Leopard vs. Vista: feature chart showdown - Engadget

Just what the post title says -- a chart comparing the features of Vista v. Leopard.

There no doubt, Vista and Leopard are both extremely advanced, feature rich consumer operating systems. But way back in January when Vista launched knew we had little choice but pit the two in a head to head chartngraph Thunderdome competition. We know we're not even going to be able to stop the epic fanboy arguments about break out over this one, so we just ask that you try to keep it fair.

A Classroom Copyright Crisis - Chronicle.com

From the Chronicle of Higher Education Wired campus Blog -- I am reprinting the entire article here verbatim as I am uncertain how long it will stay up at the Chronicle website:

A Classroom Copyright Crisis
High-school teachers and college professors receive next to no training on copyright law and fair-use doctrine, a new report argues, and their students are suffering as a result.

“The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy,” released by American University’s Center for Social Media, is based on interviews that university researchers conducted with more than 60 media-literacy educators. Those interviews paint a fairly grim portrait of teachers, unsure about the specifics of fair-use doctrine, cowed into avoiding perfectly valid uses of copyrighted material.

“Too many teachers fear they will misinterpret fair use or are simply unaware of its expansive nature,” write the study’s authors, including Peter A. Jaszi, a professor of law who has testified before Congress about fair-use doctrine. Because they are afraid of violating copyright, “teachers use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit erroneous copyright information, fail to share innovative instructional approaches, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms.”

To clear up the copyright confusion, media-literacy teachers must codify a set of best practices for fair use, according to the report: “It is time for media-literacy education to move past outworn ‘guidelines’ and dubious and even unhelpful ‘rules of thumb.’” What shape should a best-practices report take? (The report is available online as a PDF.)

Accessibility: Making it all worthwhile

Thanks to Sean Keegan for bringing this blog and especially this entry to our attention:
ThePickards » Blog Archive » Accessibility: Making it all worthwhile

I highly recommnd reading not only the blog post - but also the links within the posting. This is good stuff and speaks to the heart of web accessibility issues as well as the language of accessibility overall.

I also appreciate this blog because it provdes me one of those moments that validates my academic work. I currently have an article submitted to the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability that speaks directly to the need clarity in language - especially where terms such as "access" or "accessible" are used in conjunction with "digital." I also have a couple of presentation proposals in the works that are based upon this article. Here is the gist of the article and presentations - here's hoping it fids it's way through the various mazes:

Definitions of the terms digital and access are generally taken for granted within educational vernacular. Their meanings, however, are altered by the context of their use and as society gravitates towards ubiquitous computing and germinates the attitude that access to digital content at all times by all persons is a universal truth, these concepts as they relate to individuals with print disabilities become increasingly unclear. The purpose of this article is to examine and define the terms digital and access in the context of individuals with print disabilities making use of electronic versions of text based materials within the academic environment. The reader will be introduced to conceptual understandings of how these terms operate within continuums of meaning and how the context of use directly impacts definitions with the expectation being that having a shared vernacular will assist educators, researchers and perhaps legislators to develop a shared meaning for the
improvement of access to education.

Taking a Whack Against Comcast - washingtonpost.com

Courtesy of Slash/Dot

The Washington Post reports that a little old lady took a hammer to Comcast. Apparently fed up with the lousy service she received from a botched Comcast installation of "triple-play", and a completely humiliating experience at a customer service center, 75-year-old Mona "The Hammer" Shaw took her claw hammer back to the customer service center and bludgeoned the office equipment into tiny plastic pieces.

Typically such an item would not appear on this blog -- but it is simply too good to pass up. When you run the blog you can post (nearly) anything you want.

EASI Webinar on E-Text Initiatives

Ron Stewart recently present an extremely comprehensive and interesting Webinar all about current E-Text initiatives taking place at all grades, and all levels, and from many sides. This was hosted by the good folks of EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information.

In November, EASI will do 2 presentations about different DAISY players. They hope to get someone from NLS to talk about their coming e-text books. They would like to have a running series on all things E-Text for the next several months. If you have any suggestions or would like to offer to present, drop Norm and Dick a line.

EASI contacts:
(949) 916-2837 (Note Pacific time zone)
E-mail: info@easi.cc
Norman Coombs, Ph.D.CEO, EASI
Richard BanksCIO, EASI