Smartwatche marki Pebble są wciąż przez niektórych użytkowników uważane za idealne tego typu urządzenia. Między innymi przeze mnie. Doszło do tego, że kupiłem sobie dwa zegarki Pebble „na zapas”. Dlaczego? Dlatego, że marka została wykupiona przez Fitbit a ta potem przez Google. Udany, przyjazny użytkownikom produkt został tym samym zmieciony z rynku. Podobnie jak wiele podobnych projektów wcześniej, na przykład smartfony marki Palm z systemem WebOS.

Pierwszy zegarek Pebble powstał dzięki zebraniu pieniędzy na Kickstarterze (źródło: kickstarter.com)

Zegarki Pebble ujęły mnie zrazu wzornictwem. Ale ostatecznie przekonały mnie kilkoma cechami, których brak jest do tej pory w innych tego typu urządzeniach – prostotą menu, fizycznymi przyciskami i bardzo czytelnymi wyświetlaczami działającymi podobnie jak ekrany czytników książek – są bardzo dobrze czytelne w dziennym świetle, więc nie potrzebują podświetlenia (w dzień).

Jednak ostatnio zdarzyło się coś niespodziewanego, co może zmienić losy pogrzebanego produktu. Google (właściciel dorobku intelektualnego związanego z Pebble) uwolnił system operacyjny Pebble OS. Być może uznano, że takie hobbystyczne niszowe oprogramowanie nie zagrozi istniejącemu duopolowi „naręcznego” Androida i watchOS. Dzięki temu Eric Migicovsky, założyciel i pomysłodawca Pebble, mógł powrócić do swego najbardziej udanego projektu. W czasie działania firmy (od momentu rozpoczęcia kampanii na Kickstarterze), na rynek trafiło miliony zegarków marki Pebble. I choć pomysłodawca przypisuje sobie zasługi stworzenia czegoś innowacyjnego, to też nie zrzuca z siebie winy za porażkę i zniknięcie marki z rynku. Twierdzi, że nauka nie poszła w las i teraz może się udać lepiej. Może na przykład tym razem firma nie przepuści zebranych od ludzi milionów dolarów na kosmiczne pensje programistów i inżynierów? Zobaczymy.

Moje „archiwalne” zegarki Pebble

Migicovsky ogłosił kilka dni temu (wpis „Why We’re Bringing Pebble Back”), że obecnie jego pomysł ma może nawet większe szanse powodzenia niż pierwotnie. Obecnie idea naręcznego zegarka jest prostsza do zrealizowania z technicznego punktu widzenia, zwyczajnie jest teraz więcej dostawców podzespołów, które można wykorzystać w smartwatchu. Czy jednak uda się wskrzesić przeszłość? Pomysłodawca może liczyć na takich jak ja, którzy cenią funkcjonalność i przyjazność produktu i nie potrzebują wpisywać się w najmodniejsze trendy. Ale rynek smatwatchy, podobnie jak smartfonów, wydaje się być podzielony „na wieki” między dwie platformy. Mimo wszystko oczywiście trzymam kciuki, żeby tym razem z Pebble udało się lepiej. Nie chcę znowu za kilka lat kupować zegarków Pebble „na zapas”, żeby mieć ulubiony produkt, którego na rynku nie ma i nawet oficjalnie nie jest wspierany choć wciąż cieszy korzystanie z niego...

In this classic, Sylvester the donkey finds a magic pebble that makes any wish come true. When he makes a wish that has unexpected results, he is challenged to find his true self and his way back home to his loving family. This would be perfect for a read-aloud in any grade level. After reading, I would provide the students with writing prompts: "If you had a magic pebble, what would you wish for?" "If you were lost and couldn't find your way home, what would you do?" These give students the opportunity to explore their own imagination and write a piece that truly reflects their thinking! 

Fountas and Pinnell: M

TITLE:  The Planet in a Pebble

AUTHOR:  Jan Zalasiewicz

DATE PUBLISHED:  2012

FORMAT:  Paperback

ISBN-13:  9780199645695

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“Take a pebble.  A slate pebble, say, from a beach in Wales.  Look at its rich grey, cut by veins of white quartz.  Look closely.  There are other markings too…”

The Planet in a Pebble is the story of the Earth as determined from a single pebble, from the depth of time and across the far reaches of space to its current existence.  The many events in the Earth’s past that can be deciphered from the subject pebble include:  the Big-Bang;  solar system creation; planet creation; volcanic eruptions; magnetic fields, the lives and deaths of extinct organic species;  the nature of long-vanished oceans;  transformations in the depth of the earth;  the creation of fool’s gold and of oil; and tectonics. 

Jan Zalasiewicz demonstrates, in an accessible and lyrical manner, how geologists reach deep into the Earth's past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral matter to discover aspects of Earth’s history.   However, while the writing style is entertaining and accessible, there is some technical vocabulary that may be confusing for non-geologists, but this can’t be helped in a book like this.  None of this technical vocabulary is incomprehensible with a bit of application of grey matter.

The author shows how many stories are crammed into each and every pebble around us, no matter how ordinary the pebble.  But this pebble is also a part of the Earth’s amazing journey through time.  Taking a look at the history of the Earth by what can be told by a single pebble is an unusual and novel method for a science book that I rather enjoyed.

Great thriller. Was able to visualise it well! Hope that the next one in the series is a little longer, because I wasn't ready for it to be over.

Genre: Family / Drama / Magic / Animals

Year Published: 1969

Year Read:  2008

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

“Sylvester and the Magic Pebble” is one of William Steig’s earlier books and has proven to be the most emotional and heartwarming of all of his books. Also, this was William Steig’s first controversial book due to the image of the police being portrayed as pigs, even though I do not think that it is an issue because all the characters are animals, but it depends on how you view this issue. Anyway, William Steig’s dramatic storyline and illustrations has won this book a Caldecott Book Award and will surely be a treat to read.

William Steig has done an excellent job at beautifully detailing a young donkey’s attempts to change back to normal after a wish goes awry. Both children and adults will feel for Sylvester’s great sadness at not being able to tell his parents that he is still alive and his parents’ misery as they thought that their darling son was dead. William Steig’s illustrations are beautiful and detailed as he vividly draws the sad and happy emotions on Sylvester’s parents’ faces when they worried about their son, Sylvester. Also, the illustrations of the flowers and the trees and even the snow during the winter scene are memorizing as they provide a calm background the images.

***Small Rant:***

Alright, so everyone who has been browsing through various banned books knows that the reason why this book was banned was because of the image of the policemen being portrayed as pigs. First of all, I have an issue with this book being banned because of that reason. I mean, this is a book about TALKING ANIMALS, so what is wrong with the police being portrayed as pigs in a book about talking animals? Also, the main character is a DONKEY! So, that means that if the characters were switched and the main character was a pig and the policemen were donkeys, would that still be an issue? There were a couple of banned books where I do not agree with the reasons of it being banned (although, I never agree with any book being banned), but this was one of those books where I think the reason for it being banned was COMPLETELY unjustified.

***Rant Ended***



Also, the scenes where Sylvester's parents worry about Sylvester's whereabouts might worry smaller children who might worry about whether or not Sylvester will ever transform back into himself again. Parents should reassure their children about the importance of staying safe if they wonder out into an unknown area.

“Sylvester and the Magic Pebble” is William Steig’s milestone children’s book as it discusses the love that Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have for their child, Sylvester, when he turns up missing and [how the spell of the magic pebble is broken when Mr. and Mrs. Duncan wished for their child’s return. (hide spoiler)] This book will be a cult favorite for both children and adults and is suitable for children ages five and up, even though it discusses the loss of a child.


Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog