Useful tools, sites, references, and opinionated commentary about technology, with particular attention to Instructional Technology and the Humanities, from the perspective of a Digital Medievalist.
Apple has changed the way the MiniStore works; now you see this explanatory screen. The screen replaces the MiniStore area of the iTunes window, and explains what the MiniStore does, and how to turn it off. It states that “Apple does not keep any information related to the contents of your music Library” and asks if you would like to turn on the MiniStore now, with a button.
Much better Apple; thanks.
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Three things in the Mac OS X 10.4.4 update caught my eye:
I got bit by number 3 on on my new PowerBook. I couldn’t install the Developer Tools from the DVD that came with the PowerBook, and had to resort to an alternative.
The update to iTunes, iTunes 6.2, reports to the mothership, also known as Apple, regarding what you are listening to; the lower quarter of the main iTunes window then displays albums available from the iTunes store. Sometimes this might be a Good Thing, but right now it’s mildly annoying. I know what information Apple is receiving, but since I don’t know what they’re doing with it, and since it’s tied to my Apple I.D., I’ve disabled the Apple iTunes store via the Parental Controls in iTunes Preferences, rather than using the”Show/Hide Mini Store in the Edit menu.
On the other hand, I am quite pleased that now I no longer have to decide, via the pop-up menu in the lower right hand quadrant of the iTunes window, whether I want to use external speakers via the Airport Express, or my computer’s built-in speakers; now there’s a third option, that uses both, “Multiple speakers.” I wonder what happens if you have more than one Airport Express . . .
UPDATE 1/18/2006:See this post.
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I confess, I’m intrigued, but not enough to let Apple or you pry my new 15″ Powerbook from my hands. Here are a few reasons why I’m not panting to get one of the new Intel inside MacBook Pros:
I have to use a modem when I visit my mom, or I can’t get work done. Rural Maine isn’t the only place where broadband isn’t available—nor am I the only person who has to support users with modem access. I need to see what it’s like for them to use software or sites I create.
So I can’t use a Cellular modem card. There’s an Express Card/34 slot but to save my life I can’t find anyone who makes anything to put in it.
On the other hand, I am dying of curiosity about whether or not Windows XP will work on the MacBook Pro and the new Intel iMacs. I know that VirtualPC won’t work—that’s a given—but given that both machines use Intel Core Duo, I wonder about the utility of having both Mac OS X and XP on the same box.
If Windows XP works natively, I’m in. I’m so in.
UPDATE: According to Beta News, the Intel Macs won’t boot under the current version of XP because the Intel Macs use EFI rather than the current Open Firmware used on current PowerPC chips, or the BIOS that’s standard on Windows. It sounds like it’s possible that a release of Vista later this year might work, but no one seems sure.
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I’ve been interested in online calendars in support of teaching and learning for years. In the nineties I used Excel and Claris Organizer to create sign up sheets and calendars for my students. Pretty much every LMS claims to have a calendar tool, but I’ve yet to see an LMS with a decent, usable, publishable, shareable, printable calendar. Most of them are appallingly stupid in terms of actual usability. But there’s some hope for the near future.
I’ve been watching the “>Sunbird. Mozilla, like Apple’s iCal, uses the iCalendar standard. It’s increasingly clear to me that the iCalendar standard, WebDav, RSS support, and a combination of javascript, server side scripting, and XML are the most likely tools for what I want. I’ve been very intrigued by the various Ajax implementations like CalendarHub, Kiko, Trumba, and HipCal.
As Dori points out, much as I like iCal, it’s still not simple to use; nor is it as easily shareable as most consumers would like. Sure, you can publish, export, and subscribe to calendars, but you can’t make appointments on someone else’s calendar, a basic requirement not only for families, as Dori points out, but an exceedingly useful feature for students and teachers. Just think about how much simpler managing office hours would be if students could eaily create and cancel appointments using blocks off time that the owner makes available. (Yes, I know, Outlook for Exchange sort of does this, but only sort of.)
I’d like an LMS calendar that would let a teacher or student automatically load their class schedules, accept or reject invitations by others, based on access privileges set by the calendar owner, and export, import and publish calendar data with control over the visibility of entries—sort of the way LiveJournal privacy settings work.
In the meantime though, there’s a nifty script here that lets you submit a .jpg image (or use one from Flickr), choose a month, and produce a .pdf calendar you can print on 8.5 x 11 paper.
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In July of 2002 I wrote:
We may even see an “iWeb,” an Apple-branded browser/web page creator, since that’s one of the few slots in the iApp fold that’s not filled.
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