Categories
-Context 11.1 Where Computers Work 11.2 Technology and Job Quality 8.4 The Network Advantage 8.5 Interpersonal Computing: From Communication to Communities 9.2 Inside the Web

Collaboration on Collaboration

why_we_collaborateThe Internet makes it possible for people to collaborate on a massive scale, working together to accomplish tasks that might otherwise be impossible. The world of online collaboration is changing rapidly—and changing our lives in the process. Many TED talks and NPR podcasts have helped us to understand the applications and implications of collaborative technology. In this fascinating radio program, TED and NPR collaborate to explore collaboration by combining excerpts from several TED talks with interviews and commentary.
www.npr.org/2013/07/13/197986218/why-we-collaborate

Categories
-Context 4.4 The User Interface: The Human-Machine Connection 8.4 The Network Advantage 9.2 Inside the Web Chapter 1 Exploring Our Digital Planet

Five Minutes, Ten Tips. How Many Hours Will You Save?

David-Pogue-TEDDavid Pogue is one of the most prolific–and entertaining–tech writers we know. In this short TED talk, he runs through a list of tips that can save you time every day. Don’t miss it.

Categories
-Context 3.3 Storage Devices: Input Meets Output 3.4 The Computer System: The Sum of Its Parts 8.4 The Network Advantage 9.1 Inside the Internet Ports and Slots Revisited

The Flash inside the Cloud

When you post something on Facebook, stream a movie from Netflix, or share data with Dropbox, you’re using “the cloud.” Apple’s iCloud makes it possible for 250 million people to store their music, appointments, and documents “out there” and effortlessly access them via iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other digital devices. But what, and where, is the cloud, and how does it work? This slightly technical Wired article examines the futuristic technology inside the cloud—technology that’s likely to find its way into future PCs, tablets, and phones.
wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/03/flash-fusion-io-apple-facebook/all

Categories
-Context 10.5 Human Questions for a Computer Age 11.3 Automation, Globalization, and Outsourcing 8.4 The Network Advantage Chapter/Section

Faster than the Speed of Money

NPR’s Radiolab is radio at its best—entertaining, informative, provocative. This episode will change the way you think about time and speed. One segment reveals the surprising truth about the relative speeds of the human nervous system and the Internet, and the a critical role of speed in today’s computer-controlled financial marketplace.
radiolab.org/2013/feb/05
If you don’t understand how the stock market works, you’re not alone. The market has developed a digital mind of its own, and in many ways it’s beyond human comprehension. The blog that accompanies that story includes some dazzling animated visualizations.

Categories
-Updates 13.3 E-Business 2.0: Reinventing Web Commerce 8.3 Specialized Networks: From GPS to Digital Money 8.4 The Network Advantage

Mobile Devices and the New Shopping Experience

Smart phones and tablets are changing the way we shop, and the change is happening at digital speeds. In some stores, you can pay by flashing your smart phone and have a receipt mailed from the clerk’s tablet. No cash, no plastic cards, no paper, no waiting. This NPR story surveys the world of mobile-tech shopping.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2012/12/10/166890714/forget-the-register-stores-use-mobile-to-make-sales-on-the-spot
 
 

Categories
-Context 14.6 Inventing the Future: The Future of Programming 3.5 Inventing the Future: Tomorrow's Peripherals 4.5 File Management: Where's My Stuff? 8.4 The Network Advantage 9.5: Inventing the Future: The Invisible Information Infrastructure Chapter 13 E-Commerce and E-Business: The Evolving Internet Economy Ports and Slots Revisited

Making the Cloud Clear

NPR.org/2011/12/26/143795017/now-hovering-above-us-all-the-cloud
If you’re not completely clear about “the cloud,” reading or listening to this short NPR story should help. Even if you understand the basics, you’ll probably be surprised by the many different ways that cloud technology is changing our world.