They have only killed it for Linux and Android, and it never existed for iOS. You can still target Windows and OSX users with it, do not despair.
I wouldn't be too sure about OS X. Like many Mac users, I block FLASH as a system security precaution on OS X. If any web site insists on using FLASH I most certainly do not do continue with them.
I also have the 3rd generation iPad etc. I don't miss FLASH there either, especially the common FLASH ADVERTISING at cellular data rates for the unwanted FLASH.
I have noticed that major commercial sites that serve flash on Windows have adapted to the new reality of why their best customers began passing them up by making their own custom iPad/iPhone mobile apps.
Prove this for yourself. Go to Apples' app store and type in the name of any major vendor or manufacturer who directly sells to the public. If you do not get a hit and at least one good iPAD app that firm like RIM or Nokia isn't doing well in today's economy, probably do to bad management.
That is the new reality of the POST PC ERA. You either lose your dependence on flash or die in the new mobile market place.
In this case, skill shortage means a shortage of people possessing the skill and willing to work for less than the median salary for their chosen profession.
WOW!
I wish I could bump this up to the top comment on H-1B at/.
Things have really changed in just a few years.
I am retired but it actually pains me to see H-1B adversely affecting so many with key skills still struggling to make a living.
Of course, gasoline prices weren't at all affected by the US starting wars in oil-producing countries...
I know that has to be tongue in cheek. If it is not then you and the rest of slashdot better fasten your seat belt because Israel and the USA appear to be ready to strike Iran over the nuclear issue sometime after July 1 2012. Gasoline will increase in price dramatically if not from the actual heavy weapons discharged over Iranian soil, then simply because the USA has figured out how to shut off the flow of oil using insurance companies. The Western insurance companies will no longer insure any of the super tankers leaving Iranian ports after July 1, therefore no oil for the world supply.
One way or the other there is going to be a significant spike in the cost of oil just before the US election as that Muslim state can not be permitted to obtain any more nukes. Iran already has sufficient enriched material for five nukes which the Iranian religious leaders desperately hope to use on Israel and possibly the USA.
I can not believe that I just read on SlashDot that Google was simply relying on security through obscurity to protect Bouncer and the Android Google PlayMarket.
"research without much detailed knowledge of how the Bouncer system works. Google has said little publicly about its capabilities, preferring not to give attackers any insights into the system's inner workings."
LOL! I Lived in Venezuela for a year and I don't believe that this is to prevent street crime. When I lived there, it was dangerous to ride a nice bike in certain areas because street criminals would stab you and take your bike. They wouldn't ask, they would just take it before you had the chance to do anything. Was that common? No. But it happened. I think this has more to do with keeping Hugo in command, especially with his failing health. Most people there can't afford guns, or ammo. They have armed security guards at Wendy's. They give them a shotgun with a couple of shells, or an old beat-up revolver with just a couple of bullets. Why? Because they don't want the guards selling the guns/ammo for cash.
I was there for the infamous 11 de Abril, in 2002 when Hugo was temporarily replaced in a military coup. I don't think he has forgotten that day, and never will.
Ol Hugo has plans to do away with the shotguns. He built the first plant in South America in 2008 to produce the AK47 model 103.
The AK-103 is the most recent model of the original AK-47.
Unfortunately there was a horrible accident in 2011. Hugo's AK-47 Kalashnikov Assault Rifle factory in Venezuela mysteriously blew up and burned down, can you believe Hugo's bad luck?
Hugo's rebuilt Kalashnikov Assault Rifle AK 103 factory should be operational now or in the near future.
Then there will be plenty of the improved AK 103 to export for use in Mexico and the USA.
Naturally Hugo would not want these rugged high powered and efficient assault weapons in the hands of his own people unless they were military or police.
I think it illustrates limitations in the technology more than human incompetence. The service can't find your phone. It can tell you that your phone is near 55th and San Pedro, but it's not going to tell you which house and room the thing is sitting in, or whose pocket it has been put in. I bet I can stash a phone "near" any intersection in the country and you wouldn't be able to find it with only that information.
Notice that I'm not suggesting a solution... the service does what it does, but it's not a panacea for finding lost things.
I bet I can find the stolen iPhone. I would do what every other LE officer would do. He would walk up to the location and then call the lost iPhone's cell number. Then with probable cause he could seize any phone that rang and was answered matching the audio he heard with his observation of the suspects lips.
This happens nearly every day in the USA. I think it is hilarious when the cops seize guns and a large drug stash at the same time from the perp and his urban buddies. My favorite form of instant justice is hearing there were panicked perps who jumped out of a second floor or higher window injuring themselves only to be caught by more backup cops waiting below.
Apple has been equipping their own employees with Notability.
That simple fact caught my attention so I bought a copy for myself.
This app is on a roll with impressive updates.
It features just about everything you can think of for a note taking app. It includes a recorder with time stamps linked to your notes so tap on part of your note and hear what was being said when you created that part. It has support for drawing, neat handwriting, and typed input.
You can add photos on the fly along with web pages, PDFs and other resources.
Export/Import is to BOX or Dropbox among various cloud storage options.
I use it for one to three day conferences and it works like a champ lasting all day long if you turn down the brightness somewhat.
Often the iPad is all I bother to carry while everyone else is totting regular notebooks or paper solutions.
Notability has new support for retina graphics on the 2012 iPad. The ink used for handwriting is very attractive on the new iPad.
I can also let Notability record while I use four fingers to swipe to other apps to look up private data which I can insert after a screen shot or in most cases via a simple copy and paste.
--
I have tried many other iOS apps to see it they were better but I just keep coming back to Notability.
They had the money, but could they have enticed the brilliant graduates of top American schools to move to Ontario? And I don't mean to say that Canadian engineers aren't good, but that Apple and Google have access to a global talent pool - did/does RIM? (Fascinating question: How much does snow and ice have to do with the fortunes of a mobile phone developer?)
Doesn't Finland, home of Nokia's world class mobile technology, have snow and ice too?
There is no such thing as wasting money on research.
Google should join with there new friends at the NSA to investigate how we can mine jello on the moon.
With the unlimited resources of the US government and Google great strides can be made in our discovery of the steps needed for industrializing the moon and a profitable new market can be established that the West can dominate.
It basically sounds like Perfect Dark, but with manual initial per-finding and weaker security (if you always have the same web of friends, you can likely be tracked by this web).
Now all of a sudden Google's new March first privacy policies make a lot of sense. If they can connect all the dots to reveal the connections things like DarkNet, Google would be of great value to the government and no one else need be any wiser.
THe best rumor I've heard so far is that the ipad2 will see a price drop to make it more cost competitive with kindle fire. We'll see in a few days.
It is rumored today Monday Feb 27 that...
Apple is dropping all models of the iPad 2 next Wednesday except for a single 16 GB iPad 2 WiFi model. That will be the low ball to bring people into Best Buys, Target, Wal-Mart, Sams etc. It may even be for sale in educational channels as part of Apple's new iTextBook agenda.
Think of this as the 16GB iPad with a huge ten inch iron spike in it to prevent too many from walking out the door. The retail sales people are supposed to 'step' the customer up to a real iPad, the iPad3 in HD, which by the way is going to be significantly more expensive then previous iPad models.
I think the price jump is seventy or eighty dollars on the low end in todays iPad 3 rumors.
I think the new price increase will go a long way to give Android tablets some breathing room in the 2012 market. The only problem I have seen is that most of the Android Tablets are still undesirable compared to the iPad ecosystem. Even Amazon is seeing returns of between 25% to 33%.
Realistically competing tablets still have to sell for less, sometimes a lot less, to move the product in 2012.
That is simply Google's fault and they appear to be trying to remedy the situation the best they can.
Google seems to be quietly trying to subvert Linux by locking developer interest into Android and Chrome only. This move by Adobe to support only Google seems to be a continuation of a disturbing pattern of unfairness incited by that advertising giant as it moves to cement its dominance of the Internet.
Apple doesn't want to provide a free tool to be used for producing ebooks on competing platforms. I fail to see how that's being a "jerk". It's called running a business.
"Jerk" doesn't quite cover it. I believe terms such as "evil" and "monopolistic" should also be applied.
Now can you begin to have insight on how the European union views Google's change to their 'user agreement' for all Google products. The EU flatly told Google that it isn't going to happen with out a review by all the governments in Europe who may completely reject Google's new terms as evil and monopolistic.
It is easy to say but can they prove it?
If they can, Android and Google are in a world of trouble, far more than the simple problem just solved by Apple over the Apple freeware iBooks Author. It is one thing to have a handful of Geeks mad at you but to have the all the governments turn on you in mass is another issue that is very serious.
This article caught me at a good (or bad depending on how you look at it) time. I am so sick of Apple fanatics and how they are willing destroying the personal computer industry. They hold their limp wrists high (no intent to offend gays, but it is such a fitting description) in celebration of their superior operating system, with no clue as to how they are being brainwashed into supporting abandonment of all personal rights
F--- Apple, please let them burn in hell.
I wonder if you have the courage to feel as strongly about Google's move today limiting all your online privacy rights if you use any Google product including Android?
You as well as the rest of us have only until March 1, 2012 to think it through.
And the number of "fanboys" appear to grow exponentially each quarter, judging by the financial results. How exactly do you imagine that Apple manages to keep on getting all these new fans?
WARNING: This question actually requires you to think.
Be careful.
Do some warm ups first.
You definitely have a future in writing for the best of the comedians if your tech job fails.
What exactly is Google trying to accomplish with their "real name" policy, anyway? I don't see what they hope to gain that's even worth the trouble of enforcing it, not even considering the ill will they're piling up.
i am surprised no one has seen the news BOMB Google dropped a few hours ago.
By March 1, 2012 all users of any Google product (over sixty different Google properties) must agree to a new limited privacy agreement. Google is going to combine all users individual online Google identities into one real identity that Google will track in real time.
Oh, and BTW, even here in America, Johnny still can't read. It's amazing how many kids today make it out of elementary school and can't read in a proficient manner.
I volunteer to privately assist a few. I make sure I am using simplified English.
If a student can not understand a new concept, it is because they fail to understand the real meaning of the words we are using. It is sometimes better to examine each word and determine what it adds to our subject. Review, rinse and repeat.
We just need to fight against people like the above who want to continue making life difficult for those with eyes (or screens) that aren't as good as ours.
I use both PDF and ePub plus RTFD and WebArchive on the iPad. The bottom line is in the Reader that handles those digital documents. PDF is nice and the iPad iOS does PDF far better than other devices. I like the automatic zoom to column with one tap for multicolumn PDFs that are hard to read.
ePubs not only bring font adjustments that are so great I suspect you could read the text in the next county but they also allow you to have any selected text or notes read aloud with one tap and the SPEAK option.
I have had passengers activate that while I am driving so we both can hear the text from a page which was part of our discussion. This was especially helpful with the ones who have a heavy foreign accent that is hard enough to comprehend even when they are not trying to read aloud English.
BTW iPad speak works with all of the above formats except PDF.
PDFs are great when the come indexed and with a table of contents, etc. Good for manuals and stuff like that. I don't use ebooks but do they have similar features?
The ePub Reader, if any good, will automatically create a table of contents based on how the ePub was created. I use styles HEADING 1 and HEADING 2 along with section breaks to format my ePubs.
I create ePub 3 and only iBooks seems to be able to handle it. I do not submit anything to Apple or Amazon it is for closed distribution.
I can with OS X Lion Services just highlight a bunch of RTF files, right click and create an instant ePub that will have a directory, title, and images, including a cover image. Each RTF will appear in the index as a separate section with an image for that section.
Apple has always been making ePubs easy and practical to use.
Those who have Android choose Moon Reader or similar ePub reader. Android still doesn't do ePub 3 for some reason but I suspect that will change soon.
For Kindles I just run the ePub through iCalibre and convert to MOIB. These MOIB files look just as nice in the iPad Kindle Reader as the ePubs in iBooks. Internal and external hyperlinks even work in MOIB. You can do a four finger swipe back and forth to compare the two, iBooks and Kindle.
You can read them using iBooks, but there's no iBooks on any platform other than iOS (not even for OS X).
Any student can rip off these books like they have always done when they went to a photocopier. Just copy each page via a screen shot and iCloud will then sync each page image to everything you have.
On the Mac just open them all at once in Preview and then select "Print to a PDF" for an instant PDF eBook.
There is so much you can do with Mac OS X Lion, iCloud, and the iPad you would think they were made for each other.
I just downloaded the "iBook Author" app. It's neat. But it has no cabability to enter maths.
Until Apple adds LaTeX support, this is not going to fly in maths and physics at the university level. I do research in applied mathematics for a living. In the texts I write, over 50% of the page space is covered with formulae. That's just the way maths works. I also need special characters (various binary operators, calligraphic, fraktur and blackboard bold symbols,...), not just Greek letters and sum symbols.
There's another catch, which also applies to other fields, not just my personal niche: It's nice that I can add 3D models, videos and all. But creating these kinds of objects takes a lot of time. Time that expert authors don't have. It will be interesting to see how this works out in schools, but I'm not holding my breath regarding graduate academic writing.
Could yo think outside the BOX for a second?
What is stopping you from making screen shots of your math and including those images in the text as you create your work?
As matter of fact you can even include screen recordings of your reasoning as you write equations. These can be presented as auto run or on demand video in your new textbook.
Look at some of the better textbook content that is already up there for more ideas.
Is it possible that those who master "iBook Author" and who have something great to teach will leap past their peers in prestige and respect?
PROVERB If you don't want anyone to jump past you, leap first and let the rest follow!
While this all sounds good...I dunno if it would have helped me back in school, or even now (although I would try it).
I found back in HS and college...that with dead tree books...I often would do like I did on my notes in a separate note book....I'd scribble notes, and make doodles in the margins.
I found that by doing this...when taking tests, I could close my eyes, and mentally turn the pages of my notes and even my books and 'see' the pages in my head and find the answers.
Even today...while search and all is great with digital media, I find that to actually quickly remember and be able to recall importing things I'm reading...the act of my physically writing down quotes and notes, seems to chisel it in my brain for quick recall later. Just reading and searching on a screen doesn't seem to do it for me as well.
Maybe it is just me tho....
You can do the same with ePubs and other Apple TextBook content that allows Notes and Highlighting. Goto the front and click on your note list, export them as an email document. Also make screen shots as you go along an mark those up using Notability or GoodReader, then export to the iCloud for placing anywhere in your life. This works really well with Notability which allows you to sync notes while recording live lectures in a classroom.
The iPad is developing into quite a compelling product particularly for those who can get past the "I hate all things from Apple" syndrome. iTunes U in particular is an outstanding resource, look at that new iTunes U app on the iPad and then pick one or more items under Most Popular to see what I mean.
I really like the National Geographic course on Photography.
Slashdot Mirror
They have only killed it for Linux and Android, and it never existed for iOS. You can still target Windows and OSX users with it, do not despair.
I wouldn't be too sure about OS X. Like many Mac users, I block FLASH as a system security precaution on OS X. If any web site insists on using FLASH I most certainly do not do continue with them.
I also have the 3rd generation iPad etc. I don't miss FLASH there either, especially the common FLASH ADVERTISING at cellular data rates for the unwanted FLASH.
I have noticed that major commercial sites that serve flash on Windows have adapted to the new reality of why their best customers began passing them up by making their own custom iPad/iPhone mobile apps.
Prove this for yourself. Go to Apples' app store and type in the name of any major vendor or manufacturer who directly sells to the public. If you do not get a hit and at least one good iPAD app that firm like RIM or Nokia isn't doing well in today's economy, probably do to bad management.
That is the new reality of the POST PC ERA. You either lose your dependence on flash or die in the new mobile market place.
In this case, skill shortage means a shortage of people possessing the skill and willing to work for less than the median salary for their chosen profession.
WOW!
I wish I could bump this up to the top comment on H-1B at /.
Things have really changed in just a few years.
I am retired but it actually pains me to see H-1B adversely affecting so many with key skills still struggling to make a living.
Of course, gasoline prices weren't at all affected by the US starting wars in oil-producing countries...
I know that has to be tongue in cheek. If it is not then you and the rest of slashdot better fasten your seat belt because Israel and the USA appear to be ready to strike Iran over the nuclear issue sometime after July 1 2012. Gasoline will increase in price dramatically if not from the actual heavy weapons discharged over Iranian soil, then simply because the USA has figured out how to shut off the flow of oil using insurance companies. The Western insurance companies will no longer insure any of the super tankers leaving Iranian ports after July 1, therefore no oil for the world supply.
One way or the other there is going to be a significant spike in the cost of oil just before the US election as that Muslim state can not be permitted to obtain any more nukes. Iran already has sufficient enriched material for five nukes which the Iranian religious leaders desperately hope to use on Israel and possibly the USA.
I can not believe that I just read on SlashDot that Google was simply relying on security through obscurity to protect Bouncer and the Android Google PlayMarket.
"research without much detailed knowledge of how the Bouncer system works. Google has said little publicly about its capabilities, preferring not to give attackers any insights into the system's inner workings."
LOL! I Lived in Venezuela for a year and I don't believe that this is to prevent street crime. When I lived there, it was dangerous to ride a nice bike in certain areas because street criminals would stab you and take your bike. They wouldn't ask, they would just take it before you had the chance to do anything. Was that common? No. But it happened. I think this has more to do with keeping Hugo in command, especially with his failing health. Most people there can't afford guns, or ammo. They have armed security guards at Wendy's. They give them a shotgun with a couple of shells, or an old beat-up revolver with just a couple of bullets. Why? Because they don't want the guards selling the guns/ammo for cash.
I was there for the infamous 11 de Abril, in 2002 when Hugo was temporarily replaced in a military coup. I don't think he has forgotten that day, and never will.
Ol Hugo has plans to do away with the shotguns. He built the first plant in South America in 2008 to produce the AK47 model 103.
The AK-103 is the most recent model of the original AK-47.
Unfortunately there was a horrible accident in 2011. Hugo's AK-47 Kalashnikov Assault Rifle factory in Venezuela mysteriously blew up and burned down, can you believe Hugo's bad luck?
He is a link to three minutes of a video of that fire and massive explosions,
http://youtu.be/tjg2uyWEfT8
Hugo's rebuilt Kalashnikov Assault Rifle AK 103 factory should be operational now or in the near future.
Then there will be plenty of the improved AK 103 to export for use in Mexico and the USA.
Naturally Hugo would not want these rugged high powered and efficient assault weapons in the hands of his own people unless they were military or police.
I think it illustrates limitations in the technology more than human incompetence. The service can't find your phone. It can tell you that your phone is near 55th and San Pedro, but it's not going to tell you which house and room the thing is sitting in, or whose pocket it has been put in. I bet I can stash a phone "near" any intersection in the country and you wouldn't be able to find it with only that information.
Notice that I'm not suggesting a solution... the service does what it does, but it's not a panacea for finding lost things.
I bet I can find the stolen iPhone. I would do what every other LE officer would do. He would walk up to the location and then call the lost iPhone's cell number. Then with probable cause he could seize any phone that rang and was answered matching the audio he heard with his observation of the suspects lips.
This happens nearly every day in the USA. I think it is hilarious when the cops seize guns and a large drug stash at the same time from the perp and his urban buddies. My favorite form of instant justice is hearing there were panicked perps who jumped out of a second floor or higher window injuring themselves only to be caught by more backup cops waiting below.
Apple has been equipping their own employees with Notability.
That simple fact caught my attention so I bought a copy for myself.
This app is on a roll with impressive updates.
It features just about everything you can think of for a note taking app. It includes a recorder with time stamps linked to your notes so tap on part of your note and hear what was being said when you created that part. It has support for drawing, neat handwriting, and typed input.
You can add photos on the fly along with web pages, PDFs and other resources.
Export/Import is to BOX or Dropbox among various cloud storage options.
I use it for one to three day conferences and it works like a champ lasting all day long if you turn down the brightness somewhat.
Often the iPad is all I bother to carry while everyone else is totting regular notebooks or paper solutions.
Notability has new support for retina graphics on the 2012 iPad. The ink used for handwriting is very attractive on the new iPad.
I can also let Notability record while I use four fingers to swipe to other apps to look up private data which I can insert after a screen shot or in most cases via a simple copy and paste.
--
I have tried many other iOS apps to see it they were better but I just keep coming back to Notability.
It just works.
They had the money, but could they have enticed the brilliant graduates of top American schools to move to Ontario? And I don't mean to say that Canadian engineers aren't good, but that Apple and Google have access to a global talent pool - did/does RIM? (Fascinating question: How much does snow and ice have to do with the fortunes of a mobile phone developer?)
Doesn't Finland, home of Nokia's world class mobile technology, have snow and ice too?
There is no such thing as wasting money on research.
Google should join with there new friends at the NSA to investigate how we can mine jello on the moon.
With the unlimited resources of the US government and Google great strides can be made in our discovery of the steps needed for industrializing the moon and a profitable new market can be established that the West can dominate.
It basically sounds like Perfect Dark, but with manual initial per-finding and weaker security (if you always have the same web of friends, you can likely be tracked by this web).
Now all of a sudden Google's new March first privacy policies make a lot of sense. If they can connect all the dots to reveal the connections things like DarkNet, Google would be of great value to the government and no one else need be any wiser.
THe best rumor I've heard so far is that the ipad2 will see a price drop to make it more cost competitive with kindle fire. We'll see in a few days.
It is rumored today Monday Feb 27 that...
Apple is dropping all models of the iPad 2 next Wednesday except for a single 16 GB iPad 2 WiFi model. That will be the low ball to bring people into Best Buys, Target, Wal-Mart, Sams etc. It may even be for sale in educational channels as part of Apple's new iTextBook agenda.
Think of this as the 16GB iPad with a huge ten inch iron spike in it to prevent too many from walking out the door. The retail sales people are supposed to 'step' the customer up to a real iPad, the iPad3 in HD, which by the way is going to be significantly more expensive then previous iPad models.
I think the price jump is seventy or eighty dollars on the low end in todays iPad 3 rumors.
I think the new price increase will go a long way to give Android tablets some breathing room in the 2012 market. The only problem I have seen is that most of the Android Tablets are still undesirable compared to the iPad ecosystem. Even Amazon is seeing returns of between 25% to 33%.
Realistically competing tablets still have to sell for less, sometimes a lot less, to move the product in 2012.
That is simply Google's fault and they appear to be trying to remedy the situation the best they can.
Google seems to be quietly trying to subvert Linux by locking developer interest into Android and Chrome only. This move by Adobe to support only Google seems to be a continuation of a disturbing pattern of unfairness incited by that advertising giant as it moves to cement its dominance of the Internet.
"Google Seeks To Plant Antenna Farm In Iowa"
I wonder what kind of fertilizer they plan to use?
Shame Dung.
Apple doesn't want to provide a free tool to be used for producing ebooks on competing platforms. I fail to see how that's being a "jerk". It's called running a business.
"Jerk" doesn't quite cover it. I believe terms such as "evil" and "monopolistic" should also be applied.
Now can you begin to have insight on how the European union views Google's change to their 'user agreement' for all Google products. The EU flatly told Google that it isn't going to happen with out a review by all the governments in Europe who may completely reject Google's new terms as evil and monopolistic.
It is easy to say but can they prove it?
If they can, Android and Google are in a world of trouble, far more than the simple problem just solved by Apple over the Apple freeware iBooks Author. It is one thing to have a handful of Geeks mad at you but to have the all the governments turn on you in mass is another issue that is very serious.
Even the USA is getting involved since US laws have serious issues like the HIPPA violations that will occur on and after March 1 from a simple Google medical search tied to a user's ID
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2012/02/rep-bono-mack-reports-on-closed-door-google-briefing-/1
Google stepped into some very deep dung without thinking through that announcement of new mandatory user agreements beginning March 1.
"I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong" - Steve Jobs
$100 million down, $39.9 billion to go.
Wrong, $100 million down over $99.9 billion to go.
Apple just picked up a lot more cash in the last quarter. They have almost a hundred billion in cash right now.
Awesome sales and profits!
This article caught me at a good (or bad depending on how you look at it) time. I am so sick of Apple fanatics and how they are willing destroying the personal computer industry. They hold their limp wrists high (no intent to offend gays, but it is such a fitting description) in celebration of their superior operating system, with no clue as to how they are being brainwashed into supporting abandonment of all personal rights
F--- Apple, please let them burn in hell.
I wonder if you have the courage to feel as strongly about Google's move today limiting all your online privacy rights if you use any Google product including Android?
You as well as the rest of us have only until March 1, 2012 to think it through.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/25/google-merge-user-data-privacy?newsfeed=true
And the number of "fanboys" appear to grow exponentially each quarter, judging by the financial results. How exactly do you imagine that Apple manages to keep on getting all these new fans?
WARNING: This question actually requires you to think.
Be careful.
Do some warm ups first.
You definitely have a future in writing for the best of the comedians if your tech job fails.
What exactly is Google trying to accomplish with their "real name" policy, anyway? I don't see what they hope to gain that's even worth the trouble of enforcing it, not even considering the ill will they're piling up.
i am surprised no one has seen the news BOMB Google dropped a few hours ago.
By March 1, 2012 all users of any Google product (over sixty different Google properties) must agree to a new limited privacy agreement. Google is going to combine all users individual online Google identities into one real identity that Google will track in real time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/google-moves-to-integrate-user-data-across-services/2012/01/24/gIQAmv8GOQ_gallery.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/25/google-merge-user-data-privacy?newsfeed=true
Will this enable Google to have the power to launch an instant attack on any group or business that Google disagrees with ideologically or socially?
Would this threaten the freedom of free expression during political or religious debate?
Could Google be used to topple the heads of governments who threaten their interests?
Oh, and BTW, even here in America, Johnny still can't read. It's amazing how many kids today make it out of elementary school and can't read in a proficient manner.
I volunteer to privately assist a few. I make sure I am using simplified English.
If a student can not understand a new concept, it is because they fail to understand the real meaning of the words we are using. It is sometimes better to examine each word and determine what it adds to our subject. Review, rinse and repeat.
The bottom line - KEEP IT SIMPLE.
We just need to fight against people like the above who want to continue making life difficult for those with eyes (or screens) that aren't as good as ours.
I use both PDF and ePub plus RTFD and WebArchive on the iPad. The bottom line is in the Reader that handles those digital documents. PDF is nice and the iPad iOS does PDF far better than other devices. I like the automatic zoom to column with one tap for multicolumn PDFs that are hard to read.
ePubs not only bring font adjustments that are so great I suspect you could read the text in the next county but they also allow you to have any selected text or notes read aloud with one tap and the SPEAK option.
I have had passengers activate that while I am driving so we both can hear the text from a page which was part of our discussion. This was especially helpful with the ones who have a heavy foreign accent that is hard enough to comprehend even when they are not trying to read aloud English.
BTW iPad speak works with all of the above formats except PDF.
PDFs are great when the come indexed and with a table of contents, etc. Good for manuals and stuff like that. I don't use ebooks but do they have similar features?
The ePub Reader, if any good, will automatically create a table of contents based on how the ePub was created. I use styles HEADING 1 and HEADING 2 along with section breaks to format my ePubs.
I create ePub 3 and only iBooks seems to be able to handle it. I do not submit anything to Apple or Amazon it is for closed distribution.
I can with OS X Lion Services just highlight a bunch of RTF files, right click and create an instant ePub that will have a directory, title, and images, including a cover image. Each RTF will appear in the index as a separate section with an image for that section.
Apple has always been making ePubs easy and practical to use.
Those who have Android choose Moon Reader or similar ePub reader. Android still doesn't do ePub 3 for some reason but I suspect that will change soon.
For Kindles I just run the ePub through iCalibre and convert to MOIB. These MOIB files look just as nice in the iPad Kindle Reader as the ePubs in iBooks. Internal and external hyperlinks even work in MOIB.
You can do a four finger swipe back and forth to compare the two, iBooks and Kindle.
You can read them using iBooks, but there's no iBooks on any platform other than iOS (not even for OS X).
Any student can rip off these books like they have always done when they went to a photocopier. Just copy each page via a screen shot and iCloud will then sync each page image to everything you have.
On the Mac just open them all at once in Preview and then select "Print to a PDF" for an instant PDF eBook.
There is so much you can do with Mac OS X Lion, iCloud, and the iPad you would think they were made for each other.
Hey wait....
1) Any book you create in Apple's wonderful new book maker can only be sold in Apple's digital storefront. Don't forget to read the EULA.
2) Of course they want you to write textbooks. They could then take over the entire College and University Book Store market.
3) Profit!
for Apple.
If a wise person had a problem with this wouldn't they buy Apple stock so they could share in the profits?
I just downloaded the "iBook Author" app. It's neat. But it has no cabability to enter maths.
Until Apple adds LaTeX support, this is not going to fly in maths and physics at the university level. I do research in applied mathematics for a living. In the texts I write, over 50% of the page space is covered with formulae. That's just the way maths works. I also need special characters (various binary operators, calligraphic, fraktur and blackboard bold symbols, ...), not just Greek letters and sum symbols.
There's another catch, which also applies to other fields, not just my personal niche: It's nice that I can add 3D models, videos and all. But creating these kinds of objects takes a lot of time. Time that expert authors don't have. It will be interesting to see how this works out in schools, but I'm not holding my breath regarding graduate academic writing.
Could yo think outside the BOX for a second?
What is stopping you from making screen shots of your math and including those images in the text as you create your work?
As matter of fact you can even include screen recordings of your reasoning as you write equations. These can be presented as auto run or on demand video in your new textbook.
Look at some of the better textbook content that is already up there for more ideas.
Is it possible that those who master "iBook Author" and who have something great to teach will leap past their peers in prestige and respect?
PROVERB
If you don't want anyone to jump past you, leap first and let the rest follow!
While this all sounds good...I dunno if it would have helped me back in school, or even now (although I would try it).
I found back in HS and college...that with dead tree books...I often would do like I did on my notes in a separate note book....I'd scribble notes, and make doodles in the margins.
I found that by doing this...when taking tests, I could close my eyes, and mentally turn the pages of my notes and even my books and 'see' the pages in my head and find the answers.
Even today...while search and all is great with digital media, I find that to actually quickly remember and be able to recall importing things I'm reading...the act of my physically writing down quotes and notes, seems to chisel it in my brain for quick recall later. Just reading and searching on a screen doesn't seem to do it for me as well.
Maybe it is just me tho....
You can do the same with ePubs and other Apple TextBook content that allows Notes and Highlighting. Goto the front and click on your note list, export them as an email document. Also make screen shots as you go along an mark those up using Notability or GoodReader, then export to the iCloud for placing anywhere in your life. This works really well with Notability which allows you to sync notes while recording live lectures in a classroom.
The iPad is developing into quite a compelling product particularly for those who can get past the "I hate all things from Apple" syndrome. iTunes U in particular is an outstanding resource, look at that new iTunes U app on the iPad and then pick one or more items under Most Popular to see what I mean.
I really like the National Geographic course on Photography.