By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The Future of Music
I had planned to buy set of keyboards (despite the fact that I can't play a lick of music) but I got Garage Band instead, an application that has derailed my exploration into video editing. So I know exactly the significance of the announcement that Nine Inch Nails (NIN) will be releasing their music in Garage Band format. Now of course I wish it were an open format - Apple is so bad in that respect. But still, as Tony Hirst comments, "Well, you won't be downloading MP3. Instead I'm looking forward to a time when we'll be downloading a Garageband-like mix to our Garageband-like stereos - its audio card will generate sounds using onboard synths and samplers and do a real time audio mix for you. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Future Hope Against Today's Reality
George Siemens tries to find the 'balance' between the future vision and 'practical reality'. But there is no such balance. If you have some model, some vision, some end goal, then for every decision you make, the question becomes, "does this move me closer to my end goal, or not?" When people say something is "impractical" they're trying to say two things at once: that the thing is right, and the thing is wrong. Well, which is it? Me, I think education based on coercion is impractical, because it results in a generation that cannot think for itself. How often we have seen this in the past, with what miserable results. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. eLearning Watch
This newsletter comes out once a month, and though it has been running since 2005, has previously escaped my notice - perhaps because it only comes out once a month. For people involved in the field, most of the monthly links will be date, but the frequency is good for people who want to keep up but who don't want to spend a lot of time doing it. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Java Programmers Aren't Born
How do you become an excellent Java programmer? You start young, you program for free, you get your education, and you eat, sleep and live Java. "Let's say, for example, that your official work day starts at 8:30, and ends at 17:00. It is what happens after those hours, that will determine your future as a programmer. i.e. what are you doing between 6:00 and 8:00, before you set off for work? You could be programming in Java." Now of course, I would never recommend that you study Java if you love programming. But that's just me. What I will say is that the author is right. It takes that kind of dedication to learn to program well - to learn to do anything well. Me, I started to program too late in life, at about 18. But writing and philosophy, I've been doing those, well, forever. More...