.KEYWORD ppcoolsite1000
.FLYINGHEAD PALMPOWER SITE OF THE MONTH
.TITLE AvantGo, Gore, go!
.DEPT
.SUMMARY Critics and talk-show hosts who accuse Al Gore of being a robot might just be referring to his electronic brain, otherwise known as the Palm organizer he wears prominently clipped to his casual khaki slacks. The presidential candidate has taken his passion for Palm computing a step further by creating an AvantGo channel for his official campaign Web site, which also just happens to be PalmPower’s Site of the Month. Steve Niles reviews AlGore.com’s AvantGo channel and considers what this might mean for Gore’s candidacy.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
I was listening to National Public Radio on the drive to work this morning, and Mike Shuster was talking to Cokie Roberts about the state of the presidential race. It’s a dead heat at the moment, Cokie reported, with Bush catching up to Gore’s post-convention bounce thanks to his appearances on Oprah and Live with Regis. She said that now the two candidates will begin to focus more directly on particular voter segments-women with children having been the targets of the most recent day-time talk show stints.
If niche marketing is on the agenda, then Al Gore has already laid the groundwork for an appeal to the all-important Palm computing vote. A Palm device user himself, Gore is the first, and at the moment, the only presidential candidate in history to have his own mobile, handheld news channel. In fact, this distinction has already made him a winner, as his official Web site, AlGore.com, has been voted October’s PalmPower Site of the Month.
The Gore Mobile Edition, as it’s termed, can be found at http://www.algore.com/pda/. The site is pictured in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A You can find the Gore Mobile Edition at AlGore.com.
Now, inevitably, all of you are not necessarily going to be Gore supporters. However, as PDA users, we can all appreciate, like the first televised election debate, the historic significance of Gore’s mobile channel. Its use as a campaign tool is just one more example of the Palm organizer’s acceptance into mainstream culture, and it’s valuable to see just what’s being done with it.
.H1 Handheld Campaign HQ
Once you enter, you arrive at the channel’s news page and menu. You can check out press releases from the Gore campaign, get a detailed run-down of where Gore stands on the issues, find out how to get involved in the campaign, or take a look at a snapshot from the Gore 2000 HQ Cam. The introductory screen of the Gore 2000 Handheld Headquarters is pictured in Figure B.
.FIG B AlGore.com for AvantGo keeps you up-to-date on the Vice President’s campaign.
Gore’s strength right now seems to be his emphasis on the issues, in marked contrast to his rival, so the most valuable feature of the AlGore.com channel is the ability to get a definitive statement on Gore’s beliefs on every topic imaginable. Figure C shows an excerpt from Gore’s stance on technology.
.FIG C Though Gore didn’t invent the Internet, he does want to improve it.
Less valuable is the Gore 2000 HQ Cam. Apparently, a Web cam has been placed in the campaign’s Nashville, Tennessee headquarters, and it looks down on the Gore 2000 Web Team. Every time you HotSync, you’re treated to a refreshed image of the bustling office, like the one pictured in Figure D.
.FIG D See Gore’s staff hard at work with the Gore 2000 HQ Cam.
If you hold your Palm device at arm’s length and squint, you can just make out a filing cabinet, a pole, and what might be the tops of a couple heads. The Web cam idea is a nice touch, and I’d like to say it’s a breathtaking peak behind the scenes of a presidential campaign organization. However, the picture could too easily pass for the random configuration of spilled coffee grounds.
.H1 The future of democracy and handheld computing
Does having a mobile channel have any affect whatsoever on Gore’s chances of winning the election? It’s doubtful. The only people who would regularly download and read the channel are surely already Gore supporters. It does little but preach to the choir. However, it’s exciting to see someone who could possibly be the next President of the United States embrace Palm computing with such exuberance.
What it also says is this: If a Palm organizer can help Gore lead the nation, just think what it can do for you.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on the AlGore.com AvantGo channel, visit http://www.algore.com/pda/.
.H1 Your site can earn this special banner
Do you run a special site, one that provides a great resource for Palm device users? If so, your site may be eligible for consideration as the PalmPower Site of the Month. If chosen, you’ll even be entitled to display the snazzy banner shown in Figure E.
.FIG E Is your site cool enough to be the PalmPower Site of the Month?
If you’d like your site to be considered for the PalmPower Site of the Month, send email to steve_niles@palmpower.com. Please specify "PALMPOWER COOLSITE" in the subject field of your email, and include a paragraph or two about what makes your site special.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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.BIO
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