Tech News: Webcam 101 for seniors

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September 15, 2011, 2:27 pm

An elderly Oregon couple have become a viral video sensations since their granddaughter posted a YouTube videoof them fumbling with their new laptop.

Bruce and Esther Huffman, who live at a retirement community in McMinnville, Ore., unknowingly captured the moment that has brought them fame as they attempted to take a picture. The video, titled “Webcam 101 for Seniors,” has been viewed more than 100,000 times.

Esther Huffman was trying to show her husband how to take a photo using the camera on their laptop in late August. Her granddaughter had shown her how to use the tool earlier.
“I had no idea how to do it. I didn’t remember what she said so the whole time I was irritated chewing gum so hard and I looked like... ” Esther Huffman told ABC Affiliate KATU. “I don’t know what.”

Meanwhile Bruce is the star, flirting with his wife and making monkey faces. How charming is this?

NASA plans for a rocket successor
NASA unveiled plans for a rocket successor to the space shuttle Wednesday: an $18 billion design aimed at a 2017 unmanned test flight of the most powerful rocket since the moon race's Saturn V rockets.

Feds considering commercial cellphone ban
After a Kentucky truck crash that killed 11 people, top federal safety investigators vastly broadened their recommendations on cellphones on Tuesday and said all commercial drivers should be forbidden to use them, whether hand-held or not, except in emergencies.
The Department of Transportation is already considering a rule to ban the nation’s 3.7 million commercial drivers from talking on cellphones; last year it banned them from texting. “It’s just too dangerous,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who described himself as being “on a rampage” on the subject.

Average SAT reading score drops
The average SAT reading score dipped to 497 this year, according to the College Board—down three points from last year and 33 points since 1972. The College Board spun the decline as the result of a growing pool of test takers: “Anytime you expand the number of students taking the SAT and expand it the way that we have—into communities that have not necessarily been part of the college-going culture—it’s not surprising to see a decline of a few points.” The average math score was 514, down one point from last year but up five points since 1972. Are we putting too much emphasis on the test score and not enough emphasis on failures leading to improvement. Some progressive educators are adopting a new testing measure that includes character testing on issues like loyalty, honesty, tenaciousness and creativity in problem solving. This is a great article in the NY TIMES.

It's o.k. to fail
And here’s synergy: A FB friend sent me a video created by Weiden and Kennedy creators using over 100,000 thumbtacks to create a wall mural that spells out the message FAIL HARDER.. a message that underlies the importance of failure during the creative process.