I’ve mentioned before how I love to use my iPod to keep current on podcasts while I travel. Sometimes the best part of being stuck in an airport is being able to ‘check out’ in the airlines club room with a glass of single malt and my iPod. Frequently I am awakened from my iPod trance with a nudge from the hostess telling me that my flight is boarding.

Just before my last flight to Hong Kong, I received an email from a dear friend Dr. Ramesh Johari. Rami is a professor at Stanford’s Department of Management Science and Engineering. Rami and I met while he was working towards his doctorate at MIT. I had the good fortune of being able to sit in on his dissertation which won the hearalded George M. Sprowls Award in '04. He is a really smart mind and a great person.

The Future of the Internet
His email pointed me to a new feature on iTunes, called iTunes U. His class lectures were now going to be carried on iTunes. He was sharing it with me because the class being recorded was one we worked on together entitled ‘The Future of The Internet’. It turns out that many professors at Stanford, MIT, Duke, and others were doing the same.

iTunes U is a great way to hear the best scholars in topics that interest you. You can browse different topics, download PDFs of the course materials and the lectures on topics that interest you. I added Rami’s lectures to my iPod, which made the long flight go in a breeze.

With the amount of time I spend traveling I will end up with an extra phD's worth of knowledge whilst occupying my otherwise unproductive time.