Initial Thoughts on the Apple iPad

To be honest, I was one of those that were pretty excited with an anticipatory attitude amid the rumor mill prior to the official launch event. I would pretty much read any articles published online that speculated or tried to predict what Apple may come out with next. And I was getting pretty excited about the fact that this new to-be-announced-and-confirmed tablet device would be pretty revolutionary and fill in a gap with in personal technology that was unknowingly void at the present and be a symbol of revolutionary advance in technology. But alas, this was not the case. iPad ended up looking like an oversized iPod Touch with a few software updates and an upgrade for certain internal parts. Aside from that, it didn't seem to innovate as much as it could have been nor revolutionize technological needs.

I am left to wonder what exactly does this product do that can not be currently done with my current combination of a MacBook Pro and a iPod Touch (or iPhone for those that have one). With either of these devices I have already have the ease and mobility that is need for quick internet access, reading eBooks, checking email, displaying digital photos to friends and a multitude of tasks that can be accomplished with any numerous applications or apps from the AppStore. Either way, I was not convinced that the iPad is one of those must-need device within the home.

To be certain, I was disappointed with the lack of certain features that were speculated and wished upon. Included in this category was the ability to multi-task. But in reality I am quite fond of the fact that I don't actually need to multi-task on the iPod Touch. This is probably a carryover trait and habit that was gained through the 10 years of experience with the PalmOS (back when my PDA needs were serviced by a Palm IIIe and later a Palm Zire31) which also only did one task at a time. So this overall wasn't all that much of a let down, but imagine what could be done with the ability to have more than one app open at a time. Anyhow, the second letdown was that of the missing camera. A camera would have made the device a whole lot more meaningful in the sense that it could be used for video conferencing (with Skype or numerous other programs). This would have actually put the device to be more useful as a home communication device. I have still yet to figure out how this device would actually excel in term of movie or TV-show watching. The screen is quite a bit bigger than the iPod Touch and iPhone however it losses its mobility as a view-on-demand and view-on-the-run device. If I am to be at home watching a movie or TV-show, I would be more inclined to watch it on an actual TV, where the screen is a lot bigger, or on my computer, which also has a larger screen.

However, I do see potential in this device. Especially within the market where people only have a desktop at home and do not have a smartphone or laptop already. This device could cater to this market of people to become a home-mobile device for quick access to the internet, email and information from anywhere in the house. I can see this device to be used in the like of while sitting on the toilet, in the kitchen or sitting on the couch wondering what to watch on TV. Additionally, it does seem like the iPad would be a good home gaming console alternative. Personally, I actually do play with my iPod Touch as a gaming device more so than with my Nintendo DS. As a e-reader, I see potential. However, I'm not sure I wish to fully give my paper books just yet. Although, I have been known to read novels on my Palm devices in the past and currently on the iPod Touch with the use of the Stanza app. But a larger screen does seem to be nice, especially since the size is about the same as that of an actual hardcover book.

I guess time will tell if this device is able to sell and penetrate into the home technology market. But I have a feeling that version 2.0 redux will be a whole lot better with a lot better in term of bring forth some of the improvement that was missing from the current iteration. So I will just have to sit, wait and see how this goes. Maybe by this time next year Apple will be announcing the 2nd generation of this device ad we would all be blown away with the changes. As with most Apple products, version 1 is visionary in the sense that it is something new and it is a test bed for the market upon which they will improve upon. And for pete's sake change the name in version 2.

Bootcamp 3.1 Issues

So, the update Bootcamp 3.1 came out a few days back but I have not had the time to do the update from version 3.0 that shipped with Snow Leopard. Anyhow, late last night I finally got around to downloading the update manually from Apple's website and applying it.

It all seemed to go well until three 'fatal error' messages popped up sequentially. The first was concerning the new Bluetooth Keyboard, the second was the Magic Mouse (I assumed from the name of 'wireless multi-touch mouse') and the last and probably most important error in my case is that of Multi-touch mouse. I would say the last error is the most important in my case is due to the fact that I do not own any of the other two devices and probably never will since I'm quite happy and satisfy with the MacBook Pro's built-in keyboard and the multi-touch trackpad. However, the issue that is affecting me now is that the multi-touch trackpad does not work within Windows XP (Pro version, if this is relevant but I highly doubt it). And this issue can be confirmed with a quick search within Apple's Support Forum.

As such, it seems like a downgrading back to version 3.0 with the Snow Leopard DVD is not possible and would further irritate the Win-XP installation to the point of unbootable. So, it seems like the only way to fix this 'mess' would be a fresh re-installation of the whole Bootcamp partition with Windows.

So to summarize, the 3.1 update affects the installation and function of wireless mouse and keyboard and also that of the multi-touch trackpad and it seems to only affect Windows XP. A side note, OS-X was not affected in any way or form or fashion.

The Ugly Head of Wifi Disconnect

Read about the Original post pertaining to the issue HERE.

Well, I'm back home from my holiday travel and visits and guess what? The ugly head of my home wifi woes have returned. Within 30min of connecting to my home's wireless network I experienced the same unresolved wifi disconnection as I had before. So I am back to square one as to what the issue is. I'm starting to lean more toward the issue being more compatibility issues between the macbook pro and specific routers along with the possibility that either Apple or the router manufacturers implementing certain encryption (WPA & WPA2 more specifically) incorrectly.

Snow Leopard WiFi Update

Read about the original post about the problem HERE.

Well, I'm still over vacationing and staying at my in-law's place. And I have yet to experience another drop on the wireless network. However, I did end up changing a few options within the modem/router. The options that I changed was G-Channel only, changes from WPA to WPA2, and changed the channel from 6 to 11, since channel 6 was rather crowded by a couple of the neighbor's wireless routers. Aside from these three simple changes nothing else was touched. I was rather surprised that there wasn't any more issues forth coming that required further tweaking or investigation. As such, I am still at a lost as to the cause of the frequent connection drop at home. Tomorrow, I will be able to see if my home network is still afflicted and hopefully post more updates concerning it.