iPad inkblog attempt, 2012

I really don't know how this will turn out. I miss inkblogging, however. If you like it, please let me know.

Is the iPad 2 a toy?

Is the iPad just a big, expensive toy?

I suppose that it could be. However, with hundreds of useful productivity and design apps and new iOS5 features, the iPad 2 is certainly much more than a toy.

There are a lot of games for iOS, but they represent only a fraction of what iDevices can do. The iPhone 4, for instance, is a powerful point-and-click camera in addition to being the best 3G smartphone. There are tools to keep in touch with friends and family, find the best restaurants and the lowest gas prices. Notification Center keeps tasks, weather, stocks and calendars one convenient, downward swipe away from whatever you're doing. And the iPhone 4S? Well, there's an 8 megapixel camera, and most importantly, Siri.

But about the iPad itself, specifically the iPad 2...

The iPad 2 is much more than a "big iPhone."

When the first iPad was announced, I bought the hype — I thought of the iPad as a big iPod touch, nothing more. Of course, everything changed when I actually used one. If you're thinking about buying one (and can afford it), do it. If you're skeptical, try to get to an Apple store to spend a few minutes to test an iPad.

There are features and apps that just wouldn't work well on the smaller screen of the iPhone, even with the retina display. There may be a lot of small pixels on the iPhone 4, but that doesn't just change the size of your fingers. Organization and writing tools are much more natural on the iPad, and there are apps that allow you to draw and write as you could on paper that just aren't practical on a small screen — you'd either have to write/draw smaller, or constantly zoom in/out and scroll. Typing is much nicer and quicker on the iPad, and iOS5 has a new split keyboard feature.

Popplet is a good example of the iPad's wonderful abilities. This organization app, a mind mapping tool, has been around since the first iPad, and I still use it to organize thoughts quickly and to share ideas. Popplet takes advantage of the large screen; you can drop text, images and drawings into the popples (the boxes), resize them, connect them, and move them around, while still seeing the bigger picture. There are mind mapping tools for the iPhone, but I haven't found one as useful. And I do constantly keep an eye out for new apps.

Bringing me to something else, worth mentioning...

You don't need to empty your wallet on apps.

Check out AppShopper, a universal app that keeps track of new and popular apps, as well as your favorites, and notifies you of price changes and updates. I've snagged hundreds of apps, usually in the $1.99-9.99 price range, for free — many of them I wouldn't have known about in time if not for AppShopper. This tool keeps track of the many holiday sales and discounts, so you can get that $4.99 app you've been eyeing for $0.99 when the developers decide to have a special 24 hour sale.

There may be over one million reasons to get an iPad or use it for more than gaming. I could go on for hours about it. I love my iPad 2. But here is what you really need to know: as Steve Jobs said, it's magical. The iPad is revolutionary, and the device can change your life if you let it. (Also, for the disabled/handicapped, the iPad is the greatest computer, ever. Essential.)

This review of sorts may sound like a sales pitch, but it's not... Apple doesn't need my help to sell iPads. I'm sharing, because I've gained so much from this device, the one I'm writing this blog entry from, and I hope to encourage others to give the iPad a chance. I'll try to share more tips, tricks, and reviews... and hopefully, Apple will release Siri for the iPad 2. That'd be a wonderful treat for me. And hey, I'm helping them sell iPads! Apple should do something nice for me.

:-)

Some new art

A little bit about how my mind works. Yes, I suppose I'm slightly odd. I hbe some eccentricities and strange habits.

I remember telling a friend of mine several years ago before she came over about a few of my interests; I needed her to be aware of what I'd been studying a lot of at that time, because my Comcast DVR was filled with crime specials, Dateline on ID, Investigation Discovery forensics shows, and interviews with sexual sadist serial killers (such as Dennis Rader). Had she decided to turn on the TV and peruse the recordings without any warning; well, I'd probably have to chase her to the elevator after she bolted — and I highly doubt that that would've gone well.

I've heard countless times: "don't talk about religion or politics."

I don't buy that nor bother with it. So, according to that advice, I'm only supposed to talk about inconsequential things... unimportant things?

"Yes, let us not discuss matters of a serious nature. What would be the point of your college education, if you were to actually use and benefit from it? Just plain silliness. Let us now discuss the finer points of Jersey Shore."

If you believe that, maybe you shouldn't read my blog. Especially if you get emotional about politics in particular. It won't get easier for you when I accuse your "side" of using mustard gas — and then blaming "us" when the wind changes and it blows back on your own people.

What in life should we take seriously, and how many young people are there meandering, directionless?

I was discussing "happiness" with a friend earlier, because it bothered me how we treat emotions in America. People aren't allowed to be sad anymore. Because there's a pill for that. Or a drug for it.

Get high, get drunk, forget about your worries. Isolation stimulates creativity; but I suppose young people need none of that, as they have YouTube and Hulu.

I'm going to post a new piece of art soon. I've been working on something... revealing. You may like it — I'm still looking at writing about "Locked Up Abroad" again, and the messed up laws, double-standards, hypocrisy and corruption in the Philippines.

Computer Hardware

Despite all this “antennaegate” nonsense, I got myself an iPhone 4, and I’m happy with it. The retina-display is amazing. I also got a Kindle DX last week; the more time I spend with it, the more I love it. At last, I thought to myself, all I need to get is a 3D HDTV and move out of Oakland, and everything will be peachy!

Alas…

Once again I find myself out of storage space on my main computer. My main computer isn’t new, anymore… and I’ve been giving some thought toward getting a new one. I just don’t know what would best suit me at the moment.

Things are changing.

My life was simpler last year; I knew what I was doing, I knew how to do it, and I wasn’t going out much. I’d made dramatic lifestyle changes and had settled into the uncomfortable routines of pain management. This year, I’m trying to be slightly more active, and I’m once again using computers frequently.

Desktop or notebook?

The iPad was the real game-changer. The iPhone did a lot to make some net-based tasks easier, but typing on one just isn’t quick or convenient enough. With the iPad I was able to establish new routines and processes to get stuff done. Apple’s tablet was the first device of its kind to really replace a notebook — it’s so far beyond the netbook that it’s unreasonable to compare the two.

Unfortunately, I can’t do everything on the iPad. Though there are many wonderful apps available on iTunes’ App Store (there are also many dismal ones), many necessary utilities are missing. I still need a Mac for some stuff. But what would suit me best? I’m debating between the iMac and Mac Pro.

Perhaps someday soon, I’ll have both; a work machine, and a media machine. For now, I need to prioritize, and the next two pieces of hardware I need are a printer and a WACOM Cintiq 12WX. Most of my design work starts as a sketch, and my Tablet PC is just too old to be effective. I can’t even find a replacement battery for it. I did add a Motion Computing LE 1600 to my wishlist, however, and at $450, it’d make for a great gift.

With or without, things are happening. I’ve been creating new artwork and I’m going to release some new designs as well as some writing. Somehow, with all of this going on, I’ve managed to set aside time to watch some Star Trek and post journal entries. However, my books and my aircraft design are drifting toward limbo — I need to rectify that.

If you also want to make some things happen, here’s a book I suggest:

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

The Amazing iPad

I’ve been amazed by the iPad from the moment I first saw one…

And since purchasing and syncing it, it’s rarely left my hands. I’ve read dozens of iPad reviews but none have quite represented how truly incredible the device is for someone like me. It’s replaced my desktop and laptop; the only other device I use regularly is my iPhone, and that’s to make phone calls.

I can’t say that I was ever skeptical of the iPad, but prior to seeing the device on, in person, the hype was easy to ignore. I didn’t want to fight for pole-position in long lines, and I wanted the 3G model.

I still want the 3G model — just not as much. I’m almost never away from WiFi hotspot, and if I am, I’m generally doing something that requires my full attention. WiFi is prevalent where I live and spend time, and I doubt that free hotspots are a fading trend. That said, it would be nice to use the iPad for GPS navigation; attempting to use the iPhone for such a purpose while driving in San Francisco with a visually-impaired passenger is inconvenient, if not dangerous. Luckily, we just got a little lost.

My only other iPad complaints are fairly minor. I’d like WACOM Penabled technology built-in, the screen collects and reflects smudges (making it difficult to view the screen in sunlight), and there isn’t enough software — yet.

I’d like to see a version of Adobe Illustrator for iPad. I’m not sure that that will ever happen because of the Adobe Flash war (conflict), but something similar could be created, like Inkscape.

I know that the iPad was never created to be an everything replacement — but for me, it really could be. The iPad really is a dream, come true… I could never have imagined as a child that I’d one day have a device like this, and for it to have happened so soon! I’m excited to see next year’s model.

Looking back at the first-generation iPhone to the 3GS — the biggest improvements were software, not hardware. I think that current iPad software is barely 1/10 of what’s possible. Let’s hope the Formics don’t attack us until then.