OLDaily
The idea of the internet as platform is a hard one to grasp, but one application that helps point the way is the eyeOS, the internet operating system. Basically, it's your computer desktop delivered from a remote site. I've set up an instance of eyeOS on my own site -
downes.ca/eyeos (Userid: Demo password: demo ). You'll find it's a bit slow and not especially useful - but that's not the point. In a similar vein, have a look at
, a way to connect your various services around the internet. This is Web 2.0 in action. [Tags: Web 2.0,
Operating Systems] [
Comment]
While I will not be able to attend Elliott Masie's new conference, Learning 2005 (aka L5) (I will be in Gander, Newfoundland), I thought this was pretty neat: articles and podcasts of the major presentators, available ahread of time and for free whether or not you are going to Florida, with an RSS feed to keep you posted on new additions. Somebody down there has been paying attention - and the evidence suggests that giving away the store like that has not reduced attendance; if anything, it is increasing it. [Tags:
Podcasting] [
Comment]
Coverage of BECTA's decision to deploy Shibboleth to provide a single-signon for British students. "Becta intends to use the universal sign-on for the emerging National Education Network (NEN), a secure, private network connecting all UK schools, colleges, universities and other educational bodies." Via ADL. [Tags:
Shibboleth,
Networks,
Schools] [
Comment]
As this article outlines, the Canadian government is under heavy pressure from lobbyists, most notable the U.S.-based RIAA, to sign the latest WIPO treaty. Fortunately, Canada has not done so, is under no obligation to do so, and - contrary to reports about the widespread adoption of the treaty - is among the majority of nations, those taking a 'wait and see' attitude. It should countinue to do so, and its legislators should be very clear in stating to our foreign visitors that signing the treaty is not in the best interests of the nation. [Tags:
Canada] [
Comment]
File sharing, it has been well established, doesn't actually cost the music industry any money. The lawsuits launched to prevent file sharing, however, may have a long-lasting impact. What sort of impact? Consider the language in this statement: "Copyright infringement is wrong," Andersen's lawyer, Lory Lybeck, told p2pnet. But, "Thug-like threats by multi-national, multi-billion dollar businesses against people who cannot afford to speak or even explain their innonence is a much greater wrong. The music industry with all of its assets and all of its talents has the ability to handle the 'problem' of downloading much more effectively and much more humanely. Their present tactics cause real harm to real people." Whether or not the lawsuit is successful, when your business is perceived as a gang of thugs, you've already lost your customers' hearts and minds. [Tags:
File Sharing] [
Comment]
I don't know. I suppose the idea of 'Clemson Blue Cheese' is a good marketing ploy. But I'm more inclined to think of it as the third sign of the apocalypse. I mean, when your institutions of higher learning are hucking cheese, what have they become, really? [Tags:
Marketing] [
Comment]
The first sentence of this article - that "Foafing the Music is the first music recommender system based on user's profile" - isn't accurate. Personal profiles have played a role since the 1998 Firefly system and continue to be important in Yahoo!'s Launch or the Canadian inDiscover recommender system. What is unique, however, is that the profile is publicly available in the form of a FOAF file, and that it may therefore be used not only in this application but in any other FOAF-compliant application. [Tags:
Canada] [
Comment]
Andy Carvin, hos laptop now fixed, makes the audio of this talk available on his website (have you noticed how quickly audio recordings of such events are now expected rather than the exception? If you are hosting an event, prepare to record audio (or to have it recorded for you). [Tags:
Portable Computers] [
Comment]
This is one of those sites I know I would have gone wild over as a kid. Polar Science follows scientist Thomas Hawke, "a Canadian scientist, as he investigates how young Weddell seal pups develop into elite divers." The site doesn't have a lot of content yet - registrations (teachers are invited to sign up their classes) just opened. What I found interesting was the focus, not on flash an glitz, but on community, not merely in the overt design (communicate with other students, create a blog) but in the structure of content and activities - for example, "You be the researcher. Follow
these steps to design your own research project." What I am highlighting here is that the activity is designed to immerse students into the research practice. By
yesican-science. [Tags:
Research,
Project Based Learning,
Web Logs,
Canada] [
Comment]
The Open Content Alliance, launched by Yahoo! and a host of other companies, will digitize public domain books and books contributed by their copyright holders. This project is widely seen as an alternative to the Google Print project that ran afoul of publishers wishing to protect their works. [Tags:
Google,
Project Based Learning,
Copyright and Patent Issues,
Books and eBooks] [
Comment]
Projects & Collaborations
Browse through the thousands of links in my knowledge base
sorted according to topic category, author and
publication.
Research
Browse through the thousands of links in my knowledge base
sorted according to topic category, author and
publication.
About Me
Bio, photos, and assorted odds and ends.
Publications
You know, the ones that appear in refereed journals of Outstanding Rank.
Presentations
Lectures, seminars, and keynotes in a wide variety of
formats - everything from streaming video to rough notes.
Articles
All my articles, somewhere around 400 items dating from 1995.
Audio
Audio recordings of my talks recorded in MP3 format. A podcast feed is also available.
Calendar
What I'm doing, where I'm doing it, and when.
Photos
A collection of my photographs. Suitable
for downloading as desktop wallpaper.
Stephen's Web
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About the Author
Stephen Downes
Copyright © 2004 Stephen Downes
National Research Council Canada
Contact: stephen@downes.ca
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