Bitstrips combo - would you like fries with that?

1. Title - Bitstrips
2. Description of technology - This is an online comic strip creating software with the added dimension of an online social network for the characters created by the public.
   
3. Some issues - The software itself runs seems to run smoothly however I found running with a slower internet connection there were some problems with creating my own characters after about the fifth or sixth option screen. This may have been just from my own internet troubles but the the variety of choices to individualise each character may have impacted on this problem too. With all the social networking sites now available I think this part of Bitstrips will be limited in participation. The amount of time one can spend checking up on facebook or twitter about "real life" happenings may have a higher draw card than checking up on your charactetrs interactions in cyberspace - in saying that some people may prefer this to real life!
   
4. Educational applications - Bright, inviting and though maybe a little complex for lower to middle primary this application could well find its way onto my (expanding) 2.0 teaching tool belt. I can see Bitstrips obvious T&E focus being well integrated into Literacy, Art, SOSE and Science, but used effectively could help to meet outcomes right through the curriculum, even our overarching values!
   
5. Other thoughts. - There is something in a comic that just appeals to me, whether it's a simple picture with a few toungue in cheek words about a current issue, or a weekly installment of an ongoing fiction saga, the presence of comics everyday in our most popular newspapers and magazines is proof that I'm not alone in appreciating the humble comic strip's simplicity and charm. Bitstrips is like any tool, it's designed to make a job easier and when thinking of all the hard work bitstrips takes out of the comicstrip creation process, it is an effective tool indeed. But to add to this the varying level of complexities in the uses of this software creates a tool that can create good results with a little understanding and great results at a higher level. Hopefully Bitstrips creators remain satisfied with the highly entertaining creations coming in to existance because of their program and they don't follow many other software developers footsteps into a facination in profits.
   
6. Overall I gave Bitstrips 1.4 out of 2.0!