Links for 2009-03-25

  • XMeeting – Powerful Videoconferencing Solutions for Mac OS X
    If you haven't already discovered this (I was late to the game… but also had many people tell me such a thing didn't exist), XMeeting allows Macs to connect to Polycom-based videoconferencing (and to other systems using similar standards).
    (tags: videoconference mac polycom)
  • Wikia – Wikis from Wikia – Join the best wiki communities
    Here's yet another (fast-growing) free wiki service. At a glance this one seems notable for the tools they provide to help users find wikis relevant to their interests.
    (tags: wikis)
  • Multiply – Secure, Family-Friendly Media Sharing
    I haven't tried this fast-growing service, but wonder if it would be of interest to educators looking for a "walled garden" approach to using two-way web technologies with their students: "Multiply makes it easy to create, share and discuss your blog, photos, and videos with more of the people you know, and fewer of the people you don't."
    (tags: socialnetworking Web2.0 socialsoftware blogs)
  • Twitter Traffic Grows 1,382% In A Year
    This post includes an interesting table showing the growth of twitter… and several other fast growing sites, three of (the five of) which I'd never heard of. Cool. Check out Zimbio, Multiply, and Wikia.

  • How To Get Google Reader Shared Items From Anyone | MakeUseOf.com
    This post includes a few tricks for following other's shared Google Reader feeds, even if they're unlikely to respond to you personally. It only works for "celebrities" so it won't help you unearth the feeds of peers and others who might share your interests or be better filters of information. Still, it's a place to start.
    (tags: rss googlereader infoflo)
  • search-cube – the Visual Search Engine
    Yet another visual search engine. This one initially intrigued me more than others (the results were more striking), but the cube is difficult to manipulate and the relevancy or ranking of the results is unclear. Still, a search for "edtechlife" turned up a few visual surprises. :)
    (tags: search visualsearch)
  • Pattie Maes demos the Sixth Sense | Video on TED.com
    A TED video about "a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment." I haven't seen it yet, but hear it's amazing… and a sign of the future of computing. Try imagining what could be done with this device in school… or simply for learning in your home.
    (tags: future interface)
  • Fliggo – Create Your Own Video Site
    This looks pretty straight forward (and potentially cool): in the same way that Ning lets you create your own social network (or your own Facebook or MySpace, put simply), Fliggo lets you create your own video sharing site (or your own YouTube… or TeacherTube). I can see where being an administrator on your own site would be good for schools or districts.
    (tags: video streaming)
  • New OnLive service could turn the video game world upside down » VentureBeat
    This is a new service for offering high-end video games via data streamed from a server rather than software installed on your PC or hardware connected to your TV. “This is video gaming on demand, where we deliver the games as a service, not something on a disk or in hardware,” Perlman said. “Hardware is no longer the defining factor of the game experience.” Some have suggested that educational software might benefit from this model as well. Perhaps educational games? Then the "my school's hardware can't handle the games" issue won't be such a big deal. :)
    (tags: gamesined streaming videogame compression)
  • Face.com – Face recognition for the masses.
    This is like "Faces" in iPhoto, but for your friends photos on the web rather than your photos on your own computer: "a powerful tool for finding pictures of you and your friends on Facebook."
    (tags: facialrecognition photofinder facebook face)
  • How to Filter out Undesirable Posts in your RSS Reader | MakeUseOf.com
    Based on my love of AideRSS for Google Reader, I think I will also like this method for managing your incoming information flow via RSS: "Feed Rinse is basically a spam filter for RSS feeds. It takes your feeds and then filters them, depending on the rules you specify. You can tell it to allow or block posts depending on keywords in the post body or post title. It will then give you a special Feed Rinse RSS address which you can then place in your RSS reader – and it’s all free!"
    (tags: rss productivity infoflow)
  • Official Google Blog: Two new improvements to Google results pages
    Google now offers "more and better search refinements" and "longer snippets" on ordinary Google search results pages.
    (tags: google search googleined)
  • GlobalClassroom: New at Global Classroom
    Global Classroom has a new business model, but will still be offering free Moodle classrooms to teachers. The new model "will let schools, organizations, businesses and individuals interested in a more customizable solution purchase a network." Global Classroom is also providing one of the strands at the Lead Learning 2009 Summer Institute for Professional Developers: http://www.cue.org/leadlearning/
    (tags: free globalclassroom moodle)