internet

15,000 Already Registered for UT Austin's edX Classes (Update)

Bobby Blanchard and Laura Rice, KUT News — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:10:15 +0000

Update: The University of Texas System says nearly 15,000 people from around the world have signed up for free, online classes offered by the University of Texas at Austin in just the first three days of enrollment.

The most popular edX class offered by UT so far is Energy 101 – with more than 5,000 registrants.

The (Mis)Pronunciations That Keep Austin Weird

Andrew Weber — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:13:32 +0000

Update: South by Southwest Music starts today. And with SXSW wrapping up Saturday night, that’s not enough time for thousands of visitors to get a handle on all of Austin’s unique (mis)pronunciations.

“Nicknames and a number of slang terms probably exist in any speech community,” says Lars Hinrichs, a UT linguistics professor who tracks state dialects for the Texas English Project. He says it takes newcomers anywhere from three weeks to three years to acquire a community’s pronunciation tics.

“It’s a way of showing insider knowledge. But its not like it’s a secret code,” he says. “It’s not like Austinites are hiding it from the rest of the world!”

Watch: 'Harlem Shake' Rattles UT Austin

Filipa Rodrigues and Wells Dunbar, KUT News — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:47:17 +0000

It looks like the 40 Acres can’t get enough of the Harlem Shake. Today, a local filmmaker set up at the University of Texas to film the third Harlem Shake video set on campus.

In case the meme’s passed you by, here’s the scoop: Harlem Shake is an instrumental track from American DJ and producer Baauer. Featuring what Pitchfork Media calls a “menacing, world-smashing bassline that would cause even the Cloverfield monster to shudder in his gills,” the track provides the ideal soundtrack for viral videos. Know Your Meme has a comprehensive timeline detailing the dance’s proliferation.

UT Announces Free Online Classes

Wells Dunbar, KUT News — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:41:33 +0000

Beginning this fall, the University of Texas will start offering free online courses through the non-profit organization EdX.

The UT Board of Regents authorized a partnership with EdX last fall. As KUT News wrote at the time, classes offered through EdX are not for college credit; instead, participants can earn a "certificate of mastery." The university says its also exploring the expansion of online learning for enrolled students.

In Rapid-Fire 2012, Memes' Half-Life Fell to a Quarter

Neda Ulaby — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:17:37 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

Group of Internet Trolls Claims Thousands of Tumblr Blogs Infected by Worm

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:33:39 +0000

A notorious group of Internet trolls says it has unleashed a worm that has littered Tumblr blogs with inflammatory and racist posts.

According to the technology site The Verge, GNNA, whose full name we can't print in a family blog, says the worm has infected more than 8,000 accounts.

UT System Offers Free Online Courses - But College Credit Still Costs You

Laura Rice, KUT News — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:52:36 +0000

The University of Texas System Board of regents voted unanimously this morning to join an initiative to provide free online courses to anyone through a non-profit organization called edX.

Right now, classes offered through edX are not for college credit. Instead, participants can earn a "certificate of mastery." But the UT System has plans to change that in order to help enrolled students take the classes they need.

UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa says that option would have a cost associated with it.

“What that tuition might be is going to have to be a decision made by the campus and, ultimately, by the board of regents," Cigarroa says. "So I can envision a multi-tiered approach. But, fundamentally, all the content that we provide in this massively open online course, you can have access for free, I can have access for free, our alumni can have access for free. But there’s also an opportunity for a multi-tiered approach.”

The End of Trivia App 'Qrank,' One Tweet at a Time

Laura Rice, KUT News — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:32:24 +0000

The social trivia game Qrank (pronounced "crank") is no more.

Co-founders and Austinites Rodney Gibbs and Michael Baird posted a message titled “Goodbye” on the game’s website on Monday, and announced that that morning’s edition would be the last of the daily quiz.

Qrank had been voraciously consumed by a legion of loyal players since 2010. As explained on the game’s website, the goal was to “choose 15 of the 20 possible questions and answer them quickly and accurately to beat your friends and earn achievements.” The game was available on Facebook and as a mobile app.

But while Qrank maintained close to 25,000 “likes” on Facebook and more than 8,500 Twitter followers, interaction with all of those fans waned over the last several months.

How an Austin Marriage Proposal Exploded Across the Internet

Wells Dunbar, KUT News — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:52:37 +0000

Imagine a private wedding proposal. Now imagine that private moment hurtling across the Internet to untold thousands of people.

That was the position Austinite Joel Bush found himself in, when photographer Patrick Lu snapped a beautiful photo of Bush’s proposal to his girlfriend, at dusk on the Texas Capitol grounds.

The photo was posted to the Austin page of social-sharing website Reddit, with the caption, “Did any of you propose at the capital last night?”

Bridging the Digital Divide: Conference Aims to Bring Broadband Internet to All Texans

Robb Jacobson — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 20:05:51 +0000

In Texas, nearly one million households still are not using the Internet. More than 38 percent of Texans are still not connected to high-speed Internet at home, even though they could be. And with 11 percent of the Texas population completely unconnected, a lack of digital literacy is a real issue.

The Connected Texas Broadband Summit, being held today in Dallas, is for anyone who wants to address those issues.

“We want to help plan to create initiatives and momentum behind expanding broadband in areas where it remains gapped, and in areas where digital literacy and broadband adoption lag behind,” explained Jessica Ditto, Director of Communications for Connected Nations.

Small Businesses Could Be Blamed For Their Customers' Web Piracy

Kelsey Sheridan — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:39:05 +0000

Small businesses that offer wireless connections to their customers could be on the hook for illegal downloads that happen on their networks, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

Record labels, movie studios and other industry groups recently struck a deal where participating internet service providers (ISPs) will issue warnings to customers whose accounts are allegedly used to steal content. The NFIB says small business owners could be charged, fined or worse.

Billboard Warns Austin Of Judgment Day May 21

Nathan Bernier, KUT News — Thu, 19 May 2011 20:38:47 +0000

You may have seen billboards like the one above on Highway 71 near the airport. You may have read the various Tweets, or the numerous stories in print and on-air. The May 21 meme is ostensibly the product of Harold Camping, the 89-year-old founder of Family Radio, who says he calculated the exact date of the Rapture to be this Saturday. His organization and its supporters paid to install Judgment Day billboards across the country.

A caravan of three recreational vehicles drove through Austin in February to deliver the warning and hand out fliers at the University of Texas and outside a Longhorns basketball game, according to a travel log entry on the Family Radio website.

AT&T Launching Wi-Fi Along Sixth Street From Congress To I-35

Nathan Bernier, KUT News — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:33:32 +0000

AT&T customers trying to upload smartphone video or pictures from E. 6^th St. could face much less frustration in the near future. The wireless carrier has announced it is launching a Wi-Fi hotzone that stretches down E. 6th St. from Congress Ave. to Interstate 35.

Technical Difficulties with City of Austin Website

Mose Buchele, KUT News — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:00:01 +0000

Visitors to the City of Austin's website were surprised to be re-directed this afternoon to a page saying the "US Locality domain you are searching for has been given back to Neustar Registry to manage." The City's Public Information Office quickly followed up on a phone call to their office with this Tweet: