", please make sure that you have all the support that pastoral guidance can offer you.
The Law is not blind:
An teenager who set up a website urging school pupils to "kick the hell" out of a teacher has been fined £700.
Neil Cameron, 17, from Daviot, Aberdeenshire, made offensive remarks about Meldrum Academy's depute head Alan Horberry on the Bebo site.
Full story from BBC News.
More criminal news from the world of the Web can be found at http://mycrimespace.com/ - warning: it may give you nightmares, but is that a bad thing?
Blogs in the News...hmm, maybe need to come up with an other shortened version of that than "BintNews". Anyway...
Bloggerheads is back in the Blogosphere. Posting the news that The Man don't want you to read. Whoever The Man is to you. Why did the security guards taser a student merely for speaking their mind (and they didn't even swear)? It's there. You might not agree with all the angles, but the questions are out there. And in a mature democracy, isn't that the right way to conduct business? Asking the awkward questions, ignoring the spin, and finding out The Truth.
Or, if you'd rather, here's a balloon following a kid.
With the launch of an awareness campaign, online bullying is in the news. Like any form of bullying, this will not be, and can never be, tolerated. Although we staff read our students blogs and highlight problems, please do contact us if you feel that someone's comments or posts hurt you.
As a blogger, don't feel that you have to explain yourself to anyone who's abusive or libellous comments that have been left on your blog. Tell your tutor, who can collect evidence, before deleting the comment. All our computers have IP addresses, and access logs kept. Nothing is anonymous.
Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said:
"Sadly, bullying is a negative feature of any society and will only be countered by strong action against bullies and a bullying culture.Cyberbullying - laugh at it, and you're part of it.
"We would encourage all partners in the world of education to play a part in stamping out wanton actions that negatively affect the lives of others.
"Many schools harness the student voice, through student councils and other means, to counter bullying in the most effective way, because students are closer to the lives of their peers."
If you encounter any other forms of cyberbullying, especially those that use racism, religious hate, homophobia or threats of actual violence, tell your parents, a teacher or – if you think that the content is illegal – the police.Additional links:
