It seems that every day brings another instance of the real world moving into the virtual world - the virtual world of "Second Life" that is. Second Life is a Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG), which means lots of people using computers connectd to the Internet log in at the same time and inhabit a "virtual" world that exists only as far as the computers are concerned. Think of the movie "The Matrix" but with users aware of what they are doing and using their computer monitors to view the virtual monitor.

Yahoo is doing something interesting, called "Pipes". This web page describes the concept of Pipes nicely and how they might be used to connect disparate pieces of information together.

The idea behind Yahoo Pipes is to allow users to create their "mash-ups" easily. A mash-up is simply two or more pieces of information put together in a way the original authors did not imagine. A web example includes Google Maps with New York City Pubs, allowing you to see the pubs of New York on a Google Map. Musicians create mash-ups by taking two pieces of music and creating a third out of it (while hopefully adding something unique in the process).

A recent blog entry from the Washington Post site highlights what happens when you have the deadly combination of an incompetent defense attorney and a techno illiterate judge and jury. The story revolves around a teacher accused of showing inappropriate images to students in her classroom. It sounds bad enough, but once you dig into the details, it becomes clear she (1) had no intention of doing it, (2) the images were caused by spyware and/or adware and/or mistyping a web address, (3) she was given bad or no information on how to deal with the scenario. It gets worse when you learn that the school IT department admits the computers were not up to date in terms of security and spyware blocking software (both easy and free to update these days).

I am reading Tom Friedman's book "The World Is Flat", which talks about the convergence of technology, capitalization of India, China and Eastern Europe and the lowering of trade barriers around the world. The net result of this convergence is a level playing field in which the notions of the nation-state and even the corporation become less important, and the notion of personal empowerment become more important.

For example, two hundred years ago, you might grow up, work, marry and die in the same community. This community is your "world" in effect and other countries have little influence on your life. This was the world where state and national boundaries dominated. Fifty years ago, you might have moved within your country, but would likely have stuck with one job and one company. This was the world where corporations dominated. Today, individuals are more likely to move between companies, careers and all over. There are many jobs where you have to justify your continued employment on a regular basis, lest your skills are determined obsolete or easier and cheaper to staff overseas.

Welcome to my blog on technology and education. I am currently a software developer and consultant living and working on Cape Cod. In the past I was also an educator and a scientist working for NASA. I started this website to have a conversation with my neighbors on the Cape, and I hope it serves to foster a greater sense of community for us year-rounders.

My blog will focus on technology and education trends, and I'll start with the latest news from Apple Computer, I mean Apple, Inc. Apple has, of course, officially changed its name, even though it's been clear for some time that they are more than just a computer company. To date, they have sold 2 billion songs on their iTunes store alone. As Steve Jobs said in his keynote address at MacWorld, they sell 5 million songs a day, which is 57 songs a second, every hour of the day.