Tag Archives: mobile computing

The mobile future

Posted on by
Reply

One thing that having an iPhone and and iPad has taught me is that the future is mobile. Lots of recent studies and news items point in this direction.

I’ve been spending time thinking about this as part of a goal at my work. What I’ve read and seen show that our library services have to at least account for mobile access, if not focus primarily on that means of access instead of, say, access via a regular website or portal. This might seem like common sense and it is. But unfortunately we are far from where we should be in terms of being able to serve up valuable content in an easy-to-use mobile format to our users. I’ve learned that especially in our line of work — healthcare — there are quite a few applications and sites that are optimized for mobile, but there are also many others, especially those that are expensive to buy and serve up, that are either unfriendly to mobile altogether, or the provider expects us to pay a separate license for a mobile-friendly version. This is ridiculous.

Another hindrance is the fact that my company currently only supports mobile devices that are extremely limited in their functionality (Blackberries). This is changing but not quickly enough. This past week, for example, I was very happy to hear that a large part of our staff in international markets might begin using iPads. But the fact remains that it is hard to build a mobile strategy for content delivery based on devices that have limited functionality. This is complicated also because not every device functions the same way. We in the library do not have the luxury of limitless resources to devote to support for multiple mobile platforms in addition to all of the other work we do. We know that if we serve up mobile content, it has to be done in a compelling and user-friendly way, otherwise our users won’t bother to come back to us. To do this will take a lot of work.

Then there is the problem of getting our foot in the door with the people in our corporate IT group who support mobile devices to ensure that our content is made available on supported devices.

Another twist that I have a lot of personal interest in is the possibility for corporations to support or allow the use of personal mobile devices for business. For example, as I mentioned already, I have an iPhone as well as an iPad. I use these devices (especially the iPhone) for business use but it is my personal device and I am quite limited in what I have access to. Mainly I use the web version of our corporate email system to keep track of emails and calendar.  Although recognizing the risks and challenges for companies like mine, especially when they exist in a heavily regulated and risk-averse business like healthcare, I think support for personal mobile devices should be seriously considered.

Looking forward to Spring

Posted on by
2

Generally I love the four seasons that we experience here in the U.S. Midwest. I even love winter and snow. But I am getting a little bit tired of the dreariness of winter, and I’m looking forward to Spring. Maybe it’s because I’ve been fighting sickness for too long. I wonder what on earth is wrong with my immune system, because it seems like I get sick quite easily.  Part of that may be due to the fact that I need to get off of my rear end and start exercising.  The hardest part of that is just getting started!  I’m sure that if I exercised on a regular basis, I’d feel a lot better and have more energy.

One of the things that keeps me occupied is an ongoing interest in technology.  For example, I am fascinated with the way in which Facebook has become a sort of standard in my daily life.  Recently I’ve reconnected with a dozen or more high school classmates.  These are people I have not seen or heard from for about 25 years.  I hated high school and I have mixed feelings at times about reconnecting with classmates, but I’ve found that the effort is very worthwhile.  I’ve discovered that out of a class size of about 65 people from a small country town in east central Illinois, my former classmates lead distinguished and interesting lives.  Just to give a sampling, one is a highly successful thoroughbred horse trainer; another is a curator for a famous author’s home, now a museum and a place that’s on the National Register of Historic Places. One of my former classmates worked fulltime while raising a child as a single mom AND earned her bachelor’s degree. Another person is an assistant principal, while yet another person is a vice president for a health care company. One classmate is pursuing the same graduate program that I went through, at the same institution.  Two former classmates  are in the military.  These people are spread all over the United States and in some cases live outside the U.S.  And the list goes on…I’ve even reconnected with former neighbors of the subdivision in the small town I grew up in and we are planning to have a neighborhood reunion soon!

I also continue to be fascinated with the development of applications for the iPhone.  I’m biased of course, but I think the iPhone is, by far, the best mobile computing platform out there.  And it keeps getting better.  For example, one of the upcoming applications will allow me to store, manage, and peruse scientific journal articles.  This app will be called Papers and although its purpose seems rather simple at first, the concept and its implications are huge in terms of the way in which researchers and scientists can interact with scholarly literature.

Even my use of Twitter (it’s a love it or hate it kind of thing) has developed and changed over time.  I’ve come to appreciate its benefits and figured out how I can use it in a way that doesn’t drive me crazy.

Anyway, back to the initial point about looking forward to Spring.  On this Valentine’s Day I woke up to a coating of snow that makes everything look clean and bright once more. I hope though that it melts quickly and that warmer weather, green grass, and Spring flowers will arrive soon.