Small Basic – big concept
Filed under: Community, Conversation, Microsoft, New technology, Web services
Microsoft’s Small Basic has reached version 0.9.
Microsoft say that many bugs have been fixed and the system now works faster than ever. To see the updates in this version you can visit the Small Basic archive here.
What’s it for? One thing is as a great entry level for young people into the world of coding and software creation.
Lynn Langit and Llewellyn Franco have put together a great web site for children and teachers – www.teachingkidsprogramming.org
You can find a great way, as a tutor, into the world of code here and for young people the site offers the tools to get to grips with programming too.
We have written about Small Basic a long time ago, but the latest version and the Langit/Franco concept makes it a great way to get started for young people to create their own programmes.
The Third Sector Web home page is here.
Networked Nation Manifesto
Filed under: Community, Conversation, New Web Creations, New technology, Web services
Martha Lane Fox, the UK Digital Champion, today launches the Manifesto for a Networked Nation.
This is a rallying cry for the use of existing technology and networks, both technical and community, to be used to get people online.
Depending on the source, it it estimated that there are between six and ten million people in the UK who have never used, or do not have access to, the internet.
The Manifesto has two overarching and simple aims.
1. By the end of this Parliament, everyone of working age should be online.
2. No-one from now on should retire from work without web skills.
Lane Fox argues in the Manifesto that there is, in the current climate, no money available. However, the existing infrastructure in schools, libraries and JobCentres could and should be exploited further.
The Manifesto also argues that informal social networks and support groups have a strong role to play in getting everyone online to exploit the possibilities of e-communication for employment, citizenship, health and leisure.
In summary, the disadvantages of being offline are becoming so great, and growing at such a pace, that for reasons of social justice and economic necessity we must act now…
A loud cheer will go up throughout the Third Sector – and we can only hope that all the good work done in the sector to promote digital inclusion already is built upon.
You can find a copy of the Manifesto for A Networked Nation here.
Third Sector Web home page - find it here.
Real time underground
Filed under: Community, Conversation, New Web Creations, New technology, Web services
Matthew Somerville has, with support, created a real time, live London Underground map.
See the trains, on their lines, move around the system. Matthew has not created a perfect image of the Transport for London system, but as an example of what can be achieved by a bright coder in a few hours – we think it’s great.
Matthew has used the TfL API to capture train departure data and present the continually updated information on a Google map underlay.
Brilliant! The work was done as part of Science Hackday, over the weekend of the 19th/20th June 2010, courtesy of The Guardian newspaper.
You can see HackDay details and winners of the coding marathon here.
Check out the live underground map here.
You can find the Third Sector Web home page here.
Vote for the Information Pioneers
The Chartered Institute for IT has created a web site where you can read about and vote for your Information Pioneers.
The current top five include Alan Turing, Sir Clive Sinclair, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Hedy Lamarr and Ada Lovelace.
This latter entry on the chart might be surprising. How could a person who was introduced to Charles Babbage at a party in the 1830′s be part of a list of IT pioneeers?
Working with Babbage on the creation of the Difference Engine , Lovelace arguably combined her love of mathematics and poetry in helping to create the machine. Lovelace saw that numbers could be transcribed or used to deliver information as image, music or symbol.
The intuitive leap from mechanical to digital, from calculation to computation.
Previously consigned by history to the role of note taker, we now know her contribution to be much more significant. Lovelace arguably played a significant role in developing the philosophy and processes that now underpin your own laptop or iPad.
You can watch Ortis Deley tell her story here. You can also see the other short films and vote for your pioneer too on the Chartered Institute for IT web pages.
Microsoft Web Office – now live
Filed under: Community, Microsoft, New Web Creations, New technology, Web services
Microsoft have gone live with their new free online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
You can access them thorugh your Windows Live desktop after signing in. The files are stored on your linked SkyDrive account and enable you to recall, share or edit files just as if they were on your laptop or PC.
The suite available offers a reduced set of functions from the full set of facilities available in Office 2010, but still includes enough to make creating documents a useful online experience.
We were pleased to see OneNote included. This is a powerful information management and note taking, action list driven tool and is a useful compliment to the other online services available.
Microsoft with Windows Live accounts, the revamped Hotmail and this new suite now offers a useful and intuitive package.
We think the road-warriors on our team will definitely be using it.
You can find our Third Sector Web home page here.
Can you handle a Zettabyte?
Filed under: Conversation, New Web Creations, New technology, Web services
Researchers for the company Cisco have recently published their forecasts on how web traffic will look in the immediate future.
Their findings indicate that all global web traffic will soon exceed half a zettabyte in just four years.
Cisco determine that web traffic will double every two years until 2012. This means that the internet will be 75 times larger in 2012 that it was in 2002.
Cisco also find that web video is an enormous driver for growth in traffic, both now and in the near future. This growth, in the conjoined ‘image and sound’ context of the web will create surprising web usage and reaction.
They don’t know, but it will have massive impact – perhaps more clearly put?
You can read the executive summary of the Cisco findings here.
The numbers related to internet usage and take-up continue to grow. Use the links here to find out what an exabyte or zettabyte is – we didn’t know either.
You can find the Third Sector Web home page here.
Experiments in Chrome
Filed under: Conversation, New Web Creations, New technology, Web services, browsers
Ryan Alexander has developed a fractal zoomer, a generator in Chrome, using the latest HTML5 and Canvas technologies.
If you use a up to date browser with a fast java engine like Opera, Mozilla Firefox 3.6, Google Chrome or Safari 4 you can see Ryan’s browser based fractal generator here.
Falling into a fractal is fascinating – mixing art, science and technology.
Fractal was a term coined in the 1970′s by Benoit Mandelbrot, but an understanding of the recursive process that underlies their generation began with the work of mathematician Gottfried Liebniz in the 17th century.
Mostly we click and search with our browsers, but they will soon be able to do so much more.
You can find the home page of Third Sector Web here.
Google Docs extended and improved
Filed under: Community, Conversation, New Web Creations, New technology, Web services, google
Google have recently updated the features in Google Docs. Making collaboration easier and more effective, as well as adding a number of individual features in response to user requests.
Docs now has margin rulers and much easier image placement properties. In spreadsheets you can now drag and drop whole columns of data.
This movie gives you more detail into the new Google Docs functionality.
You can find more details of Google Docs development on the Google Docs blog. You can now collaborate with up to 50 people at once on one document and see the changes in the document in real time.
Google have added the latest java script developments into their product, offering faster and more effective ‘cloud’ documents.
You can find the home page of Third Sector Web here.
Technology changes – but access improves
Filed under: Community, New Web Creations, Web services
Creative Commons images are always a good source of pictures for illustrating our presentations or for enlivening school projects.
The U.K. National Archives have recently posted a substantial amount of images onto Flickr.
Many have no known copyright issues, or are submitted under Crown Copyright, where they are legitimately available for non-commercial, illustrative or education use.
History and insight in the same keystroke.
See the Flickr National Archive entry page here. You can read more about Commons licensing here, if you are unfamiliar with the concept.
You can visit the home page of Third Sector Web here.
This image: Catalogue Reference: MUN 5/383/1650/1
Lessons in iPad
Filed under: Apple, Conversation, New Web Creations, New technology, Web services
Apple have just released a set of illustrative tutorials that are designed to show you how slick and intuitive it is to use your forthcoming iPad.
We don’t care what the nay-sayers are up to – we think the iPad is an innovative and user friendly way to get web information. We did feature a test run for the iPad in a recent blog entry.
It isn’t designed to be a mass data engine, a gigantic generator of codes and complex graphics. It isn’t meant replace, at the moment, all the kit that is sitting on your desk at present.
Writing this piece we are facing three screens, two printers and assorted speakers, cables and external storage devices.
But if you want a fast, portable web reader with communication facilities then the iPad will, if you are like us, be a key purchase for us this year.
There are alternatives available already – like the Archos 9 netbook – a small, slick mobile solution. But does it have the wow factor that Apple offer?
You will probably need the Safari browser to get the best from your iPad tutorial experience. You can get it here.
You can visit the home page of Third Sector Web here.
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