Internal Memo Confirms IBM Move to Linux Desktop
A few years ago, IBM gained a large price advantage by installing its own office suite on the computers it sells, rather than Microsoft's Office - I know because I bought two IBM desktops and a laptop at prices hundreds of dollars less than competing systems from Gateway, Dell, etc. So this next phase of IBM's plan is logical - to replace Windows with Linux in-house, probably as a prequel to using Linux as its primary distribution OS, thus undercutting the competition (who must add the cost of Windows to the sticker price) even more. More...

Types of Information
This nice link shared yesterday on the IETF discussion list is one of the better summaries of the types of information I've seen. Well designed for web-based reading, this page combines images, tables and examples to clearly elucidate the concept. More...

Students tune in to View Surgery
Six years ago in The Future of Online Learning I wrote that investments in videoconferencing technology were a waste of money. And, of course, the money spent on dedicated systems using expensive ISDN connections were just that. But with the advent of video over IP and with the emergence of really big screens (thanks to digital projectors), everything changes. More...

I'll Take Social Software for $1,000 Please, Alex
This criticism of the concept of social software is based on the premise that, for social software to be useful, people have to use it, and that there is a disincentive for major users - the "social entrepreneur" - to use it. More...

The Law of Content
The most important thing I said last year was this: Apple uses music to sell iPods, not iPods to sell music. I will refer to this henceforth as "AUMSINISM". Clip this out, print it in foot high letters, and post it on your wall. If you don't get this, then you don't get the information economy. More...

OPML Generator
This is very cool. OPML stands for Outline Processer Markup Language. It's a type of XML format used to make lists, such as the list of websites you read or RSS feeds you subscribe to. A number of RSS headline readers have started generating OPML files so people can share their reading lists - if you have an RSS reader you can find out how to locate your OPML file here. More...

To: The Next Head of the Motion Picture Association of America
This advice for the incoming MPAA head could equally well apply to publishers of educational material. Paraphrased: You've got time to prepare, but not as much as you think. The Napster for your industry is already here - it's called BitTorrent. If you clamp down on downloads you risk alienating your audience. More...

Annual Speaker Survey
This interesting article consists of issues raised by former keynote speakers at the annual Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in Wisconsin (which will always be remembered by me as the conference where zero people attended my talk on RSS, blogs and syndication a year and a half ago (their loss)). More...

Hacking in Hot Potatoes: A little knowledge brings a lot of power
Hot Potatoes has been around almost forever, it seems. This versitile tool has been a favorite for those wanting an easy way to generate web-based quizzes and activities. This useful presentation offers a number of tips and tricks for tweaking your Hot Potatoes to customize the results to your tastes. More...

OLDaily Lite?
My apologies to everyone for yesterday's issue of 'OLDaily Lite' - all the fluff, none of the content. It was caused by a server hiccup that erased my links database (currently a 4 megabyte file containing some 5,000 records, give or take - you can grab it here if you're interested in my collected wisdom since August 12, 1999 (when I first started using this file format). Anyhow. It doesn't work any more. More...