The Apple iPad Falls Short
I so wanted to like the iPad. I anxiously anticpated its announcement last week, only to find myself disappointed.
I love Apple products. I have an iPhone. I have a MacBook Pro. What I was hoping was that Apple would create a keyboard-less MacBook with a touchscreen. Intsead, they created a jumbo-sized iPhone. Frankly, that’s not what I want.
Thinking about it for a while, I’ve put together a list of things that the iPad needed to be to tempt me to get one.
- Native Mac OS X with the ability to run iPhone Apps. What use is a portable device that big if it doesn’t have the ability to function like a laptop first and foremost?
- Dvorak Simplified Keyboard support. As a Dvorak typist, this was probably the biggest deal-breaker of them alll. Nothing in the features or specs says anything about Dvorak keyboard support. I can’t type QWERTY anymore, and lord knows I ain’t switching back, especially for the iPad.
- Syncing capability with a primary Mac computer. The size of a tablet device limits the amount of onboard memory it can have, so why not be able to specify through iTunes, what applications you want to run on the iPad and be able to sync as required? And not only that, but sync specified folders either through iTunes or MobileMe so you can work on files on the road, but they can be updated automatically, or through sycing, back on you main computer?
- Bluetooth. I didn’t see this listed, so, nuts to that.
- Tether capabities with the iPhone, and no extra data plan required.
Is that so hard? I don’t think so. Maybe Apple will develop an actual tablet computer sometime.. but for now, the iPad is not something I need when I already have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro.
Too Many Friends On Facebook?
I recently realized that I have over 500 friends on Facebook.
To some, this might qualify me as one of the 12 most annoying types of Facebook users… The “Friend-Padder”:
The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies — you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway — might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 “friends?” Unless you’re George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That’s just showing off.
Okay, I don’t have 1,000. But, I can admit that I am near the point where some migt say I am a Friend-Padder… and I don’t like it.
Admittedly, I first joined Facebook with the intention of networking in anticipation of the release of my first book. But now, various changes in the way Facebook operates, and the explosion of users makes my news feed full of mundane details of people I have no idea who they are, why I added them, or why they requested me in the first place.
This explosion of non-friend Facebook friends is intolerable when you have so many people who could qualify as one or more of the top 12 most annoying Facebook users, such as “The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore” and “The Self-Promoter.” Yeah, I don’t need all that. I like Facebook for keeping in touch with people that I’d otherwise have a hard time keeping in touch with. I also do like to have the potential to network. But, I don’t need to keep in touch with people I have never heard of or never met, and I don’t need to network with every single person in politics.
Of course, I know I am partly to blame. My past desire to use Facebook as a networking tool, and the fact that I am a blogger with national readership puts me in a position where I receive 100 or so friend requests from people I have never heard of every 30-60 days. I used to accept them quite liberally, because “that’s what Facebook is for… networking.”
Yes, I still want to use it for that purpose, but for crying out loud I need to establish some guidelines that will determine whose request gets accepted or ignored. Here they are so far.
I am not going accept friend requests from people I don’t know (or haven’t met)
- just because we have 100+ mutual friends
- just because we share the same or similar political view
I will accept a friend requests from people
- I have met at least once or know
- have worked with in some fashion at one point or another
- they are candidates for political office in races that interest me.
- they are a fellow blogger I have heard of or read or worked with.
- I believe there is advantage to networking with that person.
These guidelines are subject to change, be it additions, subtractions, or revisions.
Starbucks Brings Pike Place Roast To The Masses
This week, Starbucks made its exclusive Pike Place Roast available in all its locations. Starbucks is promoting the widespread availability of Pike Place Roast with rebranded cups featuring (temporarily, I assume) the original siren logo.
The original siren logo is slightly modified, however. The siren’s hair covers more than the true original logo, but, more importantly the circular band says “Fresh Roasted Coffee” instead of “Coffee • Tea • Spices.” Considering recently publicized problems Starbucks has had, the new emphasis on their coffee selection process and freshness is undoubtedly intended to address those issues. Starbucks suffers largely from an image problem. People who aren’t Starbucks regulars associate the coffee-chain with high-priced espresso drinks or coffee that is “too strong” for them. Starbucks is now attracting attention to their commitment to quality, fresh coffee by posting the “roasted on” date with with daily brews.
I’ve had the Pike Place Roast every day since it became available. And I have say it is one of my favorite roasts. I think Starbucks is on the right track to fixing it’s overall image problem. In fact, I would suggest they continue to not only emphasize their coffee selection processes and commitment to freshness, but also keep showcasing the original siren logo. Another aspect of their image is problem is the bleeding heart objections to big corporations, and the old logo doesn’t have the corporate look that the current logo does. Renewed attention to their roots can’t hurt and reminds consumers that Starbucks started small, and grew into something larger because it has a quality product.
9-11
This is a tribute made in the aftermath of 9-11 by my brother while were at the University of Hartford…
My own thoughts later…
One Man, One eVote?
Humiliated frontrunner-turned-loser in the Democrat primaries, Howard Dean, has taken his abortion-performing skills to the media by starting a new syndicated column..
His first topic was electronic voting.
Only since 2000 have touch screen voting machines become widely used and yet they have already caused widespread controversy due to their unreliability. For instance, in Wake County, N.C. in 2002, 436 votes were lost as a result of bad software. Hinds County, Miss. had to re-run an election because the machines had so many problems that the will of the voters could not be determined. According to local election officials in Fairfax County, Va., a recent election resulted in one in 100 votes being lost. Many states, such as New Hampshire and most recently Maine, have banned paperless touch screen voting and many more are considering doing so.
Without any accountability or transparency, even if these machines work, we cannot check whether they are in fact working reliably. The American public should not tolerate the use of paperless e-voting machines until at least the 2006 election, allowing time to prevent ongoing errors and failures with the technology. One way or another, every voter should be able to check that an accurate paper record has been made of their vote before it is recorded.
Personally, I am against eVoting, today, tomorrow, next week, next year, or anytime. The moment voting becomes electronic it becomes that much easier for the Democrats to tamper with votes. It’s basd enough that dead people can still vote for Democrats, and that they want kids as young as 16 to vote legally for Democrats, but paperless voting? Electronic voting? The next step would be voting via the Internet, which gives Democrats even more oppotunities to cheat.
When it comes to voting, I’m a traditionalist. I believe eVoting will cause more problems than it will solve.