Author: jamesclay

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No Blu-Ray

I have been holding off buying a replacement iMac as I have been waiting for the release of new models. Rumours were abound a month or two back that the new redesigned iMacs would have Blu-Ray.

Generally you should never wait for new models as you will always be waiting. Buy the hardware you need when you need it.

Sometimes I wish I had done that, but my “normal” practice with Apple hardware is to buy it just after it was released. I did that with my last iMac and my iPhone 3GS.

Well the current rumour is that the new iMacs won’t have Blu Ray, they will have powerful chips, but no way to play Blu-Ray films…

A lot of this is dependent on your view if the future of movies is in physical media or downloads.

The main reason I prefer physical media is that my broadband connection has trouble with standard definition films let alone the huge file sizes that HD movies would be. Even now I have to download films from iTunes overnight to avoid hitting my bandwidth cap, the time it takes and the impact downloading has on my (very small) bandwidth, essentially stopping me from doing anything except watching the progress of the download.

The new iMacs (again according to the rumour sites) will be released before the end of October.

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It’s all about the coffee…

How Twitter is all about the coffee….

Using Twitter to form communities of practice.

A presentation from the Handheld Learning Conference 2009.

Do you Twitter?

Some people have “complained” about Twitter as shallow and lightweight, they have missed the point.

Is Twitter just about following people and reading informative links or is it about conversation and community?

I use Twitter in various ways, saying when I am drinking a coffee,to inform about what I am doing, blog articles and as a backchannel at events and conferences. However telling people is only half the story, the real value of Twitter is the conversation.

Of course really Twitter is all about the coffee. It’s the coffee you drink with colleagues during a break, where you discuss work, but also your commute, TV, films, the weather. It’s the coffee you drink whilst browsing the web and posting links of interesting web site to your blog or in an e-mail. It’s the coffee you drink in a coffee shop, reading the paper or a book. It’s the coffee you drink with fellow delegates during a break or at lunch at a conference. Where you discuss the keynotes, the presentations, the workshops, where you are going next, your hotel, the food, the coffee, what you do, where you’re going, what gadgets you have in your bag.

Twitter is about these moments, but without the physical and geographical limitations. Twitter allows people from different institutions, sectors, different, departments to share these moments. This presentation will look at how Twitter can be used to improve and enhance teaching and learning through the use of Twitter as a community of practice.

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Account closed

I’d done it. My (virtual) life was over. After two years on the online social networking site Facebook, I’d taken the plunge and killed off my account – in Facebook speak, I was “de-activated”.

It hadn’t all been bad; we’d had some good times. I’d enjoyed a bit of snooping as much as the next person and found it useful enough as a way to check out potential love interests, flog unwanted stuff and organise the odd shindig or three.

Could you give up Facebook? Read the full account on BBC News.

David Sugden on his Posterous Blog covers his reaction to the article.

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Orange gets the iPhone

iPhone

So O2’s exclusive contract with Apple and the iPhone has come to an end…

BBC News reports:

Orange has reached an agreement to sell Apple’s popular iPhone in the UK.

The deal ends an exclusive arrangement between UK network operator O2 and the Californian phone maker, which has been in place since 2007.

I am not sure that there was much consumer benefit to the exclusive arrangement that O2 had (well has at the moment) however I am equally sure that bringing Orange into the market won’t actually make too much difference to consumers; more likely it will benefit those who can’t get an O2 signal but can get Orange.

Part of the issue has to be the fact that iPhone is in a league of its own when it comes to smartphones, not many other devices match the iPhone in terms of usability, applications and features.

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More rumours on new iMacs

Macrumors has some nice new rumours on the next incarnation of the Apple iMac.

The new iMac may include…

…an SD card reader, as found in the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pro, and the use of quad-core processors, which conflicts with a subsequent report claiming that the new iMac will continue to use dual-core processors.

and

…a new 100% touch-enabled mouse capable of advanced mouse functions, as well as a new aluminum Apple Remote. 

I am also hoping that the Blu-Ray rumour that has also been seen is also true. However Apple do seem to have decided that video downloads from the iTunes Store and not via physical format.

I am expecting to see the new iMacs in October and I will probably more than likely be buying one, to replace my current imac which is coming up to three years old.

While we’re on the subject of new Macs, there is also a white MacBook rumour on Macrumors. I wonder if this will be the same format as the current MacBook but with better specifications. However could it be a completely new format to compete in the cheap netbook market?

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Twitter confirms major cash boost

BBC News reports:

Social networking website Twitter has confirmed that it has closed a “significant round of funding”.

Co-founder Evan Williams said in a blog post that the site had secured money from five investment firms.

Will this secure the future of Twitter, or with all the possible problems with the networking site mean the death of Twitter?