Friends

I've been thinking about writing something, but have always been distracted with something else and never get around to it.

But now, with the semester over, the notion of free time can hopefully add to the availability of less busy times.

However, I now have something new to satisfy my desire to write-- coupled with the ability to do it hand-write-y style: the Sony Reader Touch PRS-600.

This device is pretty amazing... I've been tempted to get an e-reader for almost the last half of the year... but my sights were exclusively set on the irex iliad (and dr1000) class of readers, because not only did they use eInk (something I've very much wanted to have more exposure to), but:

- larger display surfaces (the DR1000 is nearly the size of a sheet of paper)
- integrated wacom pen

The pen part is especially important.. I don't just want to read on the thing, I want to actually USE it as a notepad for writing things down.

Then, just a couple weeks ago, on a random search of used irex items, I stumbled upon the existence of the sony device. Resistive touch screen (so one can use their finger as well as a stylus), and 6ish inches.

Amazing little device... I've been happily taking notes, I read a Tom Swift book over the course of 2 days (some good books ARE in the public domain), and did I say you could write with the thing?

I slapped a screenshot of a network switch port allocation table on it, loaded it up, and stuck it into doodle mode... then set about chasing down all the network connections coming out of a switch, and instead of going back to my computer each time to record what was what, I just jotted it down.

I tell you, those PADs from Star Trek are getting really close... newer releases of the thing have various wireless capabilities (although nobody, except irex it would seem, has released one with open wireless access, only highly locked-in stuff at this point), and the response delay from writing to seeing is ever so slight... give it another few generations of technology evolution (2-3 years?) and we should have a pretty perfect low-power, low-resource information pad.

But seriously, for what was largely an impulse buy, this device seriously fills a desired gap for me that I think portrays the effective use of technology: extending, not interfering, with our natural processes. I want to write (like with a pen-like object), and this thing enables that... in the same manner I could do so on paper... the screen doesn't flicker, there's no refresh rate... it looks solid, the device is light and very portable... the "pen"-like device can't run out of ink, so I can actually use it to write at comfortable angles (like when in bed), and not have to put up with the pen going dead. An unexpectedly great little thing.

This is what schools seriously need to invest their efforts in... not computers, or notebooks, or even tablets, for every student... no, a touch-sensitive eInk pad... have wireless, black and white, touch, stylus, textbooks in eBook format, annotation capabilities, and you can have all sorts of things... some remote resource accessibility (class quizzes, or even simple remote graphical "buzzers" or keypads for contributing electronically)... have some sort of homework location on it, where files would automatically be named by class, and submitting it could be as easy as having it in range of an access point in the classroom.

You know, stuff that isn't invasive to use--- I don't like solutions that, in order to work, you have to navigate through some complex series of weblinks to get to electronic content (ie BlackBoard), or to go through some convoluted (save your file as THIS, connect to THAT server, drop it in the designated folder)... NO, let the electronic devices do that... let the user just tap a button for "Homework", have all the assigned homework be a finger press away... display it to their screen, allow them to answer it right there, in-line... progress is saved as they go along... punch in text or numbers directly, or use the stylus to write it in... none of this "go grab the assignment file", no-- you're in class, it sees an authorized access point, and bam! course material is automatically transferred (new assignments, submitted assignments)... make it seamless. Make the underlying technology so utterly transparent... bookbags would be lighter (no need to carry around all those books-- they're all on the reader)... they also do audio (verbal lecture)... the only thing they won't easily do (By their nature in the current instantiation of the eInk technology) is video or low-latency interactivity... they won't do games, they won't do flashy stuff... but I think that's good. And color eInk is right around the corner, so people who DEMAND color in education can have that too.

But imagine... some smallish device that is light, can take a little bit more of a beating, doesn't need all these peripherals (mouse, keyboard, monitor, AC adapter, etc.), and maybe even use one of those proximity charging things that are available for many mobile devices (where you've got some special pad, and all you do is place the cell phone on the pad, and it charges-- no plugging of specific cables into specific ports and also into the wall)... see what I'm getting at? Technology shouldn't require everyone to be a computer in the process and follow PRECISE steps for operation. (AND, it should also freely allow the more technically adept and curious to explore-- none of this DRM or hardware/software lockout mechanisms... allow modifications in the open systems-- as if the technology is just expecting to find a file by a certain name and the device automatically sends it, a modified unit made incompatible just wouldn't work (we could probably even tie in some per-user authentication... embed a student key on each device, so it authenticates to each classroom AP, and so a record is kept of transactions... who submitted completed work on time, etc.)

The things would only need to be charged like once a week, they wouldn't be appealing for games or chatting or goofing off, they'd be educational assistance tools. And more... you'd read both for academic reasons, but also for recreation, on it. You'd keep notes, diaries/blogs, homework, todo lists, etc. on it.

Think about library use-- you want to check out a book-- this thing would have your library card 'key' on it.. you go to the library (or access the library via the internet, perhaps even from the device itself), search their electronic card catalog... find the desired title... and download it to the device.

Libraries could become electronic storehouses in addition to their in-print selections. Isn't that the point of a library? To STORE knowledge? Printed paper books are just *A* instantiation of knowledge. There should be no fear regarding making it electronic and searchable (except to those whose current financial models are still printed-paper bound).. after all, people wonder why the Internet and things like Wikipedia become so popular, is because there aren't those same limitations as are placed on the so-called 'legitimate' knowledge sources... worried about the relevancy of libraries and "trusted" sources in our society today? FREE IT... if it is on an even playing field as the free & "questionable" stuff on the internet, people experiencing accurate vs. inaccurate information would begin to flock to the accurate sources. The internet-sources would compete and become more accurate as a result... seems like a win all-around. But imagine that.. to have all the knowledge electronic and searchable, and to access it in such a transparent manner. I'd love that... there's so many possibilities there.

Companies like Google are actually thinking along these lines... you see their actions-- trying to open up a piece of the EM spectrum for free access, speculations about google-provided wifi or fiber... their massive book-scanning efforts... yes they're a big company, and yes there's that question of what THEY could ultimately do with the information they gather... BUT look just at the possibilities their actions enable. Privacy issues of google's actual handling aside, they are creating exciting new possibilities where information is at our fingertips... Google just happens to be a well-funded entity that has a vision and is pioneering it... where's the rush of everyone else trying to get on board? What's with this stubborn sticking with growingly incompatible economic models? They may have sufficed for more static arrangements, but boundaries are being broken down, and new scenarios are now made possible.. trying to lock it down and control is only denies the curious and willing who desire to experience this, and makes it more confusing for the less technology-adept...

Just some musings.

Current Mood: yawning
Current Music: the dead silence of winter