iPad not ready for businss or school prime time

I continue to WANT to use the iPad for more and continue to be disappointed. Jobs' dream of a next gen computing, or post desktop/laptop era is still out of reach.

My latest and greatest disappointment is that there is not a single application out there that lets you edit word documents with Track Changes on. This is a huge limitation. All business people, all students, and all academics need this capability. One of the things I do is edit/read manuscripts for publishing. The ability to do that anywhere, on the go, is enticing with the iPad. I WANT TO DO IT! I WANT TO USE MY iPAD! I cannot.

All the Office applications for the iPad do not do this (in fact many will actually LOSE existing redlining/track changes so beware of even using these if it is a doc with those turned on, or just as bad, they will pull ALL CHANGES into the doc and make it part of the doc...making a mess of it!).

There is one application, iAnnotate, which does most of what is useful as far as adding highlights, notes, etc. But, that is ONLY FOR PDF. Not very useful for works in progress, collaborative efforts, etc.

The promise of the iPad over and Android device included the tens of thousands of applications. I think that gap is an illusion when you see basic office applications not even close to parity on basic functionality (available for 20 years) on a desktop. The Android adoption could be fast and furious if that is solved on Android tablets.

This will be an interesting summer and fall as these sorts of things shake out!

Why you should never buy a book from iBooks

The iPad is a very nice ebook reader and one of the best PDF readers I have seen.

However, you should never buy a book from iBooks for two reasons (in my book, if you will pardon the pun):

1) You cannot read your iBook purchased book on your PC or Mac. There is no easy iPad to PC/Mac solution out there (although there are some $30 third party solutions out there).

2) Apple makes it very hard for independent (small publishers), or self publishers, to sell books on the iBookstore.

Lesser reasons include no ability to lend, especially cross platform, because there is no iBook application for any device other than a iPhone/iPod/iPad. No PC/MAC/Android reading allowed.

Better to buy the book on Kindle/Nook, which has applications for the iPad, etc. allowing true portability.

My random $0.02 rant.

iPad 2 after two months of ownership--Review

iPad 2 after two months of ownership--Review

Not sure why I bother with a review, when so many are probably out there, but I felt one aspect of the iPad (2) is not covered well in any review I have seen.

First, let's put to rest the ludicrous statement by Jobs, that this somehow replaces a PC. It does not. In fact, due to intentional limitations by Apple, this does not really work well unless you have a PC (by PC I mean Personal Computer, not Windows versus Mac).

The limitations are not the hardware, nor the interface (per se). The hardware is the best on the market and it is an elegant piece of machinery--a blend of art with functionality. I have no major complaints with the hardware, the device itself.

I do, however, feel that iTunes--which is necessary to use this and indeed locks the use of this to essentially ONE computer, is one of the worst pieces of software I have seen. (I am refering to iTunes 10.2.2.12, which was current as of this writing). The use of iTunes as the main method of transfering your own personal files to and from the iPad is what made so many view the iPad as a glorified iPod. The iPad is much more, but is crippled by the methodology inherent in the iTunes paradigm. It is because of this that OVER TIME other devices have a CHANCE to catch up to the iPad in popularity. It may not happen, but this P.O.S. program will be one reason why it stands an increased chance.

This combined with how badly iTunes behaves on a Windows 7 - 64bit computer ruins what would have been a great experience.

At a glance:

Hardware

Pros:

-Thin and elegant

-Simple design on buttons that does what is necessary.

-GUI on the iPad is good.

-Responsive

Cons:

-The only major con on the hardware itself is that the plug is a bit hard to get used to for plugging in. This gets better over time.

-No standard USB plug on the iPad, just the proprietary Apple plug. Not a big deal, but annoying.

Minor cons: HDMI adaptor not included. no second USB-Apple cord provided.

Software:

Pros:

- on the iPad the software is fairly intuitive and easy.

Cons:

-No easy way to transfer files when ever you want from whatever computer you want. You are limited to iTunes for music, books, and movies. This means that when you have three computers and one of those is at the cabin/vacation home you are screwed in using your iPad to upload and download what you want to, when you want to. This is INCREDIBLY annoying. I have ripped 800 CDs (that I 0wn and are sitting on a very large bookshelf covering an entire wall)...I don't necessarily want ALL of those on the iPad all the time...and I want to put a few movies on the iPad for my daughter to watch on the road trip ... then at the cabin, move some off and move some more on...to do this is unbelievably painful with iTunes and not officially supported.

-No way to install an app that does not come from the app store. This is no surprise to anyone, I am sure, but if the iPad is ever to be fully thought of as a next generation to the PC...this will have to change!

-A significant number of people on the forums seem to have the same problem as I do: very often iiTunes will not recognize the iPad. Tip if this occurs: you have to close out iTunes, power down and then power up the iPad while plugged in. This seems to generally get iTunes to start up and recognize it.

-ANother problem that the forums confirm is familiar, iTunes will freeze when first starting up...it doesn't do anything (no CPU usage) ... just freezes for about 10 minutes. Rather annoying.

Bottom Line:

The iPad is a wonderful piece of hardware and I don't regret owning it. I hate, abhor, detest, and would pay money to have a simple drag and drop alternative to iTunes that I could use from multiple computers. This should make anyone think twice before plunking down the significant dollars that an iPad costs. If you already have an iPod or an iPhone, and a laptop, you also might want to think twice about buying.

Lyrics to Cassidy (Grateful Dead)

My daughter's name is Cassidy,

and we did name her after the Grateful Dead Song, so I thought I should duplicate what is easily found elsewhere:

------------Cassidy Lyrics------------------

I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream.
I can tell by the mark he left, you were in his dream.
Ah child of countless trees, ah child of boundless seas.

What you are, and what you're meant to be
Speaks his name, though you were born to me,
Born to me, Cassidy.

Lost now on the country miles in his Cadillac.
I can tell by the way you smile, he is rolling back.
Come wash the nighttime clean, come grow the scorched ground green.

Blow the horn, and tap the tambourine.
Close the gap of the dark years in between
You and me, Cassidy.

Quick beats in an icy heart, catch colt draws a coffin cart,
There he goes and now here she starts, hear her cry.

Flight of the seabirds
Scattered like lost words,
Wield to the storm and fly.
Fare thee well now, let your life proceed by it's own design.
Nothing to tell now, let the words be yours, I'm done with mine.
Fare thee well now, let your life proceed by it's own design.
Nothing to tell now, let the words be yours, I'm done with mine.

Kitchen Aid Pasta Press : Do Not Buy

The new Kitchen Aid Pasta press seems on the surface to be a reasonable compromise between cost ($150 to $200) and use of plastic components to keep those costs down (primarily because the molds to create these parts is so much cheaper with plastic).

The press (or extruder) does point downward, which is important, and it does make some nice pasta...when it doesn't break.

The plastic component that has failed after a mere three uses is the "Pasta Ring" which hold the plates in place. This may be the component that is intended to fail first, rather than more expensive components.

Calling Kitchen Aid's "hassle free" line is anything but hassle free! Long, long wait times. Then, a promise that the part would come in 10-14 days. No show. A follow up phone call (as the website is so poorly designed that for accessories you have no way of contacting them)--with the accompanying excessive wait time—gives me the information “oh the part is on back order—with no estimate as to when it will be available.” When I enquired as to what happens to my warranty ticking away, customer service did the audio equivalent of a shrug.

Not only is this annoying, it shows an extreme lack of customer commitment for a couple of reasons:
1) Why wasn’t I informed of the delay?
2) The warranty on this accessory is a mere one year. Twelve months. I will have spent over two of those months waiting for a small part (assuming it ever shows up). If the same part fails again, the warranty will be over. So much for “hassle free.” In fact, this is potentially something Attorneys General at various states should investigate for fraud. The warranty becomes no warranty at all.

I would note for all consumers that KitchenAid is owned by Whirlpool, which also markets Maytag. One might be careful buying any of those three brands, which used to have a good reputation, but as the small appliances degenerate are the large ones far behind?

I am writing a snail mail letter to KitchenAid and Whirlpool. As I receive, or not, any response, I will post it.

New book publisher

This is shameless self promotion. I recently started a small publishing company, with a hybrid model between self publishing and the traditional model.

New Libri Press at www.newlibri.com

We are looking for content, not just in the hybrid model, but in the full publisher model. If anyone is searching for a publisher that accepts direct submissions, give us a try. I suspect by the end of 2011 we will be too swamped to take many submissions--so now is the time!

Review of Empire, by Orson Scott Card

Empire by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I will keep my review “fairly” brief, after scanning a number of the positive and negative reviews. I have no problem with the main characters having a conservative point of view. I do have a problem with the execution of the writing. As I pursue my own masters in creative writing, I am stunned by how Card violates some of his own advice from his two good books on writing (Character and Viewpoint; How to write science fiction). Whether you call this science fiction, or an espionage/thriller, it still has to be believable within the confines of the world he is building. It doesn’t.



Card choses to build a world that is essentially “right now” and post 9-11. He populates it with people that actually exist (O’Reilly on FOX). If you do that, in broad brush strokes you are setting expectations that this is the world we live in right now and people would react as you have seen them recently react. They don’t.



Card does a number of things that make this hard to swallow: 1) Major attack in and on New York City, where the entire nation still empathizes with the police and fire department (left or right politically) and has the revolutionary forces kill all uniformed people and the city then rolls over and embraces that group? This world? Today? Really? Embrace the killers of anyone in uniform? Then he basically ignores the entire situation for several months (elapsed novel time) and focuses strictly on the remaining protagonists? Card, what happened to “world building” as you discuss in your craft books? Yes, you wanted to keep it fast paced, but that much time elapses and we get close to zero feel for what is happening in the nation. A few blurbs about city council votes does not cut it!



The premise at its core could have worked. I have had two similar ideas boiling in my head for years…but if I ever approach the idea, I will look to this book as a list of things to avoid, not to emulate.

My concern (for Card’s future) is that this book seems to have not been fully edited by a good set of critical editors. As authors become popular, this seems to occur frequently. Good and great authors still need to be told when something doesn’t work and they need to not let their past success go to their head. I recently read a collection of Card’s short stories, which included some LDS oriented stories. Despite the obvious political and religious leanings, those stories were quite good and the short essays that went with each story were insightful. But, most of those were written long ago.

Finally, as mentioned by a few, this also feels “video game-ish.” I will probably not spend the time on the sequel to this, “Hidden Empire,” as I suspect it will be in the same world and follow the same style. I don’t begrudge Card the opportunity to get preachy, I just would like him to do a better job at it. Sometimes, when an author is too passionate about something s/he loses objectivity and the ability to self-edit. I think this may be the case for this book (and its sequel).







View all my reviews