Initial Tech Thoughts

So, for a while, I’ve wanted to write a blog about the great stuff we were given to prep us for the time capsule. I figured since I now have everything on my computer working, we’ll see how the handwriting recognition goes. I have serious doubts since my handwriting is rarely legible while written. I could use print, which I’m sure would work, but speed is key here.
OK, before this thing got started, I was snooping around the internet and found a timeline that UTO had put together in preparation for the time capsule. Thinking I was slick, I thought I knew what our tech stuff would be. I was very pleasantly surprised when the day came that we actually got the gear. We were outfitted with the newest Blackberry, the Tour. Along with that came the full data plan, so I can be in contact with all of ya’ll. In addition to that, we got a neat Dell tablet PC. I didn’t think I’d use it, but after the thieving happened, I am surprised at how much I like it. On a side note, I saw a commercial for Windows 7. What is with the speed of a new OS? Why not let people figure out Vista first. Maybe 7 will be better. I no longer play around much on the comp, so internet and word processor are enough for me.
The Blackberry is pretty amazing. I had an iPhone a couple of years ago that I liked, but not enough for the bill. The Blackberry has a small learning curve for those of us who have never used them before, but I think I’m getting a handle on it. I know there are a lot of little tricks that I’ll continue to learn though. I haven’t really figured out what the difference is between instant messaging with the BB app and using ‘PINing’ someone. I don’t have an army of pins yet either, but hopefully I’ll build one. A couple weeks after I got the phone, the left/right trackball went. I could get it to go sometimes, but I was limited in the use because of that, but now I have a new one. Now I just have to set up all of the settings and get the programs like Pandora back on. That is probably one of my favorite features of the Blackberry. Not only can I use Pandora on my phone anywhere I have signal, but the headphone jack is normal sized.
The tablet had its share of issues too. I think they are mostly worked out now though. My internet could connect neither through WiFi nor through an Ethernet cable. Turns out I had a corrupt version of windows. A new install cleared that up and then I got all the drivers in. I even got the fingerprint scanner working. Somewhat. My thumb isn’t always recognized, so it actually is still easier to type in my password than it is to swipe my finger. Other than that, I’m loving the computer. The turning screen is kind of frivolous since I don’t have the handwriting to use the recognition software. I use the rotation while I’m sitting at a table and want to show a picture off. Unnecessary, but fun.
The third thing we got was the Google Flip camera. It is so nice. It’s simple and effective. The audio quality isn’t the best, but it has just the right number of buttons. I have another camera that can go underwater, so I use that one for that. That one is a Sanyo Xacti. I remember they really pushed the fact that you can edit video while still on the camera and film in youtube quality video, but really, is it that much more difficult if not easier to just put it on the comp first? I think the best thing about the Flip is that it takes common sense and actually uses it.
Overall I’m really happy about all of the groovy tech pieces we got for the time capsule. I’m really excited about it. Time has flown by through the past month. My classes are all getting a unique sense of how much technology is used. My precal class, which I dropped the first week, the teacher said, “No technology in the classroom.” Then for my English class, which I also dropped for another Eng class, the prof showed a YouTube video on the screen for our first assignment. Those are just two of them that I swapped out of. As the year progresses, I’ll update on the current ones.

As an outcome for the handwriting recognition? Epic fail.