A year ago my institution changed the software we used for email and calendaring. As a result, many of the people I worked with were no long able to sync their calendars with their Palm Pilots. I did some research on potential replacements and the winner, in terms of price and functionality, was the iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch syncs with Zimbra, our email/calendaring program. Users can schedule an appointment with the iTouch Calendar application and have it show up immediately on their desktop computers. Those users who prefer to use Micrsoft Outlook on their desktops can even sync Outlook, Google Calendars, and their iPod Touch.

Of course, along with the business uses comes the fun stuff, too: music, games, Facebook, Amazon, and many others. And it’s the fun stuff that I think has the greatest benefit for our library. When you give someone an iPod you give them a functional business device, a fashionable techno-gadget, and a cutting-edge piece of technology. People get excited to use these devices, they learn how to install software and sync their accounts, and their appreciation and comfort with technology grows. Personally, I think it’s one of the best technology investments we’ve made.

This post is tagged

This post was written by Eric Hinsdale