Phreadz

Today I went to try the new macbook pro and macbooks and I found that I prefered the macbook to the other device. I like that the keyboard is there and there’s nothing to the side. it’s a better feeling machine for when you move around.

The biggest difference between these two machines and older models is the touchpad interface. Rather than have a seperate button and tactile area both are integrated. press down on the touchpad and you’ve got the same reaction as when you pressed the button. Use two fingers and you scroll. Use three fingers in apps like iphoto and you move from one picture to another. Use four fingers and there are three reactions. The first is when going up then down. It minimises the window, to the sides and it changes apps. Down and you go to see several windows. It’s not as intuitive as it sounds.

Whilst the trackpad is a nice idea I think it’s going to take people some getting used to. At first it was really great but within a few minutes I would accidentaly drag things across, select something I didn’t want to or other. In brief whilst it’s meant to be intuitive it wasn’t.

For 134 days I have been studying German as well as other languages every single day. In so doing my reading comprehension has gone up and I no longer become a “deer in the headlights” when someone asks me a question in Spanish. I was even able to understand the questions people asked, and able to answer.

As I have been focusing on German and Spanish I find it increasingly easy to understand words so I can go through exercises that translate from German to English easily enough. The challenge comes when I have to remember the words to write phrases from English to German or Spanish. With repetition, I will increase my fluency in the language. The goal is to get to at least a beginner level before I take courses.

I see no reason to learn a language at a beginner level because applications, books, news programs in podcast form and other forms of content can help with this.

I like to choose exercises and learn new words. In so doing I sometimes make no mistakes several exercises in a row and progress smoothly. At other times, for example, when I am tired I make mistakes immediately. When I make mistakes I practise until I have refilled the five “hearts” and then I continue trying to learn new words.

With this application, you can practise anywhere. You can practise in front of the TV, while waiting for food to be ready, in various forms of transport and elsewhere. If the place is not suitable for audio and speaking I turn off those exercises and practise with other exercises. The point is that for 134 days I have practised and earned 50 points every day.

At the end of every week, you get learning stats that show how many words you have learned, how much time you have spent learning and finally how many words you have learned. If you’re new to a language then the learned words will be much higher. I spend time consolidating what I have learned, hence the time spent and lessons completed being so high. These stats are new.

I would still recommend playing with Duolingo every day to learn a new language or to consolidate what is already known. I have German and Spanish lessons downloaded on the phone and practise anywhere I want.

Plurk is one of the most interesting mobile “microblogging” tool available at the moment because of it’s simple interface. Without the need for additional applications, expensive data packages and more you can follow the conversation of your contacts and friends in a way that neither jaiku nor twitter allow.

If you’re on your home network then jaiku is interesting because you download the messages. If you’re travelling then twitter is semi useful to read messages whilst mobile. The biggest limitation with twitter is the api limit. Frequently I have found that I can’t access the messages due to a 404 error. That’s problematic.

That’s why I like plurk. It provides a simple front page where you can see all plurks. Select a plurk and you can read the responses and respond yourself. That’s great because it means you can converse without putting your life on hold to keep the conversation going.

What’s particularly interesting is that there was a time when twitter was as advantageous as plurk for mobility but due to costs they were unable to provide the service anymore due to cost. Cost is an excuse for a lack of lateral thinking.

By creating a good wap interface that can as easily be used as easily on an n95 as an ipod touch plurk have circumvented most of the cost problems and provided a service that just works. Of course their user base is much smaller and it’s easier to deal with the requests. We’ll see how things progress from here.