By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Exploring Qualitative Displays and Interfaces – Architectures
Dan Lockton, Architectures, 2017/05/09
"Much of how we construct meaning in the real world is qualitative rather than quantitative," writes Dan Lockton, "Yet, quantification has become a default mode for information display, and for interfaces supporting decision-making and behaviour change." Her's right on both counts, and this article illustrates part of the reason why. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. This is How Google will Collapse
Startup Grind, Medium, 2017/05/09
The thesis of this post is that advertising placement will collapse as a revenue model, and when it does, so will Google's dominance over the marketplace. What will replace it. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Fait Accompli: Agentive Tech Is Here
Chris Noessel, A List Apart, 2017/05/09
Today's new word is 'agentive'. Something that is agentive "handles tasks so that you can use your limited attention on something else. So this part of “acting on your behalf”—that it does its thing while out of sight and out of mind—is foundational to the notion of what an agent is, why it’s new, and why it’s valuable." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Google Chrome won't be allowed on Windows 10 S
Ed Bott, ZDNet, 2017/05/10
We are in the process of entering an unhappy world where the browser is part of the operating system. This seems to be the trend set by Windows-S, on which Google's Chrome browser won't run. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Email is the new RSS (or a Factotum is Born)
Clint Lalonde, ClintLalonde.net, 2017/05/10

I'm not sure I agree with Clink Lalonde that email is the New RSS, but I'm not sure I disagree as well. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Interactive Edition
et.al., Brad Miller, 2017/05/05
At a certain point this online text reverts back into being an ordinary textbook, but the premise was interesting. It has often been said that to learn how to become something - a computer scientist, say - is to be able to think like that kind of person. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. The death of the smartphone is closer than you think. Here's what comes next
Steve Ranger, ZD Net, 2017/05/03
The word 'death' in this post is about as exaggerated as you can get. After all, many people still own and use traditional hand-set phones that are now several generations obsolete. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Using Fetch
Zell Liew, CSS-Tricks, 2017/05/03
The idea of web pages that send and receive data without reloading has been around for a while now, but the ability to do this easily has always depended on JavaScript libraries like JQuery. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Microsoft unveils next wave of collaborative products for educators
Wyatt Kash, EdScoop, 2017/05/02
Just in time for the education buying season, Microsoft has launched a new education suite, "introducing $189 laptops, 3-D and collaborative apps, new Windows 10 S and tools for managing devices." Here's the Microsoft page with the news. More...