Author: TechCommGeekMom

I saw this as a suggestion on Facebook as something to follow. This is a lot better than some of the other suggestions I’ve gotten from it! This looks like a great learning tool. It can help little ones learn the basics of coding, and can be used straight through adulthood to learn coding. I’m tempted to get one for my family! I think my son would think it’s too baby-ish, but I’d get it for me!  This looks like it could be a great geek toy. Too bad it’s not being sent out until the summer! Looks like it will have to be for next Christmas instead. 

–techcommgeekmom

I saw that Val Swisher had posted this on LinkedIn. Excellent article that affects all technical communicators, not just the content managers. One of the reasons that I try to stay involved in social media is so that I know what the latest "lingo" of the trade is, and terminology of responsibilities, requirements, and even job titles gets confusing. Case in point: my brother is an architect. What kind? The kind that draws and creates buildings–physical structures like office buildings, houses, and airports. Because "architect" is used so much in the IT world now, he’s had to figure out how to change his job description because of "information architects" and the like. Not that IAs should change their titles, but the point is that as content changes, and the strategy and management of said content changes, terminology is going to change. Val talks about that in detail here very well, as she always does. 

Definitely read this article. 

–techcommgeekmom

I have to say, I agree with this article. Microsoft used to be the powerhouse software company, and now, it’s just…not. There are good people working at Microsoft, mind you, but I think a few at the top (some of whom have left or asked to leave) mucked things up. Like Steve Jobs did with Apple, I think the original visionary needs to come back and straighten up the mess. Bill’s had a chance to look at things from the outside as well as the inside, so I’m sure he can provide the insight to get the company back to its former glory. (And even though I’m a huge iPad and iPhone fan, I’m still a PC girl. Can’t help it.)

–techcommgeekmom

This seems like a fairly cool little gadget. While there are plenty of stylus tools out there for iPad, this one is made for the Paper app, which is a fairly popular drawing app. I like how it has the ability to act almost like a real pencil in that you can write AND erase with it, and use it as if it were a real pencil. As it says at the bottom of the article, just image if it could be used in other apps eventually for note taking and such. Yes, good old fashioned paper and pen/pencil can do the trick too, but this is the next stage of making it more like a "real" experience as compared to the stylus tools we are currently used to using. I can see where this would be great for kids, albeit an expensive one, but at least there would be no mess when the artwork was done! It would also be a good tool for kids who need a little help with fine motor skills, since it’s a slightly chunky tool, so there would be better grip while the kids could use the iPad. 

–techcommgeekmom

Have you seen this? Check out the video on this website. This definitely looks like interesting technology. I’m very tempted to be an early adopter for this. Heaven knows I carry too much myself, and I wouldn’t mind finding a way to not carry so much information via so many cards. This really looks cool!

–techcommgeekmom