@bbccouk Finished my column and going to make coffee…

[As ever you can read this on the BBC News website]

Unlike many of my friends and colleagues I wasn’t able to make it to Austin, Texas for this year’s  SXSW interactive, the four day technology conference and festival that is currently firing the imagination of the technology world.

So I wasn’t in the ballroom when the keynote address by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg went awry under the less-than-forensic questioning of technology journalist Sarah Lacy.

I didn’t see the crowd start to get restless and heckle Zuckerberg about the deeply-unpopular Beacon advertising system, or get a chance to grab the microphone and ask questions when Lacy threw the conversation open to the floor.

And yet I was there in another way, listening to and even interacting with some of my friends in the audience, picking up on the vibe in the room and even tuning in later as Sarah Lacy loudly defended herself.

Continue reading “@bbccouk Finished my column and going to make coffee…”

Teaching in the Networked World

[As ever, you can read this on the BBC News website]

When Conservative Prime Minister Harold MacMillan was asked what was most likely to cause problems for governments he famously replied ‘events, dear boy, events’.

Coping with the completely unexpected, the sort of thing that simply cannot be anticipated, is a skill in itself and one that all politicians have to develop if they are to survive long in power.

Continue reading “Teaching in the Networked World”

My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 2nd through March 3rd

Here’s what I tagged on del.icio.us between March 2nd and March 3rd:

Playing with the Wii

[As ever, you can also read this on the BBC News website]

The Nintendo Wii is an astonishing computer, the console for people who don’t play games, nestling next to the TV like a family pet and encouraging those who would normally sneer at a PlayStation to wave their arms around in order to play virtual tennis.

The Wii remote has a lot to do with its success, of course. This motion detecting wireless handheld controller gives players a far more direct sense of engagement with the game than the buttons, pads and triggers of traditional consoles, and accounts for much of the Wii’s success as a family gaming platform.

Like other games systems the Wii is as far from an open platform as you can imagine. Games cost a lot of money to develop, and Nintendo have worked hard to make it difficult to get inside the Wii for fear that easy access would allow games to be copied and distributed.

Continue reading “Playing with the Wii”

I saw this…

Here’s what I’ve tagged on del.icio.us on March 1st:

I saw this…

Here’s what I’ve tagged on del.icio.us on February 28th: