Microsoft

I'm excited about what I've seen so far of pptPlex, Microsoft's new add-on to the popular PowerPoint presentation software. The application adds interactivity to presentations, allowing users to "zoom" in and out of content, and permitting them (and audiences) simultaneously to view both parts and the whole of a presentation, via the "ribbon" interface. This may be familiar to Mac users, but it's new for PowerPoint, which I've always thought seemed just a teensy bit stuck in "80s corporate" mode, suffering in comparison to, for example, Apple's Keynote. A product of the OfficeLabs initiative, pptPlex could help Microsoft to break away from that outdated image - you can even navigate it using a Wii controller.

Many people are aware that Apple is doing well and many attribute this success to the iPod. That would be true, but this success may actually be based on a major shift in the way we compute. I switched to Apple over the last year after using Microsoft since Win 3.0 days. And guess what, it was the right move. The Unix based OS X Apple computer today is a superior computing device. The bottom line is that using a fast; safe and multimedia rich computer is what we are looking for today and that is the Apple computer. Oh yes, 70% of our freshman chose for us to give them an Apple this year. The major shift I mentioned is the movement away from client based computing to entirely web based computing. This parallels the shift from software application based revenue to Internet advertising based revenue. Which side of this shift do you think Microsoft is on?

 

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This hour and five minute long podcast features a session from the Seminars on Academic Computing Conference by Jon Udell, Evangelist of Microsoft Corporation. Mr. Udell is an author, information architect, software developer, and new media innovator. His 1999 book, Practical Internet Groupware, helped lay the foundation for what we now call social software. This session is entitled, "The Disruptive Nature of Technology".

Web 2.0 and other emerging technologies invite exploration, innovation, and building with “small pieces loosely joined.” Yet those opportunities can disrupt traditional academic processes that undervalue amateur participation, discourage faculty from venturing outside their realm of primary expertise, and look to “enterprise solutions” for administrative convenience. Can the academy include “half-baked ideas” in its core mission and processes? This session addresses these issues from the perspective of an IT professional outside the academy.

In this 14 minute podcast, we feature an interview with O'Neal Smitherman, Vice President for Information Technology at Ball State University, from the 2007 Seminars On Academic Computing conference. Ball State University has partnered with Microsoft to bring a number of services and upgrades to their computing services. Mr. Smitherman discusses how Ball State approached this succesful partnership, some of the challenges a university faces in partnering with a vendor, and how to assess if a partnership is right for your institution.

O'Neal Smitherman was part of a collaborative session at the 2007 Seminars On Academic Computing entitled, "Outsourcing for Student Collaborative Services".

On the back end of Haptic devices and Multi-touch displays I ran across this article and video this morning that demonstrates another possible way to manipulate computers with your hands. 



As more and more possibilities present themselves for physically manipulating data on a computer, the more and more it will become mainstream.  I really like this option because, as it says in the video, all you would need would be a USB camera device and software.  This is potentially much more affordable than Haptic devices (although they are getting super cheap too) and certainly more affordable than a multi-touch display.

This afternoon I went to a meeting of the techie minds here on campus to discuss the implementation of Vista. There were quite a few people that acted like the implementation of Vista was a terrible, but necessary evil. A lot of the discussion focused around the new Office 2007 suite. From a support standpoint I can see how this upgrade could be a nightmare. The changes in Office navigation are quite significant, especially for long time users of the suite, with little apparent added functionality.

On the other hand, I have been using Vista and the Office Suite for several months as my primary machine and have not had any significant problems. I left the meeting trying to reconcile my experience with what I had just witnessed. I decided I was going to look for what was different/good about the upgrade.

All I.T. people tell you Vista is more secure, and it does have a multitude of security features that make it more safe, but an every day educator cares more about it working and functioning that how safe it is. I decided to look at specifically at how the upgrade to Vista helps us out as educators? What specific traits does it have that would be make it advantageous for us to upgrade to Vista? What added functionality will help me educate better? Here is my list:

Has anyone hear about Microsoft Grava? I hadn't heard of it before and just stumbled upon it. 
“Grava” is the codename to a new set of tools from Microsoft’s Education Product Group that will allow the education community to create and assemble materials that will increase discovery and allow learners to go at their own pace and learning style. Grava tools are slated for release in the Fall of 2007.You can find out more at:
https://connect.microsoft.com/Grava

In this 17 minute recording, RPI's Gary Schwartz shares some thoughts about the Bedework open source calendaring project.

See also:
http://www.calconnect.org


This interview is provided courtesy of CNI and was recorded at their 2006 Fall Task Force Meeting.  The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is an organization dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity.  You can learn more about CNI at their web site, http://www.cni.org

In the attached 16 minute recording, we'll hear from Open University's Director of Strategic Development, Joel Greenberg.  Listen in as he discusses a range of topics including, among other things, Open University's interest in Moodle.


This interview is provided courtesy of CNI and was recorded at their 2006 Fall Task Force Meeting.  The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is an organization dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity.  You can learn more about CNI at their web site, http://www.cni.org