Having just received a PSP for evaluation on Friday - I've been putting it through its WiFi capability paces over the weekend, and signing on to the WPA encrypted WiFI network here at Unitec. So far I am pleasantly surprized. The PSP is quite easy to setup for WEP or WPA WiFi access, and the included (with software version 2.5+) web browser is rather nice. The RSS feed facility appears to currently only support streaming audio podcasts, but Sony are promising major updates to the PSPs RSS capabilities soon, and Flash playing compatibility too!
The biggest downfall is the clunkiness of text entry - which would make anything but the most rudimentary of Blog entries a chore. Hopefully someone will provide support for IR keyboard input (as there is no Bluetooth connectivity).
I'm also surprised at the number of 3rd party hacks available, and synchronizing software. My current favourite is PSPWare (for Mac & PC). More to come as I experiment...
Monday, March 27, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Vodafone plans broadband service | BUSINESS | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz
Vodafone plans broadband service | BUSINESS | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz: "Vodafone says it may have the answer to New Zealand's internet speed woes with a plan to offer a third generation or 3G broadband service by the end of the year.
The company says the new service will be up to five times faster than its current second generation or 2G offering, with speeds of about 1.8 megabits per second, similar to that offered by rival Telecom.
But Vodafone says Nokia predicts those speeds could approach 14.4 megabits in a few years.
Vodafone New Zealand chief executive Russell Stanners says there's big growth potential for the new service which will provide broadband over the company's 3G mobile phone network.
Stanners believes Telecom's copper telephone wires into your home will become redundant and says broadband can be delivered effectively by mobile.
He admits Vodafone has been on the back foot in the mobile market against Telecom in recent quarters.
Meanwhile, Telecom says it plans to upgrade its third generation service next year with faster speeds than Vodafone of up to 2.4 megabits a second."
Well - its about time Vodafone & Telecom gave us realistic data pricing for 3G data - then it would be a viable alternative to ADSL broadband in NZ. Currently Vodafones 3G coverage is actually greater than Telecoms, even though Telecoms actual data speeds are higher, so I'd still go with Vodafone. Besides - what incentive does Telecom have in providing a good 3G service when they already monopolize and cramp ADSL broadband?!
(Via TVNZ News.)
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Mobilicio.us
Mobilicio.us: "Social Bookmarking on Mobile devices!"
Cool - a free way to use your Delicious bookmarks on your Mobile device - and its FREE! The system uses mtag to indicate mobile bookmarks, and harnesses the power of Google Mobile. I'll have to give it a try soon!
Monday, March 06, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Macworld: News: Sony Ericsson unwraps 3.2-megapixel blogging phone
Macworld: News: Sony Ericsson unwraps 3.2-megapixel blogging phone: "Users of the new K800 and K790 phones that don%u2019t already have a blog can set one up over the phone. They%u2019ll be able to take photos with the camera and then easily add them to their blogs, according to Sony Ericsson. Blogger is an online tool hosted by Google that lets people create and manage blogs for free."
Apparently all of the next release of sonyericsson phones (including the K610) will include a blogger client!
Monday, February 27, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
SharkLinks
SharkLinks: "
[From Tyler Faux] Tyler Faux has created Shark¬Links which is a program that lets you create launcher icons that are in fact links to web pages using Blazer as the web browser but provides links on your main Palm launcher. and it's also free!
(Via PalmAddicts.)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
SmartPhones 2006
Cellphones are getting 'smarter' and faster (3G) this year. Sonyericssons next range all feature 3G connectivity (K610i, M600, W950) in a much smaller format - more like their previous non 3G phones, rather than the 'clunky' first gen versions of last year! Nokia are featuring WLAN & cellphone integration, with auto switching of networks - very cool, and the Windows Mobile smartphones are packing on the features too (at a relatively high price still). Palm is still dragging the chain on integrating WiFi with their Treos though. There's plenty of educational potential in these emerging communication devices for the harnessing!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
MERLOT Review
Well, after a 16 month wait (just as well I didn't rely on them for my Thesis write-up!) I have received my first review for a Learning Object submitted to MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching).
Read it here.
While I only received a 3 out of 5 grade - my grade was actually 3.9 (they don't post points :-( ). I was let down by our poor server internet connection speed. Still, not bad for my first Learning Object - hopefully I get a better 'grading' for my other three Learning Objects (also submitted September 12 2004 - don't hold your breathe for an eta on the review!)
I did receive a 'nice' email to go with the release of the review though: "In summary, the MERLOT-Music Editorial Board wishes to acknowledge the valuable contributions Thomas Cochrane has made to advancing the teaching and learning within the discipline of music. This work is a model of the scholarship of teaching that can benefit faculty teaching and students learning around the world."
Read it here.
While I only received a 3 out of 5 grade - my grade was actually 3.9 (they don't post points :-( ). I was let down by our poor server internet connection speed. Still, not bad for my first Learning Object - hopefully I get a better 'grading' for my other three Learning Objects (also submitted September 12 2004 - don't hold your breathe for an eta on the review!)
I did receive a 'nice' email to go with the release of the review though: "In summary, the MERLOT-Music Editorial Board wishes to acknowledge the valuable contributions Thomas Cochrane has made to advancing the teaching and learning within the discipline of music. This work is a model of the scholarship of teaching that can benefit faculty teaching and students learning around the world."
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Palm Wireless Keyboard & TX
There's an update on the Palm website for the universal Wireless Keyboard for the Palm TX (I wondered why I couldn't get it to connect with the TX!). Version 1.10 of the UWKbd driver works ONLY with the TX - now the TX recognizes the keyboard - YAY!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Opera Mini
The Opera Mini Web Browser is now freely available for download for multiple mobile devices, including most mobile phones and Palm OS!
iTunes U
Apple are taking PodCasting into the tertiary education field with iTunes U!. What a great idea/opportunity! I'll definitely have to give this a try. My brief experience with creating PodCasts and Screencasts demonstrated that they can be played back well on Palm PDAs as well as iPods, so opening up more opprotunities...
Thursday, January 19, 2006
NewOffice1
Here's a pic of my 'new' office - we've been relocated on Campus. A good opportunity for a clean out. Notice the PC laptop! - I've been experimenting with the 'dark side' (only to help those lesser mortals to escape the evil empire though :-) )
Friday, December 30, 2005
MarsEDIT updated
MarsEdit is my favourite Blog editor for MAC OSX. Its just been updated with some cool new features & bug fixes - check it out at the above link.
Friday, December 16, 2005
irrate about 'Podcasts'?
From my ASCILITE blog - a comment spurred my response:
Does a Podcast work on anything other than Apple software/hardware? Why are we calling them Podcasts? - iPod is not a genre, it is a brandname. The marketing guys must be laughing all the way to the bank. Do we soon require of students that they all buy the one brand of MP3 player to be able to view, just as many insitutions require of them Microsoft products? I'm curious because I own an MP3 player that isn't an iPod and I am of the opinion that iPod's are, on the whole, overpriced.
Anyone who has any experience is welcome to comment, I'm not being critical although it might sound I am, just interested in the crossplatformability of our stuff.
16/12/05 @ 15:56
Comment from: Thom Cochrane [Member] · http://ltxserver.unitec.ac.nz/mediawiki/index.php/WirelessPalms
A podcast will play on any device that supports the audio codec used when compressing it. The term was coined by a journalist, just over a year ago, in reference to the most popular mobile audio device at the time - the iPod. A Podcast is any pre-recorded audio file that is available for download as an enclosure associated with an RSS feed (So strictly speaking my 'Podcasts' aren't - as they have no RSS feed associated currently.) allowing the listener to subscribe to podcasts as they become available.
My Podcast is compressed using the AAC format, not mp3 (because it creates higher quality results with smaller file sizes - the mp3 format is actually very old). However most modern mobile devices are capable of playing back both mp3 and AAC format files. The AAC podcast and screencast (podcast with video) play back great on my Palm PDA, as well as an iPod, a Mac or a PC.
While I think the iPods are great - I do agree they are over-priced, however you are buying into a great software solution when you go the ipod route as well (for recording, editing and distribution...). I was surprised how easy it was to do this (my first Podcast!), and can see great educational potential.
16/12/05 @ 20:51
PS - the other reason I used AAC format rather than mp3 is to subvert our IT department! - they have packet-shaped mp3 downloads out of our network - to stop students files sharing mp3s, but AAC format files get through fine ;-)
16/12/05 @ 20:55
Comment from: Moggy [Member]
Does a Podcast work on anything other than Apple software/hardware? Why are we calling them Podcasts? - iPod is not a genre, it is a brandname. The marketing guys must be laughing all the way to the bank. Do we soon require of students that they all buy the one brand of MP3 player to be able to view, just as many insitutions require of them Microsoft products? I'm curious because I own an MP3 player that isn't an iPod and I am of the opinion that iPod's are, on the whole, overpriced.
Anyone who has any experience is welcome to comment, I'm not being critical although it might sound I am, just interested in the crossplatformability of our stuff.
16/12/05 @ 15:56
My Reply
Comment from: Thom Cochrane [Member] · http://ltxserver.unitec.ac.nz/mediawiki/index.php/WirelessPalms
A podcast will play on any device that supports the audio codec used when compressing it. The term was coined by a journalist, just over a year ago, in reference to the most popular mobile audio device at the time - the iPod. A Podcast is any pre-recorded audio file that is available for download as an enclosure associated with an RSS feed (So strictly speaking my 'Podcasts' aren't - as they have no RSS feed associated currently.) allowing the listener to subscribe to podcasts as they become available.
My Podcast is compressed using the AAC format, not mp3 (because it creates higher quality results with smaller file sizes - the mp3 format is actually very old). However most modern mobile devices are capable of playing back both mp3 and AAC format files. The AAC podcast and screencast (podcast with video) play back great on my Palm PDA, as well as an iPod, a Mac or a PC.
While I think the iPods are great - I do agree they are over-priced, however you are buying into a great software solution when you go the ipod route as well (for recording, editing and distribution...). I was surprised how easy it was to do this (my first Podcast!), and can see great educational potential.
16/12/05 @ 20:51
PS - the other reason I used AAC format rather than mp3 is to subvert our IT department! - they have packet-shaped mp3 downloads out of our network - to stop students files sharing mp3s, but AAC format files get through fine ;-)
16/12/05 @ 20:55
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