The Virtual Assistant Arrives - Oct 2011 by Halal

Vidyo: Video conferencing on the iPad, iPhone and Android tablets and smartphones

 

Ad-hoc Room System

VidyoMobile on iPad 2 joining an HD multipoint video conference at 720p with 4 other laptops and a room system. (Note: This picture has not been photoshopped in any way.)

From DSC:
It’s highly likely that you have already seen a ton of postings re: the news of Steve Jobs’ passing yesterday.  However, I need to reflect, comment upon, and commemorate his life and work here today.

 

Steve Jobs - 1955-2011

When Apple asserts that Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, it’s true.  They are not just flowery, flattering words.  Jobs was a one in a (hundred) million type of person — carefully crafted for the needs of today. His skillsets were rare.  His negotiation skills were solid.  His vision and courage to pursue the entrepreneurial/innovative way of life are outstanding.  His knowledge — and pursuit of knowledge — as well as his drive helped him bring about many world-changing technologies and projects.  Not too many people could own/direct an animation studio, oversee the production of software and hardware that was fined tuned to creating and distributing multimedia, comment on which font style would be appropriate for a message, relentlessly pursue excellence in user experience/usability in all of an organization’s product lines, present information the way he did, create excitement for his company’s products, etc.

Personally, Steve Jobs has helped me continue to think big — to have wind in my sails that I can make a contribution…that I can help change the world.  All of us can, even if in smaller ways than Steve Jobs did.  But we will need to believe that we can change the world and to persevere through the trials and tribulations that are sure to come our way when we attempt to do so.

I hope that the team that Steve & Co. put into place continue to pursue his passions and visions, as the world needs visionaries.  Though I did not know him, I will yet miss him. I am grateful to God for his gifts, abilities, life and work.

 

Addendum:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

— from Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech given at Standford University

 

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From DSC: Expectations, today, are getting hard to beat

Since Apple’s event yesterday, I’ve heard some conversations on the radio and reviewed several blog postings and articles about Apple’s announcements…many with a sense of let down (and some with the usual critical viewpoints by the backseat drivers out there who have never tried to invent anything, but who sure like to find fault with everyone else’s inventions and innovations).

It made me reflect on how high our expectations are becoming these days!  It wasn’t enough that iCloud is coming on 10/12 (and who knows the directions that will take society in). It wasn’t enough to introduce some serious software-based innovations such as Siri (which bring some significant advancements in the world of artificial intelligence) or AirPlay for the iPhone.  It wasn’t enough to enter into the multi-billion dollar card industry with their new Cards app for the iPhone.  Wow…tough crowd.

What might these announcements — and expectations — mean for education? 
Well…I can see intelligent tutoring, intelligent agents, machine-to-machine communications, the continued growth of mobile learning, learning from the living room, the initiation of programs/events caused by changes in one’s location, continued convergence of the television/computer/telephone, continued use of videoconferencing on handheld devices, cloud-based textbooks/apps, and more.


 

Siri on the iPhone 4S -- October 4, 2011

 

 

 

Some items from Apple today:

 

 

Who will win the cloud war? Apple vs. Google vs. Microsoft — from TechNewsDaily.com by Dan Howley, LAPTOP Staff Writer

Excerpt:

Defining the Cloud
Although the cloud and the various services it supports have been around for quite some time, tech companies have done a fairly poor job of explaining exactly what the cloud is. “When you say cloud services, it’s pretty broad,” explained Michael Gartenberg, research director with the technology research firm Gartner. “Are you talking about digital lockers? Are you talking about cloud-based applications? Streaming music services? Cloud sort of becomes one of those catch-all phrases that becomes hard to define.”

In truth, the cloud is a nebulous term to describe the Internet and the various ways it can be leveraged by users.

For example, cloud storage allows users to upload and access their data via the web, much like an Internet-connected hard drive. When you upload a document or photo to Dropbox, you are storing it on the company’s servers, which allows you to access your files from any computer. Playing a game on Facebook? That also uses the cloud as a backbone.

Cloud-based applications, such as Google’s Docs productivity suite and online music services such as Grooveshark and Pandora, give users access to programs that they previously would have had to install on their PC. Such services save precious resources on users’ computers. However, most of these cloud apps require an active Internet connection. If you’re offline, for the most part you’re out of luck.

Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO "effective immediately"

 

From DSC:
I want to post a thank you note to Mr. Steven P. Jobs, whom you most likely have heard has resigned as Apple’s CEO. Some articles are listed below, but I want to say thank you to Steve and to the employees of Apple who worked at Apple while he was CEO:

  • Thank you for working hard to enhance the world and to make positive impacts to our world!
  • Thank you for painstakingly pursuing perfection, usability, and excellence!
  • Thank you for getting back up on the horse again when you came out of a meeting with Steve, Tim and others and you just got reamed for an idea or implementation that wasn’t quite there yet.
  • Thanks go out to all of the families who were missing a dad or mom for long periods of time as they were still at work cranking out the next version of ____ or ____.
  • Thanks for modeling what a vocation looks like — i.e. pursuing your God-given gifts/calling/passions; and from my economics training for modeling that everyone wins when you do what you do best!

Thanks again all!

 

 

Tested: Apple AirPlay-compatible music systems — from wired.co.uk by Danny Philips and Jim Hill

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Visualized: The Apple Mothership [engadget]

Visualized -- The Apple Mothership

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SNApps4Kids.com

 

Above resource from:

 

Addendums later on 7/19:

 

Mac OS X Lion available today -- 7-20-11

Some noteworthy items to mention here:

  • Multi-touch gestures
  • Full-screen apps
  • Mission Control (brings together full-screen apps, Dashboard, Exposé, and Spaces in one new feature that gives you a bird’s-eye view of everything on your system)
  • Mac App Store
  • Launchpad (gives you instant access to all the apps on your Mac)
  • Resume (apps you close will reopen right where you left off, so you never have to start from scratch again)
  • Auto save
  • Versions (charts the history of your documents, taking snapshots in time, and displaying them side by side with the latest versions in an easily browsable timeline)
  • AirDrop (a fast way to share files with people nearby; send files to anyone around you wirelessly — no Wi-Fi network required)
  • Lion Server (includes a host of enhancements that give you more control of your Mac server and the users who access it)
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