Digital Appendages

But it was more than that, too. I also missed the ability to look up anything I was curious about at a moment’s notice.

From “A Day Spent Without My Arm – I Mean, My Phone” by Matthew Ingram (GigaOM)

iPad 2 Back to You

Apparently, this is the back (literally) of the next iPad:

Enough watermarks for you?  What we can see here seems to be the all too obvious rear-facing camera opening, a pretty standard dock connector opening (whither micro/mini-USB?) and a mystery slot.  We also see the same move from aluminum to plastic backing that Apple made when the iPhone went from extreme luxury item (original) to mass-market commodity (3G).  MacRumors has further photos showing the same black/white choice of colors and even cases that mimic that layout of openings.  

It all looks very believable to me – I’m still curious how Apple is going to get past the EU’s mandate about charging connectors but not surprised that they would try to avoid changing their dock connector ecosystem – but I will hold complete judgement until we see a leaked test unit.  Which should be any second now, right?  

(Case for the iPad)

That’s Transmedia, Too

Following the 2010 Media Commons Tailgate (well, really leading up to it as well), we were all in the mental space of Transmedia.  Particularly, I was trying to take a step back to think of ways that projects could transcend one form of media and incorporate others.  I ran through plenty of ideas, some of which were unassuming like the good old paper turned into a video project or video project supported by a PowerPoint presentation, etc.  Then I put the topic on autopilot and went forward with other lines of research – and answering our hotline phone during the end of semester crunch.

Until I found these on io9:

Combining the actual text of classic novels with iconic imagery into a fully readable – and absolutely beautiful – poster.  Could you imagine asking students to do something similar with one of those staid essays?  Maybe not for a high level research paper, but could really bring some joy into the realm of English 15, no?

Rome in a Day

The Romans may not have done it, but researchers and a home PC (with four monstrous graphics cards, that is) have built a 3D model of some of the empire’s most famous landmarks in just a day.  How?  By pulling from all Flickr photos tagged as ‘rome’ and then assembling them using and image analysis program.  The results are stunning given the speed and unproven nature of the technology involved.  It certainly makes Flickr a more valuable resource – and destroys any remaining thoughts of the need for building in Second Life, at least for me.  What other complex modeling could be sidestepped with these photographic reconstructions?

I Think I Might Go…

DML Conference 2011: Designing Learning Futures (Katie Salen, Conference Chair) from DML Research Hub on Vimeo.

As a parting gift, Aaron Smith emailed the MC team with information about the Digital Media and Learning 2011 conference entitled “Designing Learning Futures” being held in California this March.  This is a video interview with the conference chair, Katie Salen, who teaches at Parsons the New School for Design (Runway, ahoy).  The conference looked interesting before learning more about Professor Salen but now that I’ve read her bio and seen this video (as well as others on Vimeo) I’m really intrigued and – approval permitting – think this might be the conference for me.  What do you think?  Wanna come, too?

Tale of the First Computer

Jane Smiley (who came to campus at my last employer during a student recruitment weekend) has just profiled the actual inventor of the first computer, one that formed the basis for ENIAC, the more commonly recognized machine.  In this month’s issue of Wired, you can check out the entirety of her investigation – or read it online right now.  A little geeky detective work is always highly entertaining…especially when it’s being done by someone who is not really known for being into technology!

Perpetual New Kid

Traveling around to the Commonwealth campuses – especially now that I’m (temporarily) covering all of them – has brought me squarely in to contact with a phenomenon one doesn’t expect to encounter often: being the new “kid” in school. Unless you move a lot, you have this happen just a few times in life: preschool, elementary, middle school, high school, college, maybe grad school. But, if you work in higher ed, it can happen again every time you change jobs.

And, as a traveling media consultant for Penn State’s system of schools, it is now something I am experiencing on a weekly basis! The utter confusion when finding a classroom, the puzzled looks on students’ faces in the commons when they try to figure out if I’m “that guy from Econ,” the random faculty member admonishing me for parking in the reserved lot. I know eventually my youth will fade and I’ll look like hapless lost staff and eventually I’ll even know where the cafes and offices are when I arrive, but right now it’s wholly unique – and a little exciting.

Just gotta keep an eye out for the campus map for the next few weeks!

Twas the Morning Before Tailgate

…and all the creatures were stirring, probably even the mice.  I just fielded a phone call from a York faculty member who was putting the finishing touches on her presentation for tomorrow, to be shown as part of the Lightning Talks.  Media Commons consultants are scurrying about tracking down equipment to be loaded up and driven to the library.  Last-minute registrants are asking to join in on the fun.  All in all, it’s mild chaos – and couldn’t be more enjoyable, as it’s all a sign of a vibrant energy surrounding digital creation, storytelling and exploration.

A Very SMART Board

Hannah suggested that I attend the SMART Board demonstration that she had scheduled today in the upcoming Media Commons space for EMS in Hosler.  A vendor from SMART drove all the way out from Indianapolis so that we could see the technology and explore the possibilities for how it might fit into the new media editing lab.  Two misconceptions of mine that were smashed:

1. The SMART Board is just for in class presentations.
2. The SMART Board is difficult to configure and cumbersome to work with.

At a previous employer, SMART Boards were relatively plentiful but (I learned today) very underused.  Despite having them in a multitude of learning spaces, I really only interacted with them a few times over a three year period and then, only when a faculty member wanted to write on a PowerPoint presentation.  They were hardwired into the room and the amount of futzing with our set up certainly didn’t do the idea of the Board being effortless any favors.

However, our vendor did a fantastic job today showing us exactly what SMART technology can do.  Ideas are now flowing for globe-trotting with Google Earth, collaboratively editing rough “dailies” in iMovie, recording entire presentations including video, web browsing and more for later review, practicing weather forecasting and meteorological analysis, etc, etc, etc.  It was also PAINFULLY easy to set the SMART Board up: since he was running a bit late, three of us acted as roadies and had the entire system up and running rather quickly without any real directions.

With the upcoming addition of dual and multitouch enabled models, I have to say that I’m all aboard the SMART Board!

Undesigned Web

The Undesigned Web will facilitate critical thinking, sharing information and disseminating knowledge more widely than has ever been previously possible. That’s because it will be easier than ever to separate content from the, ahem, bullshit with which it is frequently cloaked.

Wired reposted an Atlantic article on the supposed death of design in the modern age of gadgets like the iPad, Kindle, etc and software like Instapaper. While the old notions of print and web design are certainly fading away, the essay goes on to clarify that its more of a shift from Design to design (emphasis on the capital) or even a push for undesigned content.

The thinking is that as we move from reading on fixed devices to reading on multiple, reconfigurable devices, content will have to be ever easier to re-contextualize and repackage to suit the given gadget or app.  A very keen observation and entirely true: as anyone who has ever used Flipboard knows all too well, even a mundane Facebook post looks better when gussied up as a digital magazine piece.