November 2004 Archives

I am trying something new.  I usually take the night flight from Boston to Heathrow, but I decided to try the day flight to see if it helps the jet lag.  I got up at 5:00 am this morning in Boston (10:00 in London), left the  airport at 8:15 am and arrived in London at 19:30 this evening.  It is now 20:30, I have had some dinner and some wine and I am beginning to feel tired.  Hopefully I will sleep and get up at around 7:00 tomorrow.   If I toss and turn all night, I will let you know.

BTW, I am staying at the Draycott Hotel, which I have written about a number of times.  It is lovely.  I am sitting in front of a fire, blogging and reading, drinking a wonderful Chablis, and just about ready to have some tea.

[Engadget] Here’s what we’re putting on our USB drive before we leave for Tofurky Day...

As the designated 'computer fix it guy' in the family, I really like the list of "must have" software for the USB Keychain for fixing computers this Thanksgiving. Some of the favorites (which funny enough, I've had to already install on 2 family members computers today): LavaSoft Ad-Aware, AVG AntiVirus and Skype.

Check out an earlier thread on Furrygoat for more ideas, and as always, post any other ideas (because, without a doubt, I'll end up doing more computer repair this week).

Related...

[Microsoft WebBlogs]

Mobile media technology developer WINKsite has launched the Creative Commons Library for mobile users. The Library puts a variety of CC-licensed texts two clicks away from browser-enabled mobile devices.

Mobile books, or "WINKbooks" are texts designed to be read on a web-enabled mobile phone.

Mobile publishing is a concept still in its relative infancy - partly due to the technology barrier that needs to be overcome by many prospective users. The idea that paper and ink should be forsaken for mobile phones is enough to make readers give an almost Luddite shudder. How can any mobile device approach the ergonomics and durability of a good quality book or reading the text on a PC or notebook? Who will read a book on a phone? Replacement however, is not the point. It's all about distribution.

You see, there is a revolution going on all over the world. People from Japan to India to Europe to the United States and South America are engaging content on mobile devices in record numbers - in fact mobile access to the Internet has already surpassed desktop access. For tens of millions their mobile phone is their one and only pipeline onto the Internet, to knowledge it contains, and to each other. Their entire "connected" world is what they can publish and consume directly on their phone. Let's connect everyone to all the great content and thoughts bouncing around the Internet. Don't leave anyone out or behind or without a voice.

Thanks to Dave for the heads-up!

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[Smart Mobs]

As I've mentioned previously, I'm currently enthralled with the concept of social network analysis (SNA). An understanding of information/knowledge flow through an organization would seem to be as vital to the information age as creating oil pipelines in the manufacturing age. A quick overview of SNA: "In the context of knowledge management, social network analysis (SNA) enables relationships between people to be mapped in order to identity knowledge flows: who do people seek information and knowledge from? Who do they share their information and knowledge with?"

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[elearnspace]

C03-47-03, originally uploaded by ty.

This photo was brought to my attention in the Flickr blog. Being able to share photos like this makes Flickr a high value service. I have posted a number of photos buy I certainly don't see like this!

I had the opportunity of sitting with Ismail Serageldin, the director of the Library of Alexandria at a session at the STS Forum. He told me a story about a fellow educator and librarian who was dismayed that students were only citing things that they could find on the Internet and were no longer using physical libraries. Ismail said that he disagreed. He told me that he felt that students using the Internet were correct and that it was the libraries that needed to make more material available online. I totally agree. (He also said he was a fan of Wikipedia.) So it's good news that:

Matt Haughey @ CC Blog

30 Million newspapers to be put online

Great news for the public domain: The National Endowment for the Arts and the Library of Congress are putting 30 million newspaper pages online, dating from 1836 to 1922.

It'll take until 2006 to complete the project but the Library of Congress has put up a sample from The Stars and Stripes, an armed forces paper, posting every issue from 1918-1919.

Comment - TrackBack

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[Joi Ito's Web]

I was going to write a comprehensive review of the new MSN Sesarch that I’ve been reviewing as part of the MSN Search Champs now that it has been released as a public beta. Then I read Walt Mossberg’s Personal Technology column this morning and decided he’s done his usual thorough job. So rather than repeating everything he’s already written - go read his review. It’s very accurate and covers all of the good stuff in the new search tool.

The best thing about the new MSN Search is a set of features absent from Google. Especially nice is the ability to get actual answers — not just Web links — when you enter fact-based queries. Microsoft draws these answers from its Encarta encyclopedia, including lots of material that was formerly provided only to paid subscribers.

For instance, I typed “birth of Lincoln” into MSN, and was given his birth date on top of the usual long list of Web results. The same query typed into Google yielded no direct information, and the first few Google results pertained to birth control and maternity services in Lincoln, Neb.

I also got quick answers from MSN to questions like “population of Copenhagen,” “what is an arthropod?” and “GDP of Bulgaria.”

The MSN Search team now has a blog. Here’s a complete list of all the international URLs:

Japan   http://beta.search.msn.co.jp  
UK      http://beta.search.msn.co.uk  
US - EN http://beta.search.msn.com    
US - ES http://beta.search.latino.msn.com     
France  http://beta.search.msn.fr     
Germany http://beta.search.msn.de     
Belgium - FR    http://beta.search.fr.msn.be  
Belgium - NL    http://beta.search.msn.be     
Denmark http://beta.search.msn.dk     
Italy   http://beta.search.msn.it     
Netherlands     http://beta.search.msn.nl     
Norway  http://beta.search.msn.no     
Spain   http://beta.search.msn.es     
Sweden  http://beta.search.msn.se     
Australia       http://beta.search.ninemsn.com.au     
Canada – EN     http://beta.search.sympatico.msn.ca   
Canada - FR     http://beta.search.fr.sympatico.msn.ca
New Zealand     http://beta.search.xtramsn.co.nz      
India   http://beta.search.msn.co.in  
Austria http://beta.search.msn.at     
Finland http://beta.search.msn.fi     
Malaysia        http://beta.search.msn.com.my 
Singapore       http://beta.search.msn.com.sg 
South Africa    http://beta.search.msn.co.za
Switzerland - DE        http://beta.search.msn.ch
Switzerland - FR        http://beta.search.fr.msn.ch

Seattle pi’s Todd Bishop has an excellent analysis of the new MSN Search and the business impact this release will have on the search engine market.

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[The latest blogs from your friends at OfficeZealot.com]

The Engadget Interview: Niklas Zennström

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[del.icio.us/popular]

In Segovia we were very lucky to visit a superb restaurant called Restaurante "JOSÉ MARÍA":

This restaurant had a traditional menu of dishes from the region which we all enjoyed.  Of course, I had roast suckling pig which fell from the bone.  The wine, which is produced by the restraunteur was the highlight of the meal:

PAGO DE CARRAOVEJAS

This is a relatively new winery in the Ribera del Duero region, headed by a somewhat famous restaurateur from Segovia, José María Ruiz Benito of Mesón Jose María.  There are several other partners, including winemaker Thomas Postigo.  They have extensive acreage in the area of Peñafiel.   

I gather they are rather selective about what is actually bottled and sold under their Pago de Carraovejas.   The wine is quite rich and really nicely oaked.  It's about 75% Tinto del Pais and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon.   French and American oak barrels are used for the maturation of this, about one-third of the barrels being brand new.  It's outstanding paired with pork, grilled steaks, or lamb. 

I visited Singapore 5 years ago and was impressed by the sophistication of the knowledge management efforts in industry and in the private sector. The government had a plan for implementing knoweldge management throughout the country and expecially in the libraries in the urban community.  The public libraries were very sophisticated, with all the most current equipment, knowledgable staff, lots of books, and well supported by the government.  So it is no surprise to run across a very good blog by the international Knowledge Management Society (iKMS) located in Singapore.  This is an excellent source of information on new learning in the field, with thoughtful book reviews and examination of current KM issues.