LPH™ and his dog P™
It's more fun with your hands up.
Posts
While sitting in a meeting the other day, the principal wanted to know if it was more cost effective to purchase Kindle Fires rather than the Apple iPad. At no time did anyone mention the B&N Nook. This simple example supports the idea that the Nook has a long way to go to get into the consumer’s head. It may be too late.
The New York Times published a look behind the creation of the Nook.
Inside the great publishing houses — grand names like Macmillan, Penguin and Random House — there is a sense of unease about the long-term fate of Barnes & Noble, the last major bookstore chain standing.
The layout work for the site continues to move forward. This site’s theme was activated but a few issues remain. For example, the duplicate postings issue is not resolved for the XenForo bridge. This involves new articles and comments. The RSS feed is working properly now. The navigation is still under development.
In related news:
- The Tux Reports Network site is almost complete.
- Tux Reports News is being developed.
Peter King analyzed the sales numbers for Android based tablets and the Amazon Fire and Nook Tablet garner the largest share. While the overall market improved, the Apple iPad continued to outpace the competition. As noted, Google may not be benefiting from the increase in sales.
“These tablets are loosely based on Android, which is not accessing Google services and not accessing Google apps at market.”
The website 9to5Mac published information about the new employee incentive programs.
Cook announced that Apple employees will soon be given $500 discounts on purchases of new Macs and $250 discounts on purchases of a new iPad.
The new program starts in June 2012 and an employee must have been with the company for at least 90 days. I’m checking my calendar right now. Yep. It looks like I could start this coming Monday.
On a more serious note: Do the employees in China get in on this action too?
Electronic books are becoming more common and Apple’s release of iBooks 2 and iBooks Author may help students with the cost of these books – but – are they always cheaper? Below is a snapshot of the costs of some of the chemistry books. Worse, I was downloading and reading different chemistry books and two were just copies of wikipedia entries (those are not shown in this snapshot). Now that is just wrong.
What happened? Ah – you noticed. Thank you.
We are excited to present a continued refinement of the Tux Reports Network. Near the end of 2011, we made radical changes to many of our sites by physically combining them into one network. We accelerated the work so that we could unveil the changes on January 1, 2012. Besides the physical server changes, all community forums were converted to XenForo. We even added many new topics and we allow you to use one login ID for all of the sites. Heck – the sign up is even easier!
We didn’t finish the physical move for Technology Questions until yesterday (January 24, 2012). A nice hacker helped us make the move. Cough. To be clear, instead of trying to recover from a hacker running a script on an old WordPress plugin – we moved the site to its new home. The old content is on Tux Reports Tech.
Why the changes?
The new Q&A layout should help us keep to the site’s goal. Yes – the layout needs some love. We’ll get there. We always do. After all, Technology Questions was originally developed to ask and answer questions. The site moved away from this as we aggregated blog postings from our network of technology sites. We knew by the middle of last year that it was time to re-establish the site for the sole purpose of asking and answering questions about technology.
How do we define technology?
We will use the definition from Dictionary.com.
tech·nol·o·gy [tek-nol-uh-jee]
noun
1. the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.
2. the terminology of an art, science, etc.; technical nomenclature.
3. a technological process, invention, method, or the like.
4. the sum of the ways in which social groups provide themselves with the material objects of their civilization.
Emphasis is placed on “and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment” because we hope to move beyond “My computer doesn’t work” to “Do Promethean Smart boards improve student learning?”
And there you have it – a new layout – a solid means to our goals – and we hope you enjoy the clarity.
Related Sites in Our Network:
Awaking from a nice dream, I shot up and asked, “Are iBooks cheaper for a high school district? How can I calculate this for myself?” Here are some quick calculations:
Hardcovers
Hardcover texts cost as little as $89 per book, some textbooks cost as much as $110 or more. Using the smaller figure, a typical high school student enrolls in 6 classes per year or 24 classes per 4 year attendance. Multiplying 24 classes times $89 costs a school district $2136. Hopefully, the textbook is used over a 7 year period, therefore, divide the text by seven, yielding $305.14.
Over the years, I’ve learned to figure 10% loss of textbooks (ruined over never returned by the student). Ten percent of 36 books means, on average, four books are lost per high school student. This means the school should calculating spending another $356 for textbooks per student in a four year period.
Adding the initial cost of $305.14 and $356 – total costs may be rounded to $661.
iPads
An iPad 2 will cost $499 and 24 texts would cost $360. Adding these two values gives us a grand total of $859 initial investment per student. If these costs are spread out over seven years, we get a cost of $122.71. Now, I’m not calculating a ten percent loss – I’m not sure to assume a higher or lower number. This would depend on how excited the kids are about keeping the iPad.
How would you do the calculation? What would you change? What do you conclude?
Apple continues to grab attention in the blogosphere.
1. The iPhone 4S launching in China
4. Target opening Apple mini-stores
With all the news this week then you’d expect Apple’s market share to be climbing. Oh never mind, that was a January 9th story.
Posts
Common First Page and How are you feeling page - I’m working on common pages for the start of each lesson. One lists the materials students need as well as the page number for their composition book. The second page is a question regarding how the kids feel … Flipchart Resources
Additional Domains Added To Technology Questions Network - A few more domains were added to Technology Questions. - Awful Technology - AMD Views A few minor corrections were fixed for the network and plugins were updated. The biggest update was BuddyPress to version 1.5.
See photos from 7 Billion: http://bit.ly/hhYz3m
With the worldwide population expected to exceed seven billion in 2011, National Geographic magazine offers a 7-part series examining specific challenges and solutions to the issues we face. The m...
This "weed" has been pushing suckers all over the backyard. It has also ruined a block wall and concrete. It was time to cut it down.
AP Chemistry Test Preparation Notes - The attached document is about 70 pages of notes for AP Chemistry students. You are free to download and use for preparing for the AP test. Let me know if you find errors or if you make changes...
The iPad 4 Wars - It appears that the OEMs are fighting over the rights to build the iPad product line, and Pegatron lost the latest battle. Now they are vying for manufacturing of the iPad 4. Pegatron is now eyeing...
iPad 3, iPad HD, or Something Else - Regardless of the name for the future iPad – Apple is getting lots of advertising mileage out of the DigiTimes publication. The latest is a post suggesting Apple will add another manufacturer....
Google+ Adventures Continue - I realize big names like Kevin Rose have decided to forward their domain names to Google+ but I am not ready for such a dramatic step. I prefer having control over the content. The idea, though, is...
Apple iPad Owns 97 Percent of U.S. Tablet Traffic - Layne Heiny Wow. I just saw a great post on Search Engine Land about Internet traffic. And I bet Apple employees must be beaming with joy this morning. Android lovers are going to be pissed. ComScore...
Apple iPad Now Commercial: Snobbish or On Target? - I’ve watched the latest “now” commercial a few times and don’t understand how the word toadying and this commercial fit together. According to David Kiefaber that ad is “lauded far and wide in the...
Q & A Plugin - WPMUDEV provides several useful plugins for buddypress communities as well as WordPress plugins. The Q & A plugin allows members (or others) to ask and answer questions in a similar format to Answers....
Apple iPad 3 Rumors Flourish - Back in February 2011, Daring Fireball suggested Apple was going to shift to a 6-month production cycle. He predicted the Apple iPad 3 would be launched during the time period Apple usually discussed...
New Home for iPad Buzz - Work continues on merging all of the individually created blogs and sites into the Tux Reports Network. Apple iPad Buzz posts and forums were moved Sunday morning. Propagation can take up to 72 hours. PS. If you see this post then you know you are on the new home for iPad Buzz.
Maybe you know of a good fix.
Last Day At KHS - Today was my last day at Pete Knight High School in Palmdale, CA. I’ll be moving to AV High School. AV High School has been struggling for decades. It has one of the lowest school ratings in...
Ellie and Pascal relax on the couch. One on each side. They awoke when I reached for the phone but both are fast asleep as I type this message.
The electron is a sphere - Nature is publishing a new measurement of the electron, to a precision of 0.000000000000000000000000001 centimeters.
Elizabeth’s Graduation - Elizabeth graduates Magna cum laude at Drake University today. The ceremony begins in 45 minutes. Your browser does not support the video tag Your browser does not support the video tag Your...
Percy shows it's easy to push a button.
Lesson 01 - The following practice quiz is designed to help you prepare for any quizzes or tests given in class. To fill in this quiz visit http://www.thechembook.com/2011/05/07/lesson-01-quiz/ Information about Lesson 01 may be found in the chemistry book.
Creating a Post to Forum Page - After watching students work with the website www.thechembook.com, a single page dedicated to posting to a forum seemed appropriate. Building this page has been a challenge. BuddyPress forums...
Ellie is a white fluffy dog. Uhm. Well. Oh my gosh! Is that what I think that is?
Graduation dog went for a journey - thanks to Ellie and Pascal's insistence on rearranging the house.
What happens when sugar is placed in hot sodium chlorate?
Who to follow? - I woke up this morning and decided to log into ontoTwitter and see what others were tweeting about over the last few hours. As I skimmed, it dawned on me that the topics were rather one-sided and...
What happens if two dogs are ready to eat and you aren't home? They eat anyway.
It's easy to personify dog behavior but you have to admit that seeing this video will give you a feeling these two dogs are comfortable with each other.
Introducing iPad 2. It's everything we believe technology should be. Go to http://www.apple.com/ipad to learn more.
Apple iPad2 Ad: ‘We Believe’ - Apple is right. The ad begins: “This is what we believe … technology alone is not enough.” Consumers around the world are going to respond to this message because it is true. Technology alone cannot...
Apple iPad 2 Availability Improves - The launch of the Apple iPad into other countries was a concern that availability in the United States would not improve quick enough. Worse, the terrible 9.0 earthquake in Japan may influence supply...
Dow Jones, Rachel Maddow, iPad 2, and Time Warner App - While watching the new stations provided by the Time Warner Apple iPad application, I decided to take a snapshot of the Rachel Maddow show to see if the quality was good. Here is the image, saved as a...
CloudFlare Dates Are Off - This is funny. Today is April 1, 2011 and CloudFlare is playing the best April Fool’s Day joke – jumping in time
Ellie Shows Off Her Decorating Skills - Ellie continues to amaze. Yesterday, while at work, she managed to redecorate part of the living room. Pascal slides on through just to say hello, and deny his involvement in the redesign. Note. I didn’t show the other bookcase in the other room.
Ellie Shows Off Her Decorating Skills
Ellie and sleep - Ellie has it right. After a hard day of play and sleep there is nothing better than getting on the couch, curling up and putting a smile on your face.
The Law, Basketball, and Delaware Residents - Imagine if you will, police arriving to your home to have your property removed because someone in the neighborhood complained and a new law made the placement of that property illegal. Now, you can...
Delaware Department of Transportation crews escorted by state police tore down basketball hoops this morning in two neighborhoods in Claymont amid protests from residents who say the nets aren't harming anyone. (03/25/11)
Camera: Daniel Sato
...
Ellie and the iPad - 8 month old puppies need lots of exercise. Ellie is no exception. Yes, she can deceive you and pretend to sleep but when your back is turned – ACTION. Yesterday, Ellie went for a nice run. She looked...
Mr. Heiny’s take home final - do we have to write the question and answer it or just the answer?
What is a radioactive nuclide? - What’s the difference between a radioactive nuclide and a nuclide?
What is the chemical formula for copper(II) hydroxide? - Isn’t the chemical formula for copper (II) hydroxide Cu(OH)2? Number 152 on the take home final doesn’t give that answer choice.
Why do protons stay together in the nucleus rather than flying apart? - Protons have a positive electric charge. Based on the idea that like charges repel, why don’t the electrostatic charges cause the nucleus to break apart?
Which conclusion is based on the “gold foil experiment” and the resulting model of the atom? - - An atom is mainly empty space, and the nucleus has a positive charge. - An atom is mainly empty space, and the nucleus has a negative charge. - An atom has hardly any empty space, and the nucleus has a positive charge. - An atom has hardly any empty space, and the nucleus has a negative charge
WordPress for iOS - After several attempts to post from the iPhone or iPad, I’d almost given up hope. The latest March 16, 2011 release seems to work much better. - Numerous blogs were seen immediately. - Comment...
This little Great Pyrenees doesn't have a name yet - but - she is fitting in nicely with Pascal.
P with vanilla bear.MOV
A New Family Member: Needs a Name - P™ and C™ were from the Half-way house – an adoption center for dogs. After C™ died the day after Thanksgiving, I vowed never to adopt another dog. It hurt to lose C™. Alas, While P™ and I were out...
Number 151 on the Take Home Final for Heiny has a typo! B and D are the same - Please make the correction. 151. What is the chemical formula for iron(III) oxide? A. FeO B. Fe3O C. Fe2O3 D. Fe3O2
Who knows what website to go to for tomorrows test? :O - Tomorrow’s Test!
AP Environmental Science Opening Slide - After reading the first chapter in Raven and Berg 5th and 7th editions for next year’s AP course, I decided to put together an opening slide. Nothing fancy.
What is meant by “like dissolves like”? - Please include in your explanation the role of electronegativity, electrostatic charges, dipole moments, and geometry
What is the molarity of a solution made of 16-g sodium chloride dissolved in 400-mL of water? - Please show all of your work. Make sure you include units throughout the calculation.
Nuclear Power Plant Meltdown - According to the Associated Press, A partial meltdown was likely under way at a second nuclear reactor, a top Japanese official said Sunday, as operators frantically tried to prevent a similar threat...
How do you solve for pressure in a Boyle’s Law problem? - A sample of oxygen gas occupies 7.00 L at a pressure of 1.00 atm. What will the pressure of the gas be if the volume is 3.00 L and the temperature remains unchanged?
What does the information in parentheses tell us in the name of a type II binary ionic compound? - What is the difference between copper (II) sulfate and copper (I) sulfate? What does the I and II tell us?
What are the major assumptions of the kinetic molecular theory? - How do these assumptions help explain the behaviors of gases?
What are the two types of energy studied in thermochemistry? - What are the two types of energy studied in thermochemistry?
What are the units for pressure and how do I convert between them? - What are the four main units for pressure?
How do you solve for specific heat in a calorimetry problem? - A 100-g metal with a temperature of 97 oC is placed in a calorimeter with 75 mL water initially at 23 oC and the water rises to 27 oC. Calculate the total quantity of heat absorbed by the water in the calorimeter AND calculate the specific heat of the metal. Water has a specific heat of 4.18 J / g oC.
What are intermolecular forces? - How are intermolecular forces different from intramolecular forces? http://www.thechembook.com/wiki/index.php/Intermolecular_Forces
Where is the rest of the site? What happened? - What happened to the tutoring area? Where is the textbook? Where can I find Mrs. Ellis’ page or Dr. Heiny’s page?
Wisconsin Live Feed - I’m tired of searching for news and only getting opinions on what is or is not happening in Wisconsin. Here is a live feed.
TinyMCE WYSIWYG reset - After updating this blog to WordPress 3.1, I decided to look into why the WYSIWYG editor was not functioning as a default installation. The problem started several months ago after I decided to try...
Lesson Planning with ActivInspire - FlipChart Creation Process I created the calendar in MS-Word 2010, saved it as a PDF, and imported the PDF into ActivInspire. Next,I added the header image from the website, added a border around the image. Finally, the baby tux penguin was added to the bottom right. Update: The spelling error (CAHSEE) is fixed on the latest version of the flipchart.
Subscribers Text Counter Plugin: Add Google Buzz - After installing the Subscribers Text Counter WP plugin, I wanted a Google buzz icon with the number of subscribers. The following two step procedure will get your count too. Unfortunately, this is a...
ActivInspire: s-orbital - This figure of a hydrogen atom was created using Promethean’s ActivInspire 1.5. The figure is not to scale
ActivInspire: Self Paced Questions - During professional development today, a teacher demonstrated how he is using self-paced questions in his math class. I decided to create a set of five questions tonight and try it in class tomorrow....
Unit 2 PowerPoints - Attached are the PowerPoints for lessons 68 – 80. You will need the latest version of MS-Office to view pptx files. Lesson 68 Ion Formation Lesson 69 Common Ions Lesson 70 Ionic Bonds Lesson 71...
YouTube Videos Showing in Twitter - I’ve been doing a few more YouTube videos and discovered that Twitter will play the video for you in the sidebar. Yeah, yeah. You probably already knew this but I didn’t. And it’s a cool feature. Click on the video icon, the sidebar will appear with the YouTube video showing.
Molar Mass Calculations - I just completed the flipchart for lesson 102: Molar Mass. The lesson was started last semester but we are about to review it again. Now I need a good way to link to these flipcharts so that others...
ActivInspire: Gradients - A cool feature to enhance the titles showing at the top of a flipchart is to add a gradient. A single color is dull and flat whereas a gradient adds a little dimension to the flipchart. Above is a...
ActivInspire Image Creation: Spray Paint - I was not able to figure out a good way to create the spray paint effect for the above image. I ended up just using the pencil tool and drawing a bunch of dots – and sometimes the tool slid. Oh well, it’s the overall impression of the image that is important. Maybe someone will let me know of a better way to get a spray effect.
Best Design in Months - Months have passed since building a good solid WordPress site. Lora and Eliot’s site was just defaults and they took over after the base was installed. However, retainingteachers.com is something that I’m proud to have completed today. Hopefully the site is useful to someone interested in the topic.
Import Students from Powerschools Gradebook to ActivInspire - The fastest way to import student names and IDs from PowerSchools Gradebook into ActivInspire with NO ugly ” surrounding the student names, etc. Total time
Quick Diagrams Through ActivInspire - ActivInspire is a great presentation software for producing diagrams quickly. The above diagram was produced in under 15 minutes. The work is not polished but conveys the necessary information about...
Spring 2011 Roadmap - The following roadmap for the spring 2011 semester was created using Mindmeister on the Apple iPad. The map was emailed as a .png and uploaded to this blog. The image will also be placed in a...
A design - This was designed in Paint.NET and placed into Word to add the border around the image.
