Recycled Computing

iBook Death, Skype on iTouch, and 3G MacBook Touch Rumors

- 2009.05.15

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Death of an iBook

It is no more.

Yes, the iBook G4 is officialy trash. Strip it and rip it, it is computer history. Unfortunately, a second teardown revealed that the power socket on the logic board is just kaput. It won't stay attached and has rendered the iBook toast.

Well, it had a strip of pixel death on the 14" screen, and it just lacks the style and grace of my G3 Pismo. At one point, however, I will need to get a machine that runs Leopard so I can see what the fuss is about. In the meantime, I will just have to "suffer" with Tiger on the Pismo.

What am I saying?

The Pismo is still a winner in my book, and it is much easier to change hard drives in it than, say, a G4 iBook.

Skype on the iPod touch

On using a first generation iPod touch as a WiFi phone - I am so excited to report that Skype is ported to the iPod touch. This is last month's news, but I have been using it for a month and can tell you that it works great. It sounds a little weird, sort of a slight echo, but it costs almost nothing, and I have no problem being heard or hearing the other end of the line.

I have been thinking a good bit about access to the Internet, since I am always searching for a free WiFi spot to make calls from. This has dictated my choice of restaurants lately. If the restaurant has WiFi, then I am more than excited about going there.

My wife is conflicted about this - she seems to think that I should be devoting my attention to her rather than playing with electronic devices. She has never worried about the cost of making a phone call and is perfectly happy making cell phone calls from Antarctica. But even if only one person uses the Internet to make almost free mobile phone calls - it is worth it!

A 3G MacBook?

On to today's third topic: I hear in the rumor mill that Apple might be making a 3G MacBook and that Apple has bought a whole bunch of 10" touchscreens.

What is Apple's next big product? I don't know, and I won't guess. What I will do is wonder about how we are going to be getting Internet access for our mobile devices in the future. Currently, everyone is buying mobile devices. I have five people in my household, and they all have cell phones - and only our 13 pound poodle is not texting every waking moment of the day.

The iPhone was not the first phone with Internet access. In fact, my cell phone provider will provide me with exceedingly poor Internet service and even a "store" for what are laughingly called "applications" for my new cell phones. Thank you very much, but I'll pass.

The iPhone has that new 3G network, which allows you to access the Internet over cell phone towers. I have not had experience with either network, because I am too darn cheap to pay for it. I get by with WiFi at work, at my home network, and at various "free sites" around the rural landscape of central New Hampshire.

What does the future hold for me? Or for anyone else?

In retail it's all about location. In urban centers, free WiFi is pretty easy to come by, and most user will probably have the higher income that would cover a data plan for 24/7 Internet access on their portable devices. In fact, if I lived in a large city and held a white collar job, I would be hard pressed to not have an iPhone or alternative smart phone with it's attendant data plan.

The level of organization that can be achieved by a handheld electronic device is pretty amazing. In spite of all our computer equipment, paperwork is increasing by leaps and bounds. I favor burning it all, but wiser heads have prevailed.

The iPhone and it's cousins are mobile computers that can contain much of the information that allows you to deal with the bureaucrats who rule us. I like having the data that I need to move thru the world without a briefcase full of documents. I like being able to listen to music, watch a video, look at new photos or surf the Web.

But displaying important documents (birth certificates, coupons, letters, etc.) on that tiny screen is a real issue. And Apple just bought a whole bunch of 10" touchscreens....

I have no idea what Apple will come up with, but as Mr. Mike says, "whatever it is, it will be cool.

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