Is part of the issue here that the iPod, from its first release, has been pretty much a "mature" technology? People used to rush to replace PCs on a rapid cycle because there was a lot more they could do with them: early personal computers (in the generic sense) were very limited is capabilities. Similiarly with mobile phones - early phones were large "bricks" and so the motivation to replace it a short while later was high. By contrast, even the earliest iPod essentially does all that you need it to, has a high storage capacity, a good form factor, decent battery life, good usability, et cetera. Later releases have been developments on a mature technology, rather than updates that made a barely-useable item into a more-useable item.
I think this is about motivation and pace of learning more than anything. There are always going to be a few students who are strongly motivated, and some who have hardly any motivation to work. For the majority of students in the middle, lectures seem to work well - a timetable saying "be here at this time and this place" seems to be just that sufficiently bit more motivating than "read this book/listen to this podcast/watch this video lecture series", where the temptation to say "I'll do it tomorrow" is too high.
In fact, one of the next revolutions in comp use is handwriting recognition
I'm tending to believe that handwriting recognition as the "next big thing" is a red herring. Having just had to do a lot of handwriting over the last couple of weeks, the feel was frustrating and slow, like writing with a huge, heavy stick. Given that many people can now type several times faster than they can write, where is the demand for handwriting recognition going to come from?
Slashdot Mirror
Is part of the issue here that the iPod, from its first release, has been pretty much a "mature" technology? People used to rush to replace PCs on a rapid cycle because there was a lot more they could do with them: early personal computers (in the generic sense) were very limited is capabilities. Similiarly with mobile phones - early phones were large "bricks" and so the motivation to replace it a short while later was high. By contrast, even the earliest iPod essentially does all that you need it to, has a high storage capacity, a good form factor, decent battery life, good usability, et cetera. Later releases have been developments on a mature technology, rather than updates that made a barely-useable item into a more-useable item.
I think this is about motivation and pace of learning more than anything. There are always going to be a few students who are strongly motivated, and some who have hardly any motivation to work. For the majority of students in the middle, lectures seem to work well - a timetable saying "be here at this time and this place" seems to be just that sufficiently bit more motivating than "read this book/listen to this podcast/watch this video lecture series", where the temptation to say "I'll do it tomorrow" is too high.
In fact, one of the next revolutions in comp use is handwriting recognition
I'm tending to believe that handwriting recognition as the "next big thing" is a red herring. Having just had to do a lot of handwriting over the last couple of weeks, the feel was frustrating and slow, like writing with a huge, heavy stick. Given that many people can now type several times faster than they can write, where is the demand for handwriting recognition going to come from?