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 Bisson
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 Bisson
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 Bisson
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.

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 Bisson
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.

The most amazing thing about the Pepper Pad is how easy it is to pick up and use, how easy it is to walk around with, and how it’s available when you want it and gone when you don’t.
The Pepper Pad’s portability goes far beyond that of laptops. I mentioned previously that laptops move from [...]

Posted August 1, 2005 by Casey Bisson
Categories: Technology. Tags: game boy, laptop, laptops, obidos, pepper, pepper pad, playstation portable, portable computer, portable computing, post pc, qwerty, ultraportable, web pad. 7 Comments.