One laptop per child project prototype

Very cool

War of the Worlds

Vector Arena - very impressive!

Wintec workshop

Mr Moodle

Martin Dougiamas opening the moodle moot - Hamilton 2007

Mobile 2 Ecosystem

Here's an interesting presentation on Mobile 2 Ecosystems - some interesting web2 links provided, including alternatives to QR Codes! - e.g. http://www.beetag.com/.

FRING Mobile VOIP & Chat

FRING looks like a great FREE solution for mobile Skype and VOIP with several services, plus chat. Fring is supported on several Nokia S60 phones, and SonyEricsson P1 and P990. Supports VOIP via Fring, Skype, and chat via MSN, Skype, Twitter, Google Talk. AND DID I MENTION ITS FREE!


Fring accesses your Skype and MSN buddies list - so you can see who is online for calling/chatting. Unlike IM+ for SKYPE on mobiles, Fring is multiclient and unlike GIZMO does not require your buddies to signup for another VOIP service.




"what is fring?
fring™ is a free mobile VoIP application that enables free mobile internet calls and live chat (IM) to other ‘fringsters’ and PC-based services including Skype®, Google Talk™, ICQ, MSN® Messenger and Twitter, using free Wi-Fi or your 3G or GPRS internet data plan instead of costly mobile airtime minutes."

Nokia bluetooth kbd

Unfolded view

You have a PXT from 6421607883

Testing the Nokia Bluetooth keyboard with the Sonyericsson P1 - It works for basic text entry and simple navigation - no application shortcuts. The Nokia KBD supports up to 5 paired devices at a time without loosing snyc - a nice feature! The Nokia Bluetooth keyboard is a stylish design, and works particularly well with the Nokia N series phones. It folds up smaller than the Stowaway floding kbd. The keys are slightly smaller tahn a full kbd and take a little to used to the restricted spacing. PS - the photo is of my m600 not the P1 as i used the P1 to take the photo!

You've received either a PXT or video PXT. To view your PXT simply open the attached files, each item will be attached separately. For example, if you have received a PXT containing a picture and a text message you will have two files attached. If your message is a PXT in most cases any media player should be able to open it. If you've received a video PXT (this will have the ending ".3gp"), or if you have received a sound or image file ending in .amr, .wbmp, .iMelody, or .gif you will need to install a special media player to play it. In the case of .3gp, .amr or .gif files you can download QuickTime free of charge, which is compatible with both PC and Mac computers.      Visit PXT World to find out all about PXT and create awesome picture messages!

Nokia MOSH

Nokia MOSH looks like an interesting new mobile sharing site (eportfolio?), very similar to VOX, but better mobile integration (form first glance). Worth checking it out some more. Currently there are 22484 registered users ;-)

Mobile address: http://mosh.nokia.mobi

Kordia rollout Metro WiFI

Kordia are rolling out a metro WiFi service - sounds similar to Cafe'net in Wellington. It's a user-pays city-wide WiFi network. Great news for mobile wifi enabled devices - e.g. the iPhone, & new iPod Touch etc...
Its still significantly more expensive than a home ADSL account or 3G broadband though - e.g. WI-Week account - unlimited data for $49.95/week

https://www.kordiametrowifi.com/plans.php

https://www.kordiametrowifi.com/

With the iPod Touch, iPhone-Specific Sites Suddenly Seem Smarter

Here's a nice look at the potential of the new iPod 'Touch' - using the newly developed Web2 sites for the iPhone!:

With the iPod Touch, iPhone-Specific Sites Suddenly Seem Smarter: "

When Apple released the iPhone in June there was a flurry of development from web 2.0 startups as developers worked to create iPhone-specific versions of their applications. There was some question about whether or not creating mobile sites specifically for a single handset -- one which was unlikely to have more than a couple of percentage points of the world cell phone market any time soon -- was a wise way to spend time and money. When I reviewed the iPhone-only social network iRovr, I remarked that the biggest question facing the startup was 'whether an iPhone specific social network can gain critical mass.'

Today it seems like a lot of developers may have made the right move. At a press even this morning in San Francisco, Apple announced the iPod Touch, which is essentially an iPhone without the phone.

The iPod Touch is an 8/16GB iPod with the huge screen and multi-touch technology that made the iPhone so wowing. But what makes the Touch important for web developers is that it has built-in wifi and includes a full version of Safari. All those iPhone-optimized web sites will now work on the new breed of iPods.

Image from engadget.

The iPod is the most successful portable music player line in history, having sold 110 million devices so far, according to Apple. Even if the current version don't fly off the shelves due to their smallish hard drive size (the regular video iPods also hit 160GB today for $50 less than than iPod Touch at 1/10th the storage size), they're an indication of where the platform is heading. Flash memory will eventually drop in price, and the iPod Touch and iPhone will undoubtedly grow in capacity and become more attractive to iPod devotees.

What that means for web developers is a much larger user base for those iPhone-versions of their web applications. Instead of 1% of the cell phone market, they might end up eventually with access to 70-80% of the MP3 player market -- or a whole bunch more people surfing those iWhatever-optimized web sites.

Conclusion

Last month a report from Forrester Research compared the iPhone and the traditional mobile web. Forrester concluded that the iPhone signaled the end of the mobile web as we know it, while Dave Winer disagreed, saying that the 'iPhone view of the web is not optimal for the user.'

Richard MacManus took a more even approach, coming to the conclusion that 'the iPhone isn't quite a Mobile Web killer just yet.' The iPod Touch, however, might be another nail in the coffin of the mobile web, especially given that iPhone-optimized sites take away the ease-of-use advantage of mobile web optimized sites -- and will not be more widely available because of Apple's latest device.

What do you think? Will you be getting an iPod Touch? Does it make sense for developers to be optimizing their sites for Apple's devices? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

(Via Read/WriteWeb.)

New iPods!

So many choices!!!

Apple have updated their iPod line, and also dropped the price of the iPhone.

Perhaps most exciting news is that the iPhone is now only $399US ($649NZ) - the same price as the new iPod 'Touch' 16GB. The new iPod 'Touch' appears to be basically an iPhone without the camera or phone builtin - i.e. it has the same interface & built-in WiFi networking and comes with either an 8GB or 16GB flash drive.

The iPod Nano now also features video ($329NZ for 8GB), and the 'Classic' iPod now comes in either 80Gb ($399) or 160Gb ($549) models.

I'm still keen to see what the iPhone will offer when it's finally available in NZ! - hopefully 3G and a larger Flash drive ;-)

New JISC publication explores the learner’s perspective on e-learning

New JISC publication explores the learner’s perspective on e-learning: "A new publication from the JISC e-Learning Programme, 'In Their Own Words', has been launched at ALT-C in Nottingham. Synthesising outputs from Phase 1 of the Learners’ Experiences of e-Learning theme, it gives striking insights into learners’ motivations, beliefs and intentions about using technology in learning."

(Via JISC e-Learning Focus.)