By Brad Stone
Sept. 28, 2005 - It took me a few years of using the Palm operating system—first on the Palm V PDA, and now in my Samsung i500 phone—before I finally figured out how to draw the “k” on the Palm graffiti pad. You use the stylus to pen a sidewise, cursive “L” Really.
Unfortunately, my breakthrough is now irrelevant. Palm upgraded Grafitti and made the K easier to draw. But more significantly, market dynamics, consumer preferences and the prevailing strength of software giant Microsoft Corp. have earmarked the once revolutionary Palm operating system to the technology platform dustbin.
Earlier this week, Palm, Inc. CEO Ed Colligan joined with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in a San Francisco hotel conference room to announce a new product in Palm’s popular line of keyboard-equipped cell phones, the Treo. Unlike previous incarnations, this one will run Windows Mobile, instead of the Palm OS. That’s a bit like an Apple desktop running Windows XP. Or a Chevy car with a Ford engine.
It marks the beginning of the end for the Palm OS; the inevitable disappearance of a remarkably easy to use mobile operating system (“K” not withstanding) that enabled the very first generation of tech-equipped road warriors to tote around their calendars and Rolodexes in digital form. (more...)
Friday, September 30, 2005
A hand-held kiosk (NorthJersey.com)
When Travis Misurell arrived for freshman orientation at Montclair State University last month, he received the ultimate welcome gift.
School officials handed him a $250 Motorola cellphone - and told him to use it.
Not for phone calls, but to tap into a multitude of "channels" packed with news and updates on campus happenings.
Misurell and his classmates soon discovered they could use the phone to display everything from daily dining hall menus to a map updated every few seconds showing the exact location of campus shuttle buses.
"It's pretty useful, and it's going to get better and better," said Misurell, a 19-year-old from Little Silver.
So far, more than 1,400 of Montclair's 16,000 students are using the phones, and more are signing up daily. Incoming freshmen living on campus received the phones for free. Other students pay $50. (more...)
School officials handed him a $250 Motorola cellphone - and told him to use it.
Not for phone calls, but to tap into a multitude of "channels" packed with news and updates on campus happenings.
Misurell and his classmates soon discovered they could use the phone to display everything from daily dining hall menus to a map updated every few seconds showing the exact location of campus shuttle buses.
"It's pretty useful, and it's going to get better and better," said Misurell, a 19-year-old from Little Silver.
So far, more than 1,400 of Montclair's 16,000 students are using the phones, and more are signing up daily. Incoming freshmen living on campus received the phones for free. Other students pay $50. (more...)
Thursday, September 22, 2005
NEXT\TEXT
A project of: The Institute for the Future of the Book
In this networked age, the printed textbook has likely reached the end of its useful life cycle, but a robust digital competitor has yet to emerge. The next\text project seeks to encourage the creation of born-digital learning materials that enhance, expand, and ultimately replace the printed textbook. The work presented here offers multiple visions of what might be possible. (more...)
In this networked age, the printed textbook has likely reached the end of its useful life cycle, but a robust digital competitor has yet to emerge. The next\text project seeks to encourage the creation of born-digital learning materials that enhance, expand, and ultimately replace the printed textbook. The work presented here offers multiple visions of what might be possible. (more...)
Monday, September 19, 2005
Man's best friend (outside of a dog) (IBM DeveloperWorks)
Joshua Fruhlinger (pdwe@jfruh.com), Editor and Writer, Freelance
13 Sep 2005
When is the electronic book going to be as useable as the old-fashioned kind? How do technologies need to change to bring e-books out of the geeky, early adopter ghetto and into digital bookstalls everywhere? Power Architecture™ readers provide the answers in this month's Power Architecture challenge.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx
Don't let anyone tell you different: the future is not here.
Our cars? Not flying. Our food? Not in pill form. Our books? Not electronic.
"Now hold on a minute, buster," I'm sure you're saying. "Why, I read sci-fi e-books from the Baen Free Library all the time! Every time I have a few spare moments, I just pop out my PDA and advance through a few dozen screens of tasty e-book action! The future is here -- for me!"
I hate to break it to you, though, but it looks like e-books in their current form aren't going to break out of their early adopter ghetto any time soon. Certainly books stored in electronic form have flourished in a number of niche markets -- reference books, in particular, are becoming more and more prevalent as electronic form rather than paper (see Resources for more on this and other wacky links). But when it comes to the books that make up the bulk of our reading lives, the vast majority of us are still reading words printed with ink on paper bound with glue and string. (more...)
13 Sep 2005
When is the electronic book going to be as useable as the old-fashioned kind? How do technologies need to change to bring e-books out of the geeky, early adopter ghetto and into digital bookstalls everywhere? Power Architecture™ readers provide the answers in this month's Power Architecture challenge.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx
Don't let anyone tell you different: the future is not here.
Our cars? Not flying. Our food? Not in pill form. Our books? Not electronic.
"Now hold on a minute, buster," I'm sure you're saying. "Why, I read sci-fi e-books from the Baen Free Library all the time! Every time I have a few spare moments, I just pop out my PDA and advance through a few dozen screens of tasty e-book action! The future is here -- for me!"
I hate to break it to you, though, but it looks like e-books in their current form aren't going to break out of their early adopter ghetto any time soon. Certainly books stored in electronic form have flourished in a number of niche markets -- reference books, in particular, are becoming more and more prevalent as electronic form rather than paper (see Resources for more on this and other wacky links). But when it comes to the books that make up the bulk of our reading lives, the vast majority of us are still reading words printed with ink on paper bound with glue and string. (more...)
Friday, September 16, 2005
Accessibility Trial of the Downloadable Digital Audio Book Service from netLibrary and Recorded Books LLC
Over 180 print-impaired readers in 15 states took part in a 2 month trial of the new netLibrary/Recorded Books downloadable digital audio book service. You can nowread the report by Tom Peters.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
One Book Many Formats: The Magic of Multimedia
One Book Many Formats: The Magic of Multimedia
Wednesday, September 28 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Audio books in all formats are currently a red hot
technology in libraries, the general consumer market,
and for the visually impaired. Soon libraries will be
able to offer other exciting new medias on the
Internet, including video on demand and ebooks with
interactive audio and video. We will explore all the
exciting new formats for ebooks and audiobooks which
create a personal and customized reading experience
for all those who have trouble with regular print
because of a visual, physical, or learning
disabilities. Books in these new formats also benefit
and make reading more fun for children and adults who
have trouble reading, who are learning English as a
second language, or who just want to listen to
audiobooks for entertainment.
Join us for the second Annual Audio Ebook Expo to be
held in East Peoria at the Alliance Library System on
Wednesday, September 28 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. You
will hear from a variety of experts in the field and
get the wonderful opportunity to experience these new
technologies. The workshop is sponsored by the
Alliance Library System, Mid-Illinois Talking Book
Center, and the Illinois State Library Talking Book
and Braille Service. The workshop will also be
broadcast online for people who wish to attend the
programs from their desktops.
Speakers include Geoff Freed, WGBH; Tom Peters, TAP
Information Services; Steve Potash, OverDrive; Judy
Dixon, Library of Congress/NLS; Paul Cappuzzello,
OCLC; Bill Harroff, McKendree College; Charlotte
Johnson, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville;
Nancy Gilfillan, consultant; and Sharon Ruda,
Director, Illinois State Library Talking Book and
Braille Service.
More information on the program can be found at the
event website at
http://www.mitbc.org/audiobookexpo/index.html.
Cost to attend the in-person event is $10 for a cost
recovery lunch. There is no cost to attend online or
for talking book readers. To register for the
in-person event, please go to CLEO at
http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/cleo/index.asp or
you can also register for the in-person or online
event at
http://www.mitbc.org/audiobookexpo/registration.htm
To attend online, go to the OPAL auditorium at
http://67.19.231.218/v4/login.asp?r=67955673&p=0
type your name and click enter. A small software
applet will download to your machine as you go into
the online room.
This exciting event will be fun and educational. For
more information, contact Lori Bell at the
Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center at 1-800-426-0709 or
via email at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com
Wednesday, September 28 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Audio books in all formats are currently a red hot
technology in libraries, the general consumer market,
and for the visually impaired. Soon libraries will be
able to offer other exciting new medias on the
Internet, including video on demand and ebooks with
interactive audio and video. We will explore all the
exciting new formats for ebooks and audiobooks which
create a personal and customized reading experience
for all those who have trouble with regular print
because of a visual, physical, or learning
disabilities. Books in these new formats also benefit
and make reading more fun for children and adults who
have trouble reading, who are learning English as a
second language, or who just want to listen to
audiobooks for entertainment.
Join us for the second Annual Audio Ebook Expo to be
held in East Peoria at the Alliance Library System on
Wednesday, September 28 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. You
will hear from a variety of experts in the field and
get the wonderful opportunity to experience these new
technologies. The workshop is sponsored by the
Alliance Library System, Mid-Illinois Talking Book
Center, and the Illinois State Library Talking Book
and Braille Service. The workshop will also be
broadcast online for people who wish to attend the
programs from their desktops.
Speakers include Geoff Freed, WGBH; Tom Peters, TAP
Information Services; Steve Potash, OverDrive; Judy
Dixon, Library of Congress/NLS; Paul Cappuzzello,
OCLC; Bill Harroff, McKendree College; Charlotte
Johnson, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville;
Nancy Gilfillan, consultant; and Sharon Ruda,
Director, Illinois State Library Talking Book and
Braille Service.
More information on the program can be found at the
event website at
http://www.mitbc.org/audiobookexpo/index.html.
Cost to attend the in-person event is $10 for a cost
recovery lunch. There is no cost to attend online or
for talking book readers. To register for the
in-person event, please go to CLEO at
http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/cleo/index.asp or
you can also register for the in-person or online
event at
http://www.mitbc.org/audiobookexpo/registration.htm
To attend online, go to the OPAL auditorium at
http://67.19.231.218/v4/login.asp?r=67955673&p=0
type your name and click enter. A small software
applet will download to your machine as you go into
the online room.
This exciting event will be fun and educational. For
more information, contact Lori Bell at the
Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center at 1-800-426-0709 or
via email at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Libraries Offering Audiobook Downloads (Technology Review)
By Michael Hill August 29, 2005
Associated Press Writer
GUILDERLAND, N.Y. (AP) -- A new way to borrow audiobooks from the library involves no CDs, no car trips, no fines and no risk of being shushed.
Rather, public libraries from New York City to Alameda, Calif., are letting patrons download Tom Clancy techno-thrillers, Arabic tutorials and other titles to which they can listen on their computers or portable music players -- all without leaving home.
Librarians say such offerings help libraries stay relevant in the digital age.
Barbara Nichols Randall, director of the Guilderland Public Library in suburban Albany, said the library considered the needs of younger readers and those too busy to visit.
"This is a way for us to have library access 24/7," she said.
There's still one big hitch, though: The leading library services offer Windows-friendly audiobook files that can't be played on Apple Computer Inc.'s massively popular iPod player. (more...)
[via if:book]
Associated Press Writer
GUILDERLAND, N.Y. (AP) -- A new way to borrow audiobooks from the library involves no CDs, no car trips, no fines and no risk of being shushed.
Rather, public libraries from New York City to Alameda, Calif., are letting patrons download Tom Clancy techno-thrillers, Arabic tutorials and other titles to which they can listen on their computers or portable music players -- all without leaving home.
Librarians say such offerings help libraries stay relevant in the digital age.
Barbara Nichols Randall, director of the Guilderland Public Library in suburban Albany, said the library considered the needs of younger readers and those too busy to visit.
"This is a way for us to have library access 24/7," she said.
There's still one big hitch, though: The leading library services offer Windows-friendly audiobook files that can't be played on Apple Computer Inc.'s massively popular iPod player. (more...)
[via if:book]
Purdue Plans Academic Podcasts (Podcasting News)
This year at Purdue University, students won't just be listening to the latest tunes on their MP3 players. Students also will be using the devices to replay class lectures.
"Many universities are experimenting with podcasting, but I'm not aware of any other university that is deploying a podcasting service on the scale that we are," says Michael Gay, manager of Broadcast Networks & Services for Information Technology at Purdue. "As far as I know, we are the only university that is offering both streaming and podcasting of lectures in this manner as a central university service."
Students and faculty will be able to listen to podcasts of some large lectures on campus beginning immediately. Any faculty member can request that their course be available via the podcasting service, which is called BoilerCast.
"Once the students have this set up, they don't have to revisit the Web site to get the content," Gay says. "The most recent lectures of the courses they've subscribed to will be downloaded to their computer - and possibly to their media player - automatically."
Justin Williams, a senior in computer technology at Purdue, says that he's been asking individual instructors to podcast their courses for the past year.
"Having the audio of lectures and review sessions is a great way to complement the presentation slides many professors already offer," Williams says. "Being able to subscribe to the BoilerCast feed and have the new lectures automatically synchronized with my iPod sweetens the deal even more."
BoilerCast audio content also can be streamed to a person's computer if they don't want to download a file.
BoilerCast lectures have several advantages. Among them:
* Students are able to repeat lectures at their convenience, whether that's while exercising, driving or walking on campus.
* Non-native English speaking students can replay lectures to increase their comprehension.
* Students can review lectures before exams.
* Instructors can listen to their own lectures to improve their presentations.
* Students can listen in on classes they've missed.
Although the potential exists for students to use the service to skip classes, Gay says that he doesn't expect this to be a problem.
"Our experience has been that students who are going to skip class will come up with a reason to do so regardless. However, to put instructors' fears at ease, we will only BoilerCast a course if the instructor specifically requests the service," Gay says.
Purdue has offered audio recordings of certain lectures since the early 1970s. However, students needed to go to the undergraduate library to check out cassette tapes. Gay says BoilerCast is more convenient than the previous service.
"How many students even come to campus in 2005 with a cassette player?" he says. "Probably not very many."
The university also is evaluating other uses of the BoilerCast service. One of the first uses outside of the classroom is by Purdue Libraries, which is using the BoilerCast service to deliver self-tours of undergraduate library resources.
podcasts, podcasting
"Many universities are experimenting with podcasting, but I'm not aware of any other university that is deploying a podcasting service on the scale that we are," says Michael Gay, manager of Broadcast Networks & Services for Information Technology at Purdue. "As far as I know, we are the only university that is offering both streaming and podcasting of lectures in this manner as a central university service."
Students and faculty will be able to listen to podcasts of some large lectures on campus beginning immediately. Any faculty member can request that their course be available via the podcasting service, which is called BoilerCast.
"Once the students have this set up, they don't have to revisit the Web site to get the content," Gay says. "The most recent lectures of the courses they've subscribed to will be downloaded to their computer - and possibly to their media player - automatically."
Justin Williams, a senior in computer technology at Purdue, says that he's been asking individual instructors to podcast their courses for the past year.
"Having the audio of lectures and review sessions is a great way to complement the presentation slides many professors already offer," Williams says. "Being able to subscribe to the BoilerCast feed and have the new lectures automatically synchronized with my iPod sweetens the deal even more."
BoilerCast audio content also can be streamed to a person's computer if they don't want to download a file.
BoilerCast lectures have several advantages. Among them:
* Students are able to repeat lectures at their convenience, whether that's while exercising, driving or walking on campus.
* Non-native English speaking students can replay lectures to increase their comprehension.
* Students can review lectures before exams.
* Instructors can listen to their own lectures to improve their presentations.
* Students can listen in on classes they've missed.
Although the potential exists for students to use the service to skip classes, Gay says that he doesn't expect this to be a problem.
"Our experience has been that students who are going to skip class will come up with a reason to do so regardless. However, to put instructors' fears at ease, we will only BoilerCast a course if the instructor specifically requests the service," Gay says.
Purdue has offered audio recordings of certain lectures since the early 1970s. However, students needed to go to the undergraduate library to check out cassette tapes. Gay says BoilerCast is more convenient than the previous service.
"How many students even come to campus in 2005 with a cassette player?" he says. "Probably not very many."
The university also is evaluating other uses of the BoilerCast service. One of the first uses outside of the classroom is by Purdue Libraries, which is using the BoilerCast service to deliver self-tours of undergraduate library resources.
podcasts, podcasting
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