No. 38

September 27, 2001

 

Technology:

RealPresenter Plus

At $200 (downloaded) it ain't cheap, considering that it is capable of doing only one thing: outfitting PowerPoint presentation with audio and video, and turning the resulting collages into streaming multimedia for the Web; but this it does so well and with such ease, that the price seems fair.

RealPresenter adds a new pull-down menu to Microsoft PowerPoint. When "Narrate a Presentation" is selected from this menu, a simple wizard asks a few relatively intuitive questions, such as: is this a live broadcast, or a recording for on-demand playback? RealPresenter then proceeds to capturing our voice and (optionally) video, slide transitions, and the slides themselves, while we go through the presentation. If live broadcast mode was chosen, the presentation will be streamed in real time, via a bundled, stripped-down version of RealServer, to a maximum of 12 simultaneously connected participants. Otherwise, the resulting .rm (RealMedia) file can be stored locally, on the bundled server, or published to another RealServer. In either case, users can see and hear the presentation via their RealMedia clients.

RealPresenter has its weaknesses. First and foremost: it lacks interactivity beyond what one would find in a cheap VCR: Play, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind. (In the Live mode, only Play and Stop are available.) Viewers can not ask questions or make comments, and the presenter has no feedback as to how his lecture is being received. It's a passive, isolating experience. Yet there are many settings where this technology could be very beneficial. For example: publishing content that would be static anyway, but now would have the flair of "multimedia" and be more appropriate for aural learners; recording live sessions for viewing by those unable to attend or for archiving; broadcasting live events while providing concurrent chat session for viewers to interact with the lecturer and one another; etc. The fact that it is a no-brainer to use makes it all the more worth giving a try.

RealPresenter: recording

Online viewing:

Overview of groupware

This multimedia presentation (slide show with synchronized video and audio) is an illustration of what can be accomplished very easily with RealPresenter Plus. Content-wise, it provides an overview of Web-based tools that belong to a category known as groupware. NOTE: RealMedia player and fast connection (better than 56 kbps modem) are required for playback.

Initiative:

The Benetech Initiative

From the Web site: "The Benetech Initiative is a non-profit venture that provides social benefits by harnessing the power of technology. Benetech delivers these benefits using the new model of social entrepreneurship, which combines market forces with philanthropic capital and entrepreneurial drive. Benetech focuses the efforts of technology and technologists to solve important problems facing society."

"Benetech's purpose is to use the high technology model to address pressing social problems. Many great technologies can easily be applied to social needs, but the profitability of such efforts rarely meets the financial expectations of high technology investors. Benetech specifically pursues endeavors that emphasize a strong social, rather than financial, rate of return on investment. Benetech explores the application of technology to social needs in the areas of disability, bridging the digital divide, education, literacy, human rights, employment of the disadvantaged, and the prevention of suffering."

Sample projects:

  • Bookshare.org: a legal book-sharing community of people with disabilities
  • Martus Project: to create tools for the reporting and dissemination of human rights information
  • Landmine Detector Project: to fill the marketability gap between exciting new technologies developed by U.S. Department of Defense and the needs of humanitarian landmine removal efforts around the world.

Conference:

CPSR Annual Conference

  • "Nurturing the Cybercommons, 1981-2021"
  • Held October 19-21, 2001 in Ann Arbor, MI
  • In 2001, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility celebrates its 20th anniversary by looking backwards and forwards two decades at the history and future of the global cybercommons. Panels and presentations will examine the key historical events that shaped today's Internet, and the prospects for its future evolution.
  • Specific themes of interest include: Voting and Election Technology and Online Politics --- Information Warfare and the Role of Nation-States --- Internet Governance and Censorship: Past, Present, and Future -- The Nature and Role of "Openness" on the Net (Open Code, Open Content, Open Access, and Open Communities) --- The Emergence and Evolution of Virtual Communities --- Information Technology and the Evolution of Privacy and Anonymity --- The Ownership of Information: Free Speech and Intellectual Property


© 2001 Vlad Wielbut and the Alliance for Community Technology