Borders lacks bidder for chain, sources say — Detroit Free Press

Borders Group, the bookstore operator looking to reorganize in bankruptcy, has so far failed to find a bidder for the entire chain, according to four people familiar with the matter.

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Softkinetic’s Corporate Video

 

 

Softkinetic corporate video

…and some other intriguing concepts.

 

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Stepping up to the Genius Bar — from CampusTechnology.com by John Waters
As they reconsider their role on campus, college bookstores take inspiration from the Apple Store.

Excerpt:

“The advent of this technology isn’t going to eliminate the need for college bookstores,” insists Isabella Hinds, director of digital strategies and products for Follett Higher Education Group. “It’s disruptive–or it will be, eventually–but the role of the bookstore is already evolving. The college bookstore of the future is likely to be a very different environment. The digital textbook is going to be one of a range of course-material offerings…delivered on a variety of devices. As these options proliferate, the expertise of the bookstore personnel will be much more important. They will become trusted advisers who can talk knowledgeably about the strengths and weaknesses of increasingly sophisticated and complex products.”

In other words, the college bookstore of the future is going to look a lot like an Apple Store.

Mike Matas: A next-generation digital book (filmed March 2011)


TED: Mike Matas -- Next Generation Digital Book - filmed March 2011

 

About this talk
Software developer Mike Matas demos the first full-length interactive book for the iPad — with clever, swipeable video and graphics and some very cool data visualizations to play with. The book is “Our Choice,” Al Gore’s sequel to “An Inconvenient Truth.”

About Mike Matas
While at Apple, Mike Matas helped write the user interface for the iPhone and iPad. Now with Push Pop Press, he’s helping to rewrite the electronic book.

 

WorldFuture 2011: Moving from Vision to Action
…promises to be a fun, fast, and information-packed weekend, but have you considered taking a “deeper dive” into a particular futurist area at a preconference course.  These sessions, held on the Thursday and Friday before the opening General Session, take an in-depth view of important topics. Follow the links below to learn more and register for these sessions or luncheons.

Preconference Courses
Thursday, July 7

Friday, July 8

 



Education Summit | Thursday and Friday, July 7-8
Education and the New Normal



 

Don’t forget to register for luncheon sessions before these special events sell out. Register online.

The future of television: Why you won’t recognize your television just a few years from now — from iptvmagazine.com by Scott Puopolo, Cisco

Excerpt:

Imagine you are watching a program on your refrigerator. You browse through the program choices using hand gestures. When you walk into the bathroom, the display of your program automatically transfers to the display inside the bathroom mirror.

Does this seem farfetched? All of these capabilities are here now and research gathered by the Cisco “Internet Business Solutions Group” (IBSG) from manufacturers, content producers, service broadcasters and academic experts identifies amazing predictions of what is going to happen in the TV industry and when these changes are likely to occur.

Analysis of the research shows that the three main influences to these events happening include technology, consumer behavior and business models. Multiple supporting technologies have emerged including displays (digital paper and projection devices), ultra-high bandwidth connections and new types of human interfaces (sensory devices). The ways consumers discover and consume media are changing including using social networks (Digg) and on demand content (YouTube), and participating in the creation of TV programs. Business models are changing from pushing a limited number of linear based channels to aggregating many content sources (NetFlix), recommending relevant programs, and adapting media for specific viewers (personalized ads on Facebook). Using this information, the IBSG has identified 10 Predictions for the future of TV.

AP Interactive visualizes a future of stories that reach beyond text — from niemanlab.org

Excerpt:

Data visualization is “going through a kind of renaissance in journalism,” said Shazna Nessa, director of Interactive for the AP. What’s really behind the news collective’s uptick in graphics, she told me, is a kind of evolutionary change in journalism — one that’s reflected in the Interactive unit itself. Once a repository of charts and maps, the department is now creating what Nessa described as “comprehensive interactive stories,” and we can expect to see a lot more of them.

 

The Resurrection Mural by Ron DiCianni

 

About the mural:
“The Resurrection” is a 12’ x 40’ mural, oil on canvas. It is a depiction of the moment of Jesus emerging from the tomb, with waiting angels, fainted roman guards, and a crowd of Biblical notables excitedly waiting for His exit. They include, on right of Christ, Moses, David, Isaiah & Abraham. On the left of Christ are, Elijah, Noah, Esther, John the Baptist & Daniel. These are part of the ones referred to in Hebrews 12:1 as “the great cloud of witnesses.” On the upper right of the painting is the remnants of the place Jesus was earlier crucified, namely Mt. Calvary, also known as Golgotha, the place of the skull.

Addendum -4/26:

What happened after the Resurrection? — from Bible Gateway Blog

Christians around the world have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks pondering the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection (and here at the Bible Gateway blog, we spent plenty of time discussing them too). During Easter week, we read the familiar stories of the Triumphal Entry, the Last Supper, the crucifixion… and then with the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, the story ends. Right?

Not quite. While the Gospels of Matthew and Mark end shortly after the Resurrection, Luke and John provide extra detail about what Jesus did during the time between his resurrection and his ascent into heaven. If your Gospel reading stopped at the Resurrection, you’re missing out on several interesting stories…

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Study: 30% of all US households already have TV connected to Internet

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds that 30% of all households have at least one television set connected to the Internet via a video game system, a Blu-ray player, and/or the TV set itself — up from 24% a year ago. Overall, 10% of all adults watch video from the Internet via one of these devices at least weekly, compared to 5% last year. This increased usage is heavily driven by Netflix subscribers, with 30% of Netflix subscribers watching video from the Internet via one of these connected devices weekly, compared to 3% weekly use among all non-Netflix subscribers.

 

Also see:

Addendums:

 

From DSC:
Why post this? Because:

  1. These postings demonstrate a continued convergence, a continued trend that is impacting the distribution of content. If it hasn’t already (in some shape or form), online-based learning — with social networking capabilities/functionality baked in — will be entering your living room. Given the budgetary pressures out there, such change may happen sooner rather than later.
  2. The Forthcoming Walmart of Education is definitely involved here.

 

 

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

 

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  • Homelessness Hits Home
    “I’m seeing interest [in the plight of homeless families] from people that I’ve not seen interest from before,” said Christina Endres, Indiana’s homeless education coordinator. “It’s not just the liaison who wants to know anymore. It’s the principals. It’s the administrators. It’s not something that people in Indiana can say, ‘Oh, well that’s a New York problem.’ It’s very real for them.”
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This disturbing trend in the United States will have far-reaching implications.

 

Addendum #1 – 4/18/11:


and

 

Addendum #2 – 4/18/11:
Finally, here are some potentially-effective ideas on how to fix Congress:

Congressional Reform Act of 2011 (If passed, this will eliminate many current problems).

1. Term Limits.

12 years only, one of the possible options below..

A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2.  No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately.  All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.  Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.  Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.  The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

 

The future camera concept from Artefact

 

Also see:

© 2024 | Daniel Christian