tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:35:00 +0000Technology travel reports from high speed trains, hot air balloons and about bicycles. With some thoughts on e-commerce, net business and IT education by Tom Worthington.http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/noreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)Blogger2452125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-3062965043193506603Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:30:00 +00002010-02-09T15:35:00.884+11:00Green ITsustainable developmentANUThe Australian National University is advertising for a Green ICT Project Officer. ANU Green previously arranged projects for my Green Information Technology Strategies students to do. So the content of that course will give some idea of what the job involves. Green ICT Project Officer Facilities and ServicesFixed Term of 14 Months We are seeking a qualified, highly organised personhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/green-ict-job-at-anu.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-3265136496480715295Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:36:00 +00002010-02-09T12:54:07.076+11:00Green IT Strategies Coursesustainable developmentGershon Reportdata centersIn response to my request for input on "Training Green Technologists" Bernard Robertson-Dunn commented that "A more advanced, comprehensive and effective approach is contained in the whole of government data centre strategy that was presented to government at the end of last year." This appears to be a reference to the strategy for the Australian (Federal) Government, developed in response to http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/lack-of-transparency-impeding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-3930840314839126209Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:16:00 +00002010-02-09T09:08:32.559+11:00alternative energySmart ApartmentNSWThe NSW Government is offering a family a free smart home in Sydney for a year. The family will receive free accommodation in return for writing about their experience using the energy and water efficient features of the house at the Newington Smart Village Project in western Sydney.A "Smart Home Family brief" is provided. This is a 2.39 Mb zip file with: Smart Houme (sic.) add 8-2-10.pdfSmart http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/smart-home-in-sydney-for-free.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-2346175470225653004Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:57:00 +00002010-02-08T14:25:37.491+11:00StandardsStandards AustraliaElectronic Records ManagementStandards Australia Limited has issued the Discussion Paper "Project prioritisation process and criteria" (Version: 1.0, 5 February 2010) for comment. As a representative of the Australian Computer Society to standards Australia, I will be consulting the ACS on an official position. However, as an individual ICT professional I believe the SA approach to be fundamentally flawed and not addressinghttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/standards-australia-needs-new.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-2908292272579355886Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:16:00 +00002010-02-08T11:27:04.743+11:00shoesCrocksThe Ascent "Geelong Urban" shoes I purchased recently came with insoles made of a flexible rubbery plastic covered with fabric on the upper surface. These looked similar to those sole for $70 in shore stores. Unfortunately I had to remove these to put the hard plastic custom made orthotic insoles in the shoes. I was reluctant to throw away the insoles which came with the shoes, but wondered what http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/insoles-for-crocks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-4193322414799454866Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:27:00 +00002010-02-08T11:04:02.700+11:00shoesflat feetHaving Flat feet (pes planus or fallen arches), shoes are always a problem for me. On a trip to Greece my shoes fell apart and I ended up with a pair of Scholl Professionals from the local apothecary (chemist). These are black leather walking shoes have worked very well.Recently my feet were hurting and the doctor prescribed a bottle of champagne: not to drink, but to fill with cold water and http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/shoes-for-flat-feet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-4387485837742409091Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:02:00 +00002010-02-08T11:44:48.983+11:00e-documentsbcc2010Bar CampGovernment ICTAustralian GovernmentAGIMOApple iPadElectronic Records Managemente-book reader#bcc2010One response to my talk on "Making e-Books for e-Learning on i-Pads" at BarCamp Canberra 2010 was from Senator KateLundy. She tweeted: "With so much govt information online, Tom's talk makes me wonder about the merit of publishing public info in ebook formats too". This seems an idea worth investigating.I have long advocated providing government reports as a set of web pages, rather than as onehttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/government-reports-as-ebooks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-8716054196515196661Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:29:00 +00002010-02-06T21:43:23.358+11:00bcc2010Bar Campe-book reader#bcc2010One of my throwaway remarks at BarCamp Canberra 2010 got the attention of the Twitterarty:vinhvanlam Show someone single copy of a "real book" & they'll read and trust the online version says Tom Worthington #bcc2010 moodle to mobi to kindleAndrewBlanda "When you have a real book (just 1 copy), people then begin reading the online version" Tom Worthington #bcc2010This is something I noticed when http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/paper-makes-ebooks-real.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-5977094773384708955Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:47:00 +00002010-02-06T16:52:17.039+11:00semantic webbcc2010NLA#bcc2010Wragge's identity finder is a simple little web service shown at BarCamp Canberra 2010. It lets you search a database of well known Australians maintained by the National Library of Australia and produces some HTML code you can paste into a web page. The idea is to create a semantic web in an easy way. I was flattered to find "Tom Worthington" (that is me) is listed in the system.http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/wragges-identity-finder.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-3186952130432336785Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:38:00 +00002010-02-06T14:06:46.177+11:00educationbcc2010Bar CampApple iPadKindlee-book reader#bcc2010Greetings from BarCamp Canberra 2010 at the famous Room N101 at ANU in Canberra. There are about sixty people here so far and the room is filling fast. About one third of the room seems to be from Sydney, boosting the Canberra economy. You can follow the event in Twitter: #bcc2010.The infrastructure is well set up with video projectors, WiFi, power-boards and Senator Lundy just arrived with http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/barcamp-canberra-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-600681449310916272Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:14:00 +00002010-02-05T14:19:34.151+11:00educationbcc2010Bar CampApple iPadKindlee-book reader#bcc2010For the BarCamp Canberra 2010, tomorrow I have prepared "Making e-Books for e-Learning on i-Pads". This is about how I used simple web pages and free open source software to create a university level e-learning course and accompanying e-book. Educational materials can be provided for the Netbooks, Amazon Kindle, Google Android, Apple iPhone. This technique should also work for the recently http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/making-e-books-for-e-learning-on-i-pads.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-3024267531436961860Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:05:00 +00002010-02-06T17:15:40.868+11:00Smart ApartmentAustralian Defence ForceA cliché of 1960s Hollywood comedies is an exotic neighbour climbing through the the window of your apartment (Barefoot in the Park, 1967). Ideally you are a struggling writer (Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961). I thought this fanciful, until it happened this morning.Interrupted while making some changes to my latest book, I opened the door of my Smart Apartment to an Amazon. This was a neighbour http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/breakfast-at-oconnor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-2673391209229901743Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:34:00 +00002010-02-04T23:17:34.745+11:00Green IT Strategies Coursesustainable developmentdata centersData Centre GreenTech Melbourne 2010 is on 26th February 2010, with William Ehmcke (Connection Research), Albert Y Zomaya (University of Sydney), Graeme Philipson (Connection Research). I will be speaking on "Training Green Technologists": Here is draft outline (correction, comments and suggestions welcome):Training Green TechnologistsTom WorthingtonGreen Technology Course DesignerThe http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/data-centre-green-technology-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-8550019400775251711Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:41:00 +00002010-02-04T20:40:46.576+11:00vocational educationgaggleCanberrae-LearningThe webinar on “Trends in Personal Learning” by Stephen Downes, at Canberra Institute of Technology today was disappointing. Stephen was billed as "a reliable forecaster of trends and events in online learning", citing his "prescient" 'Future of Online Learning' and other works. But the technology for the webinar did not work properly. This made anything he said about using such technology less http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/e-learning-needs-better-tools.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-8430588247604537235Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:09:00 +00002010-02-04T11:27:03.565+11:00web designe-PortfolioACSCanberrae-LearningThe first meeting of the Canberra Branch of the Australian Computer Society for 2010 was devoted to hearing suggestions from the members. Here are some suggestions I made:Make web site mobile okay: Currently the ACS home page scores less than zero out of 100 on the W3C mobileOK Checker: "This page is not mobile-friendly!". I suggest aiming for a score of 80/100 on the mobile tests for the ACS webhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/some-suggestions-for-acs-in-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-8586396390814509172Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:15:00 +00002010-02-04T08:27:43.155+11:00ANUCanberraArtFree exhibitions of Glass, Painting, Print media, Drawing, Ceramics, Textilesl, Gold, Silversmithing and Furniture are being held at the ANU Gallery in Canberra, from 3 February to 26 March 2010. "NEOLOGY" showcases the work of the ANU School of Art.School of Art Gallery ProgramNEOLOGY│GRADUATE SEASON 2010 │ 3 February - 26 MarchA series of exhibitions showcasing works produced by candidates for http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/contemporary-art-exhibitions-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-6624996303640314800Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:29:00 +00002010-02-03T13:51:54.481+11:00Delphitablet computerpedagogyApple iPade-LearningInspired by walking the sacred way at Delphi, I suggest a portable green e-classroom. Idris Sulaiman asked if there are any Australian guidelines on Green Computer Labs. This got me thinking about the<!-- google_ad_section_start --> Green Learning Commons, back to a portable e-learning classroom I proposed previously.Last year I visited the Delphi site in Greece. Walking up the sacred way I http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/e-academy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-4575194270255428714Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:10:00 +00002010-02-03T12:10:55.951+11:00Green ITeducationflexible learning centrePrompted by "What Happened to the Computer Lab?" I was asked by Idris Sulaiman if there are any Australian guidelines on Green Computer Labs. This is a good question. Computer labs are evolving into general purpose computer equipped teaching spaces in the information commons and spreading across university campuses, as well as vocational education and schools. As a result there will be more http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/green-learning-commons.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-7849519753486134796Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:29:00 +00002010-02-03T08:50:18.750+11:00e-documentsOOXMLElectronic Records ManagementODFAccording to Heise Media UK Ltd the Danish Parliament has agreed to use the Open Docuemnt Format (ODF) format for government documents, in preference to Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML format). politiken.dk says that this will not come into effect until April 2011 and that PDF/A (the archival version of PDF) will also be used. There was some detailed and technical discussion in the Danish http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/odf-format-for-danish-government.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-42262155082393051Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:13:00 +00002010-02-02T17:20:27.129+11:00wetlandsCanberraenvironmentThe ACT Government is seeking community input into the design of wetlands at Dickson and Lyneham. Workshops are being held on 3 and 4 February 2010: Proposed Dickson and Lyneham WetlandsFlemington Road Ponds Project Media Release - Work Underway on Wetland PondsBanksia Street Development Applicationhttp://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/canberra-constructed-wetlands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-8832366709688369098Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:55:00 +00002010-02-02T17:10:35.408+11:00CarsTataIndiaIndian vehicle maker Tata have announced the Magic Iris, which is essentially a minivan version of the Tata Nano micro-car. Just as the Nano is intended to replace scooters for personal transport, the Magic Iris is to replace three wheel auto-rickshaws:"The Tata Magic Iris, to be launched this year, is for public transportation, offering safer and more comfortable mobility for those who depend http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/tata-magic-iris.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-6892566722183349596Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:44:00 +00002010-02-02T16:53:27.971+11:00MetroMetrobusSydneyThe NSW government is reported to be rethinking plans for the Sydney Metro. One option would be to expand the current Metrobus into a bus rapid transit system. This could use bi-articulated as now being trialled in Brisbane. This could also make use of the simplified MyZone system, announced recently.http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/bus-rapid-transit-for-sydney.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-2224414481313313341Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:31:00 +00002010-02-02T16:41:59.286+11:00power savingTrainThe new Class 380 Desiro Electric Trains for Scotland will have a "sleep mode" to save power. Apparently trains are not simply switched off overnight when not in use. Also the air conditioning system will sense if a carriage is empty, thus saving further energy.http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/train-sleep-mode-to-reduce-energy-use.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-7007915930095996832Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:14:00 +00002010-02-02T12:26:04.396+11:00ANURobotsProfessor Sandra Hirche will talk on "Human-oriented telerobotic control over the Internet" at the ANU in Canberra, 16 February 2010: SYSTEMS AND CONTROL SERIES Human-oriented telerobotic control over the InternetProf. Sandra Hirche (Technical University of Munich (TUM))DATE: 2010-02-16TIME: 11:00:00 - 12:00:00LOCATION: RSISE Seminar Room, ground floor, building 115, cnr. North and Daley Roads,http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/controlling-robots-via-internet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16502818.post-4877753314958203490Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:09:00 +00002010-02-02T22:13:52.753+11:00ICT PolicylinuxEnergy StarAustralian GovernmentEPEATAGIMOThe Department of Finance and Deregulation has issued a Request for Tender for a "Whole of Government Desktop Hardware (Computing Equipment) Panel". This includes desktop and mobile computing equipment, monitors, installation and disposal. All agencies will be required to buy through the panel.There is an extensive 235 page "Statement of Requirements" available to tenderers. This not only http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2010/02/australian-whole-of-government-computer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom Worthington)1