Curious about technology? Take your interest to the next level. Here are some sites to visit, books to read and courses to study. Go on, dive in, it could change your life.

Websites

• BBC News - Technology
• billblog
• Digital Planet
• Engadget - gadget news
• Guardian technology blog
• lifehacker - make life easier
• Memex 1.1 - John Naughton's online diary

Free learning resources from OpenLearn

• ICTs: device to device communication
• ICTs: information
• Information on the web
• Living with the internet: keeping it safe
• Living with the Internet: online shopping

If you've setup your own portal with our web 2.0 workshop, why not subscribe to the feed of one of these resources? Follow any of the links above and look for the orange button.

Books

A Brief History of the Future: Origins of the Internet
John Naughton, Phoenix Press

The Long Tail: How Endless Choice Is Creating Unlimited DemandChris Anderson, Random House Business Books

The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture
John Battelle, Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd

Courses

Networked Living: Exploring Information and Communication Technologies (T175)

Living in a networked world is both exciting and unsettling. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are all around us. Do you ever wonder how these networked systems work? How can an email message find its way to the other side of the world in seconds? The course looks inside these technologies, explores how they work in a range of situations - such as entertainment, transport and health - and considers where they might take us next.

Vandalism in Cyberspace: Understanding and Combating Malicious Software (T187)

The Internet is wonderful - but it has a dark side. The threats come in various forms including junk email (spam); hoax messages; electronic viruses, worms and 'Trojan horse' programs that invade and sometimes destroy your precious data.
Most non-technical computer users feel powerless and afraid in the face of these threats. This short course demystifies malicious software by giving you an insight in to how such software works and how to practice safe computing.

Digital Photography: Creating and sharing better images (T189)

This 10 week course will develop your ability to create and share digital images. If you're just starting out, you'll be able to compare notes with others in the same situation. If you're already a keen amateur digital photographer, being part of an active online community will develop your fluency.

Visually focused, with text kept to a minimum, the course will develop your technical, visual and creative skills. A series of weekly hands-on assignments allows you to practice the skills you'll learn.

Beyond Google: Working with Information Online (TU120)

If you want to be part of the 'information age', this course offers you a structured journey through the world of information. It’ll help you recognise when you need to look for information; search for it systematically; look at it critically; organise it efficiently; and present it clearly. Study is mostly online, with interactive activities and opportunities to experiment with electronic resources.

Data, Computing and Information (M150)

This course peels away the mystery of computing in the popular imagination. It provides an historical perspective on the nature and impact of ongoing change in all the technologies surrounding modern computing, particularly the convergence of computing, microelectronics and communication technologies. It shows how simple the underlying physical and logical mechanisms are, yet how complex the process of transforming a real-life problem into a computer-based solution can be.

Information and Communication Technologies: People and Interactions (T209)

Mobile systems keep us in touch and informed wherever we are. Machines recognise spoken orders for our groceries through complex networks transporting encrypted data. This course gives you the technical background for understanding these developments and an overview of the concepts underlying such new systems and services.

It also equips you with the knowledge and skills to understand issues relating to design and deployment, and to engage in the debate that will shape our future.

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