What I Learnt Today

What Its Like to Own an Apple Product – The Oatmeal.com

Today in San Francsico, Steve Jobs announced the imminent release of the iPad 2.

Jobs has been on medical leave since January due to complications of pancreatic cancer, so it was a surprise for the crowd at the ‘Apple Event’ when he walked on to the stage. He received a 2 minute standing ovation. Unfortunately, he now needs a much smaller skivvy than In previous years.

The keynote address is available on the apple site.

The iPad has defined the tablet computer, and is my preferred way of browsing the web, checking emails, reading books, subscribing to magazines, looking at photos and playing games.

Apple has sold 15 million iPads since it was introduced 9 months ago. This has generated $9.5 billion in revenue! There are 350,000 apps available for the iPhone and iPad, 65,000 of them developed especially for the latter.

The iPad 2 is thinner and lighter. It has a faster chip and faster graphics display. It can now plug directly into a TV, or stream wirelessly to a TV using AppleTV.

It also has front and rear facing cameras, which enables video-conferencing between Macs, iPhones and iPads (has anyone ever actually used this?) An updated iMovie app will enable editing of video filmed on the iPad. A new GarageBand for iPad looks cool, and will turn the device into a virtual piano, guitar or drum kit.

The iPad 2 is designed to use one of the groovy ( but not cheap ) iPad Smart Covers, ‘available in aniline or Italian leather’. These connect to the iPad via magnets.

The iPad 2 will be available in the US on March 12th and in Australia on March 25th. US pricing is the same as current models. Australian pricing has not yet been announced. Given the strength of the dollar, it should be less than the previous pricing. (wishful thinking, probably)

If you’ve been waiting for iPad 2 before jumping on the iPad wagon, now’s your time. The iPad 3 is likely to be another year away. If you have an iPad already, I don’t feel the new features are compelling enough to replace it with a new one – unless there is someone in the family who would be happy to receive a slightly used second hand iPad. Happy Birthday, Cath.

What I Learnt On 3rd March in other years

3rd March 2012 Saturday Night Special – Chicken and Chorizo Paella

Seth Godin launched the Domino Project today.

Seth is a prolific author. 

He has written thirteen books, the most recent being today’s ‘Poke the Box‘. His blog is hyperactive, and I enjoy the daily entertaining read.

He is known as an expert on marketing. When driving with his family around France, they were at first entranced by the picture perfect scenery of black and white cows against the green fields. After a few days, the cows blended into the background. In his book ‘The Purple Cow’, Seth makes the point that in today’s sophisticated markets, you need to be a purple cow to stand out.

More recently his books (Tribes, Linchpins) have been about leadership, and overcoming fear.

This theme is continued in ‘Poke the Box‘, which is about ‘ go ‘. Start a project, make a ruckus, take a risk, leap, commit. Make something happen. Ship. Show initiative.

“The challenge, it turns out, isn’t in perfecting your ability to know when to start and when to stand by. The challenge is getting into the habit of starting.”

Seth’s style is not for everyone. To work out whether it is for you, you can subscribe to Seth’s blog. His books feel and read like a series of blog posts.

The Domino Project aims to deliver small books with high quality ideas made to spread. Speed triumphs – speed to market and speed to respond to readers.

My Kindle Ediition of ‘Poke the Box‘ arrived today. (The special pre-order price was $1! It has returned to its usual price of $4.99 today. Guess I should have made this post last week).

What you Need for Uni – Part One

Today is the first day of University! (were they the longest holidays in history, or what?)

Over the last few weeks, Alex Kidman and the readers of the excellent Lifehacker site have complied a 2011 University Success Guide

The series of articles include –

• Your Uni PC: Netbook versus Notebook
• My Lecturer Lets You Rate University Courses
• How To Buy University Textbooks On The Cheap
• Edward Radke’s Golden Rules For University Study
• What’s Available From Australian Universities On iTunes U?
• Let Your Smartphone Write Bibliographies For You
• Asking Lots Of Questions Is The Key To University Success
  (Cathy tells me that knowing lots of answers is actually the key to University success – she agrees with rhyme’s comment. Less polite people might suggest that you should RTFM! )
• Essential Software For University Students

Have you got any tips for our Fresher Friends? Let us know in the comments and we’ll compile our own Uni Success Guide.

Tip for Fresher Shanks – Don’t lose your ID on the first night in the pub if you want to go to the pub on the second night.

What I Learnt On 1st March in other years

1st March 2012 The Little Wolf and The Three Bad Pigs

Last Christmas Eve, we went on a birdwalk in Uralba Nature Reserve with birding expertsAlastair and Mike. Just as we finished, we heard, and then saw, Menura Alberti – the Albert’s Lyrebird.

For birdwatchers such as Alastair and Mike, this is reason to celebrate.

The Albert’s Lyrebird’s habitat is very small, living just in SE Qld and Northern NSW. The Uralba Nature Reserve is the southern most place they have been sighted. Albert’s Lyrebird is classified as ‘Near Threatened’.

Like its cousin, the Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), they are very shy and seldom seen. They also share the family skill of being excellent mimics.

On David Atenborough’s eightieth birthday, there was a popular vote to select the best wildlife footage he had produced. Out of the 150 hours of television he has made over 50 years, the winner was……. his footage of a Superb Lyrebird demonstrating its skills as a mimic –  as seen in “Life of Birds”.

That’s the real version – so this next clip must be the  Weird Al Yancovic version

What I Learnt On 28th February in other years

28th February 2012 Apple announces March 7 iPad 3 event | TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog

In Ancient Greece, all children were expected to have mastered two instruments by the age of 12.

Duncan Lorien is a music teacher who says that, like the Greeks on antiquity, we  can all learn to play music competently. My long suffering piano teacher Mrs Chalmers would no doubt beg to disagree.

What’s more, he can have us playing a Bach Concerto is just 3 days! (hands together and proper like).

The ‘Understanding Music Seminar‘ teaches a basic understanding of the intervals and relationships between notes, allowing participants to learn to play scales and chords without the usual relentless repetition.

A basic guide to his approach is available on his US website.

Mr Lorien was interviewed on Life Matters this week.

He has just completed a current seminar series in Australia, but if you missed out, his Australian website says that he will be visiting again in September, when he will run his 3 day workshop in Sydney and Byron Bay. That’s pretty handy.

(He also runs a singing workshop. I think that if I attended it would drive poor Mr Lorien to retirement)

Caution: I’m a bit of a sucker for these things. While at University, I attended an Eveyln Woods Reading Dynamics Course, which teaches speed reading, It went over a number of weeks. As it turns out, the secret to speed reading is to read really quickly.

If you’ve attended an Understanding Music Seminar, please let us know how you found it in the comments.

BoxWorld is a spectacular miniature city made almost entirely from recycled materials. 

It was created by Tasmanian model maker and environmentalist, Warren Thomas, and has been over twelve years in the making. It is ‘on tour’, and until March 12th it is installed at the Lismore Regional Art Gallery. We took the opportunity to visit BoxWorld today.

Thomas was originally inspired to create BoxWorld after a visit to a travelling display by Lego Land. Unable to afford or justify the use of plastic Lego blocks, Thomas started using milk cartons and cereal boxes for his display instead. Thomas is a firm believer in the three Rs: Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle. BoxWorld is the antithesis of glistening commercialism, which lures us to spend money beyond our means. It transforms everyday waste into something intriguing and is made of materials which are mostly free.

After coming up with the idea for BoxWorld, Thomas was drawn into the process of making it and the model grew. A city emerged organically, building by building, street by street. The installation is not based on any real city, but it includes elements found in most cities such as skyscrapers, a football ground, swimming pool, airport, hospital and various shops, factories, roads and traffic.

Only a subset of the full ‘BoxWorld’ is on display in the Lismore Gallery. In its entirety, it would cover a whole tennis court.

Entry to the gallery in Lismore is free.

Will thought that the BoxWorld display was amazing. “You have to admire the perseverance of the artist”

Millie thought it was cool. “I wish I could shrink so that I could visit the city”.

After Lismore, it is off to Warwick and then Geelong. You can check out more information at the BoxWorld site.

While on the subject of Minature Worlds, there is a photographic technique called ‘TiltShift’ that makes photos of real cities look like they are photos of minature worlds.

There are a couple of iPhone apps that can do this semi-automatically. If you are interested, have a look at TiltShift by Michael Krause

What I Learnt On 26th February in other years

26th February 2012 Hidden in Plain View