Some random thoughts about the iPad.

I strongly believe that the iPad will revolutionise education around the globe. I do not think that we will all have an iPad and that we will all now all of a sudden use the iPad to consume content. I do however believe that the iPad has started a wave of change, soon we will all have easy access to digital books and other digital media on devices like the iPad.

The iPod started a change in the way we consumed digital music /mp3’s. Mp3’s have been available for a very long time but the iPod and iTunes made it easy to buy and manage. Many others followed and there are hundreds of online stores where you now can buy mp3’s and podcasts. Each individual was given the means to create and distribute recorded shows around the globe. Having the ability to create, distribute and consume on one device made the difference and others followed.
Now we have the iPad, I believe that this device will do for print media what the iPod did for the record industry. Others will follow with innovative more affordable designs and publishers will probably at first have DRM on all content, but I believe in a few years we will all have our reader in hand. Be it in church, at work, at school or on the plane. It will be the way we get our print media. We will save a tree or two and we will make it easy to keep up to date with new editions of a book.

Yes this is where I believe we will see a revolution like never before. If you buy a text book for your studies you now have a “living textbook”. As new technical information in the specific subject field comes to light your textbook can be updated automatically. When you buy a book you buy a relevant and up to date book. Like software the books will have version numbers. Sociology by Giddens Version 2.1 etc.

The iPad in my view may not be a revolution in it itself, but it has opened the gates for a revolution in the way we consume and learn and share knowledge. Always updated, always relevant, always fresh.

Now that I think about it, you will probably never really BUY a book, you will subscribe to a book! Authors can write a book the way many writers write a soap opera. Each week a new “episode’ is made available and published! Your book is a “living book” This will make War and Peace look like an abridged version of a book.

Please share your ideas on the iPad and also educational applications of this great new device.

One of the key 21st century skills that we need to nurture is innovative thinking. We need to get students at our tertiary institutions to innovate and not just use the technologies that are available to them. Obviously they need to use the technologies, but they need to use it to improve it and use it to build upon the technologies that are available.

We all have cell phones, but Steve Jobs decided that the phone needs to have a better user interface and it needs to do more. He designed the iPhone and today it has changed the way we interact with our phones. Not just on the iPhone but also on other mobile devices. Many other phone manufacturers have adopted some of the features on the iPhone.

All over the web we find that entrepreneurs have used available technology to satisfy a need that they see in society. One famous example is our very own Mark Shuttleworth, he used available products to design and develop software that fulfilled a need in the market. Later he sold his application for millions of Rands.

He thought innovatively. Ten years ago the top ten jobs in the world today, did not exist. Do you think that the top ten jobs in 2020 already exist or are these jobs made possible with technologies that have not yet been invented?

Will one of today’s learners or students from Bloemfontein change the world in a few years time by thinking innovatively?
Let’s insure that our learners and students are innovative in their thinking and that they will not just use but improve and expand the knowledge available to them.

Grab this opportunity! For all those interested in  Photography and Photoshop come and meet the experts from Morning  Star Design and Dreamagineers who are co-hosting this amazing  Photographer’s Festival, in the beautiful Eastern Free State town of  Bethlehem (30Kms from Clarens).

Come and join us to learn and share, let’s  celebrate together, with PASSION!

Programme for the Day:

Mohammed Jogie –  South Africa’s Photoshop Genius!

09:00 to  11:00
Talking on Photoshop Zen (earth/water/fire/metal &  wood). How the elements can be co-erced in turning your photographs  into masterpieces. Mo will rock you with ideas, effects and tips in  an element-al way. In his unique style, he will show both  beginner and advanced photographers the extreme power of  Photoshop.

Miguel de Carvalho – Acclaimed Master of  Design!
11:15 to 13:15
Will be discussing essential  retouching techniques and sharing some tips and tricks. Miguel will  show photographers how to make the most of their “people”-  photographs. In an enthralling way, he will show beginner and  advanced photographers how to really expose the windows of the soul,  retouch skintones and turn normal photographs into classic  masterpieces.

Igno van Niekerk – Photographic  Storyteller!
14:00 to 16:00
Will be talking about  using Lightroom for wedding Photography – how to cut your editing  time in half, create all kinds of effects in a fraction of the time,  and have the bride watch the photos on her honeymoon. Additionally,  Igno will show you the Power of the story in terms of taking  great photographs, as well as composition and editing techniques for  landscape photography.

Date: Saturday, 27th March  2010
Time: Registration 08:30
Venue: Witteberg  Highschool – Bethlehem
Cost: R 550.00 (includes  lunch)

Space is limited, visit http://www.imsd.co.za/form.php to register.

How do you share news online with your customers?  Do you just copy and paste press releases to the web or do you change the text to something that will actually reach your customers?
Publishing press releases  “as is” to the news section of your company website is often caused by the fact that people don’t really care how they communicate with their customers or at times just because they are lazy. Copy and paste is so much easier. In newspapers space is precious and limited.  Each centimeter used needs to be paid for.  When you write an official press release you have to keep this in mind.  You need to keep the article short and to the point.  Stating facts and sometimes leaving out the personal aspect of the message you want to convey.
On the Internet you are not bound by these press rules and regulations and you should not think that you are.   Times have changed and you and your company need to adapt with it if you want to have an effective presence online.
If you are in charge of your company’s news page on the web you really need to keep the following in mind.
Create a separate page containing official press releases.   Keep your news-page informative and easy to read. Just stating facts will not engage your reader.  You should have a conversation with your reader online, maybe even convey the message through a bit of a story. The days of having cold news pages are gone.  Tell the whole story and add a bit of personality.
You can add that little bit extra to your news page, add extra photos  and elaborate on what happened at the event. Again I stress that if you can engage your reader you will form a bond with your reader.
Remember your website is, and should be a reflection of your company to the world, the image that they get and the experience they have when they visit your website will either bring them closer to you or chase them away.   Remember online you do not have to try and use fewer words to make it fit!

2010 is here and it holds many promises and possibilities for the tech-community in South Africa. I thought to start this year with some predictions.  The great thing about predictions is that it gives one a chance to reflect and think about the year that has passed and also to think about how things that started in 2009 will evolve in 2010.

Let me start with the basics.  I believe that Facebook will continue to grow in 2010.  Twitter.com will gain traction in South Africa and will become even more important as support and marketing tool for companies locally.

We will see lower and lower prices for connectivity. We saw some prices being lowered at the end of 2009, and this trend will continue.  By June 2011 we will not believe how much we used to pay for bandwidth at the end of 2009.  Bandwidth prices will go down and the speed at which we connect will increase dramatically.

As these prices go down we will see more and more innovation from local entrepreneurs starting new online companies.

2010 will also be the year that “the cloud” becomes more and more important.  Office 2010 which is to be released this year is also heavily dependant on the web and we will see more and more programs dependent on connectivity. We will no longer download and install large programmes to our computers we will merely subscribe and access the programmes online. Some of these services are available already, but they have not become mainstream in South Africa yet.

Google’s Chrome OS will be the new kid on the block.  Apple will probably release a new Tablet Mac which will change the way we use our computers and also the way we buy and read magazines.
This year will be full of advancements and surprises and I am looking forward to telling you all about it.

Dit is sleg dat ons in Suid-Afrika nog steeds nie betalings op die Internet kan ontvang deur Paypal nie. Paypal is seker die mees bekende en grootste “betaalwebblad” op die Internet.
Ek het egter baie goeie nuus! Nou kan jy ook hier in Suid-Afrika betalings op die web ontvang. (nogal bekostigbaar ook!)

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