Sony have announced a new version of their PSP portable gaming console.
Key difference will be that it will have a microphone allowing you to use it with Skype to make (internet) phone calls.
It also has a better screen.
BBC News on new PSP (and new PS3).
From Twitter, via AJ Cann’s Blog it is now possible to embed a Flickr slideshow into a webpage or a blog entry.
Alas you can not use it on a WordPress.com blog (like this is) as WordPress.com strip out something from the HTML code. Ah well.
Simply start the slideshow of your choice on Flickr, click share, and copy the relevant HTML into your webpage or blog entry, vle or similar.
You can customise the HTML so it fits the space you want better.
Ofcom have published a report, according to a BBC article, on the use of communication in the UK.
Britons are spending more time using communications services but paying less for them, says an Ofcom report.
Every day in 2007, the average consumer spent 7 hours and 9 minutes watching TV, on the phone, using the internet or using other services, it says.
Since 2002, mobile use has doubled and PC and laptop use has grown fourfold, says the watchdog’s annual review.
Though with falling costs of internet and mobile phones, though the UK is using more comms stuff, it is in fact spending less…
But the average UK household spend on communications in 2007 was £93.63 a month – a fall of £1.53 on 2006.
This certainly reiterates that our learners are well versed in the use of digital communication tools and therefore would probably be quite at home using them for learning.
Photo source.
Scribus is an open source DTP package for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.
Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of “press-ready” output and new approaches to page layout. Underneath the modern and user friendly interface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.
Could be an alternative for InDesign, Quark and of course Publsher. Scribus website.
One of the devices that many MoLeNET projects found really useful for creating video for mobile devices was the small pocket flash based MP4 cameras such as the Flip video camera
These small, low cost devices allow practitioners and learners to quickly create video clips which can then be easily uploaded to a VLE or blog or similar.
In a recent Guardian column, Stephen Fry wrote about the merits of the Flip:
Video. Your mobile phone might be capable of it, your compact digital camera almost certainly is and there are dozens of dedicated camcorders available that can write moving picture information to all kinds of media at all kinds of qualities for all kinds of money. Why, then, a basic handheld video camera that can do nothing else? a) What is the point? and b) Where is the market? The answers, refreshingly, are a) Fun and b) The young.
I don’t have a Flip, though I know others that have similar devices and echo Stephen’s comments. Personally I have been using HD cameras such as the Panasonic HDC-SD5
Key question is one HDC-SD5 worth three to four Flips?
The answer depends on the use of the video you shoot.
For quick video capture which needs to be uploaded quickly online, then the Flip wins out.
If you need to edit the video, or want to show the video through a data projector then the HD video has to the first choice.
Which would you choose and why?
Photo source.
It’s the summer break here in the UK for FE, so as a result I expect posts to this blog to be less over August. However I will be back in September.
It would appear Toshiba (the originator of the classic Libretto small form factor laptop) is looking at the mini-book market.
From PC Authority:
The notebook giant is planning an ultra low-cost portable to join the ranks of the Eee PC and MSI Wind (though not necessarily a direct competitor, they say).
Officials won’t reveal details, yet, but they are showing a prototype of a device they’ve created to spur development ideas. The tiny handheld (shown in the main pic below) reminded us more of a UMPC than a notebook, with the keyboard ditched in favour of a touchscreen keyboard.
Looks interesting, more like the Nokia N810
For me Windows Vista is not really the best operating system for these internet devices, a bit too much power and as a result poor battery life and lots of heat!
I have been meaning to write a blog post on Flickr for some time now.
Well now I don’t need to as TASI have done an excellent guide on Flickr.
This document looks at the ways you can use Flickr and some of its associated tools and services to help organise a collection of images.
Whether you have a small number of photographs you would like to share privately with a few colleagues, or a larger collection you need to make more widely available, Flickr offers a possible alternative to setting up an in-house image database.
I found it very interesting and learnt a lot from it. One interesting fact was the way in which other institutions and museums are now using Flickr to host digital collections.
You can view my Flickr images here.
BBC reports on research carried out on behalf of Intel says that we will see a huge increase in the use of mobile internet devices.
The world of mobile internet devices is set to explode in the next four years says chip maker Intel.
Research carried out for the company suggests portable net-enabled devices will grow to 1.2 billion by 2012 as the need to be connected increases.
Intel’s predictions were unveiled as it launched a series of chips designed for portable web-browsing gadgets.
I certainly find I am using the internet on mobile devices more then ever.
I expect that learners will also be doing the same as devices get cheaper and smaller; and (importantly) internet access gets cheaper too.
Okay this is a rumour, which basically means that it may have absolutely no foundation in truth and is just purely a figment of someone’s imagination.
It is rumoured (did I say this was a rumour) that Apple in October may be releasing a MacBook touch.
This product would have the touch interface of the iPhone and the iPod touch with the capability of a proper MacBook.
Gizmodo quotes MacDailyNews:
Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured multi-touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion’s haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS.
I would certainly like to see an Apple Tablet type device.