Did you know that 250 million Android products are activated each year. That’s more than double the activations of iPads and iPhones put together.
That means an Android device is activated nearly as much as Big Macs are eaten.
Read on for more interesting stuff in this infographic.
Telautograph (1888) Using a special pen connected to wires that tracked the pen’s position on paper, the telautograph sent handwritten messages via telegraph. Image courtesy of jmcvey.net . Click here to view this gallery. For many people, Apple ‘s iPad is a magical device that appeared out of thin air. The iPad , however, is the culmination of decades of advancements in a variety of technologies. Come along as we take a look at some of the milestones in the evolution of the best selling tech gadget in history . Touchy Beginnings The iPad’s multi-touch screen is the descendant of a wide range of stylus-based input technologies, starting from early handwriting recognition to miniature Monets on the family’s Commodore 64. 1888 — Using a special pen connected to wires that tracked the pen’s position on paper, the telautograph sent handwritten messages via telegraph. The recorded positions were transmitted to another pen on the receiving telautograph, that would recreate the message or drawing. Not only was this the birth of handwriting recognition, but also the fax machine. 1964 — Designed without a keyboard, the 10 by 10-inch RAND Tablet let computer users choose menu options, draw diagrams and even write software using only a digital stylus. It cost about $18,000 (~$130,000 today), so its use was very limited. 1979 — The Graphics Tablet for the Apple II was the first tablet released for the home market
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Tablet History: 14 Devices That Laid the Groundwork for the iPad
Via The Guardian:
From video marking to Second Life, technology is transforming the options for online students There’s not a red pen in sight when Russell Stannard marks his master’s students’ essays – but it’s not because the students never make mistakes. Stannard doesn’t use a pen, or even paper, to give his students feedback. Instead – and in keeping with his role as principal lecturer in multimedia and ICT – he turns on his computer, records himself marking the work on-screen, then emails his students the video. When students open the video, they can hear Stannard’s voice commentary as well as watch him going through the process of marking. The resulting feedback is more comprehensive than the more conventional notes scrawled in the margin, and Stannard, who works at the University of Westminster, now believes it has the potential to revolutionise distance learning. “It started when I began to realise how useful technology can be for teaching,” he says. “I wanted to help other teachers, as well as general computer-users, to learn how to use tools like podcasting, PowerPoint and BlackBoard, software that a lot of schools and universities use to allow teachers to provide course material and communicate with students online.” Follow the mouse So he set up a site to teach people how to use the technology, providing simple, video tutorials where users watch Stannard’s mouse pointing out how to use the software, with his voice providing constant commentary. He used the screen-videoing software Camtasia, and the site rapidly took off: it now receives more than 10,000 hits a month. Then he started considering integrating the teaching style into his own university work. “I was mainly teaching students on master’s courses in media and technology, and I realised that while I was talking about the benefits of new technology, I should be making the most of the opportunity to use it,” says Stannard. “That’s when I had the idea of video marking. It was immediately well received. Students receive both aural and visual feedback – and while we always talk about different learning styles, there are also benefits to receiving feedback in different ways.” Stannard says the technology is particularly useful for dyslexic students, who appreciate the spoken commentary, and students learning English as a foreign language. “I started my teaching career in language learning, so I quickly realised that students learning English would benefit from video marking. They can replay the videos as many times as they like and learn more about reasons for their mistakes.” Stannard also believes video marking is “perfect” for distance-learning students. “It brings them much closer to the teacher,” he says. “They can listen, see and understand how the teacher is marking their piece, why specific comments have been made, and so on.” The technology is already being used for informal distance learning, as Stannard uploads the videos he makes for his lectures at Westminster to multimedia trainingvideos.com.
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From video marking to Second Life, technology is transforming the options for online students