Office of Information Technology Blog

iBooks Textbooks

Apple announced the arrival of iBooks Textbooks  for the iPad, a new approach to experience the classroom textbook in a more engaging and interactive way. Compared to the traditional textbook that is outdated in about five years, iBooks can be updated whenever.

Leading education services companies including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson will deliver educational titles on the iBookstore℠ with most priced at $14.99 or less. – apple

iBooks Textbooks are a fullscreen textbook that allows user to interact with animations, diagrams, photos, and video. Interacting with the books are simple, you just tap, swipe, and pinch.

iBooks Author

iBooks Author allows users to create a textbook with ease. The application has Apple-designed templates so you have somewhere to begin. Creating the textbook is as easy as dragging and dropping media into the Book navigator. With a single click you can adjust images and add text. With iBooks Author you can even add widgets and interactive photo galleries that will bring your textbook to life. You can include 3D images and animations that allow readers to get up close with their learning.

iTunes U

The free iTunes U app gives students access to all the materials for your course in a single place. Right in the app, they can play video or audio lectures. Read books and view presentations. See a list of all the assignments for the course and check them off as they’re completed. And when you send a message or create a new assignment, students receive a push notification with the new information. -apple

Users are also able to build a course, which is extremely easy. You just gather all the materials for your course and follow the step-by-step instructions in the iTunes U Course Manager. In iTunes U you can include a syllabus, handouts, quizzes, PDF files, presentations, iBooks, apps, etc. Your course content can be shared with anyone in the world through the iTunes U Catalog.

The International Consumer Electronics Show also known as CES is a major trade show that reveals the latest in technology and innovation. Held this year in Las Vegas, Nevada, the CES previewed a number of astonishing products to the public. Below are just a few that were among the many on display.

Cube 3D Printer

The Cube by Cubify is a 3D printer that is available to the public. Compared to other 3D printers the Cube is less expensive and nice looking.

The Cube is simple and easy to use, and Cubify plans to provide a library of CAD files for editing. This will allow even the most inexperienced designer to build something. – pcworld.com

PlayStation Vita

Sony revamps its portable gaming system from the PlayStation Portable (PSP) to the PlayStation Vita. Already available in Japan, the PlayStation Vita’s expected release date to North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australia is on February 22, 2012.

PS Vita revolutionizes the gaming experience with dual analog sticks, front and rear multi touch pads, motion sensors, and front and rear cameras. Game at the speed of your mobile lifestyle, start your game on PS3 and continue on the go with your PS Vita. - us.playstation.com

Tagg GPS Pet Tracker

Have you ever had a pet that got lost? With the Tagg GPS Pet Tracker you no longer have to worry about this!

The Tagg™ pet tracking system uses advanced GPS tracking technology to allow you to see where your dog is and receive a notification if he or she wanders off. The lightweight tracker attaches to your dog’s existing collar, and is designed to be worn at all times, even while swimming. – pettracker.com

Powertech USB Charger

Switch from the standard electrical socket and switch to the Powertech USB wall charger. You can now hook up any of your USB devices to this outlet and charge them from your wall socket.

Samsung OLED

This extremely thin 55-inch screen OLED HDTV by Samsung received a lot of buzz from the CES 2012 show. The Samsung OLED HDTV is 3D-capable and has a new dual-core processor that is able to run apps from the Samsung’s app market. But you will have to wait because this product will not be available until the second half of 2012.

I’m Watch

The I’m Watch, labeled as “the world’s first real smartwatch” allows users to sync their smartphones to the watch. Users can do everything from answer calls, check their text messages, connect to Facebook and Twitter, and more.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) is a controversial online piracy bill that was introduced by the United States House of Representatives in October 2011. The bill has major corporations and bipartisan majorities backing it such as the Motion Picture Association of America, which makes the bill have a good chance of passage. The bill has been described as Internet censorship that suppresses free speech and many are doing whatever they can in their power to stop it.

Protests and strikes have been forming across the United States. Americancensorship.org is sponsoring a petition to join the strike and “Stop American Censorship”. Many websites have even agreed to go on strike for the bill.  According to the NY Times, Wikipedia is among the many who will be blacked out globally on January 18, 2012 to protest SOPA and PIPA. Google, Yahoo, and Facebook are among others who oppose the SOPA bill.

There have been rumors circulating on The Hill about the controversial online piracy bill [being] shelved until ‘consensus’ is found.

“House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said early Saturday morning that Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) promised him the House will not vote on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) unless there is consensus on the bill.”

Previous debates on SOPA have been delayed till January 2012 with the vote on January 24, 2012. Until then, you can either protest or support SOPA. Where do you stand with SOPA?

Image Credit: The Founding Fields

A follow-up from, Potential Employers Check Social Networks More Often Than You Think,  Managing Your Personal E-Reputation, provides useful information on what you can do to protect your online identity. Coming from Mashable, this Infographic may help you out in the long run when you begin to apply for jobs. The Infographic explains:

• What an E-Reputation is.
• Why an E-Reputation Matters.
• What potential employers are watching for.
• What you can do about your E-Reputation.

To learn more about this study visit KBSD.

It may seem that not a lot can happen every 60 seconds in the real world, but have you ever wondered what is happening every 60 seconds on the internet? Business Insider provides us with this incredible infographic that details what exactly goes on every 60 seconds on the web.

For example, there are over 695,000 status updates and 79,364 wall posts on Facebook while Google gets 694,445 search queries every minute. You didn’t read wrong, this isn’t every hour, this happens every minute. These are just two examples of the outrageous amount of internet activity that surely will wow you.

Recent studies show that 3 out of 4 students use Google improperly. Thankfully, HackCollege has provided us with this useful infographic that outlines specific tips and tricks to get the most out of your searches. So check it out! You may be more surprised than you think.

View entire “Get More Out of Google” infographic >

Created by: HackCollege

EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) collected data from 209 higher education institutions to explore the use of mobility in higher education. ECAR publicized their analysis of this study and recommendations. Although a small number of institutional services offer mobile access, many think mobility will become essential.  Learn more about the ECAR mobile IT study.

View larger “Mobile IT in Higher Education, 2011″ infographic >

ECAR's Mobile IT in Higher Education, 2011

Carrier IQ is cell phone software that has been the center of headlines lately. Installed on 141 million mobile devices in the U.S., this software records the cell phone activity of users. The activity ranges from web browsing, text messaging, and key strokes. The software then sends this information to wireless carriers. Fortunately, there are ways to get rid of this software.

For Android users, first find out whether this software is installed on your mobile device by downloading the Logging Test App. For $1 you can remove the app from your phone.

For the iPhone, open “Settings,” “General,” “About,” and then select “Diagnostics & Usage.” From there you will check off  ”Don’t Send.”

To learn more about Carrier IQ, check out Mashable.com’s article Carrier IQ and Your Phone: Everything You Need to Know

This season we’re providing you with a handy list of gadgets to help out with your holiday lists. These gadgets can make perfect gifts for either you or for someone else. So sit back and take a peek at some of the latest items for the 2011 holiday season.

Apple TV

Apple TV combines all of your favorite entertainment into one tiny box. Apple TV allows you to watch everything you want from movies, TV, shows, photo slideshows, and more wirelessly to your widescreen. Best of all, Apple TV is only $99 — Apple

Mophie Juice Pack Plus

Serving as a soft protecting case, the Mophie Juice Pack Plus doubles the battery power of your iPhone. Coming in six colors, this case will serve as a perfect gift for any iPhone user. $99.95 – Mophie

Samsung Dual View PL120

The Samsung DualView 14.2 Megapixel dual LCD digital camera allows you to take pictures like the professionals. One of the main features of the camera is its front-side display that allows you to take more accurate self-portraits. $139.99 — Samsung

Sony Personal 3D Viewer (HMZ-T1)

Over the summer Sony launched the Personal 3D Viewer also known as the Sony HMZ-T1. This device takes on virtual reality like the movies do.  You “simply slip the device onto your head to experience the movie theater-like virtual screen (equivalent to a 750-inch) expand before your eyes.” The only downside is, we’re still awaiting its arrival to the U.S. $799 — Sony

Jawbone Jambox

The Jawbone Jambox is a compact, wireless speaker, and speakerphone. Producing an outstanding sound quality and making it small enough to throw in your bag, this speaker makes a great gift for the music lover. $199 — Jawbone

LG LW5600 Series 3D LED TV

This LG LW5600 Series 3D LED TV does more than your average 3D TV. “The LW5600 delivers LG Cinema 3D technology with 2D-to-3D conversion which allows you to watch all your favorite 2D content in immersive 3D.” Another plus about this 3D TV is that you don’t have to splurge on the expensive glasses. This TV works with the same glasses that you receive from the theaters. $1,500.00 — LG

iCADE

iPad users can reminisce on old style arcade games with the iCADE.  Simply connect your iPad to the iCade control and get ready to play some of Atari’s greatest hits. The iCade makes the perfect gift for any gamer. $79.99 — Think Geek

Recently, Adobe announced that it was ending further development of its Flash Player on mobile devices. The company announced to ZDNet:

Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.

The company plans to redirect its resources to HTML5. On Adobe’s blog, vice-president Danny Winokur said HTML5 was “the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms.”  Also stating that, Adobe is excited to “work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and RIM.”