Alan Brandon

Via content strat doyenne Kristina Halvorson — check out Firehead’s page with “1001″ content strategy links. I just fell ‘way behind in my reading!

When Twitter adds a feature they say, “Now you can…”. When Facebook adds a feature they say, “Now you do…”.

You can’t play Facebook games on the iPad.

The much anticipate Apple iPad everything-killer is coming, due to arrive in consumers’ hands this Saturday. Previews and reviews abound, and while there seems to be a lot to love about the iPad there are also a few complaints. One of the biggest gripes is the device’s lack of Flash support. Many, many websites run on flash, but Apple appears to be taking a firm stand against the ubiquitous technology. The reasons for their anti-Flash stance are plentiful, and alternatives seem scant.  Apple is taking a gamble here.

Apple’s intended iPad customer is the casual computer user who wants to check email, listen to music, watch a movie, read the paper, and surf the web. But when these customers visit Facebook on their iPad, they are in for a shock. The majority of the popular social games run on Flash.

Farmville (and the other ‘ville games), Cafe World, Lexulous, Bejeweled Blitz, and many other games depend on your browser having Flash installed to work. So the question is, will iPad customers (and potential iPad customers) be willing to give up their virtual horse stables and imaginary restaurants?

In a move reminiscent of the mid-90s browser compatibility wars, Apple has compiled a list of “iPad-ready websites”. Seriously? The list does include heavy hitters such as CNN, The New York Times, and The White House. But Facebook is the second most visited site on the Internet after Google. That’s a lot of online farmers to alienate.

Maybe a better question is “will Farmville kill the iPad?” — or at least change Apple’s stance on Flash?

Aptara, a publishing technology and process company, has released a nifty little video about publishing eBooks. The 2-minute video highlights the five things every publisher must do to successfully produce eBooks for readers such as the iPad, Kindle, and smart phones like the Android and iPhone.

(via The Content Wrangler)

This is cool. Researchers at Columbia University have developed an augmented reality device that can provide live, hands-on guidance for maintenance and repair tasks on military or other equipment. The ARMAR system combines sensors and a head-mounted display to guide technicians through repair and maintenance procedures while they perform the procedure. This eliminates the need to flip back and forth between a manual and the task at hand.

But here’s an idea: What if instead of leafing through pages or scrolling through an online manual, you could simply see your way through a task? Just slide on a headset and work your way through a bit of customized, augmented-reality education.

Check out the full article at O’Reilly Radar.