Apple

Treehouse Agency, where I work, was kind enough to lease an iPad2 for me so that I would be able to work on files types that are exclusive to Apple - such as Keynote. I've spent some time with it and have come to find it... OK. It's not a computer, of course, and it is very good at what it does. But what, really, does it do?

The answer to that varies from person to person. To me, it seems more of a toy than anything - useful in some regards so that I don't lose Twitter and other social media while I'm working in browsers; while tabbed browsing is nice it doesn't allow filing of the tabs (there's an innovation that would be nice) to keep track of what is going on where. In my daily use of a browser, it's easy for me to have 12 to 20 tabs open during the course of the day. That is an improvement over having multiple windows open, I know, but there is room for improvement in that regard. Thus the iPad2 has been very helpful in notifying me of updates in social media on a separate piece of equipment. Its portability, too, allows me to move around with it.

But what I've said there could be done with my Android phone, too.

The touch keyboard is good for all the one handed typists out there but it's a bit frustrating for someone who is used to 2 handed, 10 finger typing without having to look at the keyboard. So I bought a bluetooth keyboard that is amazingly small and almost feels like a keyboard to assist me in that regard - but now the power of portability has been decreased significantly with that. The 'cool' of a multitouch screen wore off within minutes for me - but then I'm a jaded person when it comes to technology.

Most of all, to me, it's apparent that like Amazon's Kindle line, the Barnes & Noble Nook and other devices of the ilk have the same thing in common with the iPad2. They are consumer devices. They are intended for consuming content, not creating it - and they are all attached to their own sellers of content. In that regard, the iPad2 serves mainly as an umbilical cord to Apple's App store. That's what it is intended to be and in that regard it's brilliant.

It also might be useful as a mirror.

This, of course, is not intended to put off people from purchasing an iPad2. For some people I am sure that these are brilliant pieces of technology where they can conveniently consume content on the go. Not only do you pay for the machine, you pay for useful apps as you wish - some are free, but many are not. Developers do have to eat, this I know, and I've made sure a few have been paid through some of my experimentation on the iPad2. I will likely continue to do so.

It's quite likely that the entire market simply isn't for me. Maybe I am becoming an antique in an age trying to compete with Star Trek writing but not Star Trek context. Maybe I'm working too much on too many things to truly appreciate the iPad2. But to me, it's not the next big leap in getting technology to the masses. It's a manner of getting consumption to the masses who can afford an iPad2.

That said, what has impressed me most is the low battery usage of the iPad2 while it's in standby. I got it over a week ago and still haven't needed to charge it: At the time of this writing, the battery is at 70%. That's pretty amazing to me, really, considering the color display. But then, what do I really use it for?

Not that much.

So while there are many people in love with their iPad/iPad2s for various reasons, I'm not in love. It's a working relationship I have with this iPad2. If it were really useful to me I would have used it to write my impressions here. I didn't.

Should you get one? That's not the point of this post. The point of this post was to answer some people who had asked me my impressions of the iPad2. There is a world inside the iPad2, but the content of that world is largely decided by Apple - just as the world within Kindles are largely decided by Amazon.

Would I write an app for it? Maybe. There are a lot of people spending money in the App Store.

When I read "Fame debunked", I felt for Melissa.

When Lego Mindstorms first came out, I was working at Honeywell in the area we called Muppet Labs. My mentor had brought in a naked furbie at one point, so when I ran out to Toys 'R' Us at lunch and came back with a Mindstorms kit - no one thought much of it. My cat at the time, Sprocket, was at the least mildly entertained with it until he decimated it with his pouncing from the refrigerator.

Recently I've been getting the Lego Mindstorm itch again - building physical things that I can program - and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the new set has Bluetooth ability. And - yes, someone has already written an Android application for the Lego Mindstorm NXT. I'm presently deciding whether to pick up the new set and play with it over the winter - in winter it helps to have something to do other than sit in front of a computer - but here's the thing: It's priced higher than a 16 gig iPad 2.

The kid in me, always right below the surface, wants the Mindstorms. The kid in me also wants a tablet PC. In a perfect economy, I would get both. As an adult, I'd rather support Lego than Apple as far as business practices go - Lego is still supporting the concept of hacking whereas Apple has gone in the other direction - where 'Think Different' means, 'Think Like We Tell you to. It's different. Trust us.' 

So how do I get a table PC and a tablet? I suppose I could get the Kindle Fire to balance it out. If the Kindle Fire had Bluetooth so I could connect to the Mindstorm with it, they'd probably both have sold one more.

The dilemma. The dilemma.

Hacking used to be a lot cheaper.

Life was simpler when Radio Shack was actually an electronics store.