The new Google Docs

Coming to a university near you?
Click on the picture to see a video on YouTube on the new version of Google Docs.

More coverage of SJSU layoffs

I am a union steward at SJSU and I have more coverage of the planned layoff of about ten percent of the support staff at SJSU here on my union blog.

Layoff notices hit SJSU

According to the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal SJSU is going to cut, "approximately 76 staff members and reassign 48 more in accordance with labor agreements effective July 1." Some employees are being brought in at 1:00 p.m. today to be given the news. The Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal said:

Facing a projected 2010-2011 shortfall of at least $18 million, San Jose State University said Thursday it will implement layoffs, eliminate vacant positions and reduce spending on part-time temporary faculty members. [Read More]

It is my personal hope that the situation will improve when the Leg Analyst office announces it's May revise in mid-May.

Links

• CSUEU Know Your Rights flyer on layoffs [PDF]
  
• Unit 9 News Post: An online newsletter for and about members of Bargaining Unit 9, represented by the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU).
• SJSU President: Layoffs "Part of Our Planning"
• San José State University Budget Update 4/15/2010 (San José State University News)
• San José State Announces Non-Faculty Layoffs (San José State University news release)
• Contract Article 24: Layoff
• Full CSU-CSUEU Contract
• CSUEU Chapter 307: San José

Will iPad world be dominated by native or Web apps?

It is too soon to tell
It has not (yet) been resolved, the device is too new and frankly the killer 3G version has not yet been shipped. It is not known whether native apps (iPhone type apps developed using Objective C and Cocoa) or Web apps (like Google Docs and Calendar) will dominate in the iPad world.

A lot of folks are assuming that iPad utilization will be like IPhone utilization with folks using native apps predominately on the iPad, like folks do on the iPhone today. I think this will be the case in the short term, as these devices are viewed as big iPhones in the iPhone paradigm.

I am not sure that is the case for the long term, though. Just because the device runs the iPhone OS does not mean these are iPhones. Perhaps the iPhone paradigm will dominate when the devices are used for content consumption (like books, movies and the like.)

But, I also suspect you are going to see more folks using these devices as thin clients in a cloud computing model. The larger screen enables much more functionality for using Web applications in the cloud (with local caching, like Google Gears.) Ubiquitous connectivity using 3G + WiFi makes it practical.

That is why I am waiting for the 3G model. Comparing an iPad with WiFi to one with 3G to me is like comparing an iPhone to an iPod touch. In my opinion, it will not be long before a WiFi only iPad is considered pretty lame.

If you want to develop for the iPad I suggest HTML, CSS, Javascript and in the long term; HTML5.

Adobe CS5 is coming, you should be there

Monday is the launch for Adobe's new version of creative suite; CS5. This is way more exciting to me than the launch of a new Apple or Microsoft Operating System. Here is a page where you can register for the Monday launch event and learn about new features in CS5.

Yale University puts Google on hold

Will SJSU also rethink Google Mail?

According to an article by David Tidmarsh of the Yale Daily News at Yale University, "Information Technology Services has decided to postpone the University’s move from the Horde Webmail service to Google Apps for Education." The article goes on to say:

Deputy Provost for Science and Technology Steven Girvin said, “There were enough concerns expressed by faculty that we felt more consultation and input from the community was necessary,” [Read More]

Dave Kearns of Network World wrote a different perspective of this when he said, "Privacy and cloud computing have recently been in the news, with stories coming out of academia (Yale University) and government oversight agencies (Canadian Privacy Commissioner). Both, in my view, got it wrong." [Read More]

iPad in a Blender

Click here to view video

Will it blend?
I have long been a fan of Blendtech's "Will It Blend" Videos. The first one that caught my eye was when they blended an iPod. Well, they have blended many things since then! Of course they wasted no time testing their super powerful blenders on one of Apple's new iPads.

Buyer beware!

Creating EPUB formatted documents in InDesign

The book features of the new Apple iPad really hold the potential of mainstreaming the EPUB ebook document format. At least with Adobe InDesign CS4 creating EPUBs is not as easy as exporting to PDF. Here are some guidelines for producing them using ID CS4 from Adobe.

Adobe InDesign CS5 is scheduled to be released on April 12. I really will be looking to see how this format is supported in this new version.

Scoble got it again!

Click on photo above to enlarge

Apple is not the only organization that has done it again with the iPad!
What a surprise it was for me to see another photo of Robert Scoble in the Mercury News coming out of an Apple store with another apple gadget.

The Scoble with an iPad photo (Sunday April 4) is a different angle of the Scoble with an iPhone shot the Merc ran in 2007 when the iPhone came out. I guess the SJSU J&MC alum, and former voice of Microsoft, is the newspaper's model for new Apple technology. When Apple comes out with a new product it looks like the Merc loves to shoot Robert coming out of the Palo Alto Apple Store with it! Way to go Robert! Way to go San Jose Mercury News!

Maybe next time Apple comes out with a gadget you can just Photoshop it into one of your older shots. In this time of fiscal austerity for newspapers it might be a good idea!

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, ipad, Apple, Scoblizer, Scoble, ssloansjca

Introducing Facebook Community Pages

According to Adam Ostrow on Mashable, Facebook is introducing community pages. Ostrow wrote:

It’s for the hordes of “unofficial” Pages that have been created by users in support of topics or causes. There’s a big difference in functionality too –- Facebook says that if a page becomes popular enough, administration will be handed over to the Facebook community. In other words, Community Pages become a whole lot like a wiki once they reach a certain threshold. [Read More]

You can start a Facebook Community Page here.