School Starts Again!!!
School has started again, and with the commencement
of classes we are finally seeing life in the library:
students, professors, and yes, even some parents
coming to see what they are paying for. It’s all
quite invigorating.
More importantly (for completely selfish reasons of course) I have started classes for the two Master Degrees that I have started pursuing. One in Instructional Design, and the other in Applied Linguistics. Some former classmates are scratching their heads as to why I would go back to school when I already have two Master Degrees. Well… It’s fun, it’s refreshing, I like to meet new people, and a great side effect of the whole learning experience is that I can apply what I learn to my job.
More importantly (for completely selfish reasons of course) I have started classes for the two Master Degrees that I have started pursuing. One in Instructional Design, and the other in Applied Linguistics. Some former classmates are scratching their heads as to why I would go back to school when I already have two Master Degrees. Well… It’s fun, it’s refreshing, I like to meet new people, and a great side effect of the whole learning experience is that I can apply what I learn to my job.
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Save on Books – go to your library
30/January/2008 21:20 Filed in: School
This semester I have started a new Master’s program
(having already finished two). I am studying the art
and science of Instructional Design so that I can be
a better teacher (when I do finally become a
professor), or to use the skills that I have gained
to help existing teachers with their course design
dilemmas (or something like that anyway).
In years past I have always looked at ways to get cheap books, because as most college students know – textbooks are no cheap. My ally up to now has been addall.com – a website that searches 30 or so websites, and gives you a list of sellers, and their prices, and you can go ahead and order the book you want. I have generally saved anywhere from 50% to 75% compared to Campus Bookstore prices.
This semester I decided to try something I haven’t tried in ages – look at my local library’s catalog (and the virtual catalog as well.) I was able to find ALL of my textbooks. I paid absolutely nothing to get these books, and I can use them throughout my semester. I think I can renew the books at least a couple of times, and I can also check them out again.
If at the end of the semester I decide that I like the book, or it will be an invaluable reference for future endeavors, I can go ahead and buy a used version from addall.com (something that I have already done for one my semester books already). This semester I saved 90% by going to the library.
Lessons learned:
1. Never trust your bookstore – just go there to get your ISBNs
2. Always check your public and/or college library for the books
3. If you don’t find them, use addall.com
4. Always support your public library – volunteer, become a ‘friend of the library’ by donating a small amount of money, make sure your local leaders know you support your public library – because as things have proved – a small donation here and there can save you money elsewhere!
In years past I have always looked at ways to get cheap books, because as most college students know – textbooks are no cheap. My ally up to now has been addall.com – a website that searches 30 or so websites, and gives you a list of sellers, and their prices, and you can go ahead and order the book you want. I have generally saved anywhere from 50% to 75% compared to Campus Bookstore prices.
This semester I decided to try something I haven’t tried in ages – look at my local library’s catalog (and the virtual catalog as well.) I was able to find ALL of my textbooks. I paid absolutely nothing to get these books, and I can use them throughout my semester. I think I can renew the books at least a couple of times, and I can also check them out again.
If at the end of the semester I decide that I like the book, or it will be an invaluable reference for future endeavors, I can go ahead and buy a used version from addall.com (something that I have already done for one my semester books already). This semester I saved 90% by going to the library.
Lessons learned:
1. Never trust your bookstore – just go there to get your ISBNs
2. Always check your public and/or college library for the books
3. If you don’t find them, use addall.com
4. Always support your public library – volunteer, become a ‘friend of the library’ by donating a small amount of money, make sure your local leaders know you support your public library – because as things have proved – a small donation here and there can save you money elsewhere!
MBLC Jobs page hacked?
27/January/2008 09:32 Filed in: Work
As someone who works in a library I have the
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC)
job listings website on my RSS reader. This morning
as I was sipping my hot coffee and reading the
headlines from the BBC (and other RSS feeds I
subscribe to) I saw a bizzare 'job' on the MBLC site.
"Surely my RSS reader malfunctioned somewhere" I
thought to myself, but I went to the MBLC website
anyway to check out this oddity anyway.
The website does seem to have been hacked, or someone not-very-happy with the MBLC (or their employer) decided to post this gag job listing (image bellow)
Here is the address for the MBLC: http://mblc.state.ma.us/jobs/find_jobs/index.php for those that are interested in library jobs in Massachusetts (present gag/hackk/oddity aside)
The website does seem to have been hacked, or someone not-very-happy with the MBLC (or their employer) decided to post this gag job listing (image bellow)
Here is the address for the MBLC: http://mblc.state.ma.us/jobs/find_jobs/index.php for those that are interested in library jobs in Massachusetts (present gag/hackk/oddity aside)
Nokia N800 Review – sort of…
25/January/2008 17:57 Filed in: Technology
I was going to write a lengthy review of my N800
experiences, but why bother? The device is not really
new, I am not an early adopter (for this device
anyway), and there have been many, many, reviews of
the unit. So, in lieu of a review I decided to write
(mostly) about what I like about the N800, since I
have already aired some of my criticisms (or
recommendations for improvement) in previous blog
posts.
Hardware
When it comes to hardware, I really like the form factor. It fits easily in my coat pocket, it is sort of like a slimmed down Newton 2100. It has a nice desk stand, which I thought I would not like, but I do! It’s rather convenient for when I want to listen to music, or just keep at eye level to see incoming email notifications.
The battery is nothing spectacular, but it is nothing to whine about. I generally (for my usage) recharge the unit once a day, and it sees a full day’s use, usually email, IM, and some last.fm
The 0.3MP Camera is a novelty (for me at least) since Pidgin does not support A/V chat, and I do not have many contacts on GTalk that would video conference.
The FM Radio is a nice addition. Granted I do not often listen to the radio these days, but there have been moments of sheer boredom (caused by silence in the room, in an area without WiFi), and the FM radio has championed the anti-boredom cause!
Of course the reason I picked an N800 instead of an N810 are the two SD Card Slots! These are great! There is one internally (under the battery cover) and one ‘external’ which can be accesses normally like other SD cards. This option gives my N800 almost endless storage (someone quoted 16GB can be had by two 8GB SDHC cards in the N800), my storage is three standard SD cards, 2GB each (non HC). Thus far it has not disappointed me!
Software
The software component of the N800 has two dimensions, the ITOS2007 dimension and the ITOS2008 dimension. I spent about two weeks with ITOS2007 before I upgraded. Generally I feel like the upgrade to ITOS2008 was worth it. The OS is more finger friendly, the RSS application handles embedded HTML in a better fashion, and the browser…well the browser is a mixed bag. I liked Opera (ITOS2007 browser) but it did not render everything correctly. Firefox Minimo (ITOS2008 browser) is much better at rendering pages that I visit, however it is slow to start, and it generally takes more time to accomplish tasks.
What I like
Applets – I love the applets on the main screen. It is so convenient to access information using applets. My only ‘gripe’ is that there aren’t more applets available! My wish list for applets would be: a stocks applet, a gmail applet (similar to the MacOS X widget), an applet that tells you what new mail has come into your mailbox (similar to the RSS applet). Finally a ‘current coordinates’ applet that would tie in with a Bluetooth GPS unit to let you know approximately where you are (based of course on the map application or maemo mapper)
RSS Reader & Mail - Great applications, they have really untied me from my desktop and my laptop! I have written in previous blog postings that I wish that the Mail app supported Google Threaded emails, and that the RSS reader had some sort of podcatcher feature so you could subscribe to audio and video podcasts.
Application Manager – I have used linux machines in the past, and installing apps was a royal pain in the (you know what). Granted I haven’t used linux in the last year or two so I may be out of date but the Application Manager kicks butt! I like that I can easily install applications from a repository, that I can easily remove applications, and that I don’t have to worry about dependencies (at least this has not been an issue up to now).
Vagalume – a Last.fm client. This app is single handedly responsible for my usage of Last.fm. Simply great!
Skype/Gizmo – Crystal clear (and cheap!) calling! Now there is no excuse to not call my grandmother (in Greece) more often. Now, I only wish that Skype supported video conferencing on the N800 just like on the
Pidgin – I have Pidgin running all the time on my N800. It’s a great IM application that integrates well with the ITOS2008 dock/status area. My only ‘gripe’ is that video and audio conferencing (and doc sharing) is not available as a feature. Otherwise, I’ve gotten back to the IM world that I had put aside for such a long time due to my inability to use IM on my regular computers.
Video Center – A nice application that allows you to subscribe and download video podcasts. Videos from some RSS feeds are choppy, but if you get your podcasts from ‘video center approved’ feeds, the videos play just fine.
Maemo Mapper – A nice free map application that I haven’t played a ton with. Supposedly you can get door-to-door directions. Need to play more with it.
Transmission – I don’t download torrents on my N800, but just the fact that a fully functional version of Transmission is available is incredible!
What I don’t like as much:
Input & Localization – I am a bit torn on the input front. I haven’t used the handwriting recognition (I suppose I should). I generally rely on the virtual thumb board for typing which in my experience (thus far) has been a little slow. Additionally, as I have mentioned in a previous blog post), there is no way to input asian scripts such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean. I know that there are people outside of Nokia working on it, but it’s at best a third party solution, and it could de-stabilize the system. Localization also falls a bit short for my tastes. You can input text in a number of different European languages but the OS (and applications) are not localized for all of those languages. There is no Greek localization for instance.
Web Browser – As I mentioned in the introduction, the Minimo browser needs some work. It is a bit slow to start up and sometimes it is a bit unresponsive (you need to wait, it hasn’t actually crashed). It does render pages better than Opera (ITOS2007) but it does need some speed improvements. Additionally, since it is based on the Firefox code, I would love to see some plug-ins that are available for Firefox to be available for Minimo.
Control Panel – The control panel is great, however the ‘lock’ function is not. I bought my unit third hand, and somewhere along the way the default lock code was changed. There is no way to know what this lock code is (in order to reset it), so I have to send my unit to Nokia for a complete reflashing (or something) in order to get it back to factory settings. This also means that I probably won’t be able to use my backups as a restore file because the old lock code is in there somewhere in that restore file. I wish there were something like a ‘pin 2’ or ‘puk’ that allowed you to reset that lock code without needing to reconstitute your data!
Contacts – I am not going to speak much about the contacts application since I have written about it in one of the N800 improvements blog posts. I think that PIM functionality is woefully under-developed in OS2008.
Notes & Sketch – Nice apps, but they really should be integrated. I think the Newton Notepad model is the model that I think Nokia should be striving for. MaemoPad+ is a good substitute but it’s still not a Newton Notepad.
Maps – I haven’t had much use of the Maps application. Mostly because it is a pain in the butt to download maps! The maps for USA East is about 700MB. I have started to download these maps, but my N800 ALWAYS crashes! Luckily after some googling and searching I found a work-around, but if you offer an option to download maps to your device over the air, you better make sure it works!
Canola – I recently discovered canola, an application which allows you to make your N800 into a personal media player. I really (really) like the user interface of canola, however the way it operates leaves something to be desired. You can use it as a podcatcher, but you must manually add in each address (PITA!) and this only works for audio podcasts. It supports photocasts, but again – no easy way to subscribe. It supports internet radio, but it doesn’t incorporate a shoutcast (or others) directories to easily add radio stations or browse them. It does not support the built-in FM Tuner in any capacity
Joost – Where’s my joost client?
GarnetVM – Recently Access, Inc. released a virtual machine for its legacy Garnet OS (formerly PalmOS 5). I think that this is great, but it is missing a considerable amount of functionality. I installed a few palm apps, and it borked the VM. I had to uninstall it an reinstall it again. There is no way to do USB or Bluetooth hotsync. It does not offer features found in Palm handhelds like the SMS app, the world clock app, a full control panel (with BT and WiFi options), Blazer, and so on. I know it’s still in beta – so I am patient. I can’t wait until the final version.
MS Office doc viewer – or the lack thereof. I receive emails with excel, word and powerpoint files attached to them. It would be nice for an internet tablet to include some sort of viewer for these files.
Final Thoughts
It may sound like I do not like the N800 based on what I have written, but in actuality I really do like my device, despite my complaining and its shortcomings I think that it is actually quite a nice device to own and use! I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to browse the internet, chat and check mail in the living room (or on the go) without wanting to whip out the laptop.
Hardware
When it comes to hardware, I really like the form factor. It fits easily in my coat pocket, it is sort of like a slimmed down Newton 2100. It has a nice desk stand, which I thought I would not like, but I do! It’s rather convenient for when I want to listen to music, or just keep at eye level to see incoming email notifications.
The battery is nothing spectacular, but it is nothing to whine about. I generally (for my usage) recharge the unit once a day, and it sees a full day’s use, usually email, IM, and some last.fm
The 0.3MP Camera is a novelty (for me at least) since Pidgin does not support A/V chat, and I do not have many contacts on GTalk that would video conference.
The FM Radio is a nice addition. Granted I do not often listen to the radio these days, but there have been moments of sheer boredom (caused by silence in the room, in an area without WiFi), and the FM radio has championed the anti-boredom cause!
Of course the reason I picked an N800 instead of an N810 are the two SD Card Slots! These are great! There is one internally (under the battery cover) and one ‘external’ which can be accesses normally like other SD cards. This option gives my N800 almost endless storage (someone quoted 16GB can be had by two 8GB SDHC cards in the N800), my storage is three standard SD cards, 2GB each (non HC). Thus far it has not disappointed me!
Software
The software component of the N800 has two dimensions, the ITOS2007 dimension and the ITOS2008 dimension. I spent about two weeks with ITOS2007 before I upgraded. Generally I feel like the upgrade to ITOS2008 was worth it. The OS is more finger friendly, the RSS application handles embedded HTML in a better fashion, and the browser…well the browser is a mixed bag. I liked Opera (ITOS2007 browser) but it did not render everything correctly. Firefox Minimo (ITOS2008 browser) is much better at rendering pages that I visit, however it is slow to start, and it generally takes more time to accomplish tasks.
What I like
Applets – I love the applets on the main screen. It is so convenient to access information using applets. My only ‘gripe’ is that there aren’t more applets available! My wish list for applets would be: a stocks applet, a gmail applet (similar to the MacOS X widget), an applet that tells you what new mail has come into your mailbox (similar to the RSS applet). Finally a ‘current coordinates’ applet that would tie in with a Bluetooth GPS unit to let you know approximately where you are (based of course on the map application or maemo mapper)
RSS Reader & Mail - Great applications, they have really untied me from my desktop and my laptop! I have written in previous blog postings that I wish that the Mail app supported Google Threaded emails, and that the RSS reader had some sort of podcatcher feature so you could subscribe to audio and video podcasts.
Application Manager – I have used linux machines in the past, and installing apps was a royal pain in the (you know what). Granted I haven’t used linux in the last year or two so I may be out of date but the Application Manager kicks butt! I like that I can easily install applications from a repository, that I can easily remove applications, and that I don’t have to worry about dependencies (at least this has not been an issue up to now).
Vagalume – a Last.fm client. This app is single handedly responsible for my usage of Last.fm. Simply great!
Skype/Gizmo – Crystal clear (and cheap!) calling! Now there is no excuse to not call my grandmother (in Greece) more often. Now, I only wish that Skype supported video conferencing on the N800 just like on the
Pidgin – I have Pidgin running all the time on my N800. It’s a great IM application that integrates well with the ITOS2008 dock/status area. My only ‘gripe’ is that video and audio conferencing (and doc sharing) is not available as a feature. Otherwise, I’ve gotten back to the IM world that I had put aside for such a long time due to my inability to use IM on my regular computers.
Video Center – A nice application that allows you to subscribe and download video podcasts. Videos from some RSS feeds are choppy, but if you get your podcasts from ‘video center approved’ feeds, the videos play just fine.
Maemo Mapper – A nice free map application that I haven’t played a ton with. Supposedly you can get door-to-door directions. Need to play more with it.
Transmission – I don’t download torrents on my N800, but just the fact that a fully functional version of Transmission is available is incredible!
What I don’t like as much:
Input & Localization – I am a bit torn on the input front. I haven’t used the handwriting recognition (I suppose I should). I generally rely on the virtual thumb board for typing which in my experience (thus far) has been a little slow. Additionally, as I have mentioned in a previous blog post), there is no way to input asian scripts such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean. I know that there are people outside of Nokia working on it, but it’s at best a third party solution, and it could de-stabilize the system. Localization also falls a bit short for my tastes. You can input text in a number of different European languages but the OS (and applications) are not localized for all of those languages. There is no Greek localization for instance.
Web Browser – As I mentioned in the introduction, the Minimo browser needs some work. It is a bit slow to start up and sometimes it is a bit unresponsive (you need to wait, it hasn’t actually crashed). It does render pages better than Opera (ITOS2007) but it does need some speed improvements. Additionally, since it is based on the Firefox code, I would love to see some plug-ins that are available for Firefox to be available for Minimo.
Control Panel – The control panel is great, however the ‘lock’ function is not. I bought my unit third hand, and somewhere along the way the default lock code was changed. There is no way to know what this lock code is (in order to reset it), so I have to send my unit to Nokia for a complete reflashing (or something) in order to get it back to factory settings. This also means that I probably won’t be able to use my backups as a restore file because the old lock code is in there somewhere in that restore file. I wish there were something like a ‘pin 2’ or ‘puk’ that allowed you to reset that lock code without needing to reconstitute your data!
Contacts – I am not going to speak much about the contacts application since I have written about it in one of the N800 improvements blog posts. I think that PIM functionality is woefully under-developed in OS2008.
Notes & Sketch – Nice apps, but they really should be integrated. I think the Newton Notepad model is the model that I think Nokia should be striving for. MaemoPad+ is a good substitute but it’s still not a Newton Notepad.
Maps – I haven’t had much use of the Maps application. Mostly because it is a pain in the butt to download maps! The maps for USA East is about 700MB. I have started to download these maps, but my N800 ALWAYS crashes! Luckily after some googling and searching I found a work-around, but if you offer an option to download maps to your device over the air, you better make sure it works!
Canola – I recently discovered canola, an application which allows you to make your N800 into a personal media player. I really (really) like the user interface of canola, however the way it operates leaves something to be desired. You can use it as a podcatcher, but you must manually add in each address (PITA!) and this only works for audio podcasts. It supports photocasts, but again – no easy way to subscribe. It supports internet radio, but it doesn’t incorporate a shoutcast (or others) directories to easily add radio stations or browse them. It does not support the built-in FM Tuner in any capacity
Joost – Where’s my joost client?
GarnetVM – Recently Access, Inc. released a virtual machine for its legacy Garnet OS (formerly PalmOS 5). I think that this is great, but it is missing a considerable amount of functionality. I installed a few palm apps, and it borked the VM. I had to uninstall it an reinstall it again. There is no way to do USB or Bluetooth hotsync. It does not offer features found in Palm handhelds like the SMS app, the world clock app, a full control panel (with BT and WiFi options), Blazer, and so on. I know it’s still in beta – so I am patient. I can’t wait until the final version.
MS Office doc viewer – or the lack thereof. I receive emails with excel, word and powerpoint files attached to them. It would be nice for an internet tablet to include some sort of viewer for these files.
Final Thoughts
It may sound like I do not like the N800 based on what I have written, but in actuality I really do like my device, despite my complaining and its shortcomings I think that it is actually quite a nice device to own and use! I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to browse the internet, chat and check mail in the living room (or on the go) without wanting to whip out the laptop.
Maemo: Where’s my CJK?
21/January/2008 09:27 Filed in: Technology
One of the things that bugs me in my internet tablet
is the lack of (what I consider to be) important
scripts. Nokia has not included Chinese, Japanese or
Korean (CJK) in ITOS2008 (and it was not available in
ITOS2007 either). Now, my knowledge of these
languages is limited, but I am learning, and it would
be helpful if I could go to websites that have text
in CJK to be able to have it legible. It would also
be nice to type in CJK scripts - quite useful for
last.fm or looking up something in a dictionary.
On a related note, no Hebrew or Arabic is supported by the internet tablet OS. Why? I know that a lot of people speak English, but there are websites out there that use these scripts, and it would be nice if they rendered properly for the people who can read those scripts!
On a related note, no Hebrew or Arabic is supported by the internet tablet OS. Why? I know that a lot of people speak English, but there are websites out there that use these scripts, and it would be nice if they rendered properly for the people who can read those scripts!
Tablet Improvements: PIM, Mail, IM
13/January/2008 12:46 Filed in: Technology
Having used my internet tablet with OS2008 for about
a week now, I wanted to sing a little to the choir
and echo some of the community’s comments regarding
applications that one would expect to be included in
the Internet Tablet, but are not.
PIM Suite:
PIM suites used to be the bread and butter of the PDA, not any more. PIM suites exist on desktop computers (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.) on smartphones of all sorts, and even good ol’ regular cellphones. IT behooves anyone to think that an Internet Tablet does not have a good addressbook (that includes snailmail addresses!), a good calendar, and a good to-do list. These are almost a necessity these days, and Nokia should have included them as part of the product. They have experience with PIM suites (look at their S60 phones, they all have PIM).
A PIM is not only useful for referencing information, or reminding you of an appointment, it’s important because it can tie into your IM client and identify your contacts, it can tie into your mail and you can have easy access to all of your contact’s information. If you receive an email invitation it can go directly into your calendar, and so on.
On top of the PIM suite, I would say that there should have also been synchronization (USB, Bluetooth, and/or wireless) capability via SyncML to synchronize this PIM data with your computer, nokia mobile phone, and/or online services like Google and Yahoo (sort of like what the iPhone does).
Mail:
I like the mail application, I won’t write much, but there are three things that I would like to see implemented: Hotmail support, Exchange Support, Yahoo IMAP support (like the iPhone). Other than that, I am a happy camper thus far
IM:
Pidgin is a great app, I really wish that it were part of the package and not a separate download. I wish this were the case because then it would be integrated with the status indicators on the top of the screen, and I could set my accounts in the control panel. On thing that I would like to see implemented in Pigdin (or if the built-in IM supports all of the protocols that Pidgin supports) is to have both video and audio chat. There is a built-in camera in both the N800 and N810, why not use it? It seems kinda silly to ask my friends on Yahoo to fire up Skype or GTalk in order for us to voicechat.
PIM Suite:
PIM suites used to be the bread and butter of the PDA, not any more. PIM suites exist on desktop computers (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.) on smartphones of all sorts, and even good ol’ regular cellphones. IT behooves anyone to think that an Internet Tablet does not have a good addressbook (that includes snailmail addresses!), a good calendar, and a good to-do list. These are almost a necessity these days, and Nokia should have included them as part of the product. They have experience with PIM suites (look at their S60 phones, they all have PIM).
A PIM is not only useful for referencing information, or reminding you of an appointment, it’s important because it can tie into your IM client and identify your contacts, it can tie into your mail and you can have easy access to all of your contact’s information. If you receive an email invitation it can go directly into your calendar, and so on.
On top of the PIM suite, I would say that there should have also been synchronization (USB, Bluetooth, and/or wireless) capability via SyncML to synchronize this PIM data with your computer, nokia mobile phone, and/or online services like Google and Yahoo (sort of like what the iPhone does).
Mail:
I like the mail application, I won’t write much, but there are three things that I would like to see implemented: Hotmail support, Exchange Support, Yahoo IMAP support (like the iPhone). Other than that, I am a happy camper thus far
IM:
Pidgin is a great app, I really wish that it were part of the package and not a separate download. I wish this were the case because then it would be integrated with the status indicators on the top of the screen, and I could set my accounts in the control panel. On thing that I would like to see implemented in Pigdin (or if the built-in IM supports all of the protocols that Pidgin supports) is to have both video and audio chat. There is a built-in camera in both the N800 and N810, why not use it? It seems kinda silly to ask my friends on Yahoo to fire up Skype or GTalk in order for us to voicechat.
Tablet Improvements: Welcome to the Social!
10/January/2008 07:24 Filed in: Technology
Our recent internet lives have been inundated with
social this, and social that. We all have a LinkedIn,
Facebook, mySpace (or whatever) account to keep in
touch with our buddies, our colleagues and our
family. Given the abundance of these services that we
are part of, here are some suggestions for apps (or
integration) that would make Maemo even better.
Blogging Client:
It would be nice to have a robust, blogging client so that you can blog without going to the webpage of your blogging service to do so. Off the bat, I would say that Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, Twitter, and Tumblr should be supported. You can sync up your x-recent posts, you can create new ones, edit old ones, and so on. I tried using WordPress on the browser that is supplied with ITOS2007, and I was having issues. A blogging client would side-step these issues and provides greater functionality.
Social Network Client:
Facebook has made a special interface for the iPhone, and MySpace is a downloadable application on the Sidekick/Hiptop. It seems like a great idea to create a Social Network Client that supports the top 5-10 networking sites and allows you to at least do some rudimentary stuff like accept/reject connection requests, see who recently joined (example: new classmates or colleagues in LinkedIn), check your email, change your status, browse through your friends list, send messages, and so on.
Podcast Client:
The RSS reader (with the exception of aforementioned improvements) does a good job for text and image based RSS feeds. It would be nice if a podcast/vidcast client were available for the ITOS2008 platform. You could subscribe to your favorite podcasts, choose which ones to download, and have seamless integration with the media player for the playback of those podcasts. I know that canola offers this kind of functionality, but it would be nice to have the functionality of a podcast client as a separate app. I don’t use my tablet as a media center, and therefore don’t want to fire-up my media center app when I want to browse or listen to a podcast.
Flickr/Picassa Manager:
Many people store their images online these days, either as a backup, a way to share with friends, or a way to easily post them on their blogs and websites. It would be a great if a Flickr (and/or Picassa) manager type application were available for this platform. You could browse through your photos, add or change tags, create and add to collections, and have the ability to upload from your device. I know that the neither the N810 nor the N800 have great cameras, but with Bluetooth you can always transfer images taken from phones or cameras that have built-in Bluetooth or SD slots.
YouTube Manager:
In similar fashion to the Flickr Manager, the YouTube Manager would allow you to browse and play through videos that you have marked as your favorite, it would allow you to change your account preferences and information, search for videos (like the iPhone YouTube client) and finally allow you to upload videos to YouTube (taken with a phone or other device, or videos available in your SD card)
Bookmark Manager:
The built-in bookmark manager is OK, I generally don’t get thrilled about things such as bookmarks, however there would be a nice killer feature that this app can have: Integration with del.icio.us (and/or other bookmark repository sites such as Yahoo and Google). You can save new bookmarks locally to your tablet; you can save them on the network on your preferred service(s); and you can access bookmarks already saved on those services without needing to fire-up the browser and navigate to those sites!
Blogging Client:
It would be nice to have a robust, blogging client so that you can blog without going to the webpage of your blogging service to do so. Off the bat, I would say that Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, Twitter, and Tumblr should be supported. You can sync up your x-recent posts, you can create new ones, edit old ones, and so on. I tried using WordPress on the browser that is supplied with ITOS2007, and I was having issues. A blogging client would side-step these issues and provides greater functionality.
Social Network Client:
Facebook has made a special interface for the iPhone, and MySpace is a downloadable application on the Sidekick/Hiptop. It seems like a great idea to create a Social Network Client that supports the top 5-10 networking sites and allows you to at least do some rudimentary stuff like accept/reject connection requests, see who recently joined (example: new classmates or colleagues in LinkedIn), check your email, change your status, browse through your friends list, send messages, and so on.
Podcast Client:
The RSS reader (with the exception of aforementioned improvements) does a good job for text and image based RSS feeds. It would be nice if a podcast/vidcast client were available for the ITOS2008 platform. You could subscribe to your favorite podcasts, choose which ones to download, and have seamless integration with the media player for the playback of those podcasts. I know that canola offers this kind of functionality, but it would be nice to have the functionality of a podcast client as a separate app. I don’t use my tablet as a media center, and therefore don’t want to fire-up my media center app when I want to browse or listen to a podcast.
Flickr/Picassa Manager:
Many people store their images online these days, either as a backup, a way to share with friends, or a way to easily post them on their blogs and websites. It would be a great if a Flickr (and/or Picassa) manager type application were available for this platform. You could browse through your photos, add or change tags, create and add to collections, and have the ability to upload from your device. I know that the neither the N810 nor the N800 have great cameras, but with Bluetooth you can always transfer images taken from phones or cameras that have built-in Bluetooth or SD slots.
YouTube Manager:
In similar fashion to the Flickr Manager, the YouTube Manager would allow you to browse and play through videos that you have marked as your favorite, it would allow you to change your account preferences and information, search for videos (like the iPhone YouTube client) and finally allow you to upload videos to YouTube (taken with a phone or other device, or videos available in your SD card)
Bookmark Manager:
The built-in bookmark manager is OK, I generally don’t get thrilled about things such as bookmarks, however there would be a nice killer feature that this app can have: Integration with del.icio.us (and/or other bookmark repository sites such as Yahoo and Google). You can save new bookmarks locally to your tablet; you can save them on the network on your preferred service(s); and you can access bookmarks already saved on those services without needing to fire-up the browser and navigate to those sites!
Upgraded!
08/January/2008 07:23 Filed in: Technology
Tablet Improvements: RSS Reader & Webmail Notifier
06/January/2008 13:12 Filed in: Technology
I've been using my new N800 for a couple of weeks
now. I've been thinking of what software features and
improvements can make the tablet an even better tool.
Now I know that I am using Internet Tablet OS 2007 (I
may be upgrading in a little while), so some of the
ideas may be integrated in ITOS 2008, and I know that
I am late to the party, so some ideas may not be
completely original. Having said this - don't get
bored if you've read something before.
I will be addressing improvements in chunks - today I will write about two 'small' things, the RSS reader and the Webmail notifier.
The RSS reader:
I really like this program. I've imported my OPML file from Google Reader, and I keep up with my RSS feeds on the go, or when I don't have access to my computer. There are two things that I think would make the RSS reader even better. First I think that Google reader (and/or Bloglines) integration would be great. Sure you can read your feeds on the device, but it would be great if I could star and share news stories of interest within the reader, and if I've read something it will automatically be marked on google as being read, so when I go to my computer, I don't have to go through articles I've already read. Now before you say "well, why don't you just use Google reader through the browser?" - first off, that's not the point, and secondly I have tried - it's too slow and it doesn't work well with Opera on the Tablet (I don't know if ITOS 2008 is any better).
The Webmail Notifier:
This is a great extension that is hindered by only being able to check one account. I don't know about other people, but I have a couple of Google mail accounts, as well as Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail accounts. It would be nice if the notifier were able to check multiple accounts, and if it were able to check Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail accounts as well. I know that Pidgin allows you to do this, but why run a full fledged app to do this?
More suggestions to come
I will be addressing improvements in chunks - today I will write about two 'small' things, the RSS reader and the Webmail notifier.
The RSS reader:
I really like this program. I've imported my OPML file from Google Reader, and I keep up with my RSS feeds on the go, or when I don't have access to my computer. There are two things that I think would make the RSS reader even better. First I think that Google reader (and/or Bloglines) integration would be great. Sure you can read your feeds on the device, but it would be great if I could star and share news stories of interest within the reader, and if I've read something it will automatically be marked on google as being read, so when I go to my computer, I don't have to go through articles I've already read. Now before you say "well, why don't you just use Google reader through the browser?" - first off, that's not the point, and secondly I have tried - it's too slow and it doesn't work well with Opera on the Tablet (I don't know if ITOS 2008 is any better).
The Webmail Notifier:
This is a great extension that is hindered by only being able to check one account. I don't know about other people, but I have a couple of Google mail accounts, as well as Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail accounts. It would be nice if the notifier were able to check multiple accounts, and if it were able to check Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail accounts as well. I know that Pidgin allows you to do this, but why run a full fledged app to do this?
More suggestions to come
Nokia N800 v N810
03/January/2008 09:51 Filed in: Technology
I had been looking around in the past month or so for
something that would allow me to browse the internet
wirelessly for those times that I was in the living
room and feeling the need to look up some factoid
about some movie or television show.
My laptop became an 'ethernet-only' device last summer when it started malfunctioning, and while I could just go out an buy a new laptop, my current laptop - despite its state, can still do 90% of what I need it to do - word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and browse the internet - the old fashioned way. I was thus trying to decide whether to get the older N800, or the newer N810. After a period of reviews and contemplation I got the N800, 'like-new' plus four gigs of SD memory off eBay for about $260. Why go with 'older tech'? Quite a few reasons actually:
1. Not much changed under the hood
WHen one looks at the N770 and the N800, you can see quite a few differences of importance. The same cannot be said about the N800 and the N810. Yes the built-in GPS, Keyboard and 2 GB of storage are nice...but not for double the price (amazon.com quotes)
2. No need for GPS
A couple of years back I bought an external bluetooth GPS unit. The built-in GPS unit of the N810 seemed a bit reduntant considering I already have a GPS unit which can work with the N800 (provided that I get some software).
3. Skeptical of the Keyboard
I've had a number of portable devices in recent years with built-in keyboards, and quite honestly none of them left me completely satisfied. I did not think that the built-in keyboard on the N810 was really worth the extra money (or that I would use it all that much).
4. Need for SD, not mini SD
The N810 comes with one mini-SD slot, which is not for people who haven't used SD cards before, but over the years I have accumulated a number of SD cards from older PDAs (that are no longer with me). The Mini-SD slot would require me to scrap my existing SD cards, and pay yet more to get mini-SD cards. The N800 on the other hand has two standard SD slots so I can reuse my existing cards.
5. FM Tuner
Not a major deal considering that I do not listen to FM radio much these days, but the N800 comes with an FM tuner, the N810 does not.
6. Price Difference
As stated earlier, the price of the N810 is about double the price of an N800. Given the perceived expandability of the N800 (compared to the N810), I did not think that the features warranted it. Also, since the N800 can be upgraded to the Internet Tablet 2008 OS (the same as the N810)...the N800 seems like a better purchase (for my needs). All things considered, I thought (and still do) that the N800 was a better value for the money.
My laptop became an 'ethernet-only' device last summer when it started malfunctioning, and while I could just go out an buy a new laptop, my current laptop - despite its state, can still do 90% of what I need it to do - word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and browse the internet - the old fashioned way. I was thus trying to decide whether to get the older N800, or the newer N810. After a period of reviews and contemplation I got the N800, 'like-new' plus four gigs of SD memory off eBay for about $260. Why go with 'older tech'? Quite a few reasons actually:
1. Not much changed under the hood
WHen one looks at the N770 and the N800, you can see quite a few differences of importance. The same cannot be said about the N800 and the N810. Yes the built-in GPS, Keyboard and 2 GB of storage are nice...but not for double the price (amazon.com quotes)
2. No need for GPS
A couple of years back I bought an external bluetooth GPS unit. The built-in GPS unit of the N810 seemed a bit reduntant considering I already have a GPS unit which can work with the N800 (provided that I get some software).
3. Skeptical of the Keyboard
I've had a number of portable devices in recent years with built-in keyboards, and quite honestly none of them left me completely satisfied. I did not think that the built-in keyboard on the N810 was really worth the extra money (or that I would use it all that much).
4. Need for SD, not mini SD
The N810 comes with one mini-SD slot, which is not for people who haven't used SD cards before, but over the years I have accumulated a number of SD cards from older PDAs (that are no longer with me). The Mini-SD slot would require me to scrap my existing SD cards, and pay yet more to get mini-SD cards. The N800 on the other hand has two standard SD slots so I can reuse my existing cards.
5. FM Tuner
Not a major deal considering that I do not listen to FM radio much these days, but the N800 comes with an FM tuner, the N810 does not.
6. Price Difference
As stated earlier, the price of the N810 is about double the price of an N800. Given the perceived expandability of the N800 (compared to the N810), I did not think that the features warranted it. Also, since the N800 can be upgraded to the Internet Tablet 2008 OS (the same as the N810)...the N800 seems like a better purchase (for my needs). All things considered, I thought (and still do) that the N800 was a better value for the money.
Happy New Year!
01/January/2008 09:57 Filed in: Personal
Happy new year to all!
Well 'Turbulant 2007' is gone and a brand-new, unknown 2008 is here upon us.
I wish to all a happpy and prosperous new year.
When I was a kid today was the second of three opportunities to carol (the other two are Christmas Day and the 'theofania' - whatever that is in English)
Πάει ο παλιός ο χρόνος
Ας γιορτασουμε παιδία
Και του χωρισμού ο πόνος
Ας κοιμάται στην καρδιά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Χαρούμενη χρυσή πρωτοχρονιά!
Γέρε χρόνε φυγε τώρα
Πάει η δική η σειρά
Ήρθε ο νέος με τα δώρα
Με τραγούδια και χαρά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Χαρούμενη χρυσή πρωτοχρονιά!
Well 'Turbulant 2007' is gone and a brand-new, unknown 2008 is here upon us.
I wish to all a happpy and prosperous new year.
When I was a kid today was the second of three opportunities to carol (the other two are Christmas Day and the 'theofania' - whatever that is in English)
Πάει ο παλιός ο χρόνος
Ας γιορτασουμε παιδία
Και του χωρισμού ο πόνος
Ας κοιμάται στην καρδιά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Χαρούμενη χρυσή πρωτοχρονιά!
Γέρε χρόνε φυγε τώρα
Πάει η δική η σειρά
Ήρθε ο νέος με τα δώρα
Με τραγούδια και χαρά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Καλή χρονιά
Χρονιά πολλά
Χαρούμενη χρυσή πρωτοχρονιά!