2011 Emerging Technologies: Wikis

A wiki is server software that allows users to freely create and edit web page content using any web browser. Wikis are created mainly by a collaborative effort of site visitors. An excellent example of a wiki is Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia in many languages that anyone can change alone or together as a group. The first ever wiki site, WikiWikiWeb was developed in 1994 and installed on March 25, 1995 by Ward Cunningham. Wikipedia was launched on January 15, 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Wikipedia includes 15 million freely usable articles in over two hundred languages worldwide, and content from a million registered and anonymous contributors. Most wikis are open to the general public and there is no review before modifications are accepted. Many edits can be made in real-time and appear almost instantaneously online. Three characteristics of wikis include: pages and editing, linking and creating pages, and searching. Wikis influence millions of people worldwide. Wikis can be used to produce the following: to-do lists, operation manuals, event planning, storing contacts, solving FAQ's, and to collaborate with various people.

Skype Video Chat

Rena and I found out from our research on Skype that they really don't have a very good online reputation. They don't have a good customer support system, even for the paying customers. You have to enter your complaint for a 'claim ticket' which they will then get to...when they get around to it.

It's great for video chatting and business collaboration, but paying for the upgrades isn't necessary for the best experience.

Social Networking

While researching Social Networking we found out that there are over 350 different sites. The majority of Facebook users are women forty to fifty-five. Social Networking today has became almost a daily ritual for most people. Most Social Networking sites are free and open to just about everybody.

SharePoint 2010

Carrie and I had Hosted Sharing Tools- SharePoint 2010. It is interesting that you can access SharePoint on your mobile device and access calendars, messages, etc. There are many versions and the most recent was released in April 2010.

Emerging Technology- Tablet Devices

Tablet devices make up a big part of emerging technology in the future. In 2010 it was predicted that an estimated 54.7 million tablet devices will be sold in 2011. Goldman Sachs estimates that sales will grow to 79.2 million tablets to be sold. There were 12 devices that were announced at the beginning of 2011 out of those we looked at the Apple iPad, BlackBerry PlayBook, Motorola Xoom, and the Asus Eee Pad Slider. All four devices are expected to have an outrageous amount of sales.

E-Readers

Did you know that Amazon will sell 7 to 9 million Kindles in 2011? The Kindle is Amazon's highest selling item.

How do I keep people on the Internet from right-clicking and taking my pictures?

One question that turns up occasionally in class is "How do I keep people on the Internet from right-clicking and taking my pictures?"  One way to do this is to place a transparent image over the image you want to protect.  Whenever someone right-clicks your picture, the transparent one will be the one that is pasted.  Unfortunately, some picture stealers are persistent, and there's no way (that I know of) to completely prevent someone from taking your pictures.  For that reason, be very careful what you put out there!