E-Scribe News : a programmer’s blog

About Me

PBX My name is Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using as much open source software as possible. From September to June I teach web design and other important non-photographic professional skills to photographers. In the '90s I wrote technology commentary and reviews for magazines, newspapers, and web publications, including Wired, Salon.com, FamilyPC, the late lamented Web Review, and the Chicago Tribune. Feel free to email me.

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I'm co-authoring a book, "Python Web Development with Django", with Jeff Forcier and Wesley Chun. It will be published by Prentice Hall in July 2008, but is available for pre-ordering on Amazon now.

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This site is built on a fresh trunk checkout of Django, running on Python 2.5.1, served by Apache and mod_python. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive.

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Copyright 2008
by Paul Bissex
and E-Scribe New Media

The Palm Foleo

Foleo Palm has announced the Foleo laptop-ish-device, which they are pitching as a smartphone enhancer. Interesting turnabout from the days of the original Pilot, which was pitched as a "Connected Organizer" that was dependent on your computer. The Foleo is a computer designed to be dependent on your phone.

I'm adding a reminder alarm (into my Palm TX, naturally) for 3 years from today, to go buy one of these on eBay for $75 and put Linux on it!

Update: Never mind!

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
+ + +
3 comments

Some related posts: My Palm TX runs Windows 98 • Best feature of the new MacBook Pro • Selling beat-up stuff on eBay • Palm TX: First Impressions • Evolving a new keyboard • Ubuntu, I buntu, we all buntu • Kaypro model numbers • Hizzitachi • Project idea: G5-style Mini • Hard life for hardware
• Comment from Chas Emerick, later that day

This would be mostly moot if only device and mobile OS makers would make getting one's laptop online through the phone as easy as this Foleo thing does.

The saddest thing about all this is that this is just an eMate with internet access and less functionality. This is totally useless for us geeks, but it might be perfect for the sales guy, executive, etc. What's old is new (yet) again.

Wow, I'm sounding old now...!

• Comment from Chris Blow, 1 day later

huh?

i don't get it.

you sync your phone to your foleo to your laptop to your bloglines and then your imap?

or is it the other way around?

• Comment from Paul, 1 day later

Something like that.

I think "TRASH YOUR LAPTOP" would have been a more straightforward marketing angle for them. How many of these "mobile" businesspeople are lugging around 10 lbs of laptop + accessories just for email, web apps, and little MS Office documents? Those people don't even like computers. A shot of a smiling woman drop-kicking her Dell Perspiron 12000 into the ocean and then, as she walks away across the strand, pulling out her Foleo like an oversize compact...

Palm, you clearly need my marketing genius. We can still save you.

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