Lost in Cyberspace

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  • December 29, 2009 at 5:40 pm
    leah
    Participant

    I’m feeling quite lost by all the discussions about iPod Touch and iPhones etc. I don’t know anything about these. Could someone explain the difference and how the apps (which I also know nothing about) work. Do you pay for them each time you use them? Is that why $9.99 for an app seems expensive? If you buy an app that also had a companion app for you desktop (such as Doug referred to), does that work for either Mac or PC? I’m sure you can tell by the nature of my qusetions that I am really out of the loop as far as technology is concerned! Embarassed

    December 29, 2009 at 6:04 pm
    crazy4boys
    Participant

    As far as the differences – the iPhone is a phone as well as a music player, etc.  They both have a calendar, a place to take notes, can play downloaded music, read books, do “apps” which are games or field guides or math tools or learning tools.  The main difference is that with an iPhone you pay for a monthly phone and internet fee.  If you have a router/wi-fi in your home you can access the internet on your iPod Touch for free.  There are also other places like restaurants and bookstores where you can access free internet for your Touch.  I think the iPhone also has a GPS system built in.  There was a discussion a while back about iPhones.  http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/using-and-iphone-in-homeschooling#post-12335

    As far as apps go, you pay a one-time fee and then you’re done.  Most updates to the apps are free.  Also, a lot of apps are free to begin with.  The majority of apps run around $.99 to $2.99 so a $9.99 app seems expensive.  I think most companion apps would be for the Mac computers and you would need to purchase them separately, but maybe Doug can answer that better.

    We use apps mostly for learning games in my home.  I have 4 kids ages 9 to 3.  They play math, spelling, logic and puzzle games.  The preschooler does shapes, colors, letters, etc and the older boys practice skip counting, spelling, etc.  We haven’t gotten into the organization side yet.  Because you can “touch” the screen and have it respond it feels more like writing.  One game my 3 yr old plays has him tracing the letters along lines and he can see where his fingers have gone.  The boys also listen to audiobooks and music and watch movies and TV episodes that I’ve downloaded (some for free and some I’ve paid a one-time fee for and then I can keep them on my iPod forever).  You can also remove them from your iPod/iPhone, but leave them in your “library” which means you still own them, but don’t necessarily want them on your machine at that time.  You can put them back on later as desired.

    I think Amazon has a good description about how the iPod Touch works.  The iPhone will be similar but with the phone part added.

    Hope that helps!

    Heather

    December 29, 2009 at 6:32 pm
    Doug Smith
    Keymaster

    I think of my iPhone as a little computer that fits in my pocket. Oh, and it happens to make phone calls too. Smile

    The iPhone and iPod Touch are very similar. Both have iPod features to play music, audiobooks, and videos. However, the iPhone has a camera, GPS location features, and is always connected to the Internet through the cellular phone network. But you pay a monthly cell phone and data plan fee for the privilege.

    “App” is just short for “application”, which is another name for a computer program.

    iPhone / iPod Touch apps tend to be priced lower than typical desktop computer software. Many apps are free and many are in the $0.99 to $2.99 range. I guess that makes those that cost a bit more to stand out. Now that I think about it, I can’t believe I actually called the $9.99 Things app expensive. But I was thinking of it along with the companion desktop application, which is another $50.

    Regarding companion apps running on Mac or PC, it all depends on the software maker. For example, the e-book reader Stanza has desktop applications for Mac, PC, and Linux. The Things to do app only has companion software for the Mac. There are very few apps that require a desktop app. It’s just a convenience that some will synchronize your data with your desktop computer so you can use it in both places.

    For example, Things is a great iPhone to do list app all by itself and Stanza is a fine e-book reader by itself. But if you have the companion desktop software you can manage your to do list and your e-book library on your computer too.

    December 30, 2009 at 2:28 am
    leah
    Participant

    Thanks Heather and Doug for the little tutorial. I feel a bit more up to date now. At least I’ll understand a little more of what others are talking about. The iPod Touch and iPhone really do sound like great little tools with lots of potential. Maybe someday I’ll get to put one to good use!Smile

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