Can't Stop Geeking

According to a new study, social media is more a buzz about Apple, the new iPhone, and the privacy issues on Facebook more than the oil spill. I can understand why a little. After we voice our opinion on the efforts to clean it up, what more is there to say or do. On the other hand, I don’t want to see BP slack off because people are not talking about this. They need to clean this mess up and we need to keep the pressure on them.

Well, you can cancel any dreams of having a Verizon iPhone anytime soon. It has been verified that the original contract for exclusive rights to the iPhone Apple had with AT&T was until 2012. Which absolutely stinks since AT&T’s has the lowest customer satisfaction rating of all the major carriers. Some are speculating that the recent iPad launch may have given Apple an opportunity to revisit this exclusive contract, but no details as to whether it will be shorter or longer has been divulged. If you know me and my attitude toward AT&T, I am definitely pulling for shorter.

The more I look and search, the more tablet computers I find. And not only are they on par with the iPad from a spec sheet point of view, in some key ways they are better. Take this one for example. This Eken M001 USB ports, an SD memory card and can hold 32 GB of info. I can’t remember what the iPad weighs, but this thing clocks in at 0.77 pounds, so it should be easy to carry. The best part? You can own this piece of technology for only $140. The bad part? You can only buy it if you live in China. Bummer. Oh well, hopefully we’ll see this or something similar to it in the near future.

My wife and I went to Best Buy for fun this past weekend and I got my first chance to see and try an iPad for myself.  They had a wi-fi connection so I could see how it did with connectivity. My first impressions when I walked up to it was that it look smaller than I’ve seen in the promotional pictures. It was only as bing as my hands side by side, and I have small hands for an adult. I picked it up and one thing the iPad has going for it is a very clear, bright screen. I could easily see what I was looking for and read without difficulty.  Depending on the light, I do still have to wonder if glare would be an issue. The one thing I heard was an issue and I have to agree is the weight of the iPad. It’s surprisingly heavy for how thin it is. When surfing, I held it in one hand and use the other hand to navigate, and my arm started to tire after holding it up for a while. So, if you don’t want to get too fatigued, you’re going to need both hands to hold it. But you then negate the value of the touch screen. The only reason I would buy an iPad is for the e-reader. I like the idea of being able to read a variety of books from one device easily.  But even the e-reader seems to be missing a crucial feature for me; the ability to highlight passages. There are bookmarks, but no highlight feature that I could see.  That might be a deal breaker.

Apple has scheduled it Worldwide Developers Conference for June 7-11 this year, and everyone in attendance will receive a free slushee. Actually, while tickets are a whopping $1,600 dollars, this conference has been selling out pretty regularly. So, somebody must feel these are worth the money.  If you’re wanting to go, you better make plans quickly.  Topics covered will include Mac and iPhone operating systems. I wish I had the money to go.

If you already have an iPad, you may kick yourself after reading this, and if you haven’t bought one, this may give you reason to hesitate slightly. There’s a German company that is developing a tablet computer similar to Apple’s. What makes this one more enticing is a larger screen, USB ports and a built in webcam. If this thing holds good on its promoted accessories and is compatible in the US, I think Apple may ahve a run for its money coming.

Well, it was inevitable something like this would happen, but the speed with which it happened is both interesting and frightening. A group of teeneagers bought an iPad with the only intention being to view its inner workings. That’s a fairly benign statement until you realize they used a baseball bat as their surgical instrument and their operating table was the sidewalk in front of the Best Buy where they bought it. Do these kids have an open vendetta? No, they just wanted to be the first to do it. So, the lure of 15 minutes of fame claims another victim. It’s gone viral on YouTube. Not only was it a waste of a new iPad, it was a waste of good money. Some one please give these kids a more constructive activity idea.

Depending on who you talk to, the new product from Apple could be just the next big thing in a long list of tech toys, or it could be the the next shift in technology.  I have to wonder.  I know some people who work on computers for a living and the work they have to do requires a computer that is capable of handling large programs, capable of very specific operations.  Putting these programs on an iPad is both impractical and inefficient from a memory standpoint.  It’s like some people need commercial lighting for their business while people who live in the home don’t require that much to turn light up their lving room. I think for most people who want a computer to surf the web or watch one of the variations of YouTube, the iPad is right up their alley.

Oh, those silly Silicon Valley Boys.  I guess Apple and Google are starting to get into the heated argument ring with each other.  Apple is miffed that Google is promoting the Droid which resembles the iPhone in a number of ways and Google is irked that Apple appears to be trying to shut Google out of the mobile web market.  Personally, I think both companies need a little reality check.  Apple needs to free themselves from the exclusive contract with AT&T so that Verizon customers can have an iPhone.  In this age of technology and expense, entering into an exclusive agreement with a company limits your sales.  If AT&T was hoping Verizon would go away, the strategy of having the iPhone exclusively didn’t seem to work.

Well, the cat is officially out of the bag. Apple announced it’s latest gadget, the iPhone on steroids, the iPad. The only thing this thing doesn’t do is telephone stuff. You can surf the web, stream movies, etc., bascially everything thi iPhone does. You know what I want? I want a way to talk to someone in the next town, state or country and be able to see their faces while I do it. That to me would be breakthrough technology.