GSlusher

Who Will Come Out Ahead from e-Book Success in College Classrooms?

A few obstacles remain before the Kindle & its ilk can be used for textbooks. The most expensive texts are not history, literature, language, and the like, but math, science and engineering, where texts can easily cost $120-150. Those texts depend heavily upon graphics--diagrams, drawings, photographs, charts & graphs, and equations. They make extensive use of color. The Kindle is no better for that use than, say, an etch-a-sketch. Even if they solve the color & graphics problems (which will dramatically increase the size and cost of ebooks), there will remain usage problems. Typically, a student will look at a chart/drawing/photo/di... WHILE reading the relevant section of the text. Textbook editors are usually careful to make this easy by putting the graphics on the same or facing page as the related text. Flipping a Kindle back and forth from page to page will probably be unsatisfactory. It will probably dramatically increase the time required to read technical texts.

There are many possibilities that could enhance learning--interactive charts, dynamic equations that the student can manipulate, VR-type diagrams, where you can rotate an object and zoom in and out, etc. However, the usage problems need to be solved. It might require a larger screen, roughly the size of a 15-17" laptop. In that case, one might as well use the laptop.

FWIW, I've read a lot of technical texts, both as a student at MIT (three degrees in mechanical engineering) and as an instructor in undergraduate and graduate engineering courses.

While Rivals Jockey for Market Share, Apple Bathes in Profits

Since when? The iPod and iPhone were not "First to Market." What product(s) are you referring to?


On Nov 12 08:15 AM SusanGrisanti wrote:

> Apple has had 'First To Market' Advantage for decades. When a good
> product is consistent & first to market it usually has to do
> less to stay on top.

Google's Android vs. Apple: History Repeats Itself

Lest someone think I was repeating John-Galt's points, his message was posted while I was writing mine.

Google's Android vs. Apple: History Repeats Itself

Re: Apple's "closed" OS & platform
There's a lot of hype about "open" systems, but, lest we forget, Windows is NOT "open," yet 90+% of computers run it. What happens with some "open" systems can best be demonstrated by the older Palm devices. There was no control, no certification, no checking. The result was that some applications routinely crashed the system. A friend had a Treo (don't know which, but it wasn't a Windows Mobile version). He installed a game and, within a day, the Treo started crashing DURING CALLS--and the game was NOT running. I had a game on my Palm TX that would turn the TX back ON if I turned it off while the game is showing. The TX looks like it turns off, but, 5-10 seconds later, it turns back on. It caused the battery to run down dozens of times before I noticed the behavior. (I keep the TX in a metal case and would shut the case after turning it off.) I contacted Palm, who told me it wasn't their problem. I finally contacted the developer, who told me to go p*ss up a rope. He wasn't supporting the game any more.

That's the beauty of an "open" system: you can get hosed and even pay for the privilege, and no one will accept responsibility.

Why Android Is Gaining Ground on Apple

One more question for the author and other Android users: can you easily sync and backup all your data--contacts, calendars, etc--to your OWN desktop or laptop--not a Microsoft Exchange server--every day? Does your Android depend upon "cloud" storage of data, like the Sidekick did? (I used the past tense on purpose.) Can you remotely wipe your Android phone if it's lost or stolen, then, if it's found or returned, put everything back as it was in one step?

seekingalpha.com/artic...

Why Android Is Gaining Ground on Apple

A question for the author, if you're using your Android phone on Sprint or Verizon: If you're on a call, can you access the internet or send/receive email at the same time, without quitting the call?

Research In Motion: A Smart Call, Long Term

The author doesn't say whether he's using GAAP or non-GAAP earnings for Apple. That could be because he doesn't know that there is a difference. If that is so, his analysis is useless. This is not "new" nor hidden, nor even very complicated.

E-Reader Wars Heating Up: Apple May Have Edge with Younger Generations

From the article: "Despite the company’s refusal to release sales numbers, Amazon’s Kindle appears to be the sales leader in the U.S."

That's as blatant a non-sequitur as I've read recently. "We have absolutely NO data, but we'll make a wild-assed guess, anyway."

Four Reasons to Avoid Apple

"In our opinion, the iPod story is gone - if you want an iPod, you buy an iPhone, it is as simple as that."
That's silly. Many people, including kids, want a "traditional" music player. Why pay the monthly fees if you don't need the iPhone's data service?

Apple reported selling 5.2 million iPhones, but 10.2 million iPods--nearly TWICE as many. iPod sales were down 7% year-over-year, probably less than most electronics devices.

The EU Stabs Apple in the Back

From a pure engineering standpoint, that would be "nice," but also a major disaster. It might require replacing every outlet in a country. The economic cost would be staggering, but so would be the environmental cost. It's why the US (and Britain) have not embraced metrification. It would require re-tooling of entire industries. The impact on plumbing, alone, could be many billions. Every plumber would have to carry complete stocks of both British/US hardware (inch-based) and metric hardware for decades. It would double their inventory.

However, MOST countries in the EU already DO use a standard power plug for ungrounded systems. (Some countries use a different plug for major appliances, just as in the US.) The UK, Ireland, and Italy are different. The "Euro-plug" may be the most widely-used in the world.


On Jun 30 02:13 PM numinary wrote:

> from a pure engineering/efficiency standpoint, it seems to make the
> most sense to try to drag all of the EU countries into using a similar
> wall plug outlet and electrical power source would provide the largest
> returns. Does this make too much sense for legislators? Or is it
> just that this is a more inconvenient issue for them to deal with?
>
>
> As someone that goes on company junkets around Europe, I would certainly
> like to see a universal power plug rather than a universal cell phone
> power cable...