Technology
Netbook, without the net. Or colour screen. Or rechargeable batteries.
05/05/09 17:49
I found my old Psion Series 5MX the other day, it is
a remarkable bit of kit. I can see why Psion are
annoyed with the netbook craze, they really did get
there first! I am a firm believer in judging things
by the standards of today within reason (1). At the
time there was nothing to compare it to really but
now there is, and the 5mx comes out suprisingly well.
I won't claim there are no problems with it, but I
could certainly see me using it.
Pros:
Well it's quick, very quick. There is virtually no lag when using the various functions and they have all the features you need, I've managed to write a job application on it in the library and the battries have stood up pretty well. Having found some comercial software that has been released into the wild, it's pretty easy to convert the files for use on my main machine (including converting the graphics to jpgs, neat). It comes with all the office software I really need on the move (Word Clone, Excel clone, Outlook clone). It is very light. If my batteries run out i can buy some more in just about every shop in the world.
Cons:
The keyboard is a little small, I had to recheck everthing carefully to make sure there were no spelling mistakes. The batteries are not rechargable in the case, and buying batteries is expensive. I had to hunt down a converter for the files, it's a small thing but I suspect it would be beyond a lot of people. The screen is only four colours and the backlight is a killer on the batteries. It doesn't have some of the software I would like no relational database, no presentation software and no sensible way of getting web access (modem via irda, fun!).
In short it doesn't have any real short commings that I can't get around or over. When I bought it, if I'm honest, it was a toy; becuase thats what 18 year old geeks do. Now I've grown up it has become a tool I can actually use. And that I suppose is the really impressive thing, I bought this a decade ago, a long time in technology and I've judged it by the standards of today - its held up pretty well.
Tim.
1. On the subject of the standards of the day, its the same reason I don't like racist comedies from the 70s; The excuse "it was acceptable at the time" doesn't wash, Vlad the Impaler thought what he did was acceptable.
Pros:
Well it's quick, very quick. There is virtually no lag when using the various functions and they have all the features you need, I've managed to write a job application on it in the library and the battries have stood up pretty well. Having found some comercial software that has been released into the wild, it's pretty easy to convert the files for use on my main machine (including converting the graphics to jpgs, neat). It comes with all the office software I really need on the move (Word Clone, Excel clone, Outlook clone). It is very light. If my batteries run out i can buy some more in just about every shop in the world.
Cons:
The keyboard is a little small, I had to recheck everthing carefully to make sure there were no spelling mistakes. The batteries are not rechargable in the case, and buying batteries is expensive. I had to hunt down a converter for the files, it's a small thing but I suspect it would be beyond a lot of people. The screen is only four colours and the backlight is a killer on the batteries. It doesn't have some of the software I would like no relational database, no presentation software and no sensible way of getting web access (modem via irda, fun!).
In short it doesn't have any real short commings that I can't get around or over. When I bought it, if I'm honest, it was a toy; becuase thats what 18 year old geeks do. Now I've grown up it has become a tool I can actually use. And that I suppose is the really impressive thing, I bought this a decade ago, a long time in technology and I've judged it by the standards of today - its held up pretty well.
Tim.
1. On the subject of the standards of the day, its the same reason I don't like racist comedies from the 70s; The excuse "it was acceptable at the time" doesn't wash, Vlad the Impaler thought what he did was acceptable.
Log books
27/03/09 18:16
How hard can it be to find a decent log book? I have
looked high and low for the perfect log book for me.
I need it to be three things:
1) Harbacked and case-bound
2) Squared paper
3) Acid free paper
It would appear to be a case of pick any two but not all three. I can't imagine that this is a particularly outlandish thing to want, surely there are lots of people out there who would want something like this. I have managed to find two that almost qualify one is a black and red and can only be purchased as a 5 pack and one is made by MAKE (or at least branded as such) and cost $20 + p&p from America. Ouchies.
One a much happier note I have been taking the time to explore the two brilliant new sites: Academic Earth and YouTubeEDU.
Now I fully recognise that these are not a replacement for actually going to university - in fact they are a long way off. They are however, very very good; And they are a lot better than nothing. You may not get the benefit of teaching assistants, lecturers or the other people in your class. You may not get your work marked. What you do get is some lecture courses from some of the worlds best universities. I'm also going to bet best lecturers as it would be very easy to put people off going to your university if you show them the goods up front, I can think of certain lecture courses that would have put me right off Bristol. If you have been to uni and want a refresher, are at uni and want a different take or couldn't go to uni and want a "next best thing" I'd urge you to check it out.
I am currently taking CS106A at Stanford :-)
Tim x
1) Harbacked and case-bound
2) Squared paper
3) Acid free paper
It would appear to be a case of pick any two but not all three. I can't imagine that this is a particularly outlandish thing to want, surely there are lots of people out there who would want something like this. I have managed to find two that almost qualify one is a black and red and can only be purchased as a 5 pack and one is made by MAKE (or at least branded as such) and cost $20 + p&p from America. Ouchies.
One a much happier note I have been taking the time to explore the two brilliant new sites: Academic Earth and YouTubeEDU.
Now I fully recognise that these are not a replacement for actually going to university - in fact they are a long way off. They are however, very very good; And they are a lot better than nothing. You may not get the benefit of teaching assistants, lecturers or the other people in your class. You may not get your work marked. What you do get is some lecture courses from some of the worlds best universities. I'm also going to bet best lecturers as it would be very easy to put people off going to your university if you show them the goods up front, I can think of certain lecture courses that would have put me right off Bristol. If you have been to uni and want a refresher, are at uni and want a different take or couldn't go to uni and want a "next best thing" I'd urge you to check it out.
I am currently taking CS106A at Stanford :-)
Tim x