There are many, many, great resources on the web, especially in the area of education. There are thousands of sites dedicated just to teaching languages, for example.  In fact, Bill Gates said earlier this month that he expected that within five years the web would provide a better education than our institutions of higher learning.  Here in Texas, the Board of Education seems to have fully embraced this trend, and now offers a home schooling program for elementary school-aged kids that is completely online.  They even provide the computer.

My Life Scoop recently listed a few of the best sites for education, and there are more created every day.  In fact, Xconomy pubished an article yesterday about a new startup, Udemy, whose name comes from “academy for you.”  Udemy received $1 million in seed funding to “democratize learning on the web.”

Notwithstanding these great online learning opportunities, I’m still not sure that I want a lawyer representing me who got a law degree from iTunes U.  So what do you think:  will the internet ever truly replace the classroom, or will it always be a supplement to improve the classroom experience?

Bill Gates:  In Five Years the Best Education Will Come From the Web [via TechCrunch]

Feed Your Mind For Free Online [via My Life Scoop]

Udemy Collects $1 Million to Exapnd Casual Learning Platform [via Xconomy]

If you don’t want to plug or unplug your headset, you typically need to go through a multistep process to switch your computer’s audio output from your speakers to your headset, or vice versa.  There’s a quicker way, though, using a free software solution.  This is great for those times when you want to listen to audio over your speakers, but quickly switch to your headset to make a Skype call.

Soundswitch is a free program that allows you to set a hotkey to switch between audio output devices.  Soundswitch is pretty simple.  After you download the file and extract its contents to a location of your choosing, you then open up an .ini file (sound_switch.ini) to configure the program.  The configuration step is important – if you don’t do it, Soundswitch won’t work (unless your device setup happens to mirror the app developer’s setup).

To configure the .ini file, open your audio properties by right-clicking on the speaker icon in your system tray and selecting “Playback Devices.”  You then need to count the order in which your audio devices appear in the listings.  For example, in the image below, my headset (the “Speakers” device described as “C-Media USB Audio Device”) is device #1, and my external speakers (“High Definition Audio Device”) are device #2.  Before ascertaining your device order, make sure that you’ve right-clicked anywhere in the window, and chosen to show disabled and disconnected devices.

Once you have a number for each device, take those numbers and plug them into the .ini file.   My .ini file ended up as depicted in the image below, and happened to match the default settings.  The two entries under “Sound Devices” are my headset and my speakers, respectively.

Once you’ve set up the configuration file and saved it, you’re all set.  The default hotkey combo to switch audio devices is CTRL-ALT-F12, although you can change this in the configuration file.  Soundswitch offers some other features as well.  You can set hotkeys to scroll between devices, to hide the tray icon, to switch your currently selected device between two different speaker configurations, and to terminate the program.

Soundswitch’s developer (who we can thank for generously providing this program for free) has tested it in Windows 7 64 bit, and Vista 32 bit.  I’m using it in Windows 7 64, and it works fine.  There’s also an older version that works in Windows XP.

If easy audio switching entices you, head on over to the developer’s site to grab Soundswitch, and to read his configuration instructions.

Soundswitch [via Contriving]

Headset photo by Stephan Ridgway

The slideshow discusses how Facebook lumps all of your friends together, even though we really we have different types of friends.  You might have family members, college friends, and work colleagues in your social network, but you might want your social network experience with each of them to be different.  For example, those wild college photos might be great to share with your college friends, but not so great to share with your family or some of your coworkers.

Facebook does offer lists, but they’re meaningless when it comes time to post updates.  You can choose only between publicizing updates to everyone, friends, friends of friends, or specific people.

Would a service that gives you finite control over different types of friends compel you to try it out?  Or do you envision something like that being much too complicated?

What to Expect From “Google Me” [Smarterware]

You can dutifully sync and backup your files (we’ve looked at services for syncing and backup) and still not be able to edit your documents when needed, if you are using a computer that doesn’t have the necessary software installed.  This was the problem I had when visiting my mom recently and found that she didn’t have a copy of Microsoft Office.  So today we will compare four options for creating, editing, reviewing and backing documents up online – Microsoft SkyDrive, Google Docs, Zoho Documents, and Box.net.  This may help you to avoid problems in the future when you don’t have the necessary software at hand.

To test each service’s viewing and editing capabilities, I used my resume.  I created it in college with a word processor, and over the years it has been saved in every iteration of MS Word.  As a result, the formatting is a mess.  You can’t see these problems if you are looking at the resume in MS Word or a PDF, but there are many legacy formatting issues that come up when editing it.  I mention this to say that I expected all of these programs to have some problems rendering it.

Microsoft SkyDrive

Microsoft’s SkyDrive has a lot of promise, but there are some limitations typical of the Microsoft way of doing things.  First, Microsoft has hobbled a great product by making it available only on Microsoft mobile devices.  I don’t have the statistics on usage of Windows mobile phones, but it’s telling that I’ve never met anyone that owned one.  Second, SkyDrive feels like it is trying to be everything at once.  There is file storage, several syncing options, a photo sharing section, email, messenger, contacts, calendar, group boards, Spaces (picture Facebook if Microsoft had made it)…it’s just a lot of services and a little disconcerting to wonder how to get back to my documents.  Third, it seems like Microsoft is not quite sure what it wants to do with files.  In the past I have used Microsoft’s Live Mesh service, which stored and synced files across devices, but was limited to just 2 GBs of space.  Then Microsoft offered me a Beta test of Live Mesh for Developers which had all sorts of cool desktop-like widgets in the cloud, but did not transfer over my files from my old Mesh account.  Then they offered SkyDrive which had 25 GBs of space but did not sync files, and Live Sync which synced files but did offer any sort of storage for the files (they were just synced between computers).  Finally, as of August 27, they changed the name Live Sync to Live Mesh.  I’m not sure where that leaves the “old” Live Mesh.  It’s all very confusing.

Despite the litany of Microsoft issues, SkyDrive is a good product.  The formatting for my resume wasn’t great, but pretty close.  SkyDrive’s UI is very familiar, as it has a look that very much reminds me of Windows.  SkyDrive has folders and tagging for organization.  This makes it very easy to navigate and find the file I am looking for.  There aren’t any apparent tie-ins of other services, but with all that Microsoft offers there is very little need for other services, if you can find your way around.

With so much free storage offered you knew someone would figure out a way to make it even more useful.  In fact there are two options to mount your SkyDrive storage as a virtual hard drive, thus allowing you to drag and drop files into it directly from your computer.  These options are SDExplorer and Map the drives [via the Download Squad].  I’ve used SDExplorer before and really liked it as a way to be able to drag and drop my picture files to back them up to Microsoft’s servers.

Zoho Documents

I’m intrigued by Zoho, as they seem to admit that they are number two to Google Docs but are OK with it, and even embrace it.  Many of the feature sets between the two services are identical, and the Zoho folks stress their integration with Google services and the ability to import Google Docs files.  They even go so far as allow you to sign in with your Google credentials.  But they do offer some unique features as well.  Among these are a ton of different ways to organize your documents (including some which I haven’t seen elsewhere), such as organizing by folder, by tag, by workspace, by those shared by me, by those shared with me, and by type (documents, spreadsheets, presentations, pictures, music and videos).   My resume was decent but there there some inconsistencies and it deleted the separators between sections.  It looked salvageable but still wouldn’t work to give to an employer.

While I wouldn’t use Zoho on a day to day basis, I’m not sure why that is.  Despite the myriad of ways to organize and view your files, it’s a very clean and simple interface with a lot of information.  It ties-in with Zoho’s other services, which are plentiful.  Zoho offers more online office-type services than Microsoft and Google, and possibly more than the two combined.  My reason for not embracing Zoho might be the same reason I have never fully jumped on-board with Dropbox- it might just be too boring for me?

Google Docs

Just two weeks ago we talked about some of the potential uses of Google Docs, but the flexibility and features of Google Docs means that Docs lends itself to many different uses.  This is one of its strongest points.  Add to this Google’s active development of the product and you have a very strong offering.  In fact, since our article two weeks ago, Google has made Google Docs searchable from within Gmail, giving it a whole other layer of ease for anyone who keeps Gmail open throughout the day.

Amazingly, Google Docs did a better job of rendering my resume than even Microsoft’s product.  I’m not sure I understand how your competitor could beat you at formatting your own document, but it surely happened with this one.  Google Docs added a few extraneous horizontal lines, but they were easily deleted with a couple keystrokes.

There are of course downsides to Google Docs, like any other service.  The 1 GB storage limit is paltry compared to SkyDrive’s 25 GB, especially if you want to store all of your documents in one place.  Google Docs doesn’t have offline support as of May 3, 2010 when for some reason Google discontinued support of Google Gears.  This was presumably done with an eye towards HTML 5 providing offline copies of all apps, but it’s not available yet.  As a result, there is no Google-provided offline support.  However, as we mentioned in our post about sync tools, Syncplicity syncs files across computers, its web interface, and also Google Docs.  Evan explained this Syncplicty feature:

“One of Syncplicity’s nicest features, and the one that I use the most, is its ability to link a local folder with your Google Docs account.  Simply authorize Syncplicity as an allowed app, and select files or folders you want to keep in sync.  Syncplicity will then keep those documents in sync with the documents in your Google Docs account.  That enables you to create documents in a desktop word processor, and know that they will be available anywhere, from within Google Docs.”

Box.net

Box.net has by far the most tie-ins with other services and there is much to be said for it; however it is also the most commercialized.  It’s hard to explain, but it’s so polished that if it were a destination it would surely be a tourist trap.  There are weekly webinars about how to get more out of it, links to become an expert, a sales number and annoying little flags that at every turn show what you could get if you upgraded (please don’t tell me it’s version two of a document and then pop-up a cutesy “Oops” message about how I didn’t pay $9.95 a month to see up to 10 versions!).  Did I mention that Jim, “my business partner,” contacted me to talk about upgrading options, separate from the email I received welcoming me and also suggesting that I upgrade?  I guess they have a business plan that works for them, since as far as I know they have been around the longest of the four services.  Still, it’s kind of obnoxious and in your face.

As for the resume test, this one is a little different than the others because it doesn’t have a native file editor.  Box.net relies on Zoho’s editor described above, so obviously it had the same issues as Zoho did with formatting.

The quantity of tie-ins that Box.net offers is commendable, but it just made me feel dirty using it.  I think a more open platform that I can use with other services will be the future of this kind of thing.  However, despite it’s lead in the area, I doubt Box.net will be the one to offer it.

Conclusions

As you may have noticed, Microsoft SkyDrive, Zoho and Google Docs all received an overall score of  9.  Each service has its positives and negatives, and I think it will mostly come down to personal preference.  SkyDrive’s strongest asset is it’s massive amount of free storage, since no other service here offers more than 1 GB for free.  It has shortcomings that are mainly of Microsoft’s doing, which is unfortunate because while a bug can be fixed, a corporate culture is much harder to turn around.  Zoho is a great product that does a good job, but it just doesn’t wow me.  Google Docs could use some real help with the user interface and needs a much larger capacity, but I think it’s telling that I am writing this post in Google Docs.

So what service do you use for online editing of documents?

Photo by net_efekt

As some of you have no doubt heard, Apple has recently applied for a patent entitled: Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device. This technology is, ostensibly, supposed to give Apple the power to help you protect yourself in the event someone else has gotten a hold of your iPhone. It also gives Apple the power to remotely wipe your iPhone if you have Jailbroken your device — the legality of Jailbreaking notwithstanding.

Just that last detail is enough to get many people up in arms, but it is the method in which Apple wants to implement its new Big Brother feature that has people truly freaked out. After taking a bit of time to think about it and consider the implications, I have decided that I am one of those people.

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), an organization dedicated to protecting fundamental rights and freedoms — such as privacy — in the digital world, couldn’t even find a strong enough term to describe what Apple is doing. Spyware, just didn’t do the new approach to “security” justice — so they created a new term: Traitorware.

What else would you call a built in program or series of programs that allow your personal mobile device to:

• silently snap a picture of your surroundings — or you, or your kids…
• record your voice, even outside of a phone call
• watch for a sudden increase of memory in your device to determine if it has been “hacked” – or jailbroken
• potentially remotely wipe your device without your consent
• possibly log your keystrokes and GPS co-ordinates
• take a biometric measurement of your “heart signature” and “vibration profile”

I don’t think I care what the technology is “supposed” to be used for, and I know I don’t care that Apple may think that this technology is in my own best interest. This sort of profiling has no place on a personal device. I don’t think anyone has the need for this level of supposed security. This makes Facebook privacy issues appear tame, in my opinion.

What do you think? If this patent goes through would you get an iPhone or iPad? Would you keep the one you already have?

EFF slams Apple patent as traitorware: Jobs is spying on you? [Computerworld]

Steve Jobs Is Watching You: Apple Seeking to Patent Spyware [EFF.org]

As a marketing professional, I understand the importance of protecting brand identity. I get that it means dollars, and that any infringement upon or blanding of a company’s identity can, in the long run, have a negative effect on that company’s bottom line. I understand that a company as culturally dominating as Facebook has to worry about their brand becoming so “household” that their trademark can become non-enforceable (“google” anything lately?) — but does that give them the right to demand that an upcoming social network for teachers remove the word “book” from its name?

Teachbook is currently being sued by Facebook, who is demanding that Teachbook change its name. On the one hand, I can see their point: Teachbook is a social network and it is unlikely that this social network has not heard of Facebook. It follows, then, that Teachbook is “riding the coattails” of Facebook’s popularity and using the brand recognition generated by the social giant to establish recognition within their own niche. Facebook views this as a dilution of their brand name, and also thinks that Teachbook’s use of the word “book” could create false impressions of a relationship between the two social networks.

It all sounds pretty reasonable, really, when viewed from that standpoint. However, does being a monstrously huge, globe-spanning force of a company give all encompassing power and control over the word “book”? If you take one look at Teachbook , you will never confuse it with Facebook, nor will you really consider that there might be a relationship between the two. Also, consider the fact that there are other social networks out there already using the word book in their name, such as Doctorsbook and, erm, F@#$book (note the tasteful censorship, here… feel free to google your own link – and yes I used Google as a verb on purpose). No lawsuits have been levied against these companies. If Facebook is trying to make a point of keeping their brand from dilution, why not start there? They have had ample opportunity to set their precedent elsewhere, before their lawsuit against Teachbook.

So what do you think?

Is Facebook within their rights, here, or are they going too far to protect their brand? Should they make an example of this itty bitty social network for teachers — or just bow down to the realities of their hugeness and take it as flattery? Perhaps this is just another example of Facebook’s quest to control the internet? Maybe Teachbook should have just started a Facebook group or Page and bought Facebook ad credits.

You tell us.

It’s become apparent that every service on the web wants us to be better friends.  Why else would so many be pushing the social networking thing?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to share my favorite everything with every person I’ve ever met (and in many cases with millions whom I have not met).  Well, if I want to distance myself from all things social, then it seems that I may be an outlier in the U.S.

Back in June, Experian Simmons produced a report detailing trends in social networking.  Its finds were pretty amazing.  Steve Rubel summarized the data and provided some analysis on his blog.  It’s an interesting read and explains why I feel like everyone from my mailman to my middle school principal wants to friend me.  According to the report, most people use social services, and use them quite often.

For the record, I do not want to be poked by anyone.

Being a tech fanatic can be a bit disheartening if you’re not in a tech job.  You’re aware of all sorts of great tech tools, but have no reason to use them (hello, Google Wave).  Some tech apps, though, actually are useful in non-tech jobs.  Here’s our take on five of them.  Do you have some tech tools that you use in a job that isn’t tech-focused?  If so, let us know in the comments.

Texter

Texter is a free text expansion tool from one of the editors of Lifehacker.  The idea behind Texter is that, instead of typing certain words or phrases that you use with some regularity, you set a string of characters along with a trigger.  Typing those characters and the trigger will cause Texter to automatically type the full word or phrase.  For example, if I type the letters “thx”, followed by a space (my trigger), Texter will automatically type “Thanks.”  You could also use Texter to have easy access to multiple email signatures.

Anyone with a job that involves typing should check out Texter, to see if it helps.  Texter normally must be installed on your computer, but if that isn’t an option for you on a work PC, there is also a portable version that you can install on a thumb drive.  If you want to use the same keystrokes on all your computers, then install Texter into your Dropbox folder to keep it in sync.

Be warned that some users report problems with Texter on Windows 7.  I’m on Windows 7, though, and it works fine for me.

Evernote

No list of useful apps would be complete without Evernote.  For the uninitiated, Evernote is a notetaking and archiving application.  That description really doesn’t do it justice, though.  Since you can dump almost any piece of information into Evernote via a wide variety of methods, Evernote can be your external brain.  Capture your info, and then access it on a variety of platforms.

How you use Evernote will depend on your job, but it is hard to imagine an office job that wouldn’t benefit from Evernote .  If you’re a lawyer, you can use it to archive information and research.  Find a case or article you might need in the future?  Clip it or forward it into Evernote, and then tag it for future reference.  Want to keep your expense reports somewhere that you can reach them with ease?  Use Evernote.  Do you have seminar notes cluttering your office or filing cabinet, but don’t want to get rid of them?  Scan them into Evernote, and they’ll be searchable thanks to Evernote’s OCR.  Are you a programmer?  Use Evernote to store code snippets.

These tips just scratch the surface.  If you use Evernote on the job, let us know how in the comments.

If you have restrictions on what you can install on your work computer, Evernote can be used via a web app.  For best results, though, you’ll want to install the Windows or Mac version.

Toodledo, Producteev, or Another Task Manager

If you work for someone else, and aren’t required to use a particular piece of software, then there are a wide variety of task managers available out there.  Many of these are more versatile and feature-filled than the sometimes lame offering you might have at the office.

We’ve looked at several task managers here at 40Tech.  Two of our favorites are Toodledo and Producteev, but we’ve also liked Glasscubes, ReQall, and Action Method Online.  We’ve even written about how to use Evernote as a productivity tool.

Trust us on this – there is a task manager out there that will click with you, and give you that “aha!” moment.  If the one you’re using doesn’t do it for you, there are options.  All of the above-mentioned task managers are web apps, meaning that a strict computer policy at your office shouldn’t be a problem.

Google Voice

The obvious use case for Google Voice is to make free calls, which any business would love.  But Google Voice can also be used to give you some separation from work and play, by avoiding the perils of caller ID.  If you ever work from home and need to make some calls, but don’t think your spouse would appreciate your clients discovering your home number, get a Google Voice account.  Tie your Voice number to your home number, but set it to “do not disturb,” or, better yet, set it to forward incoming calls to your office phone.  This, of course, is for those of you with jobs where 24/7 client service isn’t the norm, and where you also don’t want to give out your cell phone number.  Now you can call clients from home, and need not worry about your spouse answering the phone and having a friendly chat with a client who discovered your number via caller ID.

Google Docs

Most workplaces require its employees to use a particular word processor.  This is understandable, from a security point of view – employers don’t want important documents floating out there, out of their control.  But you still may be able to use Google Docs, depending on your situation.

Do you use any outlines or other recurring documents that don’t contain confidential client data?  If so, consider using Google Docs for this.  You may want to keep your primary copy on your office network, but not all office networks are easily accessible outside of the office.  Since Google Docs can be accessed from any computer, you can be productive and access these documents from outside the office, with just a few clicks.

Before trying any of these tools, you should make sure that you are aware of your company’s computer policy.  We wouldn’t want you to cause any problems for yourself, or your employer.  But, if permitted, give these tools a try if you haven’t already.

Better yet, tell us – what tools do you use in your job?

If you’re a blogger who uses FeedBurner for your RSS feed, have you noticed occasional FeedBurner glitches that result in large fluctuations in the number of reported subscribers for your site?  We sure have.  Numbers seem to have stabilized lately, but it isn’t uncommon to read complaints from bloggers whose subscriber counts have fluctuated dramatically on occasion.  Some bloggers that are considering publishing their subscriber count might hesitate to do so when they realize how erratic these numbers can be when the inevitable glitch strikes.

The site Cats Who Blog has some PHP code you can use in a WordPress blog to take an average of your subscriber count for 7 days, and publish it on your site.  The site also provides instructions on how to use a different time window, if you want a time period other than 7 days.  The site also explains how to get round numbers, and what will display on the site:

On my sidebar, I’m using my “average feed readers” function to display an estimate of my RSS readers. In order to have a better display, I have replaced the last two numbers by zeros and added a plus sign.

This way, if I have 1287 readers, you’ll see “1200+ readers” instead.

Hit the link for full instructions.

How to Get a More Relevant Feedburner Count [Cats Who Blog]

If you are thinking about buying nearly anything, you can go on-line and compare the attributes, warranties, and reviews of the product or service- apples to apples as they say.  Have you ever tried to do this with a share of stock in a company?  Tell me, is it a better investment to buy a share of stock in GE, or in Exxon?  Which company has made a higher return for its investors, Dunkin Donuts or Home Depot?  Even if you can’t answers these questions, you still have to make an investment decision regarding each contribution you make to your 401(k).  Do you do what most people do- people pick something and hope?  Now there is a better way.

In January of 2009 the Securities and Exchange Commission put out rules that went into effect this year that require companies to file “eXtensible Business Reporting Language” data, referred to as XBRL, with their financial reports.  The first round of companies has just started submitting data, so let’s take a moment to talk about the technology and its potential.

The XBRL data works like XML data tagging for the internet.  XML data tags each piece of text, so that once it is defined it can be manipulated but still be identifiable.  Think of it as a sticker that you put on a book that identifies it as your book.  You can loan the book to a friend, and even if that friend donates the book to a local library, the tag is carried with it so that you can pull it off the shelf and quickly identify it as your book.  XBRL tags define each financial number that a company reports.  So, once the definition for each number is standardized, you can compare the data to the data of other companies.  You can manipulate the data in financial models, and still identify not only what the number represents, but which company it pertains to.  With this information, anyone with some computer knowledge will be able to answer questions such as which company actually makes more money per dollar invested, and which company has performed better for the year.

There are a lot of other cool things that can come of XBRL as more and more companies are required to adopt the technology through the phase-in period, and as it develops further.  I particularly like comparing executive compensation numbers across companies.  It can be a very eye-opening perspective, especially when you overlay that with the company’s performance.  Another use that you might find interesting is to evaluate if you really want to hold a mutual fund or company’s stock in your 401(k).  You can additionally compare the financial information of multiple companies over a defined period, much like you look at a player’s history before the Fantasy Football draft to get an idea of how he might play this year.

If you’d like to check out a demonstration of how it works, click here for the SEC’s sample engine, here for a dead simple real-world example, or here for Bowne’s rendering engine that really lets you tweak the information and build charts for certain companies.

As I said, more data is becoming available on companies every day.  The SEC even has an XBRL RSS feed if you want to be notified as soon as new XBRL data becomes available.

The technology is still very young, but the potential for it is huge.  Stock is a commodity, so why can’t it be more like comparing flat-screen televisions or cars?  With XBRL and just a tiny bit of technological know-how, now it can be.

For a further description of how it works and what you can do with it in a pretty creative video format check out this video on YouTube.

XBRL in plain-English [JustSystems, via YouTube]