Moving towards Mobile

In today's multimedia pioneering class we had James Eberhardt as a speaker. The discussion topic was mobile.

It is really fascinating that the world of mobile browsing really hasn't changed very much in the the last 20 years. Many of us are still hesitant to use any of the communication features additional to voice calls on the phone, mainly due to the fact that other forms of communication just aren't very user friendly. Even with T9, I personally find texting a huge pain. Keypading long messages is very time consuming and frustrating. I do use it in certain circumstances- when hearing/ making noise is a problem, and to avoid expensive day time charges. It fascinates me that many people would rather use the cumbersome text function than make a call. This is probably due to its additional function- that it serves as a way to avoid actually connecting with someone and keep the interaction less personal. When will we see an easier way to mobile computing than typing on annoyingly small devices?

I was quite disappointed to hear that Flash lite 3.0 is not Actionscript 3.0 compatible. Why would this be? It was so recently released (October 2007), significantly after the introduction of AS3 to Flash. The discovery of this drawback is quite an annoyance. I find it comparable to the incompatibility of Internet Explorer to web standards. Wouldn't it be nice if one day if we were able to keep up with all our changing technology? Is it too much to ask for a technology synched world?

One of the newer developments that I find to be a step in the right direction are the 2D bar codes. Of course, this forces everyone to have a camera phone (why did I think that was unnecessary at the time I bought my phone?) But still, it will make mobile browsing on our tiny devices a heck of a lot easier. Think of the possibilities of relevant information at just one click. TTC/metro routes and schedules saved, directions or details to a store or event advertised in a newspaper or poster campaign. The possibilities are exciting and infinite. This new development will create a greater need for the cell phone and may convert those still holding back from this important technology. Yes, hard to believe that not everyone has a cell phone. I'm not sure why not. What is the use of a home phone when a cell phone is personal and mobile? I haven't had a land line since 2001 and I certainly don't miss it.

James also mentioned the use of GPS in mobile devices and some really nifty software to go along with it. This is a technology too expensive for my modest budget right now but I would definitely be interested in it. I especially love the idea of the sports tracker software. Although I am not a jogger, I would love to use something similar to track my snowboarding runs. While I would never go out of my way to purchase a GPS device solely for this purpose, it is something that I would use if the option actually came with my cell phone. Or perhaps I should hold out until more developments in ambient intelligence are made.

Speaking of cell phone add ins, if the future is to bring us a chance to minimize the number of gadgets we all have by providing us with something multi-purpose, I am all for it. I am sure that I am not the only one who feels that there are just too many THINGS in my life. That's right, I said THINGS. Recently I was forced to downsize in order to move my many things into a tiny condo of less than 600 sq ft. That's 600 sq ft/ 2 people. In the downsize I discovered old cell phones, manual film cameras, a Polaroid camera, automatic cameras, an old digital camera, an old printer, a zip drive, cd burner, hard drive, endless ac adapters, remotes etc. And this was just the electronic stuff. Not only have my "necessary" purchases helped to fill up landfills in our already dwindling environment but these remains of times/technologies past have only helped to increase my own personal stress by their accumulation in my house. If we can indeed transform our gadgets to be multi-purpose, I'm sure we'll all be better for it. The iPhone is a good start, but we can do more.