Technology
The Problem With Tablets (and an Alternative)
While using my tablet moments ago, I had an idea for a blogpost.
Good deal. It’s been a while. I’d like to get back to blogging. So I put the tablet down, and picked up my MacBook Air (buy an ASUS Zenbook, folks: they weren’t out when I absolutely needed an ultra thin, ultra powerful computer, and I regret not waiting. But that’s neither here nor there). Since I was planning on writing a blogpost, I needed to find some way to do it that wouldn’t absorb more focus and energy than the content of the post itself.
And therein lies the problem with tablets: content generation. Tablets are excellent for content consumption: nowadays, I read blogs almost exclusively through my aging Acer Iconia A500. But when it comes to actually doing something worth doing – becoming a producer instead of a consumer — the A500 is worthless to me.
I’ve never really understood the iPad and why people buy them. They’re certainly great for playing iPhone games on a larger screen, or browsing the web (as long as you don’t need flash, which is a huge chunk of the web nowadays), or reading books. But when’s the last time you saw someone with an iPad using a docking keyboard? One gets the sense from the way they’re marketed that the iPad is this stand-alone device, suitable for all of your basic computing needs while lounging at home, or at the beach. Certainly, there are keyboards out there for my A500, but they’re put out into the market as an afterthought.
Try writing on a keyboardless iPad (or any tablet for that matter) while you’re sitting in a chair or on the couch. Try responding to that latest email, without feeling like a seven-year-old learning to type all over again. Try mastering the angle at which you need to hold it on your lap, all while attempting to maintain fluency of thought. Typing shouldn’t be this difficult. You shouldn’t have to watch your hands. Even with the iPhone, I pay no attention to my thumbs, but that’s because I can get a solid viewing angle on the smaller screen. The iPhone is ergonomically perfect, but the iPad makes me feel like flinging the thing across the room.
The bottom line: the iPad is, like many of its competitors, a broken idea because of how it hampers your ability to produce content.
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There is, however, an alternative to this madness.
The ASUS Transformer Prime was never meant to be a standalone device. You can, of course, simply pick up the tablet and browse, but ASUS seems to have acknowledged the inherent problem with tablets by putting great emphasis on the keyboard itself. With the pending release of the T700, ASUS brings hardware comparable to the iPad, though it remains to be seen whether the quality and clarity of the screen matches the Apple giant. The app selection won’t be as great, but I have yet to find something on the iStore I couldn’t find in Android’s alternative. Also, since the keyboard’s extra, you’ll also likely end up paying more for the Prime.
Now, why write this post to begin with?
It certainly isn’t to bash the iPad, which is great at what it does. But if you’re in the market for a tablet, I think it’s valuable to ask yourself what you expect to get out of it. If you’re satisfied with consumption, consider the iPad. But if you want more usability, think Transformer.
Cheers and Jeers: The Chromebook and iCloud
Cheers: The Chromebook
I’ve been doing a lot of tech reading recently, as I’m particularly interested in cloud technologies as a potential solution for one of the biggest hassles I deal with every day: data access across multiple systems.
I think a Chromebook is in my future. The battery life is incredible. Everything’s done on the cloud in ways that are not OS/software dependent, which means I can slide easily from one system to the next. It certainly seems like the best solution for me at this point, rather than using drop boxes or constantly retrieving files manually across multiple systems. Do it in the cloud, save it in the cloud, print it from the cloud.
Mind you, I’d never dream of using such a device as my primary computer. I wouldn’t even think to use it as my primary laptop. But as a tertiary system — which isn’t so far-fetched in the age of tablets — it would do nicely for basic tasks. Combine an incredible battery life on the Samsung model with an 8-10 second bootup time, and it’s looking a lot like a feasible alternative to a netbook or tablet.
But what about network access?
The only consistent criticism of the Chromebook is that it is a “brick” when not connected to the Internet. Setting aside the fact that offline access to Google Docs is on the way, I have a sincere question born out of nearly 30 years of computing, 17 of which have been spent on the Internet:
Nowadays, isn’t any computer pretty much a brick when it isn’t connected to the Internet?
Sure, you can fire up a quick game of solitaire, or work on a project through your word processor.* But think about how, for the past ten or so years, your life has come to a halt by network outages in your home. Do doors open? Do family members yell to one another about the Internet being down?
Think about how booting up your device without Internet access makes you feel like the computer is somehow missing something absolutely essential to its function. I started out with computers in an age where only my fellow hardcore nerds were really interested in them; PC use didn’t really “mainstream” until we started getting all of those AOL coasters in the mail, opening the door for an (albeit stunted) introduction to web browsing and email.
All of that aside: it’s a computer for the cloud. Shouldn’t we expect it to be severely handicapped when disconnected from the cloud?
Jeers: iCloud
Likewise, shouldn’t we expect something with the name iCloud to… actually operate in the cloud?
Let me be clear: with the exception of making your pictures accessible across devices (for 30 days, and then only 1,000 of them), Apple’s iCloud does nothing in the cloud.
The concept of a cloud is rather simple when we’re looking at user-end data. I upload something and it sits in the cloud until I need it again, either on this or another device. When I need it, I copy that file to the original or alternative device.
Easy as that.
But that’s not what iCloud does for music. Software scans your music collection against the iTunes server, then allows you to access your music collection by re-downloading it from the iTunes store. That’s not a cloud: that’s a sync. And they’ll be charging you $25 a year for the honor of doing something iTunes should have been capable of years ago, all licensing worries aside.
I’ve been an iTunes user for at least ten years. I have a great collection of classical CD’s I transferred to MP3 format some time ago, as well as a roaring collection of Grateful Dead bootlegs. And because these songs aren’t available on the iTunes music store, “iCloud” cannot accommodate my needs between PC and iPhone.
One can’t help but note the irony, however: Apple is masterful when it comes to keeping things proprietary (which is why their devices work so well), and even with the concept of the cloud, they’re continuing that tradition.
Goodbye iTunes (and eventually the iPhone). Hello Google Music and Android.
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* All of which Google’s Chrome OS can already do, or will be able to do in the near-future.
A Tale of iPhone Discontent
To the left, you’ll see what happens when an unprotected iPhone 3G meets the linoleum floor.
I had a few choice words for my bathroom when it happened, but in the end I didn’t feel too bad about the catastrophe. I’d decided to upgrade a couple of weeks ago, and this gave me even more incentive to get it done on my day off.
The reason I wanted the upgrade before the carnage: speed. Even with v4.1 of Apple’s OS installed on the phone, the delay between touching an icon and getting any kind of productivity out of the old 3G was immense. The delay in opening up my calendar or any website (to check for an email telling me where to go, a common occurance) was maddening.
A cellphone is an indispensable part of my work as a priest. This might sound crazy since the human race (and the Church) did just dandy for a long while without them, but it has become a standard must-have for ministry in the 21st century. It allows me to be away from the office doing things either for myself or others, and yet I’m still connected to the office. When parishioners get sick, or a funeral comes in, or the schedule changes because of some general calamity, it’s good to know that your priest has a cellphone. I didn’t carry one with any real tenacity until it became clear to me that others would benefit from my doing so.
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Now, back to the main reason for this post.
An iPhone user can text Apple to determine whether they qualify for a discounted upgrade, and here’s the feedback I received:
A full discount on a standard handset or iPhone upgrade is not available at this time but you may qualify on 01/25/2011. We can offer you a discounted iPhone upgrade at a higher price with a 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee. Please visit a participating iPhone sales location for pricing on this offer.
Because this is worded so vaguely, and because they did not include pricing options, I took the above to mean that I could upgrade to the 4G for $18.
Looking at it now, I know better. It wasn’t $18 to upgrade: in the end, it was $218. Two-hundred and eighteen dollars. Thus, the 16 GB model jumps from $199 to $417, the 32 GB model from $299 to $518. If $518 qualifies as a “discounted iPhone upgrade,” I don’t even want to know what they run without a discount.
To their credit, AT&T staff explained that they don’t set the prices on the phone: Apple does. So I am not at all displeased with AT&T (this time): it’s Apple who has stirred up my ire.
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According to CNet, a 16 GB iPhone 4G costs $188 to build. This means that neither Apple nor the retailer make much on standard upgrade models, but they sure do make a killing on early upgraders such as myself.
Far be it for me to criticize capitalism at its finest, but this seems like a poor pricing structure. If Apple were smart, they’d raise the qualifying upgrade price and reduce the non-qualifying upgrade, because this would give more incentive for people to upgrade earlier. I know that at $518, I’ll be waiting a good long while before I replace this piece of equipment; at $300, however, I would be more inclined to purchase their next newfangled release in a year or so.
Besides, Apple truly makes its money in all of those $.99 purchases you make over time. And because I have so much invested in applications, I couldn’t walk away from Apple even though the cost of staying was so dreadfully high.
Apple has a good business strategy overall, but we need to be honest about it. They make products that are easy to use with stable operating systems (stability resulting from a small hardware spec set), and package them in sleek designs. Under the hood, Apple employs middle-of-the-road hardware, which is why I will never buy a computer from them.
That, and they sell their mediocre tech at a hellacious price.
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Ultimately, I’m not dissatisfied with their business strategy: I’m dissatisfied at how useless they made the 3G. Because they began designing their OS for bigger, better hardware, the 3G suffered. Big time. Even the simple act of typing a text message became dreadful, with the OS hanging for seemingly no reason on every single character I typed. I’d even regularly miss calls, because the slider-bar hung while the phone attempted to establish a connection.
With the 3G, Apple effectively rendered its own hardware inept.
When the AT&T sales rep told me what it would cost to replace the phone, I was faced with a decision: replace the glass at a small price and continue to slog on with an obsolete piece of hardware, or pay through the nose for a new one.
I chose to pay, but I never should have had to make that decision at all.
Where Did iBreviary Go?
If you use the Apple iPhone/iPod/iTouch app iBreviary, you’ve likely encountered the following message:
L’applicazione è in fase di aggiornamento e non sarà utilizzabile per circa una settimana. Ci scusiamo per il disagio ma stiamo lavorando per una nuovissima versione, contenente grandi novità!
E’ in arrivo… iBreviaryPRO!
In the likely event that your Italian is as good as my Klingon, this roughly translates to:
The application is being updated and will not be usable for about a week. We apologize for the inconveinience, but we are working on a new version, containing great news! It’s coming… iBreviaryPRO!
Until then, hang in there. As a friend of mine (also a transitional deacon) told me, he’s blown the dust off of his paper copy and is good to go.
Detonating Squirrels?
Via Facebook update, Domenico Bettinelli brings us a great headline: “Spokane to detonate squirrels tearing up parks”
Just innocent, quasi rat-like creatures? I think not.
Anyway, check out the Rodenator Pro, enlisted to get the job done:
Great video of this sweet little death-bringer here. The headline’s a little misleading. The squirrels will technically be either relocated or suffocated.
More likely, they’ll just build new tunnels.
By the Way… You Tweet?
If so, feel free to follow me.
I despise Twitter a little less than I once did. Ironically, Joshua Claybourn’s continuing campaign against all-things-Twitt forced me to fire up the account I’d created late last year. I was on a quest to figure out one thing: why do people use it at all?
I’m yet to find a satisfactory answer, and largely still agree with Claybourn. Here’s what I’ve seen over the last month or so:
- Microblogging. Many moons ago, I used to have a small section dedicated to links I’d find throughout the day, and they posted on the blog’s sidebar. Twitter acts as a kind of rolling list for a lot of people, though I find it to be fairly inefficient for such a task. On any user’s main interface, your links are likely to be rolled over by more posts.
- Networking. Tweet Catholic is a great place to follow folks who share similar interests.
- Random Musings and Life Updates. I’m a fan of the random, and I especially appreciate it when separated friends chime in with what they’re doing. This may annoy you, but I’ve come to depend on it as the ultimate form of passive-aggressive communication. I’ve been doing the Facebook thing for years now.
- Celebrities and Politicians. A ton of ‘em tweet. I follow a few politicians, but not many. If you want to stay up-to-the-minute with Demi Moore or Newt Gingrich though, go to town.
- Poetry. Haiku lives and breathes on Twitter. In fact, “The Cubs in Haiku” is the most entertaining thing I’ve found on the service thus far.
Really, Twitter is a lot like barking through a tin can telephone with multiple strings. As long as someone’s on the other end of the line, you’re likely to be heard. But for the average user, it mostly comes down to realtime communication.
Its ultimate value – past novelty, instant communication, and a way to waste time – seems minimal. But what do I know: Google is rumored to be interested to the tune of $1 billion.
I suppose I’ll keep going with it, if for no other reason than that I’m still trying to figure out just exactly why other people are using it.
A (Long) Evening with the Kindle 2
It’s Christmas in February. Or at least it feels like it. I bought nearly everything G.K. Chesterton ever wrote for $0.80.
Amazon’s Kindle 2 – originally ordered by my father as a Christmas gift – finally arrived in the mail this week, and I spent all of last night working with the thing.
After seeing my Facebook status indicating that I was really enjoying my Kindle, a friend called with some questions about the device. For others out there who might be interested, I thought I’d share some general impressions.
How much does it cost to have a book delivered? How does delivery work?
Delivery costs nothing, and works through the cell phone system. It is in no way attached to Internet access, so if you can get a cellphone signal, you can buy a book.
You’re also under no obligation to pay for the delivery service. So, whereas people need service plans to access cell towers, you don’t need anything to make the Kindle work. Amazon picks up the tab.
Is it really that easy to order a book? And does it really take “just seconds” as Amazon claims? And what about sampling a book before you buy?
Ordering is about as easy as browsing Amazon.com, with search functions and basic browsing options available through the device itself. I’m big on fantasy and horror novels, and was pleased to see that browsing genres and sub-genres is extremely easy. If you prefer to browse and buy through Amazon.com on a computer of your choice, that option is also available and your purchase will by synced to the device.
Delivery takes under a minute, but I did hit a snag last night and one title took a little over two minutes to arrive.
On the issue of sampling, let me just say: it rules. What Amazon gives you for free to see if you’d be interested in a book is far more than I ever read while squatting in the aisles at Barnes & Noble. I spent about twenty minutes reading through a free sample of Max Brooks’ (son of Mel) World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War before I realized I had no interest in purchasing it. That’s great: it cuts down on impulse buying, and you aren’t stuck with something you won’t read just because you didn’t have a chance to look it over first..
Is it easy to read the screen?
For the most part, yes. The grayscale inkage is very clear, and I like how I can vary the size of the text to something extremely large or extremely small. This comes in handy if you read as much as I do: come 3 AM, eye strain takes its toll.
A negative here, though: you definitely require a good light source. With no backlight to provide illumination, the dark gray background doesn’t allow the text to stand out as well as black text against a normal sheet of white/cream paper. If you read in the dark as I often do, you’ll find yourself edging closer to a light source with the Kindle.
Pictures and covers?
Pretty impressive for black-and-white grayscale, with good DPI. However, I would never buy a book on the Kindle if I cared about the pictures.
Any free books? How are the books priced?
Thousands, when you consider all the free e-book sites out there. But Amazon even offers some through the Whispernet service, and I spent part of my Saturday morning enjoying Treasure Island again, at the cost of $0.00.
For the record, I abhor how publishing companies expect me to pay $30 for the latest Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, George R.R. Martin, or a host of others I faithfully follow, and I hate how I’m almost always forced to pay 75% of the list price through Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com. I read the book, then it ends up sitting in my dad’s basement for ten years.
But with the Kindle? $9.99-13 for new titles. I read it, I always have access to it, and one book takes up as much space as 2,000. A paperback runs around $6-8, which is really no change over a book store.
Ultimately, I suspect that the Kindle 2 will pay for itself in a year since I will be more inclined to read newly released titles through the reader. The only danger is that publishers will force Amazon to drive up the cost, and if that happens, then one of my primary motivations for switching to e-book format is toast.
How many books can I store?
With 2 GB onboard memory, more than you need.
The trick here when answering this question: how many free e-books did you put onto the device, through the USB cable? This is key, because as far as everything you order from Amazon is concerned, if you download it and then delete it, you can always go back and download it again at no cost. It’s kinda like storing the item elsewhere.
Still, I am severely disappointed in Amazon’s decision to remove the SD card reader. This is the only thing the Kindle 1 has over the Kindle 2.
Final impressions
I love it. But I also fully acknowledge that a $350 e-book reader isn’t for everyone. If you read a lot, though – especially for fun – it just might be a gadget for you.