A while back, I mentioned the engadget website as a great place to learn about the “latest and greatest” technologies available. I still recommend the site, but I usually get depressed trying to finance the “latest and greatest”.

I recently discovered Cool Tools, from Kevin Kelly of Wired Magazine. There are some great tools mentioned here, and I actually find many to be reasonable in price. For instance, the iStopMotion software at $40 USD looks like it would be perfect for teachers using claymation in their classrooms.

I also really liked the mention of Life Balance software. Basically it’s a program that helps you chart what activities one actually spends time with (e.g., making money, exercise, family, etc.), and helps you determine a suitable life balance. With a wonderful new responsibility in my life matched with my extreme workaholism, I may just have to give it a try. :-)

While the iPod has been extremely successful for Apple and is reported to have over 50% of the digital music player market, there are skeptics that believe that Apple Computer’s long-standing strategic plan may eventually sink this momentum. More specifically, Apple’s reluctance to license the iPod technology and patents to other companies is reminiscent of Apple’s 1985 decision not to operate the Macintosh operating system and architecture. At the time, the Mac technology was well ahead of anything on the market (and many argue it continues to be), but over time, Wintel machines eventually closed the gap.
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Here’s a helpful wiki-ed tutorial from Eduforge that highlights:

* two main challenges faced by the community developing open source software for the education market
* ways open source software can enhance its leadership position in the education market
* growth in online education and the origins of learning content management systems
* educational organizations that use open source software and those that have migrated to using open source systems
* advantages and disadvantage of hosting software applications

The document is a bit sparse in places (likely why it’s in wiki form), but it does provide several good resources and helps to make the case for an increased use of open source software in the educational environment.