Getting There

I'm typing this on Cody, my Sylvania "bento" laptop. I do really like this machine, even if it has a few quirks. I am still using Windows CE on it as well, since it does run natively just fine. It's that that has gotten me to think; what is the message I need to convey? More to the point; what matters more, the goal of getting more people online or the way they get there?As it is, this little computer is perfectly capable right out of the box, even if it lacks a few necessary pieces of software (it really needs a text editor or light word processor, for instance). It might not be able to do a lot of high powered operations, but it is certainly the equal or better of some computers just a few years older.

The problem is, of course, that progress marches on and it is a given that this machine will be left behind if adequate updates can't be had. Microsoft seems to be heading down the Windows Mobile road, and possibly leaving CE behind. Which is a shame, of course; Windows CE 6 is quite a capable operating system. And the one true competitor, Android, is really designed for touch screens, and also lacks simple things like editors.

This brings us back to getting there.The Internet thinks it needs to change all the time. Websites constantly push new standards, and everything from browsers to operating systems to hardware have to play a game of catch-up. When Cody was unwrapped in early December, some of its Internet software was already obsolete.

Will this cycle continue?

Of course it quite probably will.

And that is a bit sad.