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.
How the web works – even during festive holidays…
Filed under: Conversation, New Web Creations, Web services
Happy festive holidays and thank you for reading and subscribing.
We take the internet for granted now, having information, email and web access to everything we think we want to know.
It is a very new experience. If you worked in an office in 1989, the experience for connected colleagues is very different now than just those few years ago (some web users do remember those times!)
When we are relaxing after our seasonal lunch or sitting on the train home daydreaming about our targets for next year, will we think of how the internet works?
Probably not, but in those moments when all of us who connect without a thought do think about how it all works there is howstuffworks.com.
This is a great site for explaining loads of concepts and technical developments and is designed to present complex ideas in a clear and concise way.
The internet is no different, the howstuffworks.com article on How Internet Infrastructure Works is a good example. Visit these pages to find out how your own computer fits into the hierarchy of the web, or how your router or network connects to the backbone of the internet. Complete with diagrams too.
However, not everyone is connected to the web, even during the festive holidays. The Worldometers site has a running clock which clicks through a count of pc’s purchased around the globe.
According to research by Gartner Dataquest it states that there are currently over one billion laptop and desktop computers in the world today. By the end of 2015 this figure will have reached 2 billion.
These enormous numbers need to be tempered by the population of humans who could theoretically access these machines. This ibiblio.org site has a running population clock for the world. It is ticking inexorably towards seven billion. (The population in 1989 was only 5.14 billion – see the site for more historical population data).
In truth, despite our passion for technology, we are still a long way off being a connected world – even at holiday times.
However, to all our readers and subscribers to whom we are connected, do have a happy festive season – your web and email communications will be running – from the Third Sector Web team.
You can visit the home page of Third Sector Web here.
TBuzz – tweet from your browser
Filed under: Conversation, New Web Creations, Web services
We’ve been followers of Arc90 experiments for some time. They always have an interesting take on additional widgets and bookmarklets that you can add to your browser toolbar.
TBUZZ is no different. Simply visit the TBUZZ web page and drag the TBUZZ button to your web browsers toolbar.
Then, whenever you want to share details of any web page you are visiting – hit the TBUZZ button. Get the details onto Twitter quickly.
Another great idea from ArcLab90. We like them. You might even TBUZZ one of our pages, but it’s not obligatory…
We have also featured Readability – another Arc90 project that strips out excessive advertising and text from web pages, making them cleaner and easier to read and print.
You can find the TBUZZ web page here.
You can find the Third Sector Web home page here.
Not all is technology in Japan
This blog post is a along way from tech news, but is deeply at the heart of new human experiences – made us think here.
I came across an entry on Cabel’s Blog about a visit to Japan. He entitled it the Kashiwa Mystery Cafe. Nice design centre, sunny day and, presumably, exhibits to view.
Visiting the cafe – you order a drink and a snack and food you didn’t order arrives. You are ordering, in faltering Japanese, food and drink for the person in the queue behind you.
Your food has been ordered by the person in front of you.
Fantastic – what a great way to break out of old habits, or habitual food prejudice?
Could we not apply this to one day of school meals? An extraordinary serving of lunch at the community centre or a healthy eating day at the local sports ground. Way to go Kashiwa!
Live dangerously – give a total stranger a healthy eating treat.
…back to web and tech stuff for a while….
This post was created by Tim Smith, a partner at SmithMartin LLP. The original post was created by Cabel’s Blog – and reblogged by one of our favourites, Jason Kottke.
Google Chrome – stable version 3 now available
Google have just released a stable version of their browser Chrome. Speed has increased and you can now drag and drop the site snap shots in the tab zone too – much in the way of the Opera browser ‘speed dial’ function.
Chrome also sports the Omnibox – which is both search box and a web address bar. The drop down menu of the function has been improved, with the addition of small icons to help you identify your favourites.
Why Google Chrome…watch the movie!
You can now also add themes to your installed version of Chrome. Get some stars or bubbles today.
Download page for the latest stable release of Google Chrome browser.
You can visit the home page of Third Sector Web here.
Google updates image search…
Google recently began a program of updating the search function for images. Recent additions to the advanced image search function include the ability to search by creative commons licence, colour and size.
Micro-stock sites with similar search functions are available, but this addition by Google is a useful adjunct when you are searching for that black and white image, that can safely be re-used in a project document or press release, for example.
The image of the tree above is from Flickr – a Creative Commons licensed image of a tree in Old Wood Lane, near Bingley from Tim Green.
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You can find the Third Sector Web home page here.
The bus and ICT provision
Filed under: Conversation, Green computing, Web services
Google India have recently launched the Google Bus – an internet enabled, mobile web access point, designed to take the web into communities across India.In the UK there was a time, in the early nineties, when mobile internet classrooms and mobile community internet access was all the rage. Winning funding to deliver internet access and training from a wheeled vehicle.
Times have changed and the ubiquity of the laptop means that getting access to ‘undeveloped’ web communities has become easier.
However, has the time come for a resurgence of interest and thinking in the mobile service for communities? Not only for specialist training and education for particular groups, but also a more general community web access provision, given the much wider range of services, shopping and information available on the net.
A quick search online found a traditional ‘mobile’ solution still active around York – at Mathemagic – an adult numeracy service. As well as a best practice example of how complex teaching and training can still be delivered from North East Surrey College of Technology.
Is there a case for a resurgence in mobile services, particularly in rural areas that combines access to a general and traditional printed information resource, web access of the broadest kind – and an entry point to community focused services for jobs, employments, benefits etc. E-government access, but with a wider, friendlier face?
What do you think…?
You can read more about the Google India web bus and how far it has traveled so far here.
Pictures from Google India.
Find the home page of Third Sector Web here.
Qt – a small, well formed browser
Filed under: Conversation, New Web Creations, Web services
The new version of the Q t web browser has a executable footprint of only 4MB, with support for Japanese. Korean and Chinese languages added to its features, along with the ability to disable Flash and Quicktime etc., if required.
Being so small it will run from a CD or a USB memory stick, which is very useful for mobile workers who use remote machines but do not want to interact with existing settings.
Users can turn on private browsing and instigate a full reset after using the browser too. The customisable interface allows users to see how programs and web sites look under different versions of Windows and Unix.
Users can also undock the navigation and bookmark bars, putting them on your desktop if you wish. See the Q t web browser screen shot pages for illustrations.
Small, light and fast – Q t is also Open Source software, based upon Nokia’s Qt framework and Apple’s Webkit rendering engine.
To install and run Q t on a CD or USB use the ‘stand-alone executable’ from the Q t download page.
You can see the Third Sector Web home page here.
A history of the internet…
Filed under: Conversation, New Web Creations, Web services
History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.
This is a very elegant visual storyline about the background of technical developments that have given us the internet we have today.
This is a superb piece – taking months to create.
Clear explanations of a complex phenomenon. What the best knowledge transfer should be.
You can visit the Third Sector Web home page here.
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About our business
Very mobile friendly
Tech news from CNN
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It's been two weeks since Facebook users took to blogs and message boards to voice their concerns about Places, a location-based service that allows people to check in to gathering spots via the social network. - Adult services blocked on Craigslist
Online classified service Craigslist's decision to censor its adult services section could be a model for other websites, a leader in the fight against prostitution ads said Saturday. - Facebook testing a 'stalker button'
Facebook is apparently testing a new subscription feature that would allow users to receive alerts any time a specific friend takes certain actions on the social network. - 'NHL2K11' shoots, but sometimes misses
NHL2K11 (2KSports/Visual Concepts) tries to bring realism to sports on the Wii, but falls short because of control issues and a spotty artificial intelligence.
- Users amused, annoyed by Facebook Places
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