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1. Not all ATMs are international ATMs. Your ATM at home is part of a banking network that might not exist in Japan. Citibank at one time was your only option and you had to know where those ATMs were located in Tokyo. However now, the Japanese Post Office (the biggest bank in Japan) has international memberships but even better is 7-Eleven. When you arrive in Japan, look for or do a search for a 7-Eleven ATM in the terminal where you arrive. Every airport will list/tell you where the 7-Eleven ATM is. I suggest pulling ~50,000 yen (around $500 USD) to start. It will save you worry and constant trips to the ATM the first 2 days after you arrive.
2. Wifi is VERY limited in Japan. Japanese use Fax machines and their cellphones as subsitutes for laptops/home computers. The tradition of home computer ownership is not as strong here as in other the countries. But the plus side is your mobile device will have connections even in subways and train stations. GET A TEMPORARY global data plan prior to your stay in Japan. Just spend the money and use your phone as much as possible instead of a laptop. If you Have to have a laptop, rent a Pocket WiFi device to act as a Wifi mobile hotspot. It will act as a gateway to the cellular data network. There are many providers. I use a company called Global Advanced Communications. http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/. They can deliver the rental Pocket Wifi to your hotel or to the Post Office at the terminal where you land. You just ask for the package at the counter.
3. Cellphone etiquette is strongly encouraged. Turn off ringers everywhere, and DO NOT talk on the phone on public transport. This is just the way it is. Talk on the phone after you get off the train, bus or subway. It’s just good manners while in Japan.
4. Outside of the big cities, two things become more scarce. Use of English AND acceptance of credit cards. Use your credit cards as much as possible in the big cities to save your cash for things like cab fares and other typically cash-only transcations. In smaller more remote locations English just isn’t used at all and the small shops don’t have any ability to do credit card transactions.
5. Bicycles are EVERYWHERE. Watch out and listen for bells and brakes squeaking/whistling. Bicycles are good at getting around you, but do not take up the sidwalk aimlessly window shopping and not having situational awareness. Watch out for the bikes and get out of the way if you can. I find, my wife and I walk in single file on narrow sidewalks and streets to let the bikes go ’round. If you are in the way, you will hear a bell, or a loud brake squeak to signal the want to get around you.

Earlier this month I met with several dozen people at Georgetown University to discuss an unusual question: should educational technology become an academic discipline? Carl Straumsheim wrote up a fine account, not to mention the bits where he interviewed me. The meeting raised some rich questions, and the main topic is quite stimulating, so I […]

via Disciplining educational technology — Bryan Alexander

The 6502 is the classic CPU. This chip is found in the original Apple, Apple II, PET, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, Atari 2600, and 800, the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Tamagotchis, and Bender Bending Rodriguez. This was the chip that started the microcomputer revolution, and holds a special place in the heart of every nerd…

via A Dis-Integrated 6502 — Hackaday

Recently we started a series on the components used to assemble a circuit board. The first issue was on dispensing solder paste. Moving down the assembly line, with the paste already on the board, the next step is getting the components onto the PCB. We’re just going to address SMT components in this issue, because…

via Tools of the Trade – Component Placing — Hackaday

Where does open education stand in 2016? On April 14th Cable Green, many participants, and I explored this question on the 11th Future Trends Forum. The chat box went wild with observations, lightning-fast links, and questions. Twitter discussion went well, so I Storified it here. You can find our video and audio recording at YouTube, […]

via Open education’s long revolution: Cable Green on Future Trends Forum #11 — Bryan Alexander

There was a time in the late 80s and early 90s where the Amiga was the standard for computer graphics. Remember SeaQuest? That was an Amiga. The intro to Better Call Saul? That’s purposefully crappy, to look like it came out of an Amiga. When it comes to the Amiga and video, the first thing that comes to…

via Digital Images And The Amiga — Hackaday

In 1994 when I first matriculated into Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester NY, the Media Center there had a number of Amiga 1000 and one Amiga 3000 computers used exclusively with the edit bays and video editing rooms there. I remember using a Genloc box with an Amiga 1000 to generate titles with drop shadows for all my grad video projects. It was amazing how easy it was to do amazing things that would take another 6 years or more to do as easily on iMovie on the Mac. Those were the days.

When [Dr. Moddnstine] saw a 1978 General Electric TV in the trash, he just had to save it. As it turned out, it still worked! An idea hatched — what if he could turn it into a vintage Chromecast TV? He opened up the TV and started poking around inside. We should note that old…

via Chromecast Vintage TV Is Magic — Hackaday

Seems like everyone wants to make their own version of the “Console Living Room” ala Jim Groom formerly of University of Mary Washington.

Call for 1980s Furniture: The Console Living Room Exhibit

Last week we had Gardner Campbell on the Future Trends Forum, and the discussion hurtled along. Gardner, participants, and I explored pedagogy, the power of the hyperlink, data, instructors, institutions, eportfolios, language, students, assessment, a great card deck, our personal histories, and a lot more. Twitter activity started well, became excited, then spilled over past the […]

via Future Trends Forum #9 with Gardner Campbell: full recording, notes, and Storify — Bryan Alexander

Over a dozen special-purpose accelerators compatible with next-generation OpenPOWER servers that feature the Coherent Accelerator Processor Interface (CAPI) were revealed at the OpenPOWER Summit last week. These accelerators aim to help encourage the use of OpenPOWER based machines for technical and high-performance computing. Most of the accelerators are based on Xilinx high-performance FPGAs, but some…

via Several CAPI-Enabled Accelerators for OpenPOWER Servers Revealed — AnandTech