Rich Web Applications
I am linking to this mostly for the link to netWindows, a set of liberally licensed Javascript applications that drive the user interface from the client side. The idea here is that such software can replace a lot of the overhead demanded by a system such as Windows, and because it's based on the web server, can be platform neutral. More...

The Blog Revolution Sweeps Across China
Good and complete description of the rise of blogging in China, correctly identifying key figures in the movement (such as Isaac Mao) and recounting the Chinese bloggers' ongoing altercations with web censors. More...

The Edublog Awards
Nominations close Friday in eleven categories, including best newcomer, best use of weblogs within teaching and learning, and best research based. More...

Self-Serving Social Networks
George Siemens spots this item looking at design approaches to social networks. The prevailing theory is that people will share because they want to contribute to the public good. This is true in some cases, but for many others, the use of a social network must satisfy some personal good. The item then reviews a few properties of successful social networks to make the point. More...

Linking Thinking: Self-directed Learning in the Digital Age
This is a remarkable report, much more revolutionary than it may appear at first glance, and worthy of detailed consideration. The author argues, in essence, that the internet enables a great deal of self-directed or informal learning, that learning in this way is viable, that there is an increasing demand for it, that government and inbstitutions can do little to control it, but that it serves not only an economic role but also is a foundation for civil society. More...

Skull Wallpaper Virus Attacks Nokia Smart-phones
Sure, it's just another virus story - a bug embedded in a wallpaper file disables most features on a Nokia phone and inserts skulls and bones as wallpaper. The bigger picture: file sharing on mobile phones was always considered to be blocked by the fact that the content provider had complete control over the hardware. More...

Thomson Acquires Third of ContentGuard
Something like this is no real surprise - ContentGuard had been under pressure from regulators for being too concentrated in the hands of Microsoft and Time Warner. I'm not sure the addition of the publishing giant Thomson will change anything, but the partners no doubt hope it will. Here is the ContentGuard press release on the acquisition and a wholly frivolous press release on Thomson's licensing of ContentGuard patents (If I buy the rights to print this article from myself, can I write a press release too? Sheesh...). More...

BlogExplosion
As described on Joho: "I'm trying out BlogExplosion, a free service designed to build traffic on your site. Click on a button on the site and it sends you to one of its member's sites. More...

Charter Schools Fall Short in Public Schools Matchup
People opting for charter schools to improve learning may want to think twice as a study released by the U.S. Department of Education shows they perform less well than the public system. A proponent of charter schools, however, argues that this shortfall is due to their targeting disadvantaged students. More...

Learning Object Repository Software
Review and comparison of six learning object repositoriy solutions: HarvestRoad Hive, Intrallect Intralibrary, NorthPlains Telescope Enterprise, Ex Libris Digitool, Concord Masterfile and Dspace. The products are compared on a matrix of 44 features and 10 feature groupings. More...