TestBed :: Blog

From the site http://www.worldautismawarenessday.org here's a good short overview of the subject:

Did you know…

• Autism affects as many as 1 in 150 children and 1 in 94 boys (see this FAQ for more)
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the world
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with diabetes, cancer, & AIDS combined
• Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism, but early diagnosis and intervention improve outcomes
• Autism does not discriminate by geography, class, or ethnicity

In a rare (as far as I know) gathering hosted by Google, entrepreneurs in the social networking space share their thoughts how to succeed in the social software business. Esther Dyson interviews the entrepreneurs behind LinkedIn, Bebo, and Sociatext. 

The half-hour YouTube video is  here.

A couple of days ago, a friend who acted as mentor in the Google Summer of Code program mentioned  some things that might be of interest to coders and open source advocates here. The program offers generous stipend (I think about US$4,500 per accepted student) to student-developers to write code for various open source projects.

The FAQs of the program can be found here. 

The open source projects in the 2007 program include some of the well-known  "infrastructure" types like Mozilla, Apache, MySQL and PHP. The desktop mainstay OpenOffice is there too. I also noticed SquirelMail is also there.

My attention was also caught by the likes of online learning tool Moodle, web content management and application framework Drupal, and OpenMRS. OpenMRs is a medical records system that's being used in many developing countries. Incidentally, I stumbled on digital asset management software DSpace, which is apparently being used by many educational institutions.

Perhaps DLSC folks will be on the Google Summer of Code program in 2008? 

On the ground  in Yangon, Myanmar - Because of heavy censorship by the regime's rulers, news from Myanmar come in trickles. But here's a video . 

And some pictures.. 

Fuelled by "revulsion" at Myanmar's violent crackdown on popular protests against military rule, Southeast Asia rounded on the generals on Friday and critics planned demonstrations at embassies across the region. While the streets of Myanmar's former capital were quiet early on Friday, protests were expected at embassies in Taipei, Canberra, Manila and Tokyo, where government officials were trying to formulate a response to the crisis.     (More here via Reuters.)

Anita Roddick, founder of the international The Body Shop cosmetics chain, died Monday from brain hemorrhage. She was 64. 

She was lauded as the "Queen of Green" for trailblazing business practices that sought to be environmentally friendly. "Businesses  have the power to do good", she wrote. She opened her first Body Shop outlet in 1976 in Brighton (incidentally, the site of the largest  university elgg implemenation), before fair trade and environmental-friendly businesses were fashionable.

The Body Shop website provides more information. 

Koko de, Nihonggo dekiru-hito imasu ka? Kanji, hiragana to katakana o-jouzo desu ka?

Nihon-kankei !people.dlscanlubang.org-rashii project ga arimaskara, renraku-shite kudasai!

Sorry, my Nihonggo is really rusty.  Hope this reaches the right folks, though!

Jed, Cisco, Michael, Dennis, JP, JCV, Dwight, Sieg, (who did I miss?) at L33tstreet.net

Hey! If you're l33t, you can't miss L33tstreet.net . Powered by DLSC students!

Write anything you want! Brag your pwning scores, post in-game screen
caps, share a game review or compose a walkthrough!  Keep fragging!

It's easy to register - just click here . 

Team l33tstreet.net

via JP Loh and Jed Ching.

"More Teens and 'Tweens Are Creating Content and Connecting Online
for Educational, Offering Schools New Opportunities to Use Technology ", says the title of a news release of  the National School Boards Association (of the U.S.).

The release notes that "Nearly 60 percent of online students report discussing education-related topics such as college or college planning, learning outside of school, and careers.  And 50 percent of online students say they talk specifically about schoolwork."

The executive director of the National School Boards Association adds that “The challenge for school boards and educators is that they have to keep pace with how students are using these tools in positive ways and consider how they might incorporate this technology into the school setting.”

DLSC with !people has certainly been in step. 

In the larger Philippine context, do you see the same thing happening?

More of the release here ; with the full report available here

Via Mike Abundo.