Last of Learn 2.5

Better Late than Never! Last of Learn 2.5

• I like the reviews of Kid friendly site for fun and learning. Kerpoof sounds better than Scratch (We have a class on this.) and easier to use.
• Yack Pack is an Internet-based voice communication tool that works a lot like voicemail for the Web.
• Live Music Archive is a part of Internet Archive which is a fantastic site for exploring or research. http://www.archive.org/ Wayback Machine is also part of this site. [BTW -Wayback Machine was part of an old cartoon where the "Professor" was always taking the boy back in time to explain history etc.]
• Budget Travel http://www.budgetravel.com/ looks good for travel research ie: where to go, what to see. Good site for me, LOVE to travel.
• People Maps http://www.mypeoplemaps.com/ is an interesting business networking device. It has potential.

All in all it has been and interesting trip through Learn 2.5 and being introduced to sites I don't normally go looking for. It has broadened my scope and opened search windows.

Google Docs or ZoHo

To online Doc or not to online Doc? Both of these sites look great to me! Best yet, once again, they are FREE! Road Warrior Alert! -They are especially great if you travel. Also an easy way to save to PDF if you don't have Adobe Acrobat Writer.

For my exploring friends these are online document sharing/storing sites. You can upload, create, share, print, save to PDF, and access them from anywhere you can get to the internet including your media capable phone. Try them out. If you have a Google account you can also logon to Zoho.

docs.google.com
http://www.zoho.com/

Search vs Navigation

A direct hit, a direct hit, my kingdom for a direct hit!
What do you REALLY want a search engine for? To find information the quickest way possible. I have used many. Some are far and away better than others. Also, be aware that some are topic specific, www.dictionary.com and www.quote.com for instance. The first is just what it sounds like, an online dictionary offering several dictionary versions of the word or phrase searched. The second is for stock quotes and futures. There are others of course.

My results for these sites from the lesson. I searched for "paralegal certification form florida" knowing it is usually a hard to find item.:

• taptu.com -for mobile devices
• www.lexxe.com - Not very helpful. Frustrating, missed the mark widely.
• www.hakia.com - Great! 2nd link down was it.
• www.quintura.com -Also great! 1st link was it.
• www.bing.com - 1st link after 4 "Sponsered" links.

Others:

• www.dogpile.com 9th link down after school links. (Searches several engines at once.)
• www.webcrawler.com -Still out there. 10 links down for the item.
• www.metacrawler.com - 9th link down. (Searches Google, Yahoo, Windows Live, Ask)
• www.lycos.com - 1st link after 3 "sponsored" links.
• www.ask.com -Item not even on the 1st page. I don't care for this one, never get what I want.

Mobile Web / Apps

Aaah the rush of iPhone and use of the internet on phones. Many phones offer this capability now not just iPhone and PDAs have been around for some time. My last 2 bosses twice removed were road warriors. As such, they had every mobile device known to man at the time (mid-90s to 2004). The PDA was very nice with mini apps for Word, Excel and Outlook and docs could be emailed or downloaded to the desktop or laptop. The new versions are basically a PDA/ mobile phone cross with more screen real estate. It is obviously the continued future wave constantly going more mobile and more internet access.

The "GOTCHA" here is the cost for connectivity. One has to have media added or "bundled" into their package of phone options or pay per use by the kilobyte downloaded. This can get pricey $$. Mine happens to be extra/ per use. Needless to say, I don't use it much. When I have used it, it is convenient, but the screen is small requiring me to put my glasses back on to peer at my screen. (Dating myself here.)

If you are curious as to how it looks before diving in, go to this Emulator posted on our learn lessons and try it out. Put in a web site to see how it would look on mobile device (phone etc.)
http://instantmobilizer.com/test-your-site.htm The on screen mobile can be clicked on just like the real thing.

Social Networking...?

MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, all means of "Social Networking".
Pros -

• Can expand your realm, your knowledge base, and your contacts (business or otherwise). Talk about information central -news rockets through these communities - regardless of the type of news, world shaking, celebs, or couch snoozing.
• Meet, greet and date! Carefull!
• Promo events, business, or talents - FREE - and free is a BIG deal. I know many people who have MySpace/Twitter etc. accounts just to advertise their insert project/event/ business/talent/band/video here. The numbers of people reached is exponential, (read gargantuan huge). Touch vastly more people, FREE, that's better than any other medium around, bar none.

Cons -

• ADDICTIVE - That's what keeps the sites going. I have seen people in a withdrawl frenzy if they think they can't get to a computer to check their MySpace etc. Devotees are die hard faithful.
• Do I really want to know that you just ate a doughnut or sneezed all over your cat?? Do I care? It is full of life's minutia, a mass of useless trivia.

Once again one must sift and sort to suit yourself.

Week #1 Get a Life! Virtual or Real?

2nd Life is an interesting concept. I've seen it. It can be fun flying around from place to place participating in a virtual world, being whoever you want to be in an imaginary land. Wait a minute, wasn't that done in Peter Pan? It is, undeniably, a new market to tap to reach those addicted to this virtual world and another segment of the population. It is also an opportunity to create a virtual store front to disseminate information. Just look at the last election, with the large Obama presence in Second Life. Only time will tell if it is a flash in the pan or something that will last and develop.

The thing is, there is so much in the REAL world to see, do, and feel. Why limit myself to 2D (pseudo 3D). I can take a virtual vacation with Google Earth and 2nd life etc, but that does not compare to the experience of really going places and the people you meet, things that happen, sights, sounds, language, smells, tastes, feelings. There are many senses left unexperienced in a virtual world. Seeing pictures (even 3D) of the Eiffel Tower is much different than actually touching it, riding up to the top, eating dinner there, and taking in the view. (Which I've done.) After a long day at the computer - There's just something to be said for taking a hike, parking yourself by a cool pond, leaning against a tree, and enjoying the outdoors.

Techno - Learn 2.5

Starting the new round of techno-info. I'll be posting my observations as we go through the lessons.