CourseCast of the Week

Episode 118, 09/12/2009

Title/Description: Wireless Boost, Facebook vs. Twitter

Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the Week, Episode 118, recorded September 12th, 2009. This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information. This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.cengage.com/coursetechnology for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions. Visit the CourseCasts Website at coursecasts.course.com where you will find links to the full stories covered in this CourseCast, related discussion questions for use in your technology courses, and the CourseCast Archives.

And now the news…

Story 1: Wireless Boost from AT&T

AT&T is rolling out a technology upgrade to HSPA 7.2 that will double the speed of its wireless network. AT&T customers in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Charlotte will be the first to experience the speed boost over the next few months, with most other cities being upgraded over the next two years. Starting next year, AT&T will begin testing an even speedier technology called LTE for Long Term Evolution, which could increase speeds by more than 20 times current rates. AT&T has taken a lot of flack recently for not being able to accommodate the data transfer demands of iPhone users. Most other cellular carriers are also experimenting with LTE or WiMAX in order to compete in the rapidly approaching 4G cellular battle that will revolutionize mobile computing.

• AT&T to Speed Its Network in 6 Cities by Year-End [NYTimes]

Story 2: Facebook vs. Twitter, the Battle Heats Up

A new "Lite" version of Facebook which was designed for developing countries is becoming popular with some existing Facebook users. The version features core Facebook services without any of the third party apps. Lite.facebook.com is perfect for Facebook users looking to escape automated messages from users of games and polls. You might say it provides a more Twitter-like experience especially when paired with a new feature that allows users to tag friends in status updates.

• Elgan: Why you'll love Facebook Lite [Computerworld]
• BREAKING: Facebook Introduces @Mentions in Status Updates [Mashable]

News Briefs

• Apple has rolled out a major update for iTunes and upgraded its iPod product line, including the addition of a video camera to the tiny iPod Nano.
  Apple refreshes iPod line-up, cuts prices, retools iTunes [Computerworld]
• Hasbro has partnered with Google to create Monopoly City Streets. This online version of the classic game, uses Google maps and street view to turn the entire world into a monopoly board. Try it yourself at monopolycitystreets.com
  Gamer alert: Monopoly uses Google Maps to go live online [Computerworld]
• Palm has announced that it will soon release the Pixi, a slightly smaller version of the recently released iPhone competitor the Palm Pre. The Palm Pixi includes social networking features that are expected to be popular with college age users.
  The Palm Pixi is official, headed to Sprint this holiday season -- we've got hands-on and video! [Engadget]
• The Newspaper Association of America has solicited the tech industry for ideas on how to save the fledgling newspaper industry. Responses from IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and others include suggestions to start charging for online news, and to embrace targeted advertising.
  Can All the Tech Giants Put Newspapers Back Together Again? [Ecommerce Times]
• Intel has released the first Nehalem chips designed for the mainstream PC market. The Core i5-750 is a quad-core processor faster and more power-efficient than its predecessors, with robust support for high-speed, and computationally intense graphics. Watch for the Intel Core i5-750 to start appearing in new desktop PC specs.
  Intel releases first Nehalem chip for mainstream PCs [Computerworld]
• Twitter has modified its terms of service to explicitly state that what user's tweet remains the user's intellectual property.
  Twitter: Your 'tweets' belong to you [Computerworld]

That's it for this week's CourseCasts. Email me with your comments and suggestions for the show at coursecasts@gmail.com. Let me know how you use CourseCasts in your classes and I'll give you and your school a shout out on my next CourseCast. Until next time have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!