A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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One of the reasons I upgraded to an Android phone was my interest in Augmented Reality. I knew I would be doing some traveling this summer and wanted a way to check out items around me quickly, without having to bring my work Blackberry along. I got a chance to put the new smartphone through its paces last weekend in Washington DC, and here are some of my initial feelings about AR…
The problems surrounding teachers using Facebook seem to be getting more and more complex. I’ve written before about how teacher’s private use of Facebook can impact their jobs, whether justly or unjustly. The issue that was brought up recently involves teachers’ use of Facebook on private mobile devices during school hours.
This is a tricky issue. We want teachers to be doing what they are paid to do – teach their classes and monitor their students. But how do you keep this in check?
We have Facebook blocked in our district because of some of the discipline issues is creates with students. It was suggested that we consider adding restrictions on Facebook usage on private mobile devices to our Acceptable Use Policy. I flatly disagreed with that. Our AUP regulates acceptable use of district-owned equipment and services, not private equipment. I don’t think should or legally could use a policy written for district equipment to be applied to private equipment.
I’ve been accused of having too many gadgets. I confess, I have quite a few. However, I’m not one to rush out and buy the latest just because it’s new. I need to have a purpose for the gadgets that I get – not just so I can have something shiny. Yesterday, however, I met … Read More “The Tech Guru” »
Google’s at it again with another product that everyone wants. This time it makes more sense than Buzz or Wave. Google is looking for a community to serve as a test bed for its 1 gigabit fiber optic Internet connection, and Greenville wants it. Of course, so do several other cities. Topeka, Kansas notoriously renamed … Read More “Vote Greenville for Google Fiber!” »
I finally had some time to play with Google Wave, and actually had some friends online who would wave back. While I don’t think the program is as useless as I had originally thought, I still think there are too many kluges required in order to get it to do what I want. Here are … Read More “More Google Wave Thoughts” »
Like any geek worth his salt, I’ve been waiting for my invitation to preview Google Wave to come through. I’ve only been playing with it for a bit, but so far my first impression has been, “So this is what all the hype has been about??” Maybe it will grow on my, but it hasn’t … Read More “Google Wave – First Impressions” »
Monday evening was the first rehearsal of the season for the Greenville Chorale. This fall we’re doing some of my absolute favorite music – Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil. We’re doing it in Russian, which has caused me no small amount of headaches – not because of the difficulty in singing, but because of inability to say no.
Musica Russica is a company dedicated to making Russian choral music available for performance. They have also produced an audio pronunciation guide for the Church Slavonic in the vigil. We have a license to provide the audio guide to the group, and Bing Vick asked if I could find some way to distribute it.
UPDATE: I regularly check to see what search terms bring people to this site. Apparently lots of people are copying phrases from the list below and pasting them into Google to try to find the answers. Sorry, but I think that should automatically disqualify you for Geekdom. If you can’t phrase a search properly, you … Read More “From Wired – 100 Essential Skills for Geeks” »
I was wondering when this would happen. Many of the “free” online applications that we’ve come to take for granted are now coming with strings attached. I guess they have to make money some way, but this week two tales of monetization have really taken the Web 2.0 world by storm. Here’s the scoop… First, … Read More “The Not-So-Free Web” »
Google has released two cool new products this week. First, there is a major update to the user interface for Street View. The transitions between scenes are much smoother, and it reminds me of Microsoft’s Photosynth technology. One gets the feeling of looking around corners, and actually being immersed in the environment. For a good example, take a look at Times Square in New York.
As cool as this is, I’m even more excited about the public release of Google Squared, a new search product that creates tables for search results. I had mourned the demise of Google Notebook, and haven’t really played around with Search Wiki, which is supposed to replace it. This new product is an excellent tool for research and comparison.