Taste of Tech

We all know that it’s frequently easier to understand data if it is presented in visual form. We draw diagrams, graph data, and make maps to show how information is related in various ways. A few day ago, I was commenting about the Wordpress development timeline, and wanted to show how the updates are getting closer and closer together. The best way to show this was to use a line graph, and it made the point fairly well.

How does data visualization apply to a social networking site, though? Digg users can use the neat tools at Digg Labs to easily see what’s new and what’s popular on the site.

Let me back up for a minute. I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about Digg, so I should explain what it is. Digg is a site where people can submit links to news stories, web sites, or other online resources. Other users can then look at these sites and “digg” or “bury” them. Users can also comment on the links. As stories get more popular, they’re promoted. As they become less popular, they are demoted. Time also plays a role in the algorithm, so newer submissions are more likely to rise to the top of the list. The front page of Digg always contains the most popular items at any given time.

Essentially, Digg gives the community collective editorial control. Items that the community values end up on the front page, and those the community doesn’t value fall down the list.

Back to data visualization. BigSpy shows Digg items in real time. Every time someone diggs a story, it shows up on the list, and everything else scrolls down. The more diggs an item has, the larger the typeface. So the result is a scrolling window showing, in real time, what people are digging.

Swarm shows who is digging what. Each Digg item is represented by a small circle on the screen and the Digg users who are digging the items show up as yellow dots. Popular items get larger, and have more users attached to them. When you move the mouse over one of the items, it gives you a brief description of it, and shows how it’s related to the other items.

Stack takes a different approach. It still shows Digg activity in real time. But this one shows each digg as a dot falling Tetris-like down the screen. The most popular stories create the tallest stacks at the bottom. All of the diggs are represented by title below the graph as they happen. Color is used to represent the total number of diggs, while the height of the stack indicates the number of diggs occuring right now.

The newest of the Digg visualization tools is Arc. This tool represents Digg data as a segmented circle. The amount of space each item takes along the edge of the circle is determined by the item’s popularity. Again, each item is updated in real time, and historical data is shown as lines eminating from the circle.

Perhaps these aren’t the best examples of data visualization. While it’s interesting to see what the Digg users are finding interesting at any given moment, you can waste an enormous amount of time playing with Digg. But these tools do illustrate how developers are finding new and innovative ways to represent data in real time.

We have a hearing-impaired sixth grader coming to our middle school next fall. One of the many challenges this student faces is the inability to use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with other students and with adults. While he certainly knows ASL, his teachers and fellow students don’t. So it’s difficult for him to work on those skills at school.

His parents suggested that the school investigate the acquisition of a Sorenson Videophone. This device is a video conferencing appliance. It has a built-in camera, connects to a TV and to an ethernet network, and is about as easy to use as TiVo. The idea is that the student can use this videophone to communicate with other deaf students in other schools. They can use sign language to carry on the conversations, and all of the students will benefit from the experience.

Sorenson provides video relay services. Essentially, a deaf person can use a videophone to connect to an interpreter. The interpreter makes a regular voice call to a hearing individual, and acts as a translator between the two parties. They charge for this service, and make enough money to give away the videophones for free. There is no charge for calls between videophones. So this isn’t going to cost the school any money.

I went to the web site and filled out the application form. The whole process took about five minutes. It was clear from the lack of red tape in the application form that this isn’t a government-funded project. I was expecting that I wouldn’t hear back from them, and I’d have to follow-up, make my case for this student, and try to convince them that this is a worthwhile application for their product. After all, it’s unlikely that this particular device will be used with the relay service, so they’re not likely to make any money on it. It’s understandable that they would want to drag their feet, or deny the request altogether. This is one of those things that can take months to get done. To my surprise, I received an email a few days later. “Can we install it next week?”

“Sure. Next week is great.”

“Do you already have a TV to connect this device to?”

“I didn’t realize we needed one. I’ll see if the school has one they can spare.” I was hoping we could use a computer monitor. We seem to have lots of those.

“That’s all right. I’ll just bring one when I come.”

So the installer came out, set up the videophone, and provided a TV. He configured the device, made several test calls, and ensured everything was working properly. The whole experience took less than an hour. The device is ready for the student, and this is possibly the best experience I’ve ever had with an assistive technology device.

I can’t help but draw parallels between this installation and the upgrade of our distance learning equipment. We’re replacing our outdated, proprietary, analog distance learning system with a new Polycom unit that provides IP-based video conferencing. We’re more than a year into the process, and getting answers to even the most basic questions (what makes the Polycom monitor so much better than the LG one that it’s worth an extra $3,800?) is nearly impossible. With a little luck and about $30,000, we’ll get this project done this summer, too. But somehow I doubt the whole process will take an hour.

I received this email message yesterday from a teacher in my district. Teachers wonder why people don’t treat them like professionals.

If we could set this up formally afterschool and provide either PD credit of stipends I think there would be insentive to come. Every math teacher in the building is going to be overwhelmed and need all the support they can get so that they will imbrace all the efforts being made through the adoption, not to mention the work Carla and John have put into trying to make this happen. We are going from the dark ages to the 21st century at warp speed if everything goes as planned. After everyone gets there feet wet I would like to see it become a sharing session where teachers would take turns presenting to the group their own activities and things that are working for them.

A school district technology coordinator expressed frustration today after learning about yet another Wordpress update. Version 2.2 of the software was released last week. This is the seventh update of the software since the beginning of 2007.

In this district, every staff member is eligible to have a blog hosted on the district web server. Because the district uses plugins and other features not compatible with the multiuser version of Wordpress, each blog is maintained as a separate installation. That means each blog has to be upgraded individually.

This wouldn’t really be so bad, if it weren’t for the plugins. The plugins have to be disabled before upgrading, and then re-enabled one at a time. Failing to follow this procedure can lead to database corruption problems and a seriously broken blog. This is complicated by the fact that sometimes the plugins don’t work with the new version, prompting a need to update or replace the plugins. Themes have also been known to break with new versions, leaving the user with a blog that lacks the visual appeal previously enjoyed.

All told, a major release upgrade can take a couple weeks or more. Minor upgrades can be done in less time, but generally involve more than one full day of work. This is ignoring the fact that the scripts to create new installations, the skeleton database used for new blogs, and the documentation provided to the users may also have to change.

The Wordpress development team has committed to releasing a new version of their software every four months. With anywhere from 3-7 security and bug fixes between major releases, this means a new version of the software is being released, on average, every 39 days. Specifically, there have been two major releases and ten minor ones since version 2.0 was released on December 26, 2005.

Put another way, if the district upgrades the blogs to the current version before the summer class on blogging begins on June 11, chances are good that there will be another new version to install before the end of June when the tech coordinator leaves before vacation. And if he installs that version before leaving, there will more than likely be another new version before school starts, with another major release coming shortly after the school year begins.

The frustration is compounded by the fact that 13 of the last 15 Wordpress releases have included bug fixes and security patches that are required to keep a secure server running. Choosing not to upgrade leaves one vulnerable to attack, especially if the server houses other services in addtion to Wordpress. Because older versions of Wordpress are no longer maintained, users must continually upgrade to maintain the latest security patches. BlogSecurity.Net reported earlier this week that 98% of Wordpress blogs are vulnerable to attack, because they don’t have the latest version installed.

“This doesn’t mean we’re abandoning Wordpress,” the technology coordinator reported. “But we’re hoping the development team adopts a more streamlined approach to upgrades, and a more sane timeline for updates.”

Remember when phones were tied to locations instead of people? We had home telephones. When I called your number, a telephone in your house would ring. If you were there, you could answer it. If you weren’t, a machine would answer and let me record a message for you. Then, when you came home, you could listen to the message.

When you call my home phone number now, a cell phone rings. Sure, that phone could be in my house. Or, it might be in the car, or with the kids at the park. My wife may answer it, even if she’s not home. I probably won’t answer it, unless you’re one of the very few people configured with my ring. Since most calls aren’t for me, the ones that are use a different ringtone, so I know to answer it.  And if you do manage to reach me on my home phone, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m home.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  12.8% of households have cell phones but no traditional land lines. More than 34 million Americans now live in cell-only households. This is up from 7% in 2005 and 3.5% in 2003. As you might expect, younger people are more likely to be cell-only. Here are some numbers:

• More than half (54%) of people living with non-family roommates are living in cell-only households.
• 25% of 18-24 year olds live in cell-only households.
• Renters are more likely to be cell-only than homeowners.
• Half of the adults who are cell-only are less than 30 years old.
• Adults living in poverty are more likely to be cell-only.
• People living in the south are more likely to be cell-only.