Links of the Day #12

Today's round-up includes some useful web tools and apps to increase productivity; hyperlinks visualized in thread and paper; costly internet; fieldwork maps; and public anthropology.

Threaded thoughts on dreams Posted: 08 Feb 2011 09:23 PM PST Maria Fischer, a German designer at the University of Applied Sciences in Augsburg, has created a book that uses actual threads sewn throughout the pages as "hyperlinks" to connect thoughts and ideas about dreaming. Hit the link for some excellent pictures visualizing the whimsical world of dreams via abstract thread patterns, stitching, typography and key words. 10 Web Apps to Simplify your Life! Posted: 01 Apr 2011 09:23 PM PST Now that I have broadband access again, I'm jumping back into the world of web apps (although I still believe that the rampant and misplaced neglect of a large proportion of internet users on low bandwidth connections is a serious issue). Hit the link for a list of 10 web apps you probably didn't know existed. My top three must-tries: Use Photoshop CS5 online for FREE; try Minus for simple drag and drop file storage/sharing; and, for anthropologists: Speechpad lets you transcribe your audio notes/interviews, presumably saving hours from of effort typing them out. Bonus: to take this web-based geeking-out to extremes, there's Try Ruby, which lets you learn to program in Ruby with an interactive console and instructions. I've got some experimenting to do. URL Shortening | Disparate Posted: 01 Apr 2011 09:23 PM PST Geek of the week: Finally, some much overdue attention is paid to the humble URL shortener and its many neat benefits (for those paying attention). Life at the Interface | Mapping Pre-fieldwork Posted: 01 Apr 2011 09:23 PM PST Erica over at Life at the Interface reflects on the process of mapping digital media physical-world locations in her early fieldwork experience in Poland. She shares a useful tip: use ZeeMaps to create an interactive fieldwork map noting important places and activities. I did this while I was in the field, but without the benefit of a shareable Google Maps overlay. Very cool. “Sorry, I don’t speak anthropologist” | Anthropology & Publicity Posted: 01 Apr 2011 09:23 PM PST Coinciding with a rise in new media interactions, transnational "flows" and global crises, present (albeit patchy) attempts to encourage a greater sense of "public" anthropology may represent an irreversible turning point for the discipline. How can we foster a public anthropology that welcomes a more nuanced voice in ongoing debates and speaks clearly and relevantly to non-anthropologists? Daan Beekeres suggests that, "To bring our points across we should not merely resort to the anthropological truism that 'things are always more complicated', [...] but show how these complexities challenge our taken-for-granted ideas about the world we live in. [....] As unquestionable specialists in the making (and breaking) of culture, anthropologists are in a position to provide invaluable insights on such burning issues [...] around the world. Why, then, do these insights so often seem to fail to get the attention they deserve?" Why indeed.   Minimalist Suite: Subtract to your heart’s content from Gmail and Google Calendar. Posted: 01 Apr 2011 09:23 PM PST Although I'm an avid Firefox proponent, I do wish my sometimes sluggish browser was as swift as Chrome. Here's a useful tool for Gmail users on Chrome who want to clear the clutter from their email interfact (don't we all?): "Minimalist Suite is a plugin for Chrome that’s helping you to get rid of the things you don’t want, while emphasizing the things that you do." Sounds like a winner. How does $7,000 a month for a 2 Mbps connection sound? Posted: 01 Apr 2011 09:23 PM PST If you hate your Internet provider for its absurd data rates and/or data capping, be thankful that you’re not living in Turkmenistan, where residents can only get a high-speed Internet connection by subscribing to a whopping $6,821 per month.