Mobile Computing Devices Have a Long Way To Go
So it's the end of the 4th day with my new PalmOne Treo 650. What have I got to show for my purchase? Absolutely nothing. I've spent the last several days finding, downloading and installing all manner of software on to my Treo. Instead of the 20-30 weblog entries I would typically have posted to my blogs on Mon-Thurs, I only have 11, excluding today's posts. Not very productive. Okay, I lied. I did write most of the posts about PalmOS-based devices, so I got something out of it.
But I had to stop writing to go buy a SD (Secure Digital) memory card today. My Treo wouldn't let me add any more software, and I still hadn't set up my test environment. My intent, as I mentioned in the last post, is to set up an environment to test RSS feed readers, etc. mostly in preparation for creating a number of free RSS-based services. I'm doing this for both desktop/ laptop computers and mobile devices (PalmOS for now). I've got several months of research and design still to do, so this isn't a short-term project.
What I was hoping was that my Treo would let me stay online when I was in places where I couldn't use my laptop to get on the Internet. I was hoping to see whether I could use software like Skype or GoogeTalk to communicate with other bloggers around the world, with whom I am collaborating.
So far, I'm worrying about the cost of exceeding my monthly mobile data limits, which aren't very generous. On top of that, trying to browse RSS feeds and websites (either online or off) on a 320x320 device isn't exactly a joyful experience, And despite the free Dataviz Documents to Go software, trying to browse MS-Word, MS-Excel and Adobe PDF files is only slightly better. Plain text, on the other hand, is very easy to browse and absorb.
In fact, I went to the Gutenberg Project and downloaded a few dozen of the top 100 books in the new Plucker format, designed for PalmOS-based devices. I've always wanted to read ALL of the classics in literature, but trying to build a hardcover library of out-of-print books hasn't always been easy. Or affordable. And when I ran out of space on the Treo, I had to stop adding e-texts.
I was lucky enough to find a 256 Mb card on sale at Staples (staples.ca, staples.com). Mine's a Lexar brand, but other than a great price ($30+taxes), one brand is pretty much the same as any other. Solving space problems is generally pretty easy and affordable.
So what's the problem most PDAs, smartphones, or other mobile computing devices? Screen space, of course. Despite all the extra bit depths, etc., the 320x320 pixel screen of the Treo is simply too small for my regular computing needs. Now, I'm not as mobile as I used to be. Back a decade ago, when I used to publish my monthly print review magazine, I might be in 3-8 cities on any given day. I sure could have used one of these then. Except that they didn't exist then. Heck, the Internet wasn't even public yet.
Obviously, I'm expecting too much on such a small device. Don't get me wrong. I still love my Palm Treo, even more than my old Palm V, which bit the dust after many butterfingered drops onto concrete. I just wish I had something mobile and unobtrusive. I seem to recall an old Wired magazine (print) article in the early- to mid-90s about heads-up displays (HUDs) posing as sunglasses.
These fabled HUD devices project an effectively large screen in a tiny display area, and connect unobtrusively to a small computer known as a brick because of its shape. Brick computers are typically small enough to be carried on your person. And I know that these HUDs exist, but they're still rather costly. You could, of course, build your own HUD, but walking around in public looking like a two-bit cyborg may just draw unwanted attention.
By the way, if you haven't seen the home page of the Lexar site, they're advertising a brand new CF (CompactFlash) card that's not only 4 Gb but 133x speed. Four Gb!! I'm not going to be like Bill "The Borg" Gates and say that 4 Gb should be all anyone will ever need for a memory card. Because I won't be happy unless I have a 4 Tb (Terabyte) card on a device that I can wear on my body. With a heads up display and a digital camera mounted in my cornea, snapping pics of everything I look at with the blink of an eye.
Technorati Tags: tech watch, palm, palmone, treo, palmpilot, palmos, PDA, mobile devices, productiivty, MPC, HUD, heads up display
But I had to stop writing to go buy a SD (Secure Digital) memory card today. My Treo wouldn't let me add any more software, and I still hadn't set up my test environment. My intent, as I mentioned in the last post, is to set up an environment to test RSS feed readers, etc. mostly in preparation for creating a number of free RSS-based services. I'm doing this for both desktop/ laptop computers and mobile devices (PalmOS for now). I've got several months of research and design still to do, so this isn't a short-term project.
What I was hoping was that my Treo would let me stay online when I was in places where I couldn't use my laptop to get on the Internet. I was hoping to see whether I could use software like Skype or GoogeTalk to communicate with other bloggers around the world, with whom I am collaborating.
So far, I'm worrying about the cost of exceeding my monthly mobile data limits, which aren't very generous. On top of that, trying to browse RSS feeds and websites (either online or off) on a 320x320 device isn't exactly a joyful experience, And despite the free Dataviz Documents to Go software, trying to browse MS-Word, MS-Excel and Adobe PDF files is only slightly better. Plain text, on the other hand, is very easy to browse and absorb.
In fact, I went to the Gutenberg Project and downloaded a few dozen of the top 100 books in the new Plucker format, designed for PalmOS-based devices. I've always wanted to read ALL of the classics in literature, but trying to build a hardcover library of out-of-print books hasn't always been easy. Or affordable. And when I ran out of space on the Treo, I had to stop adding e-texts.
I was lucky enough to find a 256 Mb card on sale at Staples (staples.ca, staples.com). Mine's a Lexar brand, but other than a great price ($30+taxes), one brand is pretty much the same as any other. Solving space problems is generally pretty easy and affordable.
So what's the problem most PDAs, smartphones, or other mobile computing devices? Screen space, of course. Despite all the extra bit depths, etc., the 320x320 pixel screen of the Treo is simply too small for my regular computing needs. Now, I'm not as mobile as I used to be. Back a decade ago, when I used to publish my monthly print review magazine, I might be in 3-8 cities on any given day. I sure could have used one of these then. Except that they didn't exist then. Heck, the Internet wasn't even public yet.
Obviously, I'm expecting too much on such a small device. Don't get me wrong. I still love my Palm Treo, even more than my old Palm V, which bit the dust after many butterfingered drops onto concrete. I just wish I had something mobile and unobtrusive. I seem to recall an old Wired magazine (print) article in the early- to mid-90s about heads-up displays (HUDs) posing as sunglasses.
These fabled HUD devices project an effectively large screen in a tiny display area, and connect unobtrusively to a small computer known as a brick because of its shape. Brick computers are typically small enough to be carried on your person. And I know that these HUDs exist, but they're still rather costly. You could, of course, build your own HUD, but walking around in public looking like a two-bit cyborg may just draw unwanted attention.
By the way, if you haven't seen the home page of the Lexar site, they're advertising a brand new CF (CompactFlash) card that's not only 4 Gb but 133x speed. Four Gb!! I'm not going to be like Bill "The Borg" Gates and say that 4 Gb should be all anyone will ever need for a memory card. Because I won't be happy unless I have a 4 Tb (Terabyte) card on a device that I can wear on my body. With a heads up display and a digital camera mounted in my cornea, snapping pics of everything I look at with the blink of an eye.
Technorati Tags: tech watch, palm, palmone, treo, palmpilot, palmos, PDA, mobile devices, productiivty, MPC, HUD, heads up display
