Email v. RSS
This is one of these quiet discussions that could go somewhere. Right now, the focus is on explaining why RSS won't replace email. But I don't think the option has been completely explored. More...

WSIL meets RSS
WSIL (Web Service Inspection Language) is an XML format that describes the services offered by a website. It performs the same function as UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration of Web Services), but while UDDI is centralized, like a phone book, WSIL is decentralized, like a network of business cards. More...

The Virtualization of University Education: Concepts, Strategies and Business Models
This paper delivers exactly what the title promises: a comprehensive outline of various concepts of virtual learning, an overview of strategies (including organizational and management strategies), and business models. More...

Hey (Hic)... This Merlot is Tasting Better
Following a critical post at CogDogBlog, there is movement at MERLOT on RSS and Alan Levine is moving the "bad dog" meter a bit. Be sure to follow the link to the discussion. Not that MERLOT is without doubts and hestitations. More...

Why VoIP is Music to Kazaa's Ear
We have a not-so-quiet revolution in the making here. Voice Over IP (VoIP) services have not really taken off, partially because of bandwidth limitations and partly because of the cost. There's no real incentive to use your computer as a telephone if it's not really going to save you anything. Enter Kazaa (yes, the file-sharing company) with Skype. More...

Edu_RSS Topics
As promised, more from Edu_RSS. Today we release the Edu_RSS topics page, a set of subject-specific RSS feeds available in multiple output formats (four RSS versions, HTML, Javascript with SOAP and Atom/Echo available shortly). The idea of Edu_RSS topics is that the input from 130 or so RSS feeds is aggregated and organized according to topics. More...

Kinko's Goes Back to School With CoursePacks
Can an online version be far behind? "CoursePacks are custom-made compilations used by educators to supplement traditional textbooks in the classroom. They typically contain up-to-date information from newspapers, magazines or book excerpts that require permission from the copyright owners in order to be legally produced." To clear rights on these new offerings, Kinko's has struck a deal with University Custom Publishing. More...

Dynamic Appearance Model: Analysis and Alternatives
This paper addresses a problem plaguing SCORM, the integration of content from multiple sources. The first part of the paper is a review, discussing content integration and styling. More...

Making a Video Screen Out of Thin Air
Another item from the 'cool technology' department: digital screens composed of nothing but air. More...

Today's Optimization, Tomorrow's Bottleneck
There is a never-ending push from the other side to somehow extract more money from internet users, and typically this involves some sort of metering. Thus we see yet again another in a seemingly endless stream of proposals, this one masked as an 'intelligent' network that "can identify users and the applications used." This would be, in my mind, a Very Bad Thing, and not simply because we'd pay more for access (and don't kid yourself, we would pay more for access, if only to pay for the metering system). More...