Testing Pages Application and New Verbatim External Keyboard on iPhone

My new mobile keyboard just arrived today. It’s a Verbatim Wireless Keyboard. There was no need for software installation. I could simply turn it on and go. Now, I am able to type using a relatively normal keyboard rather than use the hunt-and-peck method.

My previous phone, with Windows Mobile paired fairly easily with a different mobile keyboard, but permitted more keyboard commands that would allow greater control over the device. It is possible that in the first 5 minutes of using this keyboard, I have not yet discovered the magic keys that allow me to navigate through the app icons.

The “Pages” application and its sibling programs (a presentation tool and spreadsheet) are impressive–considering that these tools are usable on a phone. Now, let’s see if I can add some kind of object.

That was nice, I could add a meaningless graph (it could be meaningful if I had some data to add) with the click of a button (and have figured out how to navigate via the keyboard–I still cannot use the keyboard to navigate the app icons).

Now, to add something else. I’ll add an image. I’ll be able to select from the pictures that I’ve taken at Ikea today.

All the objects are easily sized and placed into various locations with a few finger movements. Very nice.

Now, I’ll see if I can upload this to my blog via WordPress. Now, this is a little more difficult. I’ll have to email the page to myself and upload it via the desktop method. I was unable to import the Pages document that I created directly to this blog. Nor was I able to copy and paste the images and their formatting. But, when I get on my computer tomorrow, I’ll post a PDF and Word document for comparison. It is handy that Pages allow export into these formats. Here ’tis: http://kooleady.ca/thoughts/?attachment_id=931

Nonetheless, handy tools and fun in experimentation.

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Geeking out on Research & Study Leave

Yes, I am geeking out. Even if I weren’t to achieve any of my goals for my PhD research, this R & S leave (sabbatical)  is plenty fruitful.

I’ve been scouring the Web looking for interesting tools that my students will be able to use to create interesting projects for MDDE 615 starting at the end of April.

The one that caught my attention today is MobileNation. I’ve been playing with the interface. My goal to create two pages with one linking to the other. That’s it. I just want to see how to create a couple of pages. So much can be done with so little. I’ve been testing it on our decrepit old iPod Touch. No phone, no camera, and only 8GB of memory. Being somewhat paranoid, I haven’t wanted to re-install iTunes on my main computers. So, I’ve dusted off my decrepit old Sony Vaio (great computer when it was new; too old for an OS upgrade to Windows 7). I’ll have to do several hours of updates to the security and anti-virus. Then, I’ll have to do a firmware upgrade on the iPod Touch, etc., etc., etc..

In the meantime, I’ve been trying to see if the output from Mobile Nation would work on my HTC TYTN II, now 3 years old. (I have not yet succumbed to purchasing an iPhone nor an Android. I had to install a QR Code Reader (NeoReader was compatible).) To read this “link” to my MobileNation page, which I creatively called “one”:

QR code linking to my first MobileNation page

Anyways, my HTC cannot read the page. So, I’ll have to try on the iPod Touch.

What else have I been doing besides WordPress? Well, I have been installing and testing WordPress plugins. Love the mobile one that allows me to write blog postings from my phone.

And, today, I have been checking out some pushpin maps and Cluster Maps. I really like the how modifiable the pushpin map API is; however, it would require data to be transferred to a 3rd party somewhere in the world. I try not to do that with my students. Now, that I think about it, so does Cluster Maps, but there is so little data (no cookies or spyware) that I think it is better.

On a side-note, I have also been reading some of my classmates’ PhD thesis proposals. I’m starting to formulate some questions for them.

Busy day.

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