So now I’m “making time” for TV. Which I suppose isn’t a bad thing.

Have to think of my next “30 Days” now.

Bret Victor – Inventing on Principle from CUSEC on Vimeo.

I agree so much with the thoughts in this talk, but am also blown away by his re-imagining of how we work with everyday software tools.

Thank you for bringing internet joy, Jenny.

context

Pirate Bay, the website that has gained a notorious reputation among those fearful of file sharing, are about to become my personal heroes by revealing the newest torrent trend-sharing objects for 3d printing.

Downloading 3d object files for printing may sound like a concept straight from an episode of Star Trek but it’s going to be a reality sooner than you think, and I am so excited to see what people will create for the sake of 3d object sharing.

Download, print, paint, repeat-oh the joys of technology!

Link Via Neatorama and other sauces.

Everything was created on the iPad using iCanAnimate, iMovie, GarageBand and Keynote (to fake the titles and credits). The only irritating step was having to connect the iPad to my Mac to get the GarageBand file off and then import it in again so that it could be used in iMovie. This seems like an obvious step for Apple to take, and really hinders their marketing of a “post-PC” device.

I’ve built a custom template that uses this really nice blackout page from Zachstronaut, and timing it with the ‘Down Against SOPA’ WordPress plugin.

So the rules are:

1. No television shows or movies running in the background
2. XBox at the weekends
3. Wii at any time (it’s primarily used for fitness anyway)
4. Video training etc absolutely fine

I get to break the rules in two places:

1. I rented “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” from iTunes and only have two weeks left to watch it
2. Alison and I watch ‘Fringe’ together every week as a ritual

I don’t have a problem breaking for these reasons. At least sitting down once a week for 45 minutes for an intended purpose is better than watching another documentary on the depravity of the human condition on Channel 5.

I’m going to try some 30-day experiments over 2012. Stay tuned.

• This event will focus on iTunes University and Apple in education
• I learned of the event back in September when it was originally scheduled for late Fall in New York but it was eventually postponed. 
• The event will be in New York rather than in the Silicon Valley because New York is more centrally located for textbook and publishing.

I’m excited at the prospect that Apple might be returning their focus towards education, but part of me worries that they may be focusing more on Higher Ed than other areas. In the primary school where I work, the client-facing (ie teachers and students) tech is predominately Apple, and for years we’ve relied upon their solid commitment to the education market. Tools such as Remote Desktop, Workgroup Manager… the various methods we employ to manage users and deploy software all changed with the release of Lion and iOS. Even the App Store model makes it difficult for us to license software across the network, as it requires an Apple ID and can only be used on up to five machines, forcing us to contact vendors outside of the App Store to see if concessions can be made.

Third-party mobile device management (MDM) tools for iOS devices (apart from the now inaccurately-named IPCU) tend to be expensive and have an entirely different learning curve to them – which can make it even more difficult to integrate the device. Although it’s possible Apple didn’t countenance the popularity of the iPad in schools. Unlikely though. John C Welch has a book worth reading on the topic. Don’t even get me started on how to license software for iOS devices.

I would really hope that any big announcement will include digital textbooks and a solution for buying iOS apps. Even sorting out all the various tax issues Apple has in the EU to bring the App Store Volume Purchase Program to this side of the pond would be a massive step in the right direction.

Full text here via Daring Fireball.

The calamari at Annie’s is simply too good to pass up for Boxing Day lunch.

Awesome t-shirt from A via Lovesick Robot Studios.