Don't Ping Me

I'm not talking aobut the Ping golf clubs. If you want to Ping me with them, please do! I need a new driver! No, seriously.

As part of Stevie Jobs' Apple conference last week, he announced the launch of Ping through iTunes, a new social network to follow your favorite artists and friends, and to help customize the music that you might like based on what you & your friends have previously bought via iTunes.

Therein lies the problem for people like me - I don't buy my music on iTunes. Most of the time I'll buy the CD version, because if they're the same price, why not have a hard copy? They work the same. Apple chose to ignore your music unless it's got the Apple stamp of approval. I know why - the $$.

Apple wants to know what you've bought and encourage you to keep buying what they suggest which is (conveniently) through them. Makes sense from their perspective, but it annoys me. I typically don't like being told what I'm supposed to buy or do with my life. Especially when it's from big bad corporations. I like to decide for myself. Maybe that's a little brash, but it's honest.

The other thing is that Ping isn't really anything new. I can - and do - "follow" these artists on Twitter. Plus, they don't have a very real feel. I wrote in my last post about how celebrities on Twitter don't feel real. This doesn't either. It needs some more personal feel. Who's writing the posts for Weezer, U2, Pearl Jam etc? When it's dealing with bands there's more than one person's opinions. Obviously most bands only have one front man, but the other members are people too, right?

How can Apple make it real? I'm not sure, maybe let the artist's customize their page, not make it just a promotion of their music. If the band isn't personally contributing to the page, then don't waste our time. No one wants to hear them self promote. Apple won't let that happen, because they love being in control. They won't give it up. Absolutely not.

It's only been a week, so there's still plenty of time to recover, but I'm not confident I see the point of the network to make it worthwhile. If my friends don't buy music from Apple, then how is it any different than Twitter, except for Apple trying to force me to buy music from them?

You don't win this round Jobs.

iTunes Is Unreadable

Apple's taken over the world since the launch of the iPod and iTunes. It started off slow, just with music. Then it got music videos, then movies, then TV shows, then Apps, then books. What's next? Can I buy a headache? I think it's free.

Seriously, iTunes has become so much to navigate that I can't figure out where ANYTHING IS. It's actually painful. Apple has too much content to distribute.

I don't even know where to start, because I can't navigate the home page. How can I find new music? I miss the old artist pages where I could comprehend and learn a little about these artists, and see their top-10 (which sounds cheesy, but that's how I usually find new music by seeing what other people are listening too) It doesn't feel like the top-10 is relevant as much anymore - it's what iTunes wants you to think is relevant.

For example, this is what I see when I visit Green Day's Artist Page (I would take a picture, but the thing is so long that it would take 3 screen shots. I don't love you guys THAT much.)
Albums
Songs (based on Popularity as default)
Music Videos
Movies

Too many things! Have tabs for each one!

Honestly, my ideal solution would be to edit the tabs along the side of the iTunes bar (where there's library and playlists.) Tab for Music, tab for Video, tab for Music Video, tab for Podcast, tab for Apps, tab for Headaches. etc. PLEASE

Apples become too much of a mega-distributor. We've all bought into and eaten the Apple pie and now we're stuck. I don't see any way out, so I'm just hoping they can clean up a little bit, soon, because I hate it right now. And I don't say hate that often.

The iPad is AWESOME

On Saturday, the Wi-Fi version of Apple's latest gadget, the iPad, was released. As always with Apple products, the hype and coverage of this event mirrors a serious election campaign or sporting event. People were lined up outside of local Apple store's for day's on end, willing to buy the new product without knowing much about it beyond that hour long Steve Jobs announcement and a few more months of speculation.

I stopped by the Apple store on Saturday to give the machine a test drive, and wow, it's real cool. I know I posted earlier that I liked the idea but was somewhat skeptical of the device, and I still have a few gripes, but I think it's great. Think of it like ripping the screen off your laptop and using only that. A short skinny object that can do all the basic items that MOST people use computers for anyway - web browsing and general "entertainment" purposes, like music/movies/photos etc.

The iBook option is great and is going to absolutely KILL the Kindle/Nook. Why would anyone buy the Kindle (which only does books) when you can get an iPad, which can read books, AND browse the web/watch video and so on. Amazon is smart for adjusting it's Kindle program to be iPhone/iPad capable because right now - because it's library is much bigger than Apple's current library.

That's going to become the next big battle - book territory. Amazon's got the early lead, but here comes Apple, who has the ability and brand name to raise some hell. I almost think that after a year they could literally blow Amazon out of the water and it will be a joke. Interesting to watch. Also interesting is the development of periodicals and newspapers. Can they adapt & survive on this new electronic platform? I think they HAVE to if they want to survive.

The iPad is also being praised for it's great battery life - able to last well beyond the suggested 10 hours. That's awesome - a huge win for Apple. Supposedly it's all because of the new home-made chip that Apple produced, and I can't wait for them to install it on iPod/iPhone in the coming models and see their battery life increase even more.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE - Is the iPod going to become obsolete? The iPhone is replacing it, and the iPad is another situation where the iPod may not really be the iPod anymore. I know it's a stretch, but I think that it COULD happen. At least for the "classic" model. The Nano's are cool.

I found typing to be a little difficult on the device, but I think that's because it was the first time I was using it, I was standing, and I had 20 people looking over my shoulder to try to get involved. I'm sure it's just like the other devices - takes time to adjust, but then it's as simple as ABC.

My personal favorite app was the MLB At-Bat app. Obviously as a huge baseball fan this speaks to me directly, but it feels as though it was made for the iPad. You can watch a game and pull up stats instantly, and following that, be able to watch highlights of the game or plays that just happened. Amazing.

Only two real problems problems with the iPad, and two stupid ones (one is not even its fault):

Stupid problem is memory - the biggest size is 64 gigs. Let's face it - we're becoming increasingly over-saturated with memory. 64 GB is a large amount, but we've just been so used to accommodating to more. My computer holds 250, my iPod holds 160, I have a 1 TERABYTE external hard drive. 64 just doesn't cut it in my mind. My music alone is 76.77 gigs (I'm still trying to cut it down, but I'm having separation anxiety.) If I were to add videos into the mix, that's less room to fool around with. Apps take up space etc. I'm just being selfish and I try to horde as much crap as possible.

Second stupid problem is how people anticipate using this. It won't and cannot replace the computer. It isn't the next thing in gaming (I played a few games on it - the thing is brutal. It can never replace Xbox/PS3 etc. The graphics can't compete and not having a controller is awful.) It's not going to change everything - however it will certainly change simple browsing and entertainment. You will still need a computer to do more complicated things (using programs like Adobe comes to mind specifically) and I think it would be hard to write a full out paper (or blog like this) without a real keyboard. Tablet technology is truly in it's infancy, and in a few years it will be MUCH different than now.

Now for real problems that I know will be fixed soon/in the next version. Multi-tasking. Seems like a no brainer. I don't know if this comes from a new OS update, but this would be alot easier to maneuver and operate. I'd still personally like to see a new OS all together (or more of a OS X based-OS that allows for more computer-like functionality.)

Other problem is Flash. Apple and Adobe are sticking to their guns, and I don't know who will come out on top. In the meantime we're left to deal with it, and sites that run in Flash just aren't compatible on the iPad.

Another thing I just thought of - are we sipping too much of Apple's Kool-Aid? By using their devices, we're encouraged to use something like iTunes to get our music/movies, but obviously not required. I personally don't use their "stores" at all - mainly out of copyright policy. I get frustrated when I switch computers and have to authorize it or am told I can't access it because I can't remember my password from 5 years ago. I posted earlier how I'm annoyed with the varying methods of buying video. I like watching things on DVD, but in order for me to watch it on my iTouch/iPad, I have to buy it again? That sucks. I need some more consistency (like the concept of Digital Copy that some DVDs are coming with now.) so that all my devices can work seamlessly. I understand the legal problems involved, but I refuse to pay $40 twice so I can watch Lost on DVD and on my iPad. Stop stealing my money. Get a USB port on the iPad so I can connect to a printer, don't make it so I have to send it through iTunes. Apple's starting to monopolize our technology, and I don't know how I feel about it.

Overall though, I'm excited about the iPad and the potential that it holds. It's definitely a look into the future (probably into the year 2000 with Conan.) I won't buy one quite yet - mainly because I'm looking for the 3G version, and also hoping that iPad 2.0 will be much more enhanced than 1.0 - remember the original iPod vs where we are now. I know they're already working on setting up the next one.

iDone.

iPad - A Big iPhone or the Start of a Revolution?

Today was the big day. The reveal of the Apple Tablet, called the iPad. There had been rumors for months. There were a lot of ridiculous rumors and a lot of true rumors. I'm not reiterating the facts - if you want to know about it, go to apple.com.

While the tablet is cool and has so many features, I see it as the beginning of the future, but not the game-changer we were hoping for. As big the iPad is, Apple needed to knock this one out of the park. I don't think it did. The interface seems like a minor upgrade based off of the highly-successful iPhone/iTouch Operating System. I'm sure Apple used the "if it's not broken don't fix it" mantra, but I wanted something more. Something original. Not a copycat of what we already know. Maybe a smaller OS X system. Literally make the thing a touch computer. Maybe I don't need EVERYTHING that my MacBook Pro gives me on a tablet, but something between my MBP and my iTouch. I suppose that technologically is impossible to accomplish at a cheap price and with the hardware that would be needed.

The 10 hours of battery life sounds great, but I'm sure that is under very low-light and low-everything. If it really is 10 hours under maximum usage then props to them. People always don't tell the real stats about battery life though. Those bastards.

The biggest thing that I think is a blunder is the way the data will be transmitted. $15 for 250MB - if you download a movie, you're gonna have to pay $30 a month and then pay $15 for the movie itself. Not sure it is worth it. Do we really need more monthly fees? Amazon's Kindle has 3G capability through Nextel for free - the service is factored into the price of the product. However the iPad does so much more than the Kindle can, but once someone offers a cheaper medium, there's a hope that everyone else will follow. 3G isn't be-all end-all mainly because Wi-Fi is most places these days. Another blunder by Verizon in not securing this deal, but Apple & AT&T have a history. I'm also glad that the subscription isn't based on a contract - that's huge. If you know one month you'll be traveling more than another, it could come in handy.

I see the Tablet as something that be applicable for more lifestyle/home use. There's some things you just can't get rid of. Keyboards, Mice, Built-in Cameras, and DVDs being some of them - especially in the office. Apple is trying it's hardest to get rid of all accessories, make it all data over-the-internet oriented. It's the future, but I think Apple's pushing it too hard. The iPad isn't set up to replace computers - just replace browsing on the Internet and doing simpler tasks - which is what most people do anyway. Same situation as netbooks.

On a side note isn't it ridiculous how much buzz Apple has over any product announcement? The buzz over this thing is nuts - I myself got caught up in it (hence this post.) Every is jacked up - and imagine how it will get in 60 days when the first batches are released. It's going to be just as insane as the iPhone release. Then 30 days later for the 3G. I'm also excited to see what the other companies have in store for tablets - specifically from Google. They're the big bad "not evil" monster who I think really threaten Apple.

In conclusion - I want an iPad, but I think I want to wait until the second generation comes out. With Apple, the minute a new product comes out, they are always working on a new one. A new iPad will probably be out after a year. Cool stuff, but I do not think it is going to change the tablet-industry the way the iPod and iPhone did. Not yet anyway.

Tablet Technology has Potential

There's been alot of rumors regarding Apple's iTablet. I'm sure they will come out with a bigger iTouch that can do more and act similar to a netbook, but cooler. The Kindle is blowing up and there are lots of competitors to it, along with potential rivals to the rumored iTablet.

I was pretty skeptical towards all of this technology until I saw this video on a blog I was reading. It actually made me excited for not only the new technology but also to show some positivity for the periodical industry, which has been decreasing in sales over the past decade, mainly thought to be due to the development of the internet.

I'm still not sure that this will all work out like it's demonstrated in the video, but it got me excited.

That's all I got, just thought I would share it with you (whoever it is that reads this)