8.26.2006


Question:
How can you help? Try learning about free and open source software.




Answer:
10:46 PM
de:
do you have Microsoft Word on a disc that i can somehow copy onto my laptop?

iblee:
no you don’t want that
you need abiword
hold plz
sending file

de:
will my profs except that?
is it compatible with the ANGEL network and all?

iblee:
What do you mean will your professors accept it?
do you mean: can you save in a .doc Microsoft Word Format?
(so that your professor can open it)

de:
Prof asked for word.doc

iblee:
Yes AbiWord can save in the MS .doc file extension
de:
so i downloaded and will use it for my non-virtual classes
oh koo

iblee:
Abiword = free
fast, runs better than MS Word
you could also use writely.com

de:
funny how i feel so much more complete with abiword
ok thank you very much kind sir
well i just used that power and saved is as a word.doc
thanx for sharing the knowledge
helps the small people out very much so
to move on to greater things
like pondering whether the Industrial Revolution led to a Woibleen's Sexual Revolution
and writing a critique on "The Communist Manifesto"

iblee:
hld plz
you'll want to test that saved file out Word Viewer 2003






8.25.2006

How, do, you, like, your, documents?


Question:
How, do, you, like, your, documents?

Answer:
Hot, Fresh, And, Crispy.
---

8.24.2006

What is project planning?


Question:
What is project planning?

Answer:
This is project planning. What we fail to do as educators is link "book knowledge" to (psuedo) "real world knowledge." Explicitly telling people what they will learn and the benefit is the most important thing you can do.

How can you possibly keep up?


Question:
How can you possibly keep up?

Answer:
By at least dealing with it, rather than ignoring it.

"Their meanings are ambiguous and sometimes contradictory. In fact, one of the concepts of the 2.0 movement is being a movement away from new software releases."

8.22.2006

How to pay attention to the details is the question?


Question:
How to pay attention to the details is the question?

Answer:
Knowing what details you want to focus on is important. Many people make the mistake of saying, "If you do these behaviors you will be: rich, successful, loved, whatever." What's not true here is if you don't figure out what works for you, then you obsess about the wrong details. I have a better attention to details than most people, so I should be successful in all my endeavors right? That's the logic. It's wrong.

What you need to ask yourself is:

1. what details do I notice time and time and time again?
2. what details do I MISS time and time and time again?
2a. and how can I set-up nearly automatic strategies to counteract those missed details?

Real life examples:
Do you struggle to write anything? Us something to get it started: a mindmap/dump, blog for 15 minutes, stream-of-consciousness style. Do you miss paying bills? Use automatic bill pay. Do you like to read news/ blogs from various sites? Use a rss reader that displays information scannably fast. Do you miss appointments? Use a day planner system (try a lot and create your own mashup davidseah.com are brilliant. Fuse it with some other system. Or have you really put the time in to master any time management system. Remember it's time management, not complete time control. You can't control nor plan for every event. But, you can manage the time you're given.)

Within each of those examples (or anything you struggle with and have yet to realize that) are the details you either need to become hyper-aware of to deal with them. Or you need to become "aware" just enough to put a strategic method in place that deals with it for you. Think of it as a little script you can run every time you need.

"Personality Traits of the Best Software Developers"

Why do you feel overwhelmed by information?


Question:
Why do you feel overwhelmed by information?

Answer:
Gosh, disparate sources is one of my favorite phrases. Additionally, the thought is shhhharp. I also like to say "converging memes," "freely associated, disjointed vignettes," and "conflict of information." I've got others.

"Today's knowledge workers are drowning in the sea of data streaming at them from disparate sources. It has taken the Internet to bring together content from television, radio, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, books, and miscellaneous other publications and papers."

8.21.2006



Question:
Would standards help and how do you convince people to use them?

Answering thought:
"Businesses operating in the same business context should be able to use the same forms of data representation."



Question:
What is a ubiquitous piece of technology that is still important?

Answer:
"Institute for the Future of the Book, an unusual academic center run by the University of Southern California but based in Brooklyn."