So, now that we know

So, now that we know that messages can be sent via a mobile device, the question becomes one of how big a message.

Going Primitive

This is being sent via my Jornada. Why, you ask? This is a test. I believe
that the Internet should be open to all, including those of limited means.
So, here we are.

Apple, Tablets & Hybrids

Tim Coook has weighed in about the future of tablets, at least those that are not Apple's. He feels that tablet/laptop hybrids have no place in the marketplace. 

While he may have something of a point, given the checkered history of tablet computing, he may have a point. I suspect that there is more to this. Obviously, simply adding a keyboard to an iPad makes it a fairly decent laptop replacement (with caveats). The most inexpensive laptop that Apple produces is on average nearly twice as expensive as an iPad, so perhaps Cook is looking out for another product line, though the iOS products are Apple's biggest sellers. 

It has also been suggested that Apple may be planning such a device. To be honest, I doubt that. The iPad is such a well designed gadget that simply adding a keyboard suffices for that "hybrid".

I think that what we're really seeing here is marketing, plain and simple. Apple would rather have you purchase their masterfully crafted devices than those less refined from their competitors. 

Still, I also suspect that such devices are coming. 

Breaking Connections

I had the misfortune of spending too many hours this today trying to get my eMate to talk to my Windows XP laptop. This was never an issue before; three months ago, it synched up just fine. Today, it simply wouldn't budge. It would connect, but whenever I tried to export a NewtonWorks document, it would encounter a communication error. 

This is problematic. 

The only computer in the house that the eMate will connect to now is our Bondi iBook running OS 9.2.2. 

While I am keeping my three Newton devices for various reasons, this is disconcerting. The recently acquired MP100 is a great e-reader, the 2000 will probably be as well, but I've used the eMate as a portable word processor almost exclusively. It has a number of items on it that sorely need to be moved. They can be moved, but only to that iBook. 

This is nothing against the iBook, it is a great old computer. But it has a hard time connecting to the Internet, and for me that is a make-or-break matter. It can connect, thanks to a great browser called Classilla, but is somewhat limited. It can move files that way, though, and today that's what I did. But it is inconvenient.

While I may be a big advocate for older systems, we are trying to eliminate some of the older systems we have due to space. The iBook was not slated to be retired, but was to be stored. Now, it appears as though that can't happen, at least until I off load the rest of those files from the eMate. The sad thing is that the eMate has been cutoff from my main computer directly. 

I may believe in older systems, but I am a bigger believer in simplicity.

Moving Right Along

Once upon a time, I wanted this blog to be dedicated to the notion of keeping and using older computers, to keep them from obsolesence. 

It turns out that obsolesence is mainly a state of mind.

Many computer enthusiasts continue using older machines for a variety of reasons, personal and otherwise. A friend of ours still uses an Amstrad PCW8256 for writing. Another uses their old game computer for gaming. Then there's a fellow in Pakistan who uses an older IBM for publishing a paper. 

As for myself, I use a number of older computers for a variety of reasons, though mainly for curiosity's sake. I have, once more, begun using my Tandy Model 102 (and 200) as well as my eMate for writing, since they are superb for that, with very minimal distraction. I also have a couple of typewriters, one manual the other electric, that I could use as well, and enjoy, but far be it from me to recommend that everyone follow my lead.

To say that I will end writing about these older machines and my adventures on them would be an untruth. Recently, however, my focus has been focused on not just what these computers are capable of, but getting them on the Internet. To varying degrees, I've found success. The rub is that while most of these computers can access the Internet, the results are less than satisfactory for most. The Internet has moved well past what these computers are capable of.

When I picked up a Newton 2000 for a song recently, it made me painfully aware of some of the problems I was facing. The only computer it can dock with was my PowerBook 5300c. This computer has been very cranky of late. A few years back I noticed that it would have an occasional bus error. The infrared port is basically useless, not capable of using the IrDA protocol, and the only way to move data is via a floppy drive that is becoming iffy. The painful truth is that the computer has become redundant, though I hesitate to say obsolete. It isn't alone. My first color laptop, my PowerBook 540c, runs beautifully but it can no longer write data reliably to the floppy drive, currently its only connection to the outside world. A lack of modern ports, namely USB, severely restricts both. 

As difficult as it is, both machines have lost their usefulness. They still work, mind you, even with their problems. Their utility, though, has passed. 

Ironically, a solution exists that will not only allow the Newtons to be used, but allow all my devices to be docked to one machine, incredibly my iBook Clamshell. While still old, it is far more useful. The iBook represents what may actually be the rearguard, the oldest machine capable of using the Internet, yet modern enough to have a USB port. 

Yes, we will revisit the older computers. But for now, there's plenty to do, doors to knock on, noises to make. 

Thinking Again...

I like both Google and Facebook and feel that the competition between them is actually slowing things down. Let’s be honest here; they both collect information and both have the potential to expose your personal information unwittingly. Unfortunately, that is what happens when you put your information out there. We had the same gripe about AOL and CompuServe back in the 1990’s, but of course we were also paying for the privilege.

It comes down to what one is willing to pay and tolerate. Both Google and Facebook offer services that are free; these are paid for by advertisements. A fair chunk of these ads are targeted, and guess what? The only way that can happen is if they know a little about you. Since I’ve had to tolerate worse shenanigans since earlier days on the Internet, I just shrug these things off and think, “things could always be worse, and once, it was.”

If you don’t want to have to deal with issues like these yet still want to be involved with the social Internet, you have options, but one set relies upon beefing up your computer skills, the other paying for these services. For instance, you could always learn how to use open source alternatives and work with Telnet and some of the alternative services that you can find in shell accounts. While once fairly mainstream for die hard computer enthusiasts, this is pretty much beyond the scope of what the regular user might want, or even be capable of. While it’s true that this method allows you to use older, system restricted systems, the experience is far different than what the Internet normally offers.

Or, you could always sign up for services such as The Well. I’m a fan of The Well, and really admire the work they do, but I do not have an account with them at this time.

The problem with both of these options is that they have the potential to shield you from the greater Internet, and this goes both ways. Of course, that seems to be happening anyway.

The bickering between the two giants, though, has got to stop.

This Instrument (Facebook) Can Teach...

Are Mark Zuckerberg's interests in the education potential of Facebook self-serving?

It would be so very easy to dismiss them as just that. However, after reading this article at CNN Money, I get the feeling he's being genuine.

Children learn best in an environment that has fair degree of social interaction, and in order for a child to function in this world, social skills need to be honed. In addition, there has to be play, creativity, imagination. Could Facebook be used for something like this? I'm going to skirt around the various concerns that there may be, and instead focus on the what-if.

Imagine an educational Facebook (Kinderbook? Edubook?). The interface would not be so different from what normal users of the service see at this time. However, the number of distractions are lower. Instead of games like Farmville or, gasp, Mafia Wars, the children would access games that teach skills; math, language, critical thinking, even programming. The site could be written in such a way that the child can modify it to suit their needs and interests, down to the font and colors, with a considerable amount of drag and drop of the various widgets.

As the child grows and matures, other areas of the site would open up to them, and they can explore anew. Exploring equals learning. Their user ID would contain traits and profile information that could dictate where the child can go, what they can do. This user ID would have parental controls, naturally.

There is potential here.

Edward R. Murrow famously said (during an editorial about television) that "this instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire." The same is true of the Internet, of course, and especially Facebook.