stephen blyth’s blog

Out of context the question “how come?” may sound innocuous. That’s why I’m replying on my blog to the question from Adobe’s Connect Pro team, not via Twitter. I’m adding some much needed context, something Twitter posts are invariably oblivious to, so my reply exceeds 140 characters.
Where to begin?
Last week I fired off a bon [...]

[Read more →]

Yesterday when I arrived at Deirdre Kent’s place she was sitting with a friend sharing tools and tips for using their laptop computers. It looked liked they were having a productive session. Deirdre is a convenor of the Transition Towns Aotearoa social media network.
It’s about the third time in the last fortnight where I’ve encountered [...]

[Read more →]

I’ve been perfectly happy with Apple’s iWork ‘08 suite of software. I’ve created business cards, brochures and reports, a few slide presentations and played with the spreadsheet. It’s been easy to learn and use, especially with loads of templates. Best of all it only cost about $80.
Last week I hit a glitch - I [...]

[Read more →]

Normally I don’t touch the insides of computers or other electronic gizmos. Maybe it’s because my fingers are too clumsy, or eyesight poor. Adding some RAM in a slot and changing batteries is just about my limit.
I was pretty alarmed when a sad face appeared on my ipod. The official Apple help pages shed little [...]

[Read more →]

The recent decision to open anyone to create any internet domain name has been widely reported as starting a potential boom on the Internet.
The release of an unlimited number of domains, currently restricted to just 21 top level acronyms, (including .com, .net, etc), will allow for unrivaled personal expression. Every family of individual could register [...]

[Read more →]

I’m sure I could find somewhere on the Internet everything I want to know about Google, plus tonnes I don’t. There are websites with search guides, how-to videos, gossip, a Google maps mash-up list and much more.
Next week I’m running a one hour training course on effective search techniques for people working as elder abuse [...]

[Read more →]

Don’t throw out your CD-Rom just yet. Last week Nathan Donaldson from Boost New Media told The National Business Review about the popularity of CD-Roms and DVDs for distributing teaching materials.
He is quoted as saying “When we started Boost in 2000 we thought CD-Roms were over and we’d never do them again but it’s turned [...]

[Read more →]

One of the hardest things about the constantly changing world wide web, and ICTs generally, is keeping up with myriad new developments. There is no shortage of information available but where to start.
Miraz Jordan suggests one way for community groups to keep up is setting up someone within their organisation as a Technology Scout (see [...]

[Read more →]