Steve Jobs has long been one of my heroes — I never thought I’d admit that in public, but there it is. The hero of my first book was based on him (now an online graphic novella, many decades after it was first written), and everytime Apple came up with something new, I’d have to find out more about it. And yesterday’s big reveal of the iPad (oy, such a name!) was no exception. Is it the greatest thing that’s ever been invented? Probably not — the wheel’s position on the list is still safe — but it’s a jump forward in the hopscotch of technology.
Notable among the complaints is what it can’t do. It’s not set up for multitasking. It’s slow. It’s not a laptop. It’s an overgrown iPod touch (incidentally, am I the only one stumbling over that “touch” not being capitalized?). But it’s also been pointed out that it’s not supposed to be those things — it’s a jump forward, it’s not man-on-the-moon leap forward. And it’s the reveal, the beginning. I have no doubt that it’s going to be fine-tuned in coming months and years.
I’m so embarrassed. I sound like an evangelist for Apple, and I don’t even have that much stock.
Anyway, it’s still an infant. Give it time. Five years from now, like an iPod or an iPhone, it’s going to be different, and it may even be in your hand. (Truth in commentary: I have neither an iPod nor an iPhone. We have a touch, but we got it as a premium for buying a car. We are VERY slow in adapting. So by the time the iPad overcomes its original problems, we may consider one.)
I’m not sure I should mention we still have an Apple Newton. Remember those? It’s around here somewhere. But it has its own place in that hopscotch board.
Eilis Flynn
INTRODUCING SONIKA, ECHOES OF PASSION
Now available on Kindle
Tags: Apple, graphic novellas, iPad, technology
Last time I bought a new computer, after a week, I was up and at ‘em, producing pages. This time? After a week, I no longer have consistent Internet access and my writing software is hampering my writing output. What a difference a mere eleven years make!
After a co-worker who knows about these things came over and started to hook up my wireless modem and router and such, what he thought would be an hour at most has stretched into hours and hours and days of frustration. It may be that there’s a Windows machine and a Mac laptop that have to be made compatible; it may be that one is modern and the other, the Windows machine, is less so (but more modern than my 1998 iMac). In any case, my 1998 iMac is still the most reliable machine in the house for dealing with the outside world. It’s dial-up, but hey, it works.
Snort. I love modern technology.
Tags: technology
Some people are early technology adopters; some people are not. The Hub and I used to be early adopters, but somewhere along the way we lost our way. But last year, we finally broke down and bought a new car (the last time was 1986), and this year, I finally broke down and bought a new computer (the last time was 1998). The difference between the technology of the car and the computer, as far as I’m concerned, is close. To me, they’re both Magic!
Seriously, I was appalled that I’d have to replace my computer after only eleven years. My old computer still worked, it just didn’t have all the bells and whistles that modern tech offered! Unfortunately, modern tech is the norm, not an option now. And with the car, well, air bags are good. And air conditioning. When we bought the Sentra in 1986 (it was the 1987 model, fresh off the boat), we figured we wouldn’t need AC, we’d roll (ROLL) down the windows! We figure that not having the AC installed might have played a part in the longevity of the little car. But there have been many, many summer days when AC would have been useful.
Anyway, entering the 21st century wasn’t painful, except for the wallet. As long as I won’t have to go through that again for, what, another decade? Right? Right?
Tags: 21st century, technology
