Blogging from Mac OS 10.5 Leopard

Posted by arvind s grover Wed, 31 Oct 2007 04:11:22 GMT

So I ponied up $116 for Apple's new operating system, Leopard. Ok, well actually, I used a gift certificate I had, but still, I could have picked up an iPhone instead. I chose Leopard mainly because I had been having so much trouble with my very-new iMac and was hoping Leopard would cure what ails me. After a somewhat tedious install (due to my previously mentioned troubles) I got it up and running. It's pretty, I'll give 'em that. It doesn't have a lot of new features, but it has a few. My favorite so far is Time Machine (see screeshot to the left). I turned on Time Machine, pointed it to my external firewire drive, and that was it. Now, my Mac takes hourly backups of every file I have (including photos, music, documents, etc). The larger the firewire drive, the farther back my backups will be kept. So I could go back and look at my Word document for my 3-weeks-ago version, or I could find a photo I accidentally deleted. Hopefully I will also have all my data were my Mac to crash. Also hopefully, I won't have to test that theory. I will blog more on Leopard if interesting things arise. Would I recommend you buy it? Probably not. Wait until you buy a new Mac, it will come with Leopard.

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Learning is Free

Posted by arvind s grover Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:22:07 GMT

Technically, the Internet is just a bunch of computers connected together so that they can exchange data. As a result of this though, the wired world ended up with a massive communications network. And somehow, an idea of free culture has spread round and round this network. That helps everyone. There are many free things I could write about, but today it's about free learning.

The K12 Online Conference is a free, completely online conference about using web 2.0 and new technologies in the classroom. It is facilitated by a group of dedicated volunteers, and the presentations are created by volunteers as well. I happen to be a presenter this year, but that's not why I'm writing about it. I'm writing because the conference is a treasure trove of information for any educator looking to improve their craft.

Just like a traditional conference there are keynotes and conference strands. The great part if that for most events you don't have to be there live, you can listen whenever you want, wherever you want. Some events though are live and interactive.  If you have an iPod (or other mp3 audio player) it is incredibly easy to tune in. Simply follow the link to the audio feed, and subscribe using iTunes. Then, each time a new presentation is released, your computer will automatically download the presentation. Then, just listen on your iPod or on your computer. Keep in mind that there are enhanced (or video) presentations as well, but your iPod might only be able to play audio files (unless you have a video-capable iPod or digital audio player).

If you are interested in using technology in your classroom, I couldn't recommend this conference more. There is great information for first time attendees, a help desk in case you get stuck and each presentation has a way for you to find a mentor on that subject (or be a mentor).

Take a risk and learn something new. It's easy, it's free, and it is what the new culture of the Internet is all about. Or at least it should be about. Remember to send your comments in via the website or e-mail so people can know what you got out of the conference.

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