Box.net – New & Improved with 5GB!!

Box.net, an online storage/backup app, just got better, with 5GB worth of free online storage.  I’m a big fan of dropbox, and i did a review of Dropbox & Spideoak a year ago.  Box.net and dropbox are looking very similar, with Box.net adding a desktop client for you to sync your files (something dropbox has always been doing)

If anything else, 5GB is way more than dropbox’s 2GB.

 

 

Quick and Dirty way to draw

If you have an iPad, and feel the sudden urge to sketch out one of your brilliant ideas, Chalk by 37Signals may interest you.

Just point your Ipad to http://chalk.37signals.com/ and sketch away.  You can find an explanation by 37Signals here.   Adding it to your homescreen on your iPad also means that you will be able to use it without internet access!

More on iPad

The iPad has been around for quite a while, and already you can see plenty of websites discussing the use of iPad in the education arena. Below are some links that you might find interesting

The iPad Project – Talks about a 1:1 deployment of Ipads in a school

iPad for Education - A forum for discussing the use of Ipads in education

iPad Curriculum – A collection of the best in applications, practices, and deployment of the iPad as a learning device.

iPad in Education – A UK website with some interesting articles on the use of iPads

Hands on with the iPad

Just got my iPad last Friday and I must say that I can definitely imagine myself using it in an educational / work setting. Although I guess the fact that I can say that the iPad is a laptop replacement for me just means that I don’t do much heavy lifting on my laptop anymore.

Off the cuff, 8 uses for the iPad:-

1. Quick surveys of students/employees (can use Wufoo and google forms)
2. Mindmapping (mindmeister comes to mind)
3. An awesome Chinese character learning tool (get the wrong sequencing of strokes and the character u are looking for will never appear!)
4. One-on-one presentation tool (for those moments at Starbucks where a netbook just doesn’t cut it)
5. Data collection out in the field. (Related to point 1 above)
6. Textbook replacement (ok, this is obvious)
7. Learn music instruments (smule comes to mind)
8. Quick sketch of ideas

iPad for education?

I’m sure by now everyone has heard of the iPad – the latest reality distorting device from Apple. Many have been touting it as the TRUE incarnation of tablet computing, given that the iPad will have the ability to run Apple’s office suite – iWork. This means that now you can create documents, slideshows and spreadsheets on a portable device.

Of course, with any new device, there’s always the possibility of using it in the classroom. So here’s a collection:

wired educator

ededco

geekdad

Quick and dirty review of Notify

A new notifier software for gmail users just arrived! Notify by Vibealicious, a new canadian startup provides a menubar app to help you keep track of what’s going on in your up-to-four mailboxes. Its direct competitor is the Google Notifier. The interface is simple and elegant, and does what you expect it to do. For those who cannot bear having email arrive without knowing about it, Notify might be just what you need.

Usability – Notify’s interface is a lot more elegant and intuitive than Google Notifier. Account configuration is easy enough for both of them.

Functionality – Notify allows up to 4 accounts. The interface is tabbed, which makes it easy to switch to other accounts. Google Notifier does not have this functionality. Note: Gmail Notifier add-on for firefox has this ability for multiple accounts. Notify also allows you to change the interval it checks for updates. however, it doesn’t look like it has calendar alerts unlike Google Notifier. This could be a deal breaker.

Growl support – Notify has built-in growl integration. This could the deciding factor for some of you out there. Gmail notifier for mac does not have built-in growl support although you can add a plug-in.

Conclusion – Notify looks promising but still lacks some functionality. What will really make it soar will be adding support for other IMAP-capable mail, and calendar alerts. Ability to label messages right from the menubar, and accessing my https-enabled gmail in my browser with one click will be nice too.

Verdict: Spideroak ~ Dropbox

Been using Spideroak for over 2 weeks now, and Spideroak seems comparable to Dropbox in almost everything, with the approach adopted by Spideroak slightly safer and user customizable. More details on what they do can be found for spideroak here and dropbox here. I shall discuss the pros and cons from my (read: user) perspective.

Similarities

Automatic backup + versioning
cross-platform (mac, linux, wins). So no problems here.
Ability to share folders
Web Access

Differences

Ease-of-use – Dropbox is easier than Spideroak, simply because dropbox has less functionality and is less customizable. Spideroak has 5 tutorials, while dropbox only has one.

Syncing procedure – Dropbox requires you to drop the files you want to sync into one specified folder, which changes the structure of your files. Spideroak allows you to specify the files you want to sync through a normal window dialog. This really depends on the way you work. For me, i like dropbox’s method better because everytime i need to sync something, i will just click and drag the folder into dropbox’s folder, and it will sync. Spideroak requires you to fire up its dialog and check the folder you want to sync (although you could always specify a folder called “dropbox” or whatever you want to call it which is set to sync in spideroak and do the same thing).

Sync versus backup - Spideroak differentiates between sync-ing and backing up files. no difference to me though.

Zero-knowledge protocol – Spideroak uses Zero-knowledge protocol, which means that no one can access your data. more information can be found here. Dropbox does not have place much information on this on their website except the fact that its AES256. More information can be found here. Again, no difference in my opinion, as i wont trust the company anyway, and if i have something really really top secret, i would mount my own encrypted image, using Leopard’s disk utility or Truecrypt.

Pricing – Spideroak’s pricing is a lot less than Dropbox’s pricing.

Verdict

If you are just looking for some online backup of some documents that you have, or online syncing of some documents which you are currently working on, AND your files are less than 2GB, then you’ll be fine with either dropbox or spideroak, although for a gentler learning curve, dropbox is the one (although spideroak is really really easy to use as well).

If however you are looking for a complete solution, or your files are super duper kill-you-if-i-tell-you kind of secret, and your files are more than 2GB, then definitely you will have to go for spideroak, for its Zero Knowledge protocols and cheaper price.

Backup Options Online

Have been using dropbox for the past 6 months to keep some of my more important files. Have talked about online storage in a previous post. If you’re still looking for a solution for your online storage needs, Maclife just did a comparison of 5 different solutions, you can look up the comparison here. Personally, dropbox have been more than sufficient for my needs, and the 2GB limit (for the free account) have forced me to continuously think about what’s important to keep and what’s OK to lose (should my traditional backup onto external harddisks fail in addition to my Macbook’s harddisk failure). Have also used it to share files amongst some colleagues during one of our collaborations on a conference presentation, and dropbox did its job well. The ease of use, the effortless syncing amongst different computers are all big pluses for dropbox. Will now try Spideroak to see whether its comparable.

MS Live Services Plug-in for Moodle

Microsoft just released a Live services plug-in for Moodle. If your school is using Moodle, and still deciding between Google Apps or Live@edu, this (check out the video) might just swing your opinion towards Live@edu. This integration of Live services gives a gigantic boost to your Moodle experience, and with a single, integrated login, it greatly facilitates user adoption, as we know how difficult it is to get teachers onboard if it involves another platform, another username and another password. Go check it out.

Facebook – A compelling alternative

Firstly, for anyone out there without a facebook account, you need to get one here PRONTO!

The advantages are many -

1. Low barrier of entry for students – most already have an account, and they are familiar with its interface .
2. You can be sure that students are on it, in fact, it is difficult to get them off it.
3. Due to Facebook’s popularity, and Facebook Platform’s functionality, you can be ensured that it will always get updated to reflect new technology and educational developments.
4. With the opening of Facebook’s API, you can now develop for facebook, and customize apps for your own use.
5. Free.

As we discussed in another cloud computing post, Google Apps Education Edition and Microsoft Live@edu offers many compelling applications which satisfies most of the needs.

Apps to install

Needs	Google Apps	Live@edu	Facebook
Office Suite	Google Docs	Office Live Workspace	Zoho Online Office Suite
Websites	Google Sites	Windows Live Spaces	Advanced Wall
Video	Google Video	Windows Live SkyDrive	Video, Webinaria
Online Storage	Nil	Windows Live SkyDrive	Files, Huddle
Email	Gmail	Live Hotmail or Exchange Labs	Email
Instant Messenging	Google Talk	Windows Live Messenger	Windows Live Messenger
Calendar	Google Calendar	Exchange Labs	Calendar by 30boxes
Desktop Sharing	Nil	Microsoft Sharedview	Nil

For Office work, all 3 major web office suites offers facebook integration. You can chose from Zoho Online Office Suite , ThinkFree Docs or Google Docs for Facebook. For a detailed comparison of the 3 web office offerings, jump here. Thomas provides a walkthrough for Zoho on his blog.

Workspaces by Huddle or DivShare for sharing documents and files and working on projects

Slideshare (Beta) for uploading presentations and slideshows. (Does not require registration)

Windows Live Messenger for private voice chat. (requires registration)

calendar from 30 Boxes is the critically acclaimed personal calendar that lets you get organized and easily share all or parts of your schedule. Includes easy sms reminders, integrated to do list, and simple integration with facebook. (requires registration)

Email for all your emailing needs. Links to your email account.

Video for sharing higher quality video and audio than most video-sharing sites. Plus, each video has per-video privacy so you can restrict who can see it. Videos can be tagged and commented on.

webinaria for making screencasts

Facebook Mobile allows you to use facebook on the go. Use Facebook Mobile to upload photos and notes from your camera phone straight to Facebook. You can also receive and reply to Facebook messages, pokes and Wall posts using text messages, or use your phone’s mobile browser at m.facebook.com.

For Teachers

Coursefeed or Courses 2.0 for use as a virtual classroom noticeboard.

Experiment

Started an experiment on it in 22 Dec 2008, will end in June. Check back for results!