Xtranormal is a great tool to create a short movie. All you need is a script. That’s right just a script, no cameras, no lights and no actors, it’s all animated on screen before your eyes. The web-based version is quick and easy to use. I made this is about 5mins.
So go ahead and try it yourself at xtranormal.com.
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/07/12/golub
This was a good read. In a nutshell:
“The crucial question for academics is: What in our current arsenal will the iPad replace? After using the device, the answer surprised me: the iPad makes a lousy computer replacement, but it does a great job of replacing paper.”
The author Alex Golub also discusses the potential for the iPad and iTunes to revolutionalise access to journal articles that we currently rely on our uni’s library to supply, and make it much easier to just get the articles we want (as opposed to the piles of stuff the publishers bundle in to the subscriptions that we never want to wade through, but have to, to get to the stuff we want.)
Synchronisation of files across multiple computers & mobile devices, web-based access to files, managed sharing of folders with other dropbox users, url creation for public documents for emailing links, web-album generation, event history tracking of your dropbox (file restoration) etc …
Well worth a look and a boon when travelling and you need access to storage or sharing items with international contacts.
Hosted externally, which brings along its own considerations, but this type of thing would have great potential for groups of students working collaboratively on a group assignment, sharing progress between themselves and tutor etc…
Currently free for up to 2GB of storage, plans beyond that.
I’ve borrowed a Flip high-definition camera and am experimenting with it. I took a few short clips on wednesday, then down-loaded them quickly and easily onto iPhoto on my mac at home. From there it was a drag and drop into iMovie.
The Flip has a pop-out USB connection, so the whole device plugs into the computer like a large, shiny silver USB key. And the interface is so easy to use, only 4 buttons, can’t go wrong. I like!
Google has done an overhaul on their Google docs. In my private life as a student I find Google Docs really helpful to work collaboratively on projects.
What kinds of social media do you consume? How much do you consume it?
I found this TED talk very inspiring. You can find more inspirational speakers here.
At the moment I don’t have a dock for my iPhone, while it is not essential that I have one, I still want one! I have come across some really geeky ones, sleek ones and multifunctional ones.
I just found this one and had to share it.
This one was made entirely from cutlery which is pretty cool, I found it here.
Last year we tried this one in the office, which was not only a holder but a more functional dock charger, speaker and light. Never again.
The product was faulty, we end up sending it back. When they tested similar models and other units they also found them to be faulty. The speakers buzzed at all volumes of sound and there was some red goo inside the light bulb bracket. Suggestion – try it out before you leave the shop!
So for all the iPhone users which docks do you use? Or what ones have you seen that work well?
Who’s being evil?
I recently bought a new car stereo and CD player, and wooed by the blurb on the box, bought one with blutooth capability for hands free mobile phone calls (have iPhone, so that should work) as well as wireless playing songs from my iPhone.
The latter works so well but occasionally freaks me out by switching itself on and playing a random choice of songs all by itself. I don’t know what kind of settings I’ve got on, but I swear, I get in the car and the next thing I know is that John Mayer or Pink or Pantera or my sons incomprehensible Spanish death-metal come blaring out of the car speakers.
But as a hands-free car kit, it’s a dead loss. I can hear my caller brilliantly, but they can barely hear me so I spend the call yelling at my stereo. I’m not even sure that there’s a microphone in the stereo, so them I try yelling at the iPhone (does it use it’s microphone to pick up what I’m saying????? Dunno, the instructions booklet left me none the wiser.)
End result, tire of yelling very quickly and purchase a “real” hands free car-kit. It’s a Contour, and it clips to your sun-visor. It has a microphone on the end of a little swing out boom, so you can point it towards your mouth, and also volume control.
And what really gets me, is although it comes with a charger (obviously runs off a battery), I’ve only had to charge it up once in nearly 6 months!! How come??? I know I may only use it 3 or 4 times a week, but still, pretty amazing battery power.
