Archive for June 2006

June 29th, 2006

IE7 Beta 3 Now Available

Posted under Asides on June 29th, 2006 by Chris

IE7 Beta 3 Now Available.

June 29th, 2006

Google Checkout

Posted under Asides on June 29th, 2006 by Chris

Google gets into the online payment game with Google Checkout. Should PayPal be scared?

June 29th, 2006

Adobe Releases Flash Player 9

Posted under Asides on June 29th, 2006 by Chris

Adobe releases new version of Flash Player - All the cool kids have already downloaded it. Why haven’t you?

June 28th, 2006

New Media and Higher Ed

Posted under Technology on June 28th, 2006 by Chris

As a geek, I take for granted the technology that I use on a daily basis. I read RSS feeds through FeedDemon several times during the day. I blog occasionally. I visit Wikipedia several times a week either to look up information or to make sure spammers aren’t screwing articles of interest to me. I also listen to a number of podcasts, such as Desiring God Radio and LostCasts. I use these technologies to stay abreast of the latest news, trends and technology out there that is important to me. Blogs, Podcasts, Wikis: these are all “tools” that would be extremely beneficial for use in Higher Education.

In preparing for my speech I learned a lot about new media technologies and their use in higher education and, frankly, I was surprised by what I learned.

Of the 35 colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia, only three had a publicly available (i.e. on the homepage, news or admissions page) RSS feed - Armstrong Atlantic University, University of West Georgia, and Darton College. Only two of the 35 schools had podcasts - Armstrong Atlantic University and Georgia College and State University.

Why aren’t schools taking advantage of these new technologies? Based on the feedback I received from workshop attendees it comes down to:

  • Cost
  • Server Capabilities/Restricitions
  • Technology Access
  • Knowledge/Implementation Limitations

The good news is - many are in the process of implementing some or all of these tools into public and private portions of their website. This is good news for students, faculty and alumni alike.

By utilizing technology that is out there, and gaining in popularity, they can avoid having to play catch up once the general public “adopts” them.

June 26th, 2006

On Your Side: Shop Around

Posted under In the News on June 26th, 2006 by Chris

Originally aired 6/26/06 on WRDW:

The Internet has made shopping for just about anything as easy as point and click.

But if that’s too much work for you, there are sites out there that make Internet shopping even more convenient.

12 On Your Side’s Ryan Duffy shows the sites that help you shop around.

No matter what you’re looking to buy, there are people out there looking to sell. What’s not so easy is finding them, and at the lowest possible prices.

Scott Villemain shops online because he can shop from anywhere.

Convenient, yes, but it can be a lot of work to track down the lowest price. That’s why he uses comparison sites.

Comparison sites search through all the shopping sites across the web. They find the lowest price on anything you’re looking for.

“Once you decide what you want, you can find the lowest price on what you want,” Scott says.

And the sites are changing how we shop online.

One place you can really save with these sites is on travel. For example, on a website you’ve heard of like Orbitz, a trip from Chicago to Augusta is $573.

On the Travelocity site, the same trip is $771.

But on the comparison site, Sidestep.com, the flight is $446…by far the lowest price.

A couple of the best sites are sidestep.com for travel and froogle.com for buying just about anything else.

“You can search Amazon, eBay, all kinds of sites, Barnes and Noble, whatever you’re looking for,” says Dylan Bredengerd of PowerServe I.T. Consulting. “But often times the best first to start at a comparison shopping site.”

And Scott knows that besides cash, they’ll save you a ton of time.

“Time, and peace of mind knowing you got the best price out there, because they are combing through all the sites that you can’t waste time looking through,” he says.

These websites are a great tool, no doubt about it. If you want to try it out, check out the websites below:

Consumer Products

Airfare

June 13th, 2006

New Media 101

Posted under Education, Technology on June 13th, 2006 by Chris

I just found out today that I’ll be making a presentation at the Georgia Education Advancement Council (GEAC) Summer Conference on the campus of Augusta State University next Friday. I’ll be speaking about “new” technology - blogs, wikis, podcasts, chats, etc. - and how they can improve an institution’s ability to communicate with alumni, prospective students, etc.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity.