Author: Dr. Donna Murdoch

Adult Learners. Lifelong Learning and Relevancy. Opinions are my own.
Digital Puglishing, Donna Murdoch

NPR Launches Database of Best Commencement Speeches Ever

From Open Culture – an article about a new feature on NPR’s blog.  There are so many famous commencement speeches….good opportunity to take a look and see them all in one place instead of searching on You Tube.  “On NPR’s blog, they’ve highlighted some of the key takeaways from the long history of commencement speeches: Be kind, dream, remember history, embrace failure, don’t give up, etc.  Right above, you can see NPR’s new animation featuring former Clinton and Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett at Pitzer College’s commencement.”

via NPR Launches Database of Best Commencement Speeches Ever – | Open Culture.

Donna Murdoch, Tech Hardware

What Microsoft doesn’t get about the tablet revolution

Vox’s explanatory journalism piece about the new Microsoft Tablet Pro, introduced today.  They are, in fact, just making a super slim PC.   “But Microsoft’s vision is wrong. Tablets aren’t PCs. Indeed, iPads and Android-based tablets have succeeded precisely because they ditched the complexity of traditional PCs. Microsoft’s determination to make “tablet PCs” is a sign that the company doesn’t understand the economic forces behind the mobile computing revolution.”

via What Microsoft doesn’t get about the tablet revolution – Vox.

Donna Murdoch, Future, Tech Hardware

SmartThings officially launches its connected home platform with a new certification program

TNW profiles one of the newest “Internet of Things” connected home systems.   Smart Things want to be very open, but very easy and offer different levels of certification, which = interoperability.  “SmartThings founder Alex Hawkinson said in an interview that the company’s vision is to make every home a smart home by creating the easiest, most accessible experience for customers while maintaining an open platform. With those objectives, the startup has its hands full, as ease of use and openness don’t always go together.”

via SmartThings officially launches its connected home platform with a new certification program – The Next Web.

Donna Murdoch, Future, Tech Hardware

What Will Activity Tracking Bands Do with Their Prime Real Estate on Your Wrist?

From MIT Technology Review.  What else can we control with something that has so many capabilities?  “The band is designed in the hope that you’ll wear it almost all the time, taking it off only for charging the battery and going swimming. And that says a lot about how important Jawbone and its main rival, Fitbit, are becoming. Few other companies have gotten people to put—and keep—electronics on their bodies. And getting the technology right is not trivial: Nike, whose Fuelband is considered the No. 3 seller in the market, is reconsidering its strategy and expects to lay off some people on the team behind the product.”

via What Will Activity Tracking Bands Do with Their Prime Real Estate on Your Wrist? | MIT Technology Review.

Donna Murdoch, Future, New visions, Tech Hardware

The Next Big Thing You Missed: One Day, You’ll Google the Physical World With a Scanner Like This

We’re all used to typing in what we need to know on our phones.  But what about the physical world around us?  There’s no way to Google physical objects, Wired explains in this article about a scanner being developed in Tel Aviv.  Imagine running this scanner over a pill or piece of fruit to find out the molecular breakdown.  We can’t do that now.  “That needs to change, says Dror Sharon. He’s the co-founder and CEO of Consumer Physics, a Tel Aviv startup trying to fill that gap with a handheld device called Scio. Scio is a scanner, about the size of a flash drive, that can determine the molecular makeup of objects like food and medication.”

via The Next Big Thing You Missed: One Day, You’ll Google the Physical World With a Scanner Like This | Business | WIRED.

Donna Murdoch, New visions, Startups

Solid Networking Advice for Entrepreneurs

Connecting and networking are, without a doubt, critical to success in a startup business.  They are critical in any business.  With some people it is a knack, and with others it is a plan.  For those who need a plan, Mashable presents one.  “As most professionals and job seekers know, networking plays a huge role in helping you achieve your career goals. But strong industry connections can be beneficial to entrepreneurs, too: According to a recent survey by Dell and small business community Manta, one in five small business owners made networking their top priority when they first launched their startups.”

via Solid Networking Advice for Entrepreneurs.

Digital Puglishing, Donna Murdoch, Tech Software

The Wayback Machine Passes 400 Billion Indexed Webpages

The Wayback Machine has always been invaluable.  That site you remember seeing years ago?  The way Google looked in 2008?  Traveling through Internet History?  The Museum of all things Internet has always been online.  “The Internet Archive today announced a massive milestone for its Wayback Machine: 400 billion indexed webpages. The data encompasses the Web as it looked anytime from late 1996 up until a few hours ago.”  From The Next Web.

via The Wayback Machine Passes 400 Billion Indexed Webpages.

Digital Puglishing, Donna Murdoch

We Need Online Alter Egos Now More Than Ever

There has always been ongoing discussion about whether or not real names should be used in online discussions. danah boyd and others, including the author of this article Judith Donath, have expressed the positive effects of using different identities in different spaces.  Certainly there are cases where avatars, or pseudonyms, are abused and can bring out the worst in people.  Then again, with the permanence of online discussion, should every place we ever participate online become a part of our online identity?  Donath uses the example of personal health issues, and it is a good one.  For those who insist on real names, she says,  “Instead, we should focus on how to design for keeping online discourse civil and constructive. And this involves supporting the middle ground, pseudonymous identities, which can provide both accountability and privacy.”

via We Need Online Alter Egos Now More Than Ever | Opinion | WIRED.

Donna Murdoch, Tech Software

AOL Still Relies on Dial-Up Profit as Its Media Shift Continues

I still find people who think they have to pay a monthly fee for an AOL email address – and evidently AOL still counts on the people who don’t realize they can get it for free.  “AOL has worked hard to reinvent itself as a modern digital media and advertising company, but the bulk of its profits still come from its dial-up ISP business.”

via AOL Still Relies on Dial-Up Profit as Its Media Shift Continues.