Posts Tagged technology
Beam Me up
Well, we are now into 2010 and we still don’t have our flying cars. However we may be getting transporters somewhere down the line. Physicists Prove Teleportation of Energy Is Possible
iPad thoughts – why I don’t want one
I was out of the office all day driving up and down the coast line of New Jersey so I didn’t get the chance to watch the live blogging that of Apple’s Special event. After our lunch meeting and driving to our next meeting, my colleague picked up his iPhone and started looking at the coverage and what we missed. I have to say that I was left with an underwhelming feeling. Here’s why:
- The name – it’s not the worst name in the world but it’s not the best either.
- Lack of Multi-task – In something the size of the iPad, you are going to want to actually do more with the device. Not having that ability in a phone is one thing, but not having it in a 9.7 inch device? I think that it’s something you need. I do have a conspiracy theory about this and it has to do with Apple wanting you to buy music and not listen to Pandora and similar services.
- The genre of device – I am still not convinced that there is really a need for an iPad. I don’t mind using my laptop to watch TV (via Hulu – something you still can’t do on the iPhone or iPad) or showing off pictures on my iPhone. The latter since it’s especially portable and you have it with you at all times. To me there is just no place that I see a tablet fitting in my life. The only place that I can see it fitting is as an eBook reader and I’d rather just get a Kindle or a Nook, if I decided to go that route. We all know how torn I am about that.
- Wireless – I know that it comes with Wi-Fi but to pay an extra $15 or $30 for 3G? Really? That is just a plain old money grab. I mainly blame AT&T for that but I also blame Apple for not saying no. In my case, if I am just going to use it as an eBook reader, I’d rather have to not pay extra when I want to download a book and I’m not on an open Wi-Fi network.
- eBook – I’m grateful that Apple decided to use the epub standard but what about side loading other non encrypted epub books? That is the big question and I suspect the answer is that you won’t be able to get them onto your iPad.
Am I missing something?
My love/hate relationship with ebooks
There has always been a certain allure of ebooks for me. I started with ebooks way back when I had my first Palm PDA, a Palm V (it wasn’t my first PDA but that’s a different story). I love the idea of having a device that has your entire library in the palm of your hands. I have really been interested in getting an Amazon Kindle, Sony Digital Reader or a Barns & Noble Nook. I could very easily justify spending the money on one of these devices. However there is always something holding me back to really buying into the whole concept.
The first reason is when I do a bulk of my reading and that is over Shabbos which makes using an ebook reader impossible. Yeah I suppose that I can read at other times but I just don’t have the downtime and lack of distractions that Shabbos brings. You may ask “what about the subways?” and to be honest with you that is a good point. I have found it very hard to concentrate while on the subway. Believe me, the temptation is there because I see lots of people on the subway with their Kindles but for the most part it’s not something that I am comfortable with.
The other main issue is that I like to have the feel of a book in my hands and that is still something that an ebook reader can duplicate. The feel of the book in your hands and the physical turning of the pages has almost a calming effect. Of course there is the cracking open a new book for the first time. It’s almost like smelling that new car smell.
There are pros to getting an ebook reader as well. One of them I mentioned before which is having tons of books at your disposal whenever you want them. That is a powerful thing to have. Imagine being at the coffee shop of your choice, pulling out your ebook reader and choosing whatever book you want from your library.
The other advantage of an ebook reader is that the size of the book is no longer an issue. For example I have a new book (the latest in the Wheel of Time series) that I haven’t started yet but the book is over 700 pages and really thick. Lugging that book everywhere isn’t fun and I’ll most likely be just reading it at home because of that. But if I had an ebook reader that wouldn’t be a concern and I could read any time that I want.
There you have it, on one hand I’d love to buy an ebook reader and on the other hand I don’t want one.
