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Flash on my iPad

2010-07-08T13:54:00.000+02:00

Today I experienced the new development FRASH in my iPad. It's a "solution" so you can see all flash components in the Apple tablet.

The implementation is simple: you download the Frash file to your computer. After that, via FTP (OpenSSH previously installed from Cydia), you access to your iPad to this path: /var/root/Media and, there, you create a folder called Cydia. Inside this folder you create another called AutoInstall and upload the Frash file there. Once you do this, you reboot your iPad two times.

Then you go to Safari and browse a web with Flash components (newspapers use to have lots of ads in Flash)....and you will see a big "F"in each flash component. You can do click on the "F" and then the flash will be reproduced inmediatly.

This is an example of a spanish newspaper once the process is completed. You can rapidly identify where the flash components appear.

And now, once you click on those flash components, you can see them all.........except VIDEO!!! I hope the next release of Frash will concentrate on this.

This is cool!

Pay with a Tweet

2010-07-07T06:50:00.000+02:00

I found a very interesting way of selling a product: pay it with a tweet.

It's easy: if you want to buy an e-book you can download it if you tweet about it. As social networks are more and more crowded, isn't that initiative a perfect marketing tool? Hundreds and then thousands of users spreading your product accross the net.

We will do something with this.

I don't like The Wired app

2010-07-05T13:42:00.001+02:00

A few days ago I downloaded (payed) The Wired app for my iPad. I did it for two reasons: because I like the content from this magazine and, also, becauses I’m trying to identify a good solution for a journal in an iPad-like screen.

The first thing that skocked me was the way the menus are presented: one is vertical and the other horizontal, but both of them are loooooong and booooring menus. There is a lack of creativity in presenting the content of the magazine that made me think: I did a mistake buying this magazine, I prefer the paper format instead of this.

The second thing that impressed me a lot was the size of the archive I had to download: 500 megas!!!! …….via 3G!!!!!…..it’s insane!!!! I was then convinced: I’m not buying anymore till this product becomes something That makes me happy in less than 5 minutes (max. time I will ever dedicate to download apps).

Invest more or… invest differently

2010-07-05T13:41:00.001+02:00

STM publishing industry is evolving every day and much faster than other industries. The digital contents and the print-2-electronic assets are pushing hard towards new product concepts. The book itself t’s being reinvented as the e-readers develop new offerings for all of us and journals are introducing more services as part of their new value. In this scenario, organizations and priorities change and adapt rapidly.

But, is the same phenomenon applicable to the investments the companies are planning for their future -immediate- changes?

Many times, we ask for more investment as our targets and strategy demand new products, solutions and developments. We simply ask for more. But many times, also, we forget to stop the projects that are not changing and adapting to a constantly evolving scenario. These other projects are anchors that prevent us from leaving behind the old and dying scenarios.

Investment, as a tool, must also change and be seen as an agile instrument to facilitate the strategy and the change itself. Investment has more meanings today. Investment is a mobile part of the strategy (adjustable and adaptable). It is also one of the drivers for the innovation to happen (do we really invest in simple ideas without a business case?).

Investment must also evolve and be suitable for continuous changes and adaptation. The more stable the investment is the less flexible the scenario becomes.

and the winner is ...... iPad? Kindle?

2010-07-05T13:38:00.000+02:00

I’ve been using iPad together with the Kindle 2 during the past weeks. I was wondering if the Kindle could beat the iPad as a book and documents reader.

The problem is, the iPad is so many more things than a reader that the conclusion became obvious the first day. The kindle is a wonderful toy to read books and documents, and the experience -even if different- is more similar to reading a book. And the iPad is also a terrific text reader and it supports many different platforms (Stanza, Kindle, Good Reader, iBooks, B&N). But the iPad has a whole universe of other possible activities: movies, internet browsing, email, twitter, skype, keynote and much more.

I have no doubt there’s a market for the Kindle. But this Kindle market is a niche if we compare it to to the iPad. The iPad has revealed the Universe, and the Kindle is just a solar system.

The Book App

2010-07-05T13:36:00.000+02:00

The print book is being converted to his electronic version. Many different types of electronic books can be identified in the net and from many different distributors. But I recently discovered a new category: the book as an application.

If you are lucky enough to have an iPad, install the free app called Toy Story. You will then find the book as I would like it to be: with the content expected (the text and images) and also many other possibilities (not just functionalities) from the reader.

I’m happy to see that this concept is a perfect mockup for the next developments I’m considering in the STM publishing world.

A year has ended

2010-06-25T16:37:00.000+02:00

A year has passed since June 23rd, 2009 doctors reported to us that Carlos had Leukemia. This means that we have already surpassed half of his treatment and we have the other half starting tomorrow. Talking to my wife yesterday, we’ve mentioned that was the worst year of our lives, and the more demanding one for us, as a couple. But we've succeeded.

The year we start tomorrow begins with the dream and the hope that June 23rd, 2011, we will be celebrating that Carlos has been cured. Thanks to all who are helping us, we love you.

Spatial Operating Environment

2010-06-22T09:08:00.000+02:00

Have you seen the movie Minority Report? Do you remember the interface Tom Cruise was using in the movie to search for information? see this Ted Talk and you will understand how far we are from that future:

Imagine you could navigate in your room in a 3D plan, manipulate your images or movies collection with the power of your hands. Imagine collaborating in the creation of a new 3D art piece..... that is what technology with design is able to generate together.

Getty, Flikr and you

2010-06-22T00:02:00.000+02:00

I'm an amateur photographer with thousands of digital images from around the world. Getty Images and Flikr announced a new service available to all photographers. You can upload and share your pictures with the world by licensing them though this new service. Getty editors will invite people to license the pictures so you would obtain royalties from its fair use. They will probably create the biggest image database ever. I will join the project and see if it works.

Our first iPad project released

2010-04-08T12:07:00.000+02:00

Since April 3, when Apple's latest product went on sale in the USA, Elsevier has made a version of its biomedical journals platform elsevierinstituciones.com for the iPad available to its users. Elsevier Spain has also carried out a teaser campaign to promote this launch.

Following on from the success of elsevierinstituciones.com, the on-line access platform for biomedical journals, Elsevier Spain continues to expand its range of on-line products with the launch of a version for the iPad. The ongoing development of new formats is a reality and the iPad is a new and revolutionary channel for biomedical content. Ignoring this reality means remaining anchored in the past whilst the future continues to happen, users make use of those formats which best suit their needs.

In the days prior to the launch, we began to make noise on social networks such as Twitter to raise expectations regarding a new launch from Elsevier. This teaser campaign meant that diffusion of the message was very high.

The adaptation of products and content to new formats by applying the very latest technological advances is a key part of Elsevier's philosophy for achieving one of its primary objectives: to continue to offer rigorous, high-quality and up-to-date material to all professionals in the health sector.

The final press release concerning the possibility to access elsevierinstituciones.com via the iPad has been sent to dozens of specialised Health and Technology portals in both Spain and Latin America. Furthermore, it has been translated into English in order to achieve greater diffusion on web pages and blogs.

The technological revolution sets the pace, if you can't keep up you're out of the game. The iPad offers an almost unlimited number of possibilities and Elsevier wants to form part of them. We want to permanently incorporate and adapt our products to the possibilities offered by a device such as the iPad in order to continue to offer the highest quality and most up-to-date content whenever our users want it.

Elsevier Spain is committed to and supports this type of initiative as it brings us closer to the end user via novel channels and techniques. We also adapt to the newest and most revolutionary communications technologies in order to maintain our position at the forefront of this sector amongst professionals.

The future is being written and we are part of it (Publishers)

2010-03-19T20:53:00.000+01:00

I just saw this amazing video about the future of the publishing industry.......but you can apply it also to many other industries.

Wait till the video has completely the play: Bravo!

When selling is teaching

2010-01-25T14:15:00.000+01:00

All publishing industries are living tough moments. In part is due to the impact of technology and massive use of it by people. Change is happening at every level and at every process....every day.

Traditional selling and marketing processes are inefficient, specially for new designed content product and services. This is just a small portion of the problem, but an interesting one.

How do we tell people a new product or service is better than the one they´re already using... and is working fine? How do we change the way they are using information and content? How do we insert technology -more technology- in their life and work?

I believe in one answer: we first teach them.

Presenting and showing new content or information product and services is always fascinating. But much more fascinating is when people starts to buy and use your product and they tell the world about it. And even more fascinating when they start to build guides and recommend it in their blogs, twitters, networks....in their digital world. And, maybe, the best of all is when they become anxious for the next release, the new functionalities, the new contents you are going to present them in a few months.

This occurs because they've learned how to use it, they are excited about the benefits they obtain and, of course, that paying the price is fair.

If we first start teaching how to use a product we will have two good inputs: what issues are not resolved the best possible way and the barriers people have to buy and start using it (price, content, format, hardware, mobility, dependencies and more). We will have the opportunity to solve them and go on. But the best thing is we could transmit the passion that is behind every creation of a new tool, product or service. If we become a "positive engine" to energize the others, the best of your creation is exposed. So imagine having this "power" in every training session of every single product and service you want to sell.
Introducing a new technology is also a part of the teaching process.

To face this circumstance we need to focus on two realities. The first is: the more simple the technology is, the less time a person will need to adopt it; and the second, the new technology has to solve problems and not to create new ones. If during the selling process, which now has to be the teaching process, the user understands both correct, 90% of the work is done.

I truly believe that, to sell, teaching is much more effective than just exposing the product. I will apply this belief from now on and tell you my experience in a few months.

Tools of Change for Publishing Conference - TOCCON 2010

2009-12-11T23:42:00.000+01:00

I will be presenting four stories about how the rules in publishing have changed and will continue to change. We will give you four real examples, four real stories to show you how studying medicine in Europe is evolving fast.

Changing the Way Medical Students Learn: 4 Stories from Europe

2009-11-04T18:26:00.000+01:00

(This presentation will take place in Tools of Change for Publishing 2010 conference in New York, 02/24/2010)

Healthcare change is on everyone’s agenda nowadays as the role of medicine in society changes. The focus has shifted from the occasional care of individuals in hospitals to promoting health in the community. These changes place new demands on doctors and have forced a rethink on how students are taught in medical school. Medical training is becoming more student-centered. There is an emphasis on active learning rather than on the passive absorption of knowledge. Rigid curricula are giving way to more adaptable and flexible ones.

Publishers of medical textbooks, like Elsevier, must take account of these changes. They must be equally adaptable and flexible in the way they deliver the information. They must understand how teachers teach and how students learn. We believe there is a tremendous opportunity to drive sustained innovation in medical education.
This presentation is based on our experiences in Europe. We will highlight four stories of medical students from the UK, Spain, France and Germany that illustrate how publishers are responding to the changing needs in medical education.

The stories will cover the following topics:

How students collect information today in order to pass exams
New exam testing tools
Case-study exams
Wiki-like collaborative lesson creation
Dealing with piracy when moving from print to electronic delivery
Sources of content: e-libraries & e-Books
Delivering knowledge in small chunks

Products and services that will be covered:
UK: International Virtual Dental School
Spain: ArenaMIR
France: Université Médicale Virtuelle Francophone
Germany: Mediscript

This presentation is for anyone interested in how self-directed education changes the rules of the game for publishers. No medical knowledge required!

Google Wave: teaching online made easy?

2009-10-30T21:10:00.000+01:00

I'm one of the persons who received a Google Wave account with eight invitations available in it. I was very interested -and excited- in discovering this new territory in the net.

It was announced as a new collaborative tool, something between email, twitter and chat. But I didn't have a clear idea in my mind of what was his potential.

Now I've been playing with Google Wave, creating new waves, sharing contents, maps and files, making simple polls, chatting in real time and locating all his secrets.

While chatting with a colleague I realized the potential Google Wave has to teach. I was giving him some information in text format: a short paragraph of a new concept I am working on. He asked me some questions (more text) and then I sent them some images with comments so he could fully understand me idea. He then proposed minor changes and asked some more questions (more text). A YouTube video came to my mind, something from a parallel world that could help me to communicate better my project to him (movie). After the movie I decided to share with him a presentation I made to introduce my thoughts to other colleagues from other countries (PowerPoint). Finally I presented to him different sources (links to different sites), which inspired me to build the concept.

So that’s what we shared: text – questions – images + text – conversation – questions – video – slideshow – links

And another very key issue in that moment was my full control of the message and contents I was using to make him understand an idea. Just adding a test at the end of this path and I would have an online teaching object (and I could share it also with others).

So now, I would like Google Wave to fully deploy its potential (some areas are not ready to use yet) so I can discover more interesting usages for this new tool.

Digital Strangelove

2009-10-24T21:47:00.000+02:00

(or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Internet)

Digital Strangelove (or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Internet)

View more documents from David Gillespie.

Online Education on the Horizon

2009-09-05T22:50:00.000+02:00

Online learning is one of my main concerns today. I'm actively working in understanding what online instructional models are the good ones for different kinds of students: university, residents at hospitals, professionals improving their knowledge, etc.
I've been looking at different (and innovative) e-libraries, e-books, e-book readers, online databases and other content containers but a single one made me completely happy.
I'm also following in Twitter different specialists and people interested, like me, in e-learning and the future of education. It seems to me that all of us are disappointed by the lack of real innovation in this field.
Most of the key opinion leaders expressing their ideas on the net seem to end in the same concept: The Future Doesn't Fit in the Containers of the Past (Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO Denuo).
We have an inmense opportunity to innovate and try to find the correct models for e-learning.

Seth Godin on FAKE networking

2009-07-27T23:36:00.000+02:00

Content deconstructed .....and now bundled

2009-07-27T22:38:00.000+02:00

Apple is trying to help the music industry to rebuild the concept of ALBUM. The Financial Times reports that Apple is trying to bundle interactive content to stimulate digital album sales.

Of course, changes that allow people to make more choices are always good changes. What shocked me is the direction Apple took now. They´ve created a universe of deconstructed content: iTunes, the universe of songs. Albums, even if available at the store, have disappear from the stats related to downloaded music. Songs (and apps) are being bought by people who create their own playlists (the private version of albums). But albums are not a business today.

Now, a new concept is being put in place: bundling different kinds of multimedia contents to stimulate what the FT article calls Digital Albums. It will be very interesting to see the mix of contents behind this concept and people's reaction to it.

Collecting information and learning

2009-07-19T00:14:00.000+02:00

I had a very nice talk with one of my colleagues from Amsterdam. We were talking about how students, and other people, collect information to learn. The issue we were discussing was how medicine students build their papers and learn.

A few years ago, when I was in the Faculty of Law, I bought 4 or 5 really heavy books to read and learn. My teachers at the University told me the information needed to pass the exam was in those books. I didn’t have the internet at that time so no chance to google nor wiki.

A few weeks ago, faculty students ended their annual course and started summer holidays, after passing the final exams. I had a good opportunity to chat with a group of medicine students. I asked them about their books, how big and heavy are they? The answer was: we don’t know, we don’t use very much books now. We use the papers writen by our professors, plus some reference materials, plus google and some internet sources, like xtorrent and rapidshare.

I, then , asked about how did they organise all these informations from the different sources. They answered they all shared a usb flash memory stick and a gMail account to organise their info. They had a group and every person was responsible for creating some lessons. All lessons were then shared via Gmail or the USB stick. But the most interesting thing is that they were collecting information from different books, selecting the small pieces that were important to pass the exams, aggregating papers from the professors and related documents downloaded from differents websites.

A specific comment attracted my attention: they were trying to reduce the lessons to small pieces of information. Each of the lessons was a constructions of small pieces of information, coming from different sources, and aggregated by one of the members. All were working in the same way. The reason for that is they could retain more easily the information if they visualized each lesson with each small guide and a few contents in it.

The system they have created to learn is so different from the one I used 20 years ago…..but, at the same time, I do use the same system when browsing the web for new insigths, new ideas, new projects and new updates on me every day work. I collect small pieces of information, organize them in different “lessons” I have to read, and share them with my network.

If it’s working for them and it’s working for me, why are we still publishing heavy text books?

Color e-paper update - May 2009

2009-05-12T12:30:00.000+02:00

An article published in Nature Photonics (read the summary of the article at http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/v3/n5/abs/nphoton.2009.68.html) about a week ago informs about two prototypes of color e-paper displays. It is very interesting to see that the techonology they are using comes from the past. In fact, both developments are focused on using pigments in an aqueous solution inside the pixel. Then, by manipulating the voltage on each device the liquid with the pigment draws out from the reservoir into the freee space of the pixel (in the second prototype, there are two pigments in each reservoir but with different charge properties so that the voltage controls which of them is shown in the display).

The potential of colorized e-ink for the health sciences publishing industry is huge. It opens a vast universe of possibilities and new developments on e-books and, also, new instructional models for education, e-libraries, multiformat services and more other interesting gadgets.

Fujitsu has started to sell his first color e-reader (FLEPia) on march this year, with an 8-inch screen display and up to 260,000 colors in high-definition. Even if it's a very good start for this new market, the re-draw speed is still low and the weight (385g) and specially the price is too high if compared to the Sony e-Reader or the Kindle.

Update on the Wolfram|Alpha project

2009-04-30T10:17:00.000+02:00

There's been great anticipation around Stephen Wolfram's ambitious project to create a comprehensive "computational knowledge engine." The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University will host a sneak preview of the Wolfram|Alpha system, and a discussion of its underlying technology and implications. Participants will include Wolfram|Alpha founder Stephen Wolfram and Professor of Law Jonathan Zittrain.

Stephen Wolfram discusses Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine...here's the video:

Value added lost

2009-04-09T17:06:00.000+02:00

We can develop the best product and services in the world. But, among many other issues, we must be aware of two critical things:

1) Online products and services change fast because of their environment;
2) People who create product and services are not the ones communicating its existence to the market.

The consequences of these two facts are:

1) Flexibility and adaptation are required more than ever;
2) People who create must be involved in the communication of the product and services to the audience.

So, for the first subject, we need people who learn fast, who understand perfectly what they are working with, who can assess the needs of the users and are able to match them in seconds. But if they don’t match, then they should be prepared to offer a solution based on our know how and skills. And latest, they should be capable of giving the correct feedback so we can adapt fast to changes.

And for the second concern, we should involve developers and managers in building, and continuously adapting, the correct messages about our products and services. We should all become story tellers of our products because stories can be, just by themselves, a hundred times more fascinating than a flyer.

Medical images databases

2009-04-02T07:14:00.000+02:00

I’m currently working with my team on browsing the images contained inside an ebook in a 3D environment. Tho objective is have a better navigation of the images and access the clinical cases from them. Doctors are used to see lots of images during their daily work, so it is important to navigate medical content databases the same way.

See this video I just made for better understand what we are doing:

Any comments and ideas are always welcome.

Wolfram Alpha

2009-03-10T09:47:00.000+01:00

This could be the next generation search engine: Wolfram

http://blog.wolfram.com/2009/03/05/wolframalpha-is-coming/