Seasons in the Sun

Summer is coming to the Midwest and Truman! It's hard to keep yourself from going outside when the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing. However, you can still be entertained and connected while studying. It's wonderful to see how the digital revolution has given us more freedom to get outside.

Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/origamicranes/2693504517/sizes/o/in/pool-14283989@N00/

1. Music on the Go

Ten years ago I thought Walkman CD players were the coolest thing in this world – they allowed me to enjoy my high-quality music outside without having to carry a boom box. The whole world could fit in my pocket, with only a couple of double-A batteries and a few spare CDs! But, now if I go out with a CD player, people will stare at me as if I'm coming from the jungle. The game changed when MP3 players, or iPods, provided a place for your entire music library in a tiny device. And the newest iPod Nano can easily play music and video clips continuously for half a day. The catch? Copy protection is tricky. Your CDs would play in your friend's boom box, but your files wouldn't? Shame on you, DRM.

So, will it get better? Yes. Now you can bring your hi-definition movies with you by something like a Zune HD. Also, the idea of never having to sync your music library is cool - MP3 players will be able stream directly from a PC or a site like Pandora or Lala. Twittering or posting to Facebook every song you listen to may seem cool, but it's actually annoying. Your friends probably don't need to know you're listening to Lady Gaga.

2. Connectivity and Productivity

I'd vote for Wi-Fi to be the greatest advancement of last decade, for the obvious reason: It enables us to get rid of the Ethernet wire and still be connected with a ridiculously high speed. No laptop today can be seen without Wi-Fi. Also, the iPod touch, iPhones, Android and Palms are newcomers and they offer you new means to get updated. Last year they've came up with a new thing called the ‘netbook.’ Now you can research and write papers on the grass in front of your dorm for hours. The catch? Wi-Fi is free but not available everywhere. 3G and WiMax are available everywhere but are not free. LCD screens aren’t the best in sunlight.

Will this improve? Yes. Soon enough you'll have computers those last for three days, as the iPad already pushed the battery limit to half a day. 3G will probably get cheaper. Netbooks are getting faster every day, so you can also play games on them -- another reason to not write your paper.

3. Mobile-reading

If you happen to be a book addict, you'll soon realize any LCD screen is not exactly user-friendly, and paper is still the king when it comes to sunlight. However, the heaviest thing that I want to carry outside is a magazine, such as Detours. (My favorite 700-pages Harry Potter book is a tad too heavy.) Books become a serious problem if you travel. Solution: E-readers: Nook, Kindle, Sony. E-readers, which are like books, are light, thin and are very sunlight-friendly. The battery even lasts for a month. Also, you can buy new books and magazines just about anywhere your cell phone has signal.

The catch? Copyright protection for e-books is not fun. You can't resell books. E-ink screen is black and white, slow and has low resolution. Annotating your books is a pain.

Will this progress? Yes. E-ink is rapidly changing and their technical limitations are being eliminated. So, there are plenty of options to get outside and be productive. Huan Truong – blogging outside of Pickler Memorial Library. With a lot of tulips.