Rebecca Lieb reports for ClickZ Stats that, based on US Census data (report), most Americans have PCs and web access:
Sixty-two million U.S. households, or 55 percent of American homes, had a Web-connected computer in 2003, according to just-released U.S. Census data. That’s up from 50 percent in 2001, and more than triple 1997’s 18 [...]

Posted January 16, 2006 by Casey
Categories: Libraries & Networked Information, Technology. Tags: access, census, critical mass, information age, internet access, internet usage, networked information, statistics, the coming information age, us census, usage statistics. 3 Comments.

My week with the Pepper Pad is over, and the UPS van just drove off with it, but I’ve still got a lot to report.
My testing ran into problems when it turned out that the WiFi network in the library was on the fritz. I did some netstumbling today and found that only two APs [...]

Posted October 5, 2005 by Casey
Categories: Libraries & Networked Information, Technology. Tags: computer, fond farewell, good bye, internet access, pepper, pepper computer, pepper pad, portable computer, portable computing, post pc, post pc device, ubicomp, ubiquitous computing, ultra portable, web access, web device, web pad. 5 Comments.

The Pepper Pad (available at Amazon) has a very clean out of box experience. There’s nothing to assemble and no questions about what order to do things in. Just open, unwrap, plug in, startup.
I attempted running through the configuration in my office, but the WiFi propagation is very weak there and Pepper Pad couldn’t catch [...]

Posted September 30, 2005 by Casey
Categories: Technology. Tags: computer, internet access, pepper, pepper computer, pepper pad, portable computer, portable computing, post pc, post pc device, ubicomp, ubiquitous computing, ultraportable, web access, web device, web pad. 4 Comments.

The Pepper Pad’s technical details — a lightweight Linux powered device with an 8.4-inch SVGA touchscreen, Wi-Fi auto-configuration, Bluetooth device support, multi-gigabyte disk, full QWERTY thumb-keypad, stereo speakers, and more — are already well reported. But I’ve been arguing that attention to such details runs counter to the purpose and intended use of the device. [...]

Posted September 29, 2005 by Casey
Categories: Libraries & Networked Information, Technology. Tags: computer, internet access, pepper, pepper computer, pepper pad, portable computer, portable computing, post pc, post pc device, ubicomp, ubiquitous computing, ultraportable, web access, web device, web pad. 4 Comments.

Macsimum News did a story on satellite internet options a few weeks ago, but reader reports focused on fixed base station solutions for domestic use.
What about mobile data solutions for international use? That’s where companies like Outfitter Satellite come in. They’ve got Inmarsat solutions that can do 64kbps (or bonded to 128kbps) almost anywhere in [...]

Posted September 21, 2005 by Casey
Categories: Technology. Tags: global coverage, global internet access, inmarsat, internet access, rbgan, remote access, remote data networking, satellite, satellite access, satellite broadband, satellite data, satellite data access, satellite internet. 118 Comments.

David Rothman pointed me to Michael Lasky’s PC World review of the Pepper Pad. Lasky bangs on Pepper, saying he can’t recommend it.
Too often, I think, technology reviewers approach a new product without understanding it. Lasky tells us how the Pepper performs when playing music or videos before comparing it to “notebook computers available for [...]

Posted September 20, 2005 by Casey
Categories: Libraries & Networked Information, Technology. Tags: access, cluetrain, doesn't get it, internet access, laptop, michael lasky, notebook computers, palmtop, pc world review, pcworld, pepper, pepper pad, pepper pad review, portable, portable computer, portable computing, post pc, review, ultraportable. One Comment.

That headline might seem a little late among the folks reading this. But we’re all geeks, and if not geeks, then at least regular computer users. Regular computer users, however, are a minority. Worldwide, only around 500 million people have internet access, and fewer than 100 million people in the US have internet access at [...]

Posted August 4, 2005 by Casey
Categories: Technology. Tags: access, change, change computers, computer, computing, critical mass, desktop apps, email, geek, geeks, information age, information system, internet, internet access, internet connected, killer app, market opportunity, network, paradigm shift, penetration, portable computing, web, web applications. 9 Comments.