I’ve been a little cranky for the past couple of days about Palm. Love, hate. Love, hate. Hate.
The latest? This company called GoKnow Learning publishes a few apps I’m supposed to use for class–specifically, Sketchy and FlingIt!–but there are issues, wouldn’t you know.
Sketchy, prior to like version 1.9.5, doesn’t work on the T|X. The Mac installer includes version 1.9.3. And FlingIt! doesn’t fling anything, at least not on my computer.
I sent a support request on Friday. No response yet.
Seriously, GoKnow–I know Palm’s support for the Mac is minimal, but we do have a third party synching app (The Missing Sync) that blows anything Palm ever offered us out of the water. Well worth the 40 bucks.
I’m taking a course on handhelds in education this summer. It’s Palm-specific, for better or worse. I’ve learned so far that schools actually are using these things, mainly for economic reasons (a $200 Palm is much easier on the pocketbook than a computer costing five times that much).
The good news for me is the class has given me a reason to dust off the Palm T|X I bought last summer and never really put to good use. My favorite discovery so far is the implementation of Google Maps for the Palm OS. The maps are rendered beautifully, and all the core functions of the web-based version are right there. The only downside is you need connectivity to use it, and while I have no problems when on a local wi-fi network, the obvious place to use this tool is when stuck in construction or a general traffic jam.
So, that said, I’m probably going to go with a Palm-based Treo when I finally make the move to a smart phone. I can’t justify an iPhone (specifically, I can’t justify switching carriers for it) and everyone I know using a Windows Mobile-based device says it’s horrible. So I guess I’ll be sticking with Palm a little while longer.
The Foleo still seems kind of pointless, though.
Whew, I’ve been knee-deep in a week-long workshop on Teaching Content to All–although I’ve been getting regular exposure to the concepts being introduced for a good ten years, it was nigh time to get some formal instruction. It’s been eye-opening–even though I don’t really do face-to-face instruction, my shop is doing more and more online, or at least being asked about online instruction, and I don’t think anybody’s really begun thinking on how the two mix. This is something I’ve been curious about for awhile, so it’ll be good to have more grounding on both sides of the equation.
Anyway, I wanted to chip in my two cents on some of this week’s big gadget announcements:
- I know I’m late to the party, but Microsoft’s Surface computer looks awfully slick. It’s a shame its price will relegate much of its initial use to marketing (otherwise, why put it in T-Mobile stores?), but what a compelling new way to interact with information. I just hope Microsoft doesn’t screw it up by throwing a big Start menu and Clippy on it–notice how it looks nothing like any other Microsoft product, and suspiciously like something out of Cupertino? Seems like the company that’s given us AppleTV and the iPhone could merge ideas from these two technologies and bring us something absolutely stellar. In the meantime, I don’t think I’ve been this impressed by a Microsoft product since Office 98 for the Mac.
- Speaking of Apple, I’m encouraged by two announcements today–the expanded availability of iTunes U content via the iTunes Store, and support for YouTube watching via AppleTV. Even though it’s still sparse, I hope being able to see iTunes U firsthand will help institutions currently dragging their feet (Kansas Regents, cough cough cough) to ignore the attorneys and open up this emerging opportunity to both students and instructors. As for the marriage of YouTube and AppleTV–all of a sudden the amount of content for Apple’s TV-top box multiples n-fold. I was underwhelmed by AppleTV when I first saw it, but have become increasingly intrigued and excited by its possibilities in professional development. Now I just need to figure out a way to get work to buy one for me.
- And then there’s the Palm Foleo. So, I have a smartphone (or will soon, I should say). I have a laptop. And now I have a little baby laptop that only works with my smartphone? I think I’m missing something, or hope I do. I was hoping Palm would at least give an interface update to its aging operating system. Anyone who’s talked to me about smartphones in the last couple of months knows that I’m very much in the market for one now, and have whittled down my options to either going crazy with an iPhone (which would involve switching providers, plus shelling out a ton of cash, hence my hesitation) or being sensible with a Windows-based PDA phone. Palm isn’t even in the picture, and I think they’ve missed the mark with the Foleo.