Okay, I admit it

The iPad, despite its insanely stupid name, is pretty nifty. Even if it is an overblown iPod Touch. I’m going to call it the iTab, because it was my boyfriends’ really good idea, & I think I might have to start cutting myself if I have to keep referring to it by its feminine products’ name.

I will not be getting an iTab for probably quite some time. Years, I’m sure. There are very specific reasons for this, that I plan to outline in the next few paragraphs. Follow along with me…

1 – There is no multitasking – This is big for me, since I prefer to swap between several things at once, to either copy/paste from one thing to another, verify information, or entertain myself while I’m waiting for a response from an IM or whatever.

2 – No expandable media – Its another big one for me, I like to keep either SD cards or USB drives around for transferring files or just storage. If this option came available, I’d totally snap one up.

3 – No USB ports – not so terrible when it has bluetooth available, you can get an earpiece/mic combo. But I’d also like to connect it to a flash drive or maybe even my USB condenser mic for super-quiet audio recording.

4 – Attached battery – This is far-flung into the future, I’m sure, but what happens if the battery craps out? I have to buy a whole new machine, or send it away for a replacement, that’s what. Also, they’re probably planning on all the Apple fanboys to throw down their Vers 1 iTabs in favor of whatever they bring out for Vers 2, totally making the worry of a battery wearing out or dying a moot point.

5 – No camera – This was a major fail on Apple’s part. I mean, even iPod Nanos have cameras now! Major fail.

6 – Flash support is iffy in iTab’s browser. I’ve read things that say “yea, it works” and other places say, “no, Flash fail.” So I don’t know which is true.

7 – Unless there’s a pop-up touch pad built in to the apps/programs you use, you need an external keyboard. I hate this. I either want to write ON it, which I CAN’T, or I wanna tap buttons to write. Unless I learn that this is available, this is another X in the No Wai category.

These are my gripes about the iTab so far. If you think my info is totally incorrect, please feel free to comment. Just post links in your comment of where you found your information

New Tech, How I Loathe Thee

This post is most definitely going to come across as whiny. And well it should, especially since everyone else is, on one platform or another. Google’s new collaboration tool, Google Wave, was launched approximately a week ago. It’s accessed on the web & all the information you dump into it is kept “in the cloud” just like their email, documents, bookmarks, & all the other goodies these eggheads have dreamed up. It’s a fantastic concept, & I’m sure that as it’s explored further, an amazing array of applications for it can be utilized, from academic to business to entertainment to even political.

But the issue remains – how can you explore a collaboration and communication tool when noone you know is able to access it? Another blaring question – once you’ve got company on Google Wave, how do you know if they’ve sent you (or updated) a wave? If you’re not checking Google Wave every 10 minutes (like I did Wednesday) you have no knowledge of Google Wave activity. You don’t know whether your contacts are using the service or not, either. Furthermore, the system is extremely sluggish. “Instant” collaboration is only as fast as the system it runs on. The synching doesn’t always work, and I’ve come across “phantom waves” – the system tells me I have “lots” of Waves when all I see are empty slots where Waves would be if I was awesomely popular & had a ton of active contacts.

All my complaints aside, I have high hopes for Google Wave. It’s a fledgling program, hardly anything is perfect right after initial development & creation. Things need to be tweaked, adjusted, added, & made available to more users. But before the system could even consider more users, the first goal should be speeding things up  & making them more stable. Only then should more users & adjustments be added & changed.

I think I’m content to ride this Wave until it’s more commonly available.

Yours In Tech,

Jett

Tacos & Tech

Ok, so I’m writing this over lunch, Taco Bell, and I’m expecting to have to clean up grease stains from the keyboard later. Which, surprisingly, I don’t care all that much about. Taco Bell is teh nom. I’ve got a steak quesadilla, a crunchy taco, & a huge soda, so I’m set. Okay, let’s talk tech. Ooooh, gettin’ that fuzzy feelin’ deep inside…

So I’ve determined that I am really bad. Really, really bad. I get excited about tech way too much for my own good. Example? ScanLife. I spent about an hour last night, just pouring over all the things that you can do with those little 2D barcodes. It’s quite awesome. So much information, in those tiny little squares. They’re put up for scavenger hunts, website links, car information, download ringtones or videos, coupon codes, contact information, making phone calls, creating emails, sending text messages… The list really can, and does, go on. It has amazing potential for the spread of information. Take, for example, a promotion a certain author(s) did for their audiobook promotion a few years back. Y’know, where he had his deciples tuck information cards into book of the same or similar genre at bookstores & libraries? What if that had been a ScanLife 2D code instead? Instead of looking at the information outright, having to carry the card around, and potentially lose it, all the finder has to do is take a picture!! It’s automatically saved to their phone, and the code could send the phone to the author’s website, or automatically download & play a clip from the book, and they don’t have to carry around paper to lose – all the information’s stored in the ScanLife application’s history to go back to later. I’m keeping my eye out for codes in the wild, I’m really excited to see where they’ll be found and how they’ll be used.

The ScanLife software can be used on your mobile phone, and you can sign up on the ScanLife website to create your own codes. I made one, it’s got my contact information. It’ll create a contact entry in your phone for you. It’d be great to put on business cards, especially ones that charge per line and character. The software is compatible with  Palm phones, and Java-enabled phones, Windows Mobile, Android, Apple, BlackBerry & Symbian phones. All you have to do is take a picture.

Another great thing about the codes is that once they’re created, they can stay out there without worrying about updating the code. All you have to do is update the site, or information the codes carry, and they never have to be redistributed as “updated” codes! I can change my phone number or email address in my contact information on the ScanLife website, but never have to worry about re-creating the codes themselves. The code will automatically retrieve the correct information.

Let’s try an experiment, shall we? Get the ScanLife software, and snap this code.

I look forward to seeing the results!!

Yours In Tech,

Jett