We’ve got the first assignment in the Journalist’s Toolkit class, and it’s all about audio. We broke up into teams of two or three and recorded interviews with one another using an Olympus recorder. Now, we must edit it down to a 60-90 second recording using Audacity. The hardest part, oddly enough, was getting the files converted from WMA to WAV format. It’s interesting–there are scores of programs out there that will happily move files from one graphics format to another, but a much smaller number that will deal gracefully with audio.

We’re going to be turning our assignments in using web space provided by UF–I’ll put links here so you can watch/listen and let me know what you think.

I’ve found another interesting note-taking tool…more on that next time.

Categories: Grad School, Software
No Comments »

Since this is my first stint in journalism school, I don’t have any basis for figuring out whether things have changed in the last decade. I know that the practice of journalism has changed (at least in my little corner of the journalistic world) as we’ve moved from ink on paper as our only story-telling medium to ink/bits/pixels/handshakes/soundwaves on whatever will deliver them to the audience. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, though as I remember back to BYTE and Circuit Cellar INK our lives were somewhat calmer. Oh, well.

I started thinking about this when I was pointed at this article on the changes at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. (Thanks to Mitch Wagner for the pointer.) As I read the article, a big part of me was asking, “What’s the big deal?” In my world, telling stories in a bunch of different ways is just part of the job, and there’s no shame in knowing who your audience is and what they need from your publication. I’ve been on the staff of publications that required editors to make regular reader calls–going down the list of subscribers and calling, say, 20 readers a month to find out how their lives were going, what they needed to know, and what their big concerns and issues were. I have trouble seeing this kind of knowledge as a bad thing.

Of course, some folks see the move to know the audience and think about different ways of telling stories as a short, slippery slope that leads directly to this kind of foolishness. What’s wrong with the Naples class? It’s hard to know where to start. How about here: I’m not that far removed from being the parent of a high-school student. In programs like band, each student was responsible for part of the cost of the program, but there were lots of opportunities to raise the money. I’m not thrilled about telling students they must do one particular fund-raising activity–I’m even less thrilled about tying it to a grade. Next comes the confusion of roles between journalists and sales folks in publishing. Now, if the class was simply called “The Newspaper”, and everyone did a bit of everything, then a strong case could be made for sales being a part of the mix–but that is, apparently, not the case. If you’re not part of the industry, here’s the deal: Salesmen don’t write stories, and journalists don’t sell ads. It’s a good system that keeps everyone honest and most people fairly happy. Finally, though, is the sheer cluelessness of the teacher who thought this would get no notice and no criticism.  That may be the most disturbing piece of the puzzle.

My goals don’t include teaching high school anything, but the discussions about how journalism should be taught are interesting, because they speak to what different people think journalism should be–and that’s a worthy (and changing) topic for discussion pretty much any time.

Categories: Grad School, Media
No Comments »

No, it doesn’t replace the InfoWorld job, but it’s an addition: I’m the new technology columnist for the Gainesville Sun, our local newspaper here in the land of ‘gators. You can see the inaugural column here. I’ll be writing about a mix of things (and I’d love suggestions), with technology for families, students, and small businesses getting the heaviest roles in the rotation.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a bunch of stuff to write, edit, read, and record. For some reason, my life seems to be getting busy…

Categories: Consumer Technology, Media
No Comments »

One of the skills I need to improve is my photography. I do get some decent shots, but the ratio of good to bad isn’t as great as I’d like. I found a link to the Nikon Digital Learning Center, and found what looks like a very helpful group of folks. I’m looking forward to getting some help and learning to take better photos–who knows, the improvement might be enough to help me get higher grades on my photo projects.

Categories: Consumer Technology, Grad School, Media
No Comments »

As I’ve been putting together the list of things I use to keep up with various topics, I realized that I haven’t mentioned one of the tools I use most often–a notebook system. Levenger sells it, calling it Circa, and I’ve bought all mine from them. They don’t make it, though–the manufacturer calls it Rollabind, and sells it for a bit less money than Levenger. The biggest difference between the two company’s offering is, I think, the paper they use to fill the notebook: Levenger sells very nice paper.

I like the fact that I can put letter-sized paper, junior-sized paper, 3 x 5 cards, and pretty much anything else in the notebook. I have the paper punches to put handouts or other reference pages in the notebooks along with the filler paper, and find the system makes it much easier for me to keep everything together.

What I haven’t figured out, yet, is whether I’m going to ultimately take notes in long-hand and transfer them to a computer file, or just keep typing in class. Once upon a time, transcribing my notes into typed form (yeah, that tells you how long ago this was) formed an important part of fixing information in my head. I don’t know whether that’s still the case, or not. More when I find out…

Categories: Grad School
No Comments »

Out of the scores of degree programs offered at the University of Florida, why did I decide to spend my time studying journalism? It wasn’t a slam-dunk: I considered degrees centered on ecology or natural resources. In the end, though, journalism was the best combination of past and future, with enough flexibility to let me explore some new things.

Another significant consideration is my belief that journalism is important. There are a lot of stories that need to be told, and journalists say that we have the commitment and skills to tell them. Right now, of course, there are plenty of folks who say that journalism has no real future. I think they’re wrong. Articles like this one make me feel a bit more confident in my opinion.  I’m old enough to remember many things that aren’t part of journalism today–galley proofs, finding the art department by following the aroma of beeswax, and wire-service machines with their long rolls of bad paper among them. I know journalism is changing, but I think the change can be a good thing and I want to be part of the world of good journalism to come.

There will be much more later, but thanks for reading–I hope I can keep the journey interesting for you. I know it’s going to be most interesting for me…

Categories: Grad School
No Comments »

OK, so I know it’s well after the first day, but I’ve been busy. The good news: both classes seem interesting and I believe I’ll learn quite a bit in each one. Theory of Mass Communications should be the most “different” than I’m accustomed to, since I’ve spent relatively little time on theory (at least as it concerns journalism) during the last 20 years. Journalist’s Toolkit 1 is much more hands-on, and it looks like it will be a mix of techniques I’ve used during the last five years or so and those that are new to me. I hope that the project pages will be up on publicly-accessible URLs–if so, I’ll post links here.

Now, for a couple of things that are different between now and when I last sat in the classroom as a student:

Computers–I was able to take notes in both classes on my laptop (using ZuluPad Pro). When last I was a student, there really weren’t any laptop computers. A Kaypro, Compaq, or Osborne portable would have ripped the little wooden desktop right off the chair. It’s possible I’ll go back to taking notes on paper, because the act of transcribing my notes from hand-written into typed form was once a key part of my study routine. I hope I can keep notes on the computer, though, since that would be considerably faster and easier. We’ll see.

Libraries–Long ago, if you needed access to a document you didn’t own, you went to a library, found a bundle of paper, and read it. I may still do some of that, but the first group of reading for both classes is available on-line. Cool. The mass comm library is a nice place with librarians who seem friendly–I’m sure I’ll end up doing a lot of work there, if for no other reason than they have four important things: padded chair, tables with power strips, wireless Internet, and air conditioning.

The most pleasant surprise (so far) has been my classmates. I’ve already found a couple of folks who share both classes and a great number of interests in common. They are, of course, younger than I am. That’s OK–both my professors are younger than me, too. I’ve learned that age isn’t nearly as important as attitude and interest, so I’m looking forward to getting to know a bunch of these people much better. There’s a picnic on the 9th–that should be a good step forward.

Categories: Grad School
No Comments »

OK, the big day is here…I get to sit in a university classroom as a student for the first time in 24 years. I’ll be blogging about the experience of working on graduate degrees in mass communications, with (I hope) special attention on the tools and technologies involved.

Last week was orientation, and I learned a number of interesting things. Among them:

There are over 10,150 graduate students at the University of Florida

Of those, 10,000+ students, 7 are entering the master’s program in journalism.

A number of people have asked why I’m doing this, and the simplest answer is that I’d like to be able to teach at the college level. I’ve always enjoyed working with young writers, and I believe I could help people become better journalists. There are other reasons, of course, and one of them is that this is a very exciting time to be a journalist. Heaven knows there are stories begging to be told, and the ways they can be told keep expanding. I’m fascinated by the “class warfare” that’s broken out between those who blog and those who don’t (I suspect you can tell which side I’m on), and would like to help figure out ways to keep everyone who commits journalism on the same side. Jay Rosen’s piece in the L.A. Times has good examples of the good work bloggers can do–we just need much more of the good work.

There will be more later in the day…this is going to be quite the adventure.

Technorati Tags: journalism, university, graduate, blog

Categories: Grad School, Media
No Comments »

I had a long conversation about the Storm Worm this morning, and it’s certainly having an impact on various organizations around the Internet. In talking about Internet security, though, we missed an obvious threat: guns. Apparently, someone shot up a fiber-optic cable near Cleveland, causing a major disruption that cascaded across Internet backbones. I can hardly wait to see how the security vendors react to this one…

Technorati Tags: security, internet

Categories: Security
No Comments »

PC Magazine, the publication Jim Louderback has helmed for the last couple of years, has always been a staunch supporter of whatever Microsoft’s been doing lately. Now, Jim’s leaving, and as he changes roles he’s writing about a change in opinion. He doesn’t like Vista. I have to say, I agree with him on his major points, and have several of my own to add.

I moved to Vista on my Gateway laptop as soon as the OS became available. After using Microsoft’s latest for most of 2007, I’ve come to a solid conclusion: This software isn’t ready. I’m not positive I’d put it into final beta status, but it certainly isn’t a general release candidate. Promised features don’t work (see: sleep mode), drivers from key hardware and software partners don’t work, and the overall experience is much closer to rock climbing than rock steady. My latest adventure came after the most recent Vista updates, when my machine took to blasting off into blue-screen hell at every boot. It took several days of wrestling with Vista and ATI to return to something like normalcy, and I know that another Patch Tuesday is coming.

Microsoft became so fixed on making a ship date that they released software that isn’t consumer-ready. They shouldn’t have done it, and the fact that so many computers continue to be sold with Windows XP installed illustrates the extent to which customers and hardware partners recognize the very real limitations of Vista.

The truly frustrating thing is that it’s an OS with promise. There are many features I like (or, at least, I think I’d like if they worked), and the interface tweaks between Vista and Office 2007 make for an acceptable way of working. A few folks are looking at Linux as an alternative to Vista, but Linux remains an operating system with a high-geek perception. I know that recent distros have made great strides in ease of installation and use, but the general perception is that Linux is “too hard” for most consumers to try. I still think it would make for most interesting times in the computer industry if Apple were to release the next version of MacOS as a retail product for installation on pretty much any Intel-based computer. I know I’d install it, and I would recommend it to a lot of people who ask for my input on computer purchases. That’s something I can’t do with Vista right now: I will not recommend it to anyone who needs a computing platform that’s reliable and business-ready. I truly hope Microsoft can fix the myriad problems sooner, rather than later, but so far they’re giving few signs of moving in that direction.

Technorati Tags: Vista, XP, linux, MacOS

Categories: Consumer, Enterprise, General computing
No Comments »

I mentioned a while back that I am going to graduate school. This week was orientation–a most fascinating experience–and classes start next week. Since I’m going to be working full time (including a new gig that I’ll write about soon), I’ve been looking for the tools and tips that will help keep me sane and productive while I do a bunch of things. Here are some of the things I’ve found:

I’m going to try ZuluPad for taking notes. It looks like a rather nifty affair, and since the price is right, I’ll probably go ahead and try the Pro version. I’ll let you know how it works out, but so far it looks promising. Why not just take notes in Word? The big reason is that Word has so many features it tends to get in your way when all you want to do is type.  I’m sure I could just use NoteTab Pro, which is my standard application for text and simple HTML editing, but it’s another very full app and, frankly, I just like trying new stuff.

I’m completely thrilled that AirSet has finally released a beta version that synchronizes with Microsoft Office 2007. Carol and I like AirSet for pulling our calendars together, and I’ve missed it since upgrading to Office 2007. There are a bunch of caveats that accompany the beta version, but it seems to be working pretty well, so far.

When it comes to paper, I’m sold on two things: 3 x 5 cards, and Circa notebooks. The Circa system just works beautifully for pulling lots of things together (including 3 x 5 cards), and it’s a pleasure to use for various projects. I’ve carried a bunch of PDAs, but for nearly 20 years I’ve rarely left the house without a small stack of 3 x 5 cards in my hip pocket. I carry them in a Levenger pocket briefcase that, unfortunately, they no longer make. When this one wears out (and it’s well beyond the “patina” stage now), I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

Another tool that I’ve come to depend on is Microsoft OneNote. Brian Chee introduced me to OneNote several years ago, and it took me a while to figure out how to really make good use of the software, but it has become a lifesaver since I’ve been working on a bunch of different on-line research projects. I’ve moved to the Office 2007 version, and it’s making my life much easier. This is one of the packages that I don’t feel bad recommending to a lot of people–if your work life involves a lot of research from Internet sources, OneNote is a Very Good Thing.

I have many more questions than answers at this point. I don’t know how professors will feel about taking notes on a keyboard (especially since I’m told that I pound the crap out of the keys), I’m not sure how collaboration with my fellow students will work out, and I don’t know how I’ll end up splitting my campus/office time. More on all those, and a whole lot more, after things really get rolling.

Technorati Tags: productivity, tools, notes, college

Categories: Consumer, General computing
6 Comments »

So I’m a big fan of iGoogle, but ran into an issue with my new job at InfoWorld: there are Google productivity features that the team uses to coordinate activities, but we’re supposed to use an account based on our InfoWorld information, rather than our personal Google accounts. Fair enough, but I like to keep calendars and such open, and Google says that you can only be logged in to one account at a time. What’s a geek to do?
Well this geek started playing around and found that you can log in to two separate accounts as long as you use two separate browsers. Now, I use IE 7 for the work accounts and FireFox for the personal information, and everything seems to be working fine. If I can keep from having a third group that requires a separate account, I should be in good shape.

Technorati Tags: Google, productivity

Categories: Consumer, Software
2 Comments »