the clicked and the read | issue 19980922
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Contents
- Buy your summer reading online
- Psion Says
- Linux
- Wills on the Web
Summer Reading
By guest writer Olivia Leard
Even if you can't get your books delivered to the beach, summer reading has never been more convenient. On-line bookstores offer millions of titles, not to mention reviews, recommendations, audiobooks, music, software, and magazines. So which of the two Web superstores is worthy of your patronage, Amazon [1.1] or Barnes & Noble [1.2]?
Amazon is a well-oiled machine. And browsing is mercifully easy: Books are categorized by subjects, such as "Bestsellers," "Featured in Media," "Hot This Week," "Music," and "Computers & Internet." Trying out a new author or genre is never a risk, since media and reader reviews are available on hundreds of titles. The picks and pans of " National Public Radio," "Vanity Fair," and even your bookish next door neighbor, among others, are all at your fingertips. ("The New York Times" archive is especially comprehensive.) Amazon's vast music store is just as simple to navigate, and, in addition to reviews, provides an on-line listening station.[1.3]
Instead of music, Barnes and Noble sells magazines and software--pretty much everything but the coffee in the cafe. The home page, however, is not as self-explanatory and engaging, and opinionated bibliophiles may take umbrage at the segregation of book and review; readers rant and rave on "book talk" message boards, instead of on a specific book page. "The New York Times" archive is also not as comprehensive, listing mostly current titles. Yet B& N is great one-stop shopping if you want to buy a magazine subscription or a CD-ROM game with your copy of "Underworld."
Price is less of a factor in determining where to shop. The paperback version of Jonathan Harr's perennial bestseller "A Civil Action" was priced the same on both sites. And so are countless other titles. Selection, however, may be B&N's Achilles heel. A "Jane Austen" search retrieved just 110 titles on Barnes and Noble, but over 700 on Amazon. So if you're interested in reading something obscure or out-of-print this summer, such as Jeffery Rossbach's John Brown treatise "Ambivalent Conspirators," [1.4] Amazon is the hands-down winner. Just don't forget your sunglasses. . . .[1.5]
Related
- [1.1] Amazon <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/padraicrenaghan>
- [1.2] Barnes & Noble <http://www.barnesandnoble.com>
- [1.3] Amazon Music <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/music.html>
- [1.4] Ambivalent Conspirators <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812278593/padraicrenaghan/>
- [1.5] The Eye Vault <http://www.eyevault.com>
Psion Says
Psion says (say like "simon says") this entire issue was created and researched from a new Psion Series 5 hand-held computer. [2.1] I am using the Psion in place of a Palm Pilot [2.2] and an IBM Thinkpad.[2.3]
I found the Palm Pilot to be a very usable extension of my desktop PC. The Palm Pilot has very good integration with Windows Personal Information Management (PIM) software. I use software products from Intellisync [2.4]</strong> and Chapura <strong>[2.5] to synchronize the Pilot with Microsoft Outlook. [2.2] Schedule, contact, and task management in Outlook is fully synchronized with the Pilot. Later releases of the Pilot added e-mail and other software and hardware improvements. Usability of the Pilot without a keyboard became a problem when trying to use e-mail. For simple phrases and name entry, such as that associated with schedules, tasks, and contacts, the Pilot's built in Graffiti [2.6] handwriting recognition works well. For longer sentences and complete paragraphs, the Pilot pen and handwriting recognition is slow and awkward - I seem to spend more time thinking about how to write a character than what character to write.
The Pilot is a great extension of a desktop PC when used as a schedule, contacts, and task management tool. When used for applications that require longer sentences and paragraphs, it falls short - for these applications (e.g., e-mail, word processing) a keyboard is needed.
As stated earlier, I am now the owner of a Psion Series 5 hand-held computer. The Pilot 5000 sits unused in my "computer parts" box. If anyone is interested in buying it, let me know. [2.7]
The Psion Series 5 is a true hand-held computer. Manufactured in England by Psion PLC, the Series 5 comes highly praised from a number of technology publications. [2.8] I started looking at Windows CE machines, [2.9] but after reading reviews and feeling the Psion keyboard, I chose to purchase the Series 5. The keyboard on the Series 5 is truly amazing. This entire issue of CaR has been "touch typed" on the Psion - no two finger hunt and peck, I am talking about full 10 fingers on the keyboard Mavis Beacon [2.10] touch typing.
HARDWARE - The Psion's screen is a backlit black and white touch sensitive display. Navigation within the system is done with either the keyboard or by tapping the screen with the stylus. Handwriting recognition is not included, the keyboard is so good who would want to hand write, but software does exist to allow the Psion to recognize handwriting for quick notes and other applications. I purchased the 8MB unit - this gives 8MB of internal disk space. I also purchased an AC Adapter, PC Card Modem, and and additional 30MB Compact Flash Disk. [2.11] The PC Card Adapter allows me to use a Megahertz 56K PCMCIA card with the Psion. The compact flash disk is about the size of 3 quarters stacked together - the standard 8MB disk is sufficient for most tasks, but with the number of additional software packages that exist for the Psion, most users will outgrow the 8MB. The serial cable allows you to connect a Psion to either a Windows or a Linux machine for administration, backups, printing, file transfer... The parallel cable allows you to directly connect a Psion to a printer.
SOFTWARE - Arriving on the Psion when you purchase it is a word processor, spreadsheet, database, schedule, calculator, and sketch. The e-mail and Internet browser applications can be downloaded for free from the Psion website. The standard applications work quite well. There also happens to be a very large community on the Internet related to Psion hardware and software. There are a number of additional pieces of software which users will find make their Psion experience more pleasant. A few of the best ones: Macro5 [2.12] a macro recorder to automate routine tasks and keystrokes, Crypto [2.13] to encrypt files, I use this to encrypt a database of user IDs and passwords, RMRTask [2.14] as improved version of the Psion program for managing to-do lists, Contact [2.15] an improved version of the Psion program for managing contact data (names, address, phone), Busy View [2.16] a view of schedule data which Psion forgot in their version.
After a few years of lugging an IBM Thinkpad 760 EL around on my shoulder, it is a pleasure to carry the Psion. I have yet to find a reason to carry my laptop around with me on a daily basis. E-mail, web browsing, and word processing are easily accomplished with the lightweight Psion Series 5. I highly recommend the Psion Series 5 to anyone looking for a lightweight replacement for their laptop.
Related
- [2.1] Psion Series 5 <http://www.psion.com/series5/index.html>
- [2.2] Palm Pilot <http://palmpilot.3com.com/home.html>
- [2.3] IBM Thinkpad 760EL <http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/thinkpad/index.html>
- [2.4] Intellisync <http://www.pumatech.com>
- [2.5] Pilot Mirror <http://www.chapura.com>
- [2.6] Graffiti <http://palmpilot.3com.com/products/input/index.html>
- [2.7] <padraic @ renaghan.com >
- [2.8] Psion Series 5 Reviews <http://www.psion.com/series5/s5reviews.html>
- [2.9] Windows CE <http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/default.asp>
- [2.10] Mavis Beacon <http://www.mavisbeacon.com/>
- [2.11] Psion Accessories <http://www.psion.com/computers/scindex.html>
- [2.12] Macro5 <http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/1215/>
- [2.13] Crypto <http://salvis.com>
- [2.14] RMRTask <http://www.rmrsoft.com/rmrtask.htm>
- [2.15] Contact <http://www.btinternet.com/~psifi/contact/contact.htm>
- [2.16] Busy View <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/platodva/psion.htm>
Linux
Microsoft Windows 98 [3.1]</strong>, EPOC <strong>[3.2], Red Hat Linux 5.1.[3.3] These are the three operating systems currently running on PCs in my apartment. You heard about my Windows 98 installation experience in issue 19980710 of CaR. [3.4] You read of my new Psion Series 5 in the previous piece - the Psion runs the EPOC operating system. Red Hat Linux (say "lin-ucks") is the latest addition to my computer lab (a.k.a. the spare bedroom in my apartment). Linux also happens to be one of my excuses for being so late with this issue. There is lots to fool-around and play with in Linux.
I decided to buy a new PC with Linux preinstalled. Though Linux is known to support most Intel hardware and peripherals [3.5], I figured the best way to make sure I got compatible components was to buy the machine with Linux pre-installed. After making that decision, the next challenge was to find a PC vendor that sold such a configuration. I started with Dell [3.6]- Dell said via e-mail that they do not support Linux at this time - I hear you have to be a big customer ($$) for them to sell you Linux machines. My search led me to the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble where I found an issue of Linux Journal. [3.7] Linux Journal is an excellent magazine covering all aspects of the Linux community - I recommend a subscription to LJ to anyone wanting to learn more about the operating system. LJ contained a number of ads for pre-installed Linux PCs. I visited web sites, and called a few of the vendors. I decided to go with VA Research. [3.8] The salesmen was very helpful with information when I placed my order. I purchased a Pentium 333 with 64 MB RAM with Red Hat Linux 5.1 pre-installed.
I am a tinkerer by nature, and Linux has kept me busy learning, installing, finding software, reading... I know also own most of the O'Reilly UNIX library (also highly recommended). [3.9] I have been very happy with the system as a whole. It does NOT crash. Some key pieces of software which I find useful: Applixware office suite as a replacement for Microsoft Office [3.10], EXMH as an e-mail client [3.11] , KDE as with windows based X environment [3.12] , Samba for seamless networking with Windows PCs [3.13] , and Netscape Navigator [3.14] for web browsing (though I am still waiting on Opera for Linux [3.15] - Netscape is a little "heavy" for my tastes). I am sure you are all aware of one of the major benefits of Linux - it is free. The operating system and much of the software developed for Linux is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). [3.16] I will let a paragraph from the GPL speak for itself:
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
The GPL is designed to be self-perpetuating and to encourage people to improve software on their own. I have been very happy with the stability and support of the Open Source community. [3.17] In fact, I find the Open Source software to be less buggy and easier to get support for (newsgroups, mailing lists) than commercial software.
I won't bore you all with technical details, but let me say that I do believe Linux to be a competitor with Microsoft Windows as a desktop operating system. Stability, security, automat-ability (is that a word?) come to mind when I think of Linux. You definitely need an experienced Linux administrator to install and roll-out Linux workstations to end-users, but an end-user with a properly pre-configured X Windows setup [3.18] should be able to be as productive as fast as they could on Windows - in fact, because of the major increase in stability, they might turn out to be more productive. The ultimate test for me is "would I install Linux on my mother's PC?" - my mother being a typical example of a home/SOHO (Small Office Home Office) user. The current answer is YES. I believe that she could find her way around Linux just fine, and get all her work done without problem - that assumes a proper initial setup by the administrator. As the admin for Mom's SOHO, I am still learning the ropes. Mom will have to wait a few months before she gets to run Linux. [3.19]
Related
- [3.1] Windows 98 <http://www.microsoft.com/windows98>
- [3.2] EPOC <http://www.symbian.com>
- [3.3] Red Hat Linux <http://www.redhat.com>
- [3.4] CaR Issue 19980710 <http://www.renaghan.com/list/19980710.htm>
- [3.5] Red Hat Linux Hardware Compatability <http://www.redhat.com/support/docs/hardware.html>
- [3.6] Dell <http://www.dell.com>
- [3.7] Linux Journal <http://www.linuxjournal.com>
- [3.8] VA Research <http://www.varesearch.com>
- [3.9] O'Reilly UNIX library <http://www.ora.com>
- [3.10] Applixware <http://www.applixware.com>
- [3.11] EXMH e-mail client <http://www.ics.uci.edu/~mh/book/>
- [3.12] KDE desktop environment <http://www.kde.org>
- [3.13] Samba <http://samba.isca.uiowa.edu/samba/samba.html>
- [3.14] Netscape <http://www.mozilla.org>
- [3.15] Opera <http://www.operasoftware.com>
- [3.16] GNU General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html>
- [3.17] Open Source <http://www.opensource.org>
- [3.18] X Windows <http://www.xwindows.org>
- [3.19] Linux <http://www.linux.org>
Wills on the Web
Slightly morbid, but still interesting:
Diana leaves $35 million to the two princes [4.1]
Jackie O' writes the textbook [4.2] will
- she must have good attorneys [4.3]
Elvis must be dead, I read his will [4.4]
These and many more celebrity and "average joe" wills on the web [4.5]
Related
- [4.1] Diana <http://www.courttv.com/legaldocs/newsmakers/wills/diana/part1.html>
- [4.2] Jackie O' by the book <http://nmq.com/fambiznc/cntprovs/orgs/umasscfb/Newslttr/Spring95/Articles/JackieO.htm>
- [4.3] JO's will <http://www.courttv.com/library/newsmakers/wills/onassis.html>
- [4.4] The King is dead <http://www.courttv.com/library/newsmakers/wills/presley.html>
- [4.5] Wills on the Web <http://www.ca-probate.com/wills.htm>
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the clicked and the read (CaR) is a somewhat regular electronic newsletter devoted to technology, law, software, www resources, politics and all things net related.
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ISSN 1520-2755
Published from Chicago, Illinois, USA
by Padraic Renaghan
