Technology in Education

There has got to be a better way.

This is what I think every time I have an issue with this device. What issues have I had you ask? Let me outline how I use it and then I’ll let you know what’s happened in this environment.

• The computer that I use every day is a Dell Latitude D820 with Windows XP. It has a 100gb SATA drive, 2 gb DDR2, an NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120M and a 2GHz Centrino Duo. This thing flat rocks!
• The iPod is a 3rd generation 60 gb, color model that does not support video, just a touch too old. As I write this iTunes reports that I have 24.49gb of audio, 661.9mb of photos and 433 mb of other on it with 30.19gb of free space.
• I have the latest version of iTunes and the Apple updater software installed.
• At work we have a windows network with AD and everything windows based runs very well. We also use Sonicwall Firewall hardware.
• We have a music directory on the network that many of us have contributed to that has around 60gb of MP3, M4A, WMV and WAV files.
• I have about 10 gb of MP3 based music & podcasts on my PC.
• I configured iTunes to use the network directory and my local directories to build its library.
• I use my iPod to record meetings that I take part in whenever possible using the Griffin iTalk that I have for it. This adds to the local music directory that I have as all of the voice records are kept there.
• I have configured iTunes to synch my contacts and calendar to my iPod. This information is collected from my local installation of Outlook 2003.
• I use the drive capability of the iPod to store copies of files that I use at work. At the most I’ve stored around 30 gb of video projects, php site files, high res photos or other files.

Ok, this seems like it should be a pretty nice set up right? Fast, well supported PC, latest updates for all the software, biggest & bestest iPod made at the time, right? Not a chance! This thing has been a nightmare at times and almost totally unusable in an active environment. Listed below are just some of the issues that I’ve had with it and iTunes.

• iTunes update breaks iPod firmware. When the iTunes update was installed for moving the version from 6.x to 7, my libraries were corrupted as was the communication with the iPod. This meant that I had to tell iTunes where all the music was again but only after I learned that I needed to remove all the old iTunes library files as I had multiple listings in my library, most of which could not be found. The iPod had to be “restored” which completely wiped it clean. Everything was gone, including the files that I had on it. Thankfully I don’t trust any, single hard-drive to keep any single copy of anything that I do and I make sure that everything is backed up, somewhere.
• Outlook calendar and contacts do not synch reliably. I mentioned that I’ve tried to synch my contacts and calendar, this does not work. iTunes makes you think that it can find the correct files on your computer the first time you set it up but they can never be found on subsequent synchs. This causes iTunes to do it’s wonderful hang job. It does this any time that it feels like it and there’s nothing short of ending the program that will bring your computer back. Unless of course you want to let your computer just sit there until iTunes lets go of whatever process it’s grinding on.
• iTunes does not behave as it should. iTunes has this horribly annoying habit of NOT running in the background! Like when you tell it to scan folders for music. Every so often it pops it’s scanning dialog up in front of you as the window with the main focus!!!!! Can I tell you how much this sucks when you’re trying to do work? Your typing away and next thing you know you’ve hit the cancel button on that dialog as it was scanning your directories for the umteenth time. This is because iTunes does not continually scan directories for changes like Windows Media Player does. This means that your library is immediately in jeopardy if you want or need to move anything into or out of it. You have to completely rescan your folders and then you’ll most likely get duplicate listings in iTunes, just because it doesn’t understand that the music it’s looking at was already added to it’s library!
• Battery life on the iPod is the worst. The latest experience I had with this is when I wanted to record a 2 hour session at the last NYSCATE conference. The battery lasted for it, recorded the whole thing. File size wasn’t bad either. No battery left to record the second session however. Nothing. Not even the least little bit. Just this little hairs width red bar showing for battery power. Not good. I can’t get 4 hours of voice recording out of a single battery charge? Am I asking too much? How many hours could you get out of the old mini-cassette recorders running on AA batteries? I’ve never used them so I’m not sure what they could do on a single set of batteries. Makes me wonder.
• Can’t share files between Mac and PC when using the iPod as hdd. This really surprised me. I have a Mac to use along with my Windows PC. The Mac is up to date also, so don’t go there. Just using this as a USB or Firewire connected hdd (Hard Disc Drive) I could not see files that I put on the iPod with my Windows PC. Furthermore, iTunes started on the Mac automatically when I connected the iPod, I told it to not convert the iPod to the Mac but to ignore it and then I closed iTunes (Apple+Q). No idea what happened but guess what, next time I connected the iPod to the PC I had to restore it, AGAIN! AARRGGHHHHH!!!!!! I’ve never had a problem swapping files between PC’s, never once. Since the world I work in is 99% Windows based I cannot use this device on the Mac, this defeats the purpose of learning how to use the technology in the environment for which it is to be used in.

The future is bright however as we’ve ordered a new device to test. The Sandisk Sansa e280 looks very promising. This little guy handles Windows Media Player very well so synchronizing should be cake. The other features are major bonuses and the battery is user replaceable, how can you top that? Check out this list of features;

• 8gb flash based memory
• expansion card slot
• large color screen
• audio, video and images are viewable
• FM tuner
• voice recorder
• user replaceable battery
• less than the cost of a 4gb Nano!