In response to Marion’s tradition of posting his favorite Christmas song during this time of giving, I am sharing two of my all time favorite French songs. Well, the second one is at least “French-esque.” I would like to dedicate these musical gems to all my friends who have moved (or are moving) from Logan. May you find happiness in greener pastures, and may I follow you soon. Now sit back and enjoy… Read more…
Several people have asked me which Android phone I would buy if I were to buy one right now. Until yesterday that was an easy choice. I would buy the G1. They are cheap and easy to root. But now that the DROID has been successfully rooted, the decision is harder. I guess it depends on your carrier. Why do I only care about rooted Android devices? Here is a short list of the things you can do once you root your Android device (there are many more):
1. Performance enhancements: Rooted G1s can run at the full 512MHz (Stock G1s are underclocked at 384MHz because of battery life, and possibly to market the myTouch as “faster.” They actually have the same CPU inside.)
2. Wireless tethering: Your G1 can basically act like a wireless router, allowing you and anyone you approve to connect to the Internet via your phone’s unlimited data plan. (This works best with 3G connections). Here is the free app you need (only works on rooted phones): http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/
3. Google Maps Navigation on G1 (no more DROID envy!): http://lifehacker.com/5402207/get-google-maps-navigation-on-your-g1 (easiest method here: http://digs.by/lxn)
More reasons to root your Android device: http://lifehacker.com/5342237/five-great-reasons-to-root-your-android-phone
The Best ROM currently available: CyanogenMod. Instructions for rooting: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php/Main_Page
IMG_5600, originally uploaded by caswell_tom.
I really enjoyed being part of the UNESCO Chair in E-Learning conference on Open Social Learning last week with my friend and colleague, Marion Jensen. We presented TwHistory, a project that Marion started and I have been involved with during 2009, and it involves reenacting historical events using Twitter. Jeff Young posted a nice summary of the TwHistory project on the Wired Campus Blog of The Chronicle of Higher Education, although he gave me more credit than I deserve. TwHistory was Marion’s idea from the beginning; I was fortunate enough to have gotten involved early on in the development of that idea.
For more about the UNECSO Chair in E-Learning conference I will refer you to José Mota’s excellent conference summary. This was my fourth time visiting Barcelona over the past 18 months, and I feel very lucky to have had all those opportunities. Barcelona has quickly become one of my favorite cities in the world, and the wonderful people at UOC are big part of why I feel that way. Thank you to Emma, Julia, and all the organizers at UOC for an excellent conference. You have given me a lot to think about, and I look forward to future opportunities to share and discuss the future of Open Social Learning.
Looks like something was Stollen, originally uploaded by caswell_tom.
I share all my flickr photos freely under a Creative Commons attribution-only license. If you don’t know what this means I’ll sum it up for you: You can’t steal my photos because I am already willing to share them with you. Do what you want with them. All I ask is that you give me credit if you use them. I guess I’ll never know if you don’t comply, but why not play nice? The terms are really simple. Just mention my Flickr username, caswell_tom. Give credit where credit is due.
I have a Google Alert set up to alert me anytime the words “caswell_tom” and “flickr” appear on the web together. You may need to adjust this to fit your own situation. I added the word “flickr” to my username to filter out all the unrelated alerts I was getting. I had to add the work When I get a Google Alert email letting me know one of my photos has been reused, I add a link to the place it got used in the comment section of that picture. I also add the “reused” tag to that photo in Flickr. It’s an easy way to keep track of my reused photo collection.
It’s fun to see how my amateur snapshots get reused. I feel like a proud parent, seeing my photos accomplish new and interesting things. I guess you could say I collect reuse. Of course, you have to tag your photo with useful keywords so other can find them. That’s the trick behind the magic of reuse.
You might wonder why I share my photos, blog posts, and other creative works so freely. Well, why not? The worst that can happen is nothing (which is exactly what would happen anyway if I kept them to myself). The best case scenario is that someone else gets to do something interesting with my photo and I get credit for the original photo. Who knows?
OK, so maybe this isn’t a “complete” guide, but it brings together many of the bits and pieces of tutorials I have found for importing contacts into Gmail from several of the major email and address book applications. Feel free to add or suggest additional ones in the comments, but as I have mentioned in other tutorials, I am only posting to be helpful (use at your own risk, etc, etc). This does not make me your technical support for life.
Introduction
With the release of Verizon’s DROID, and with several other new Android phones on the way, more and more people are making the switch from older PDAs and smart phones to Android. A big part of this involves moving contacts (names, addresses, and emails) over to Gmail, which syncs with Android. Many of us have accumulated contact information over time using other applications such as Outlook or Palm Desktop. This guide is meant to help people import contacts easily into Gmail, which will then sync automatically with their Android devices. Gmail offers a way to import contacts from other email applications and address books (up to 3000 contacts at a time).
The entire process can be divided into two main parts: (1) exporting contacts from the old program, and (2) importing contacts into Gmail. Part 1 depends on which program you are exporting from. Part 2 will be the same for all programs.
Part 1: Exporting contacts into a CSV file
I finally got around to upgrading to the latest Android CyanogenMod (4.2.3.1), and my G1 is noticeably faster now. Cyanogen must have done some serious optimizing, so this update is definitely worth the trouble. I’ll spare you the details, but if you are upgrading from a Cyanogen Mod version lower than 4.1.99, this update will put you back in compliance with Google’s Terms of Use. It was a pretty simple upgrade once I found the right instructions (there are lots out there).
Keep in mind that by providing these instructions I am not agreeing to provide you with technical support for the rest of your life. The instructions are for the G1 ONLY, so if you have a MyTouch or something else you will need to look elsewhere. Use at your own risk, blah, blah, blah…
This guide will tell you how to upgrade from an older version of CyanogenMod to the latest and greatest versions!
I just set up a newly purchased Windows PC, and I decided to keep track of the programs I consider important to getting up an running. Here is what I have so far, and I am open to suggestions:
I have used primarily macs for the past 3-4 years, but yesterday I bought a PC. I got it mainly so I can travel with a smaller, less expensive laptop, but I was expecting to have to settle for a gutless netbook. What I found was a nice little dual-core mini notebook. Frankly, I’m amazed at what you can get for $499 these days, but maybe that’s because I am used to buying Apple laptops that cost 3 times as much. I am normally not a big fan of HP, but so far I am happy with the quality and feel of the 13″ HP dm3-1035us laptop. The brushed aluminum design and keyboard remind me somewhat of a 13″ macbook pro (although the HP doesn’t have backlit keys). It weighs just over 4 pounds and has a 5-6 hour battery. My only gripe is the track pad, which is small and a smudge magnet (I made a screen protector for it so it wouldn’t bug me). The HDMI port is also a plus. Overall it seems to be a good travel laptop that can handle just about anything you throw at it — including games.
3G Modem Easter Egg? Interestingly, while it’s not listed in the official specs, the dm3-1035 appears to have a 3G modem built in — or at least support for a 3G modem. There’s a SIM card slot hidden under the battery, and some are claiming that it works with a broadband AT&T SIM. Others claim that an additional module is needed to make it work, so this could be a manufacturing error that varies from model to model. HP hasn’t enabled the modem, but others have posted the utility that apparently makes it work. An interesting hardware Easter egg, to say the least!
Model dm3-1035us ($499 after $50 rebate at Office Depot):
Here are the specs:
Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-book reader runs Android! (gotta love the name… “Nook e-book” is every bit as good as the Wii for puns and jokes!) I’m not surprised to see that Nook is powered by Android, especially after running across a dual boot Android/XP netbook and a “dualbook” (part e-reader, part Android netbook) called the enTourage eDGe. The Android operating system is definitely designed for more than just cellphones. It’s an OS for mobile devices.
So while I understand there are limitations with the refresh rate of the E-Ink display, it’s hard not to get carried away thinking about the possibilities. I’ll be honest, I was not really interested in the Nook until I heard it will run Android. That changed everything. So while some complain that Nook would be great if it only had text-to-speech or a web browser, I don’t really care about the current features anymore. (Yes, their e-books are overpriced.) Someone is going to hack this thing, and that will be the point at which it becomes amazing and irresistible. Let me put it this way: 10-inch screen+wifi+micro-sd slot+color touchscreen+Android+root=Awesomeness!
Last week I met Emma Kiselyova, Executive Director of the UNESCO Chair in E-Learning at the Open University of Catalonia. Somehow we got talking about the historical reenactments Marion Jensen and others have been doing at TwHistory.com. Today I am thrilled that we have been invited to present the project at the 6th Annual International Seminar of UNESCO Chair in E-Learning next month in Barcelona. The focus of the seminar this year will be Open Social Leaning, and I think TwHistory will provide a nice example of what can be done with relatively simple, social tools. Here is the proposal:
The TwHistory project began in early 2009 with the first Twitter reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg over a period of several weeks. While history is considered a boring subject by some, others find a great deal of satisfaction in reenacting important moments in history, dressing in old uniforms and marching on preserved battlefields. TwHistory is based on the idea that historical reenactments can take place online and have the same positive effects for volunteer participants and virtual onlookers.
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