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Education Globalization Network Rich media Technology

NBC: slap yourself in the face

Well after three weeks of questions regarding where NBC would move its digital television programs after breaking ties with Apple’s iTunes. I blogged about their greed. Well NBC Universal “announced” many popular shows would be available for free download.

But hold on. They are pulling a fast one. In attempting to fight the TiVo generation (watch TV programs when, where and how you want) NBC has decided on the following conditions on their new NBC Direct program:

Shows available for one week only following broadcast.
Playback on computer only – no transfer to mobile devices.
Commercials included: viewers cannot skip through ads.
Shows will “degrade” — become unwatchable.
Windows only support – Mac and iPod support later in 2008

So you download The Office and have only seven days to watch it before it “implodes” rendering the video useless on your computer. This seems to imply re-downloading…but maybe NBC is taking the position you have just one week to watch the show or else.

Even industry analysts are calling it a stretch. A blunder is more accurate.

But this idea actually gets “better” for consumers. At some point in 2008 (if ever) NBC will sell you the same shows without commercials and allow them to be moved to mobile devices … yea it’s called iTunes. Who is running the store over there…Jack Donaghy???

Tags: NBC, iTunes, tv show, download

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Design Education Globalization Network Rich media Technology

Google takes on PowerPoint

Google has now added to their on-line tools solution to include presentation software very similar to PowerPoint. This compliments their word processing and spreadsheet tools, virtually serving online version of Microsoft Office. And all you need is a Google account.

google prezo

Impressed that it supports PowerPoint (.ppt) file format. You can upload an existing presentation created in Microsoft PowerPoint program and share it with a few people (in a secure environment) or choose to share it with the world (via a url) or better yet simply upload your file to SlideShare a great free site where people are sharing presentations.

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Education Globalization Rich media Technology

NBC: slap the iTunes hand that feeds you?

nbcApple’s iTunes music store has been a benefit to NBC and other TV networks selling episodes and full seasons of their television programming worldwide. A number of NBC shows and special programming events have been online for $1.99/episode.

To prove money greed makes the world go round NBC has broken off relations with the iTunes music store over their demand to charge $5.00/episode … more than double the current episode download price point.

Shame on NBC for pulling such a greedy decision. Exactly who is going to provide that revenue (and successful download solution) tied to all those iPods?

Tags: NBC, iTunes, tv show, download

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Design Education Globalization Internet2 Rich media Technology

Our future … ready or not

You may need to buckle up first if you have not read Tom Friedman’s The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. Although its never too late to change…it is however, way too late to ignore. Implications for business, education and society? You decide!

Thanks Matt for launching this!
Tags: Did You Know 2.0, globalization, India, China, The World is Flat, learning, trends

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Education Globalization Internet2 Milwaukee Reading Rich media Technology Virtual Reality

Latest read: The Tipping Point

A long and exciting summer with Maxwell has taken me away from my daily reading. But I have just finished Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and learned its just as great as reviews have suggested.
Chapter 3 (The Stickiness Factor: Sesame Street, Blue’s Clues and the Educational Virus) is a really great read and made a real impact in approaching a thread that is currently underway on Internet2‘s Teaching and Learning listserv.

The discussion is about the impact of SecondLife in K12 education. There are real questions about the validity of SecondLife.

After the initial hype of SecondLife (for higher education) peaked, colleges now find themselves in the same rut about really embracing SecondLife when virtual visits never really materialized. A lost leader? Probably.

Many including Wired‘s Chris Anderson are openly debating the ‘stickiness’ of SecondLife. Does it provide solid learning outside the classroom or studio?