Webware’s Webapp year in review includes a list of 10 apps that have recently begun to move into the mainstream:
It’s a well-known fact that our readers are on the cutting – if not bleeding – edge of technology. But sometimes, it’s important to take a step back and realize that the apps to which we’ve grown so incredibly accustomed are just barely beginning to register with the general public.
With the Top 10 Consumer Web Apps of 2008, we’ve tried to select the apps that have burst onto the radar of the everyday user this year – or if not quite, then perhaps they will next year.
Many of them have been mentioned on this blog. Check them out here.
Awhile back I posted about a handy little Gmail feature that many of you enjoyed. If you use the word “attached,” or any number of related words, but fail to actually attach a file to the email, it alerts you to that affect. This prevents those embarrassing moments when you realize you are going to have to send the same email a second time because you forgot to attach the file.
This plugin does the same thing for Mozilla Thunderbird.
Awhile back I posted a four-part series on the advantages of Unicode for typing out Biblical Greek and Hebrew. I am linking these posts here so those interested have a one-stop shop for the whole series.
These posts provide a detailed but understandable explanation of what Unicode is, how to set up Greek and Hebrew Unicode keyboards, and what Fonts work best for each language. Enjoy.
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How to Type in Greek Part I: An Introduction to Unicode
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How to Type in Greek Part II: Setting Up the Microsoft Greek Polytonic Keyboard
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How to Type in Greek Part III: The Best Greek Fonts
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How to Type in Greek Part IV: Polytonic Greek, Linux Edition (Ubuntu)
I found this post interesting. It argues that in an age of Wikipedia and Google memorization is unimportant.
According to Tapscott, the existence of Google, Wikipedia, and other online libraries means that rote memorization is no longer a necessary part of education. “Teachers are no longer the fountain of knowledge; the internet is,” Tapscott told the Times. “Kids should learn about history to understand the world and why things are the way they are. But they don’t need to know all the dates. It is enough that they know about the Battle of Hastings, without having to memorize that it was in 1066. They can look that up and position it in history with a click on Google,” he said.
Even if we make an exception for language learning (vocabulary in particular), I think this perspective needs to be nuanced.
Also from the article:
Today’s students are growing up in a world where multi-tasking has
them completely immersed in digital experiences. They text and surf the
net while listening to music and updating their Facebook page. This “continuous partial attention” and its impacts on our brains is a much-discussed topic these days in educational circles. Are we driving distracted or have our brains adapted to the incoming stimuli?
A new book on the subject, “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind,” states that our exposure to the net is impacting the way our brains form neural pathways. Wiring up our brains like this makes us adept at filtering information, making snap decisions, and fielding the incoming digital debris, but sustained concentration, reading body language, and making offline friends are skills that are fading away.
Your thoughts?
