iPad Competitors?

From Tim Cook, Chief Operating Office of Apple regarding iPad competitors:

Then you have the Android tablets, and the variety that are out shipping today, the operating system wasn’t really designed for a tablet, and Google has said this. This is not just an Apple view by any means. And so you wind up having a size of tablet that is less than what we believe is reasonable or even one that would provide what we feel is a “real tablet experience.” So basically you wind up with a scaled-up smartphone, which is a bizarre product, in our view.

So those are the two that are shipping today, and frankly speaking, it’s hard for me to understand, if somebody does a side-by-side with an iPad, I think some enormous percentage of people are going to select an iPad there. Those are not tablets that we have any concern on.

Seems that's "business-speak" for "We don't have any competition."

Source: http://bit.ly/dLxkD2

iLife '11 Update for iDVD 7.1.1

 

 iDVD 7.1.1 is a 34MB update that improves stability and brings compatibility for sending slideshows from iPhoto ’11 to iDVD. Though this update targets an issue relating to iPhoto ’11, Apple recommends it for all users of iDVD 7, which was bundled with iLife ’09 and iLife ’08.

Both updates are available via the support pages linked above, but they should also be waiting in Software Update.

Source: http://bit.ly/ehSqJC 

 

Let's Cut Education Spending in California

Let's cut spending for education in California.

I'm a life-long, California public school educator, and I propose a $500,000,000 cut (that's 1/2 Billion) to education in California. But the cut is specifically for and only to cut out the High School Exit Exam (HSEE). $500 million is the YEARLY estimated cost of running that boondoggle program.
What will we give up? Nothing. The most recent research on exit exams, done by the University of Texas, concluded that high school exit exams do not lead to more college attendance, do not lead to increased student learning or do not lead to higher employment. So let's cut $500,000,000 out of the HSEE only.

Education Reform?

Pricilla Gutierrez posted this on HuffPost. It says it all.

In this empire of illusion that has come to be America, the corporate owned media ensure that slick propaganda, misinformation, and sound bytes pass for journalistic reporting, and the America public buy it hook, line and sinker.
Market driven approaches have one goal in mind: increased profit with minimal outlay of capital. Inside job is exactly what is going on in education. No other profession would be expected to allow outsiders to come in and dictate what defines performance and how it will be assessed e.g. let's have a group of bankers decide what the standard for firemen should be or how many criminals each cop should catch to be considered effective.
We hail Finland as a model, but have no intention of incorporating any of their approaches because teachers form an integral part of assessment and curricular decisions, and the Finnish public consider teaching one of the most sought-after professions because of the influence and prestige associated with education.

Here in the U.S., quick, bubble-in testing now passes for accountability. Teachers have been branded the enemy who no longer can be trusted. Parents have been branded as incapable of making sound decisions about their child's education. And scripted curricula that demand "fidelity" ensure the assembly line of education can be controlled.

Clearly, what is currently passing for education reform is nothing more than smoke and mirrors designed to increase profit, control curriculum, and stupidify American education.”

Source: Huffington Post