I recently was able to play with the Archos 5 for a bit, and I might add with the article I previously wrote, using it was pretty responsive. The screen was sharp, and device was easy to use. The wifi was disabled so I wasn’t able to get a full test out of it, but from what I saw from the demo videos, the video playback was pretty sharp. I would consider this a future purchase.

The reality of being alone has hit. My life is so lonely. I have no reason to be looking forward to each day. Each day goes the same. get up get ready, go to mums shop, go home, sit on laptop all day/nite. no social interactions with anyone in particular. No purpose to live each day.

I made a video today of my self harm story. it made me realise just how lonely i am and how i try and get attention of others by doing these stupid things. I went to dancing, i took off my cardigan, i seen everyone looking and pointing and whispering to each other. one woman even said “you been hacked into?” i just rolled my eyes and said yeh and walked away. my stitches arent holding, im STILL bleeding. the nurse said it would stop but everything is soaked in blood. and the wound is still gaping shes only put 3 stitches on one and really it could be doing with 4.

My friend isnt talking to me but she is online. its good to just know she hasnt blocked me. ill give her some space but i do worry about her. I worry where i stand with her. the fact shes not blocked me is a good sign though. Shes the best friend i ever had and i care for her alot.

Some times i sit and think just get on with life but when i try i think no i cant. its strange because when i broke up with my fiance of 4 years i didnt hesistate to move on. my friend and i were just really close and i just cant move on from a friendship its weird. i just dont want to move on i suppose. i didnt take a zopiclone last night but ill take one tomorrow morning when i wake up to knock me out all day tomorrow since i have nothing planned.

I spoke to my parents about my brother mucking about with another girl – so i was told. my mum said the person who told me had the wrong end of the stick because the girl was only with my brother because my dad was fixing her car. so my brother wasnt pleased.

Im sitting in bed iv been so stupid. i put £5 on my gas yesterday which only gave me like £1.50 of gas because of the emergency credit. i used the £1.50 in a few hour last night so i just went and put £10 on it there and i turned on the heating. a few hours later im still sitting shivering, not heating up. stupid me forgot to relight the pilot light lol. so the boiler was on with no flame therefor no heat. how stupid can u get. starting to heat up now and listening to music.

we were recorded at dancing tonight so i dunno if my teacher is gonna put them online. i may have to have a look. we learnt a few good dances. iv put a demo of one called tennessee waltz at the bottom.

My P.I.D is back with a vengance! im in complete agony. clearly the antibiotics the doc gave me last month didnt work. I tried phoning today for an appointment for more but they were shut – half day or something. so i may phone tomorrow if i can be bothered gettin myself outta bed. which i doubt!

I spoke to my ex today. hes being quite a pain in the arse to be honest. I just cant be bothered with him. He phoned me to speak about the mobile phone or something then txted then phoned then txted then texted again then phoned then came online. he said hes gonna phone me tomorrow to arrange to come down thurs or friday but to be honest i dont want to see him. thursday my mind is on one thing and that is that my friend is ok. friday i have the psychiatrist.

I cant begin to describe how much i just want things to blow over with my friend its all i can think about. At a time like this i would overdose to knock me out so i didnt have to deal with reality. but theres no way on this earth am i doing that again. yes ok i may take a sleepin tablet but thats what they are for, to sleep. I look like shit and i feel like shit.

xxx

For south east Asia you will need various travel vaccines. I had to have typhoid, hep a and hep b (luckily I had them combined so got them for free) and anti malaria tablets. My nurse informed me that I will only need the latter for Thailands border and for the whole of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. I was prescribed 57 tablets in total; one for 24 hours before entering a high risk malaria area, 7 weeks worth for the period I will be staying in those areas and a weeks worth for when I have left the areas. This may be one week to many, but I thought it would be better to get more than enough just incase I did have to stay is a high risk area for longer than planned. The type of malaria tablet I chose was also the most expensive; malarone. However it is the most highly recommendedand the least side effects. I decided that I would certainly not enjoy feeling rough during my once in a lifetime opportunity! I researched into and visited different pharmacies, getting quotes from each and found the cheapest over the counter pharmacy to be Morrisons at £124.25. Although it is rather expensive I was quite pleased to get 57 tablets at that price, especially when other pharmacies were charging up to £170!

So I think I’m pretty much set for my jabs and have also bought all my essentials at Boots store for various other, yet much less lethal, illnesses I may contract during my trip!

ExoPC shows its touchscreen stuff on video — Engadget.

Analyst: Apple to be ‘nimble’ on iPad pricing, athletic on pommel horse — Engadget.

Day 31 ~ 31st January, 2010

After my operation I was given Antibiotics to have as a precaution and I have also been having regular nurofen, so there is a lot more tablet taking happening in this household.

We are at day 40 in our journey! I think that calls for a celebration! Over and over in the Bible we will read of 40-day journeys and tests. Have we passed our test by reaching this mini-landmark together? YES! Reading the Bible, chronologically, in its entirety in a year’s time is a big deal and it is incredible that I have travelling buddies on this road with me. We are not alone on this journey. At the helm, we have our Lord, opening our eyes and building up our understanding on Him. When I am feeling weak, I have Him and each of you to lean on; when you are feeling weak, you have Him and myself to turn to. If you and a friend are on this journey together, you have one another when you’re just not feeling it. I have even received a dear note from a married couple who is on this journey with us, and I am sure that on days that one isn’t feeling encouraged or is confused, the other is there to help. All along, God is here. We are all a community, whether we share or comment or can put faces with names, and I am grateful to each of you who are travelling with me, it’s going to be an awesome ride!

Today’s scripture reading: Exodus, chapters 30-32

Again, we open our daily reading with the acacia wood, overlayed with pure gold. I think this is a particularly interesting repetition considering my Bible note from Day 37. (Just for quick recall: the wood is representative of Jesus’ humanity, and the gold represents His divinity.) I also love that the scripture (at least, the NIV) doesn’t just read that these pieces are to have a gold overlay, but a pure gold overlay. Pure gold, just as our Lord is purely divine.

I get excited when I read about a specific location where God tells Moses that this is “where I will meet you” (30:6, NIV). To meet with God, and to have direct instruction from Him for your special time with Him. I feel like we have a taste of what that feels like, though, don’t you? Sometimes, the Spirit just comes over you in such a strong way that there’s no denying His Presence. Then, other days when you’re doing all the “right” stuff, saying all the “right” things and are wondering where that feeling went? He’s still there, He’s always there, but sometimes we have a scheduled meeting time with Him (whether we know it was scheduled or not), and like Moses, have our time with our Lord. Friends, I relish those times so much, don’t you? Wouldn’t you love to bottle that sensation up like it’s even tangible? I have exciting news: we can and we do! We’re already well on our way to having that meeting time with God be more and more tangible, and more and more powerful, by building up our foundation through His Word. Sometimes I absolutely get the urge to stand directly on my Bible because I get so excited about this book holding so many of the keys to unlocking mystery after mystery of our heritage. (By the way, I would never actually stand on my Bible, but I will stand on the Word of God for the rest of my life.) We are all God’s children and our Father is loving and gracious to His children. So much of who we are leads back to this book, His inspired Word, and that is the tangible evidence that we are drawing nearer to our meetings with Him.

I want to take an informal poll here. You don’t even have to answer me, I just want you to think about this. When reading through the Bible, do you ever find yourself thinking, ‘They built altars to God 2,000 years ago, that would be kind of cool. I think I’ll build an altar to God.’ Do you? I do. Not necessarily a full-blown altar, but certainly some more sacredly cared-for spot. But I never have and I know that the reason I haven’t is that my biggest fear is that the altar would become for me the item of worship, and would become like an idol in that it would actually take away from God. Sometimes even good things and good intentions can turn out to be a bad plan. As I was reading through today’s scripture passage, all the description of the incense and fragrances to be used for worship sounded so amazing that–even though I have always hated modern-day incense–I must admit that I began to think about bringing some of those fragrances into my home. Then I read it, the verse that stopped me in my tracks:

“Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord.” (30:37, NIV)

Then, like a one-two punch:

“Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people.” (30:38, NIV)

Times like these make me so glad I am on this journey (I know, I come up with a new reason to be glad I’m on this journey every day–but that’s a good thing, too!). This is a perfect example as to why knowing the Word is so critical to building His foundation in our lives. If we don’t know the whole story, and only bits and pieces, we may make some of these kinds of mistakes. We wouldn’t know better, but that doesn’t make it right in God’s eyes, does it?

In December, a group of my girlfriends and I went to the Deeper Still convention in Oklahoma City, OK. The speakers for this incredible weekend of women’s worship were Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Priscilla Shirer. Well, apparently I have lived under a rock for the entirety of my life up to that point because I had never heard of Kay Arthur, but Beth Moore described Mrs. Arthur as the “matriarch of women’s Bible study,” so I must have missed something. Anyway, as soon as Kay Arthur (or Miss Kay, as Priscilla Shirer called her) began to speak, I was absolutely blown away! She’s amazing! Every word that came from her mouth was so wise and dead-on-the-mark. She said one thing, in particular, that really struck me and I will never forget it. She said (and I’m paraphrasing):

“I don’t want to stand before God in heaven and not know what His Word said.”

Amen, Miss Kay!

Friends, I don’t want that, either. This foundation, even though some of the books we have studied so far are a bit tedious at times, are critical to our understanding of the greater picture. I don’t think God wants us to just read the really interesting and really moving parts of the Bible. I think He wants us to know what’s in there, front-to-back, so that if we make an error in judgement (like trying to replicate the incense formula God spoke of in today’s reading), we will know it’s an error.

My next informal poll involves the Sabbath and keeping it holy. In my family, Sunday’s are more relaxing days that the rest of the days of the week, but I would not go so far as to say they are restful.

The Lord said to Moses:

“Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come a a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.” (31:14-17, NIV)

Is anyone else guilty of reading this particular biblical rule and thinking, ‘Yeah, but the Lord doesn’t know how much laundry I have to get done on the weekends or that Morgan has a baseball tournament this weekend.’ He doesn’t? HE DOES! This past weekend, I walked past my husband as he was cooking dinner and I was carrying another laundry basket full from the dryer to the dining room table where I fold, hang, and sort, and I said, “So much for our day of rest.” This was at 5 o’clock. Practically bedtime and we, literally, hadn’t stopped going going going since we woke up for church that morning. Rest just wasn’t happening. It was more relaxing than every other day of the week, but still no where near what God called us to do in our observance of the Sabbath.

All of this thought about time and rest, altars and incense, brings me to an odd occurrence in our reading today. While Moses is up on Mount Sinai, the people (and, apparently, Aaron, as well) became impatient. So much so that Aaron took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (32:4, NIV)

Are you kidding me? Wait, let me rephrase that: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? All of these people are at the base of this mountain, waiting and waiting, BUT seeing that the Lord’s physical presence is still there at the top of the mountain with Moses, and there they all are building a golden calf to worship.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.” (32:7, NIV)

Don’t you know, even the one and only all-knowing God is saddened when we replace Him with things that seem more important to us at the time? Beginning today, I am going to amp-up my efforts to make His time all about Him. Sometimes, we catch ourselves when we are allowing stuff and schedules to take His place in our lives, and sometimes He has to step in with His mighty hand and knock us down a few notches to get us to listen. Picture the scene with me here: The Israelites are feasting and celebrating, sacrificing and worshiping to a golden calf, and in the middle of it all, Moses comes down the mountain with the two tablets in hand, ready to share the true Word of God with the people. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. (32:15-16, NIV)

And when we realize what stupid stuff we have done, and all the ways we have sinned against the Lord, replacing Him with our own ambitions and worldly stuff, doesn’t our anger rage just like Moses’ did against the Israelites? I get so angry with myself sometimes, when I’ve done something particularly idiotic. It’s always, ‘I knew better.’ Although I don’t have false hopes that I will never sin again once this year of reading and studying as passed, I do know that the more I allow the Lord to have all of me, all the time, the less inclined I will be to doing the things that I know not to do, and the more inclined I will be to give Him all. We are only human, with human sin natures, but this journey is beginning on the right foot and the road ahead leads to Him for an eternity. Here’s to a beautiful journey!

Make it a great day,

Marilyn

Tomorrow’s scripture passage: Exodus, chapters 33-35–we only have three more days left in the book of Exodus, then we will move on and spend 10 days reading through Leviticus. This chronological study has been such a joy so far and I am excited about the next step of our journey.

Dear Lord, I know I have committed great sin. I have not obeyed your commandments and have allowed worldly things come between myself and You. But now, please forgive me of my sin and let me start fresh with You, Lord. I love you, Lord, and I want to know You more. Amen.

NEWS
JooJoo Tablet Faces an Uphill Battle Against the iPad
By Priya Ganapati
February 8, 2010 | 6:09 pm EST

When Apple’s iPad tablet debuts next month on retail shelves, it could sound the death knell for JooJoo, a tablet from an an unknown Singapore-based start-up that was once the talk of gadget blogs.

The $500 JooJoo is on target to ship at the end of February, a full month before Apple’s scheduled release date of the first iPads. But despite Fusion Garage’s optimism, many industry watchers are skeptical if customers will actually bite.

“Pre-orders have exceeded our expectations,” says Chandra Rathakrishnan, CEO of Fusion Garage. “We think the market is big enough for both Apple and us.”

JooJoo started it life as CrunchPad, an ambitious project dreamed up by Web 2.0 chronicler Michael Arrington. About a year-and-a-half ago, Arrington posted a note about creating a $200 Linux-based tablet on his TechCrunch blog. Eventually, he partnered with Singapore-based company Fusion Garage to launch the product.

But a fallout between the two lead to a lawsuit and Fusion Garage renamed the CrunchPad as JooJoo. In December, Fusion Garage showed pre-production models of the device.  But weeks later, Apple joined the party with the introduction of the iPad, priced from $500 to $830 depending on storage and availability of 3G access.

Apple’s iPad could push JooJoo into obscurity, says Michael Gartenberg, vice-president of consulting firm Interpret.

“The JooJoo is about as long a shot as you can get in this type of business, particularly with Apple sucking the oxygen out of the room in that space,” says Gartenberg. “Few consumers are going to say I want a JooJoo over an Apple iPad.”

JooJoo’s hardware design, though, straight out of Apple’s playbook. Weighing 2.4 lbs, the device has a 12.1-inch capacitive touchscreen display that’s easy to use. It has a one USB port and a standard headphone and microphone jack. (For more details, see “Hands-on with the JooJoo.”)

JooJoo runs a custom operating system built by Fusion Garage and boots in just under nine seconds directly to a homepage screen. The device comes with Wi-Fi access but no 3G connectivity–though Rathakrishnan says the company may offer 3G in later models.

But a slick hardware alone may not be enough to get a product like JooJoo noticed.

“This is an execution play from a company with no track record of execution,” says Gartenberg. “The question is can they run a sustainable company that can deliver enough products?”

Rathakrishnan says his company is on track so far with its plans.

The JooJoo will be manufactured by a Malaysian company called CSL. CSL will pay for all the manufacturing costs in exchange for “very low single digit” percentage of the device sales. “This is lower than the fees charged in typical distribution deals,” says Rathakrishnan.

Even if Fusion Garage can churn out JooJoo products, going up against Apple’s marketing machine won’t be easy.

Rathakrishnan says the iPad launch didn’t catch his company by surprise. “We knew it was coming for a long time,” he says.  “Apple went on and announced a device for the category we created in December.” He’s also counting on the JooJoo’s larger screen and the

“I love Apple and the brand but it is a bit overblown,” says Rathakrishnan. “Despite the launch of the iPhone, Nokia remains the market leader, especially in Asia.”

Ultimately, it may come down to the perception of utility that the two devices  — JooJoo and iPad — offer, says Gartenberg. Without the iPad’s photo app, e-book reader, video viewer, e-mail client, productivity apps and App Store, JooJoo could be a one-trick pony, ideal for web surfing but little else.

“You can’t discount the fact that Apple will have hundreds of developers creating native apps for the iPad, something that JooJoo will find difficult to do,” says Gartenberg.

Wired.com © 2010 Condé Nast Digital. 

NEWS
Apple Might Slash iPad Prices If Initial Sales Are Slow
By Brian X. Chen
February 8, 2010 | 1:57 pm EST

The iPad’s $500 starting price was lower than people expected, but Apple could still make price cuts if the device fails to gain traction among consumers, says an analyst.

Recounting his meeting with Apple executives, Bill Shope of Credit Suisse said Apple indicated it would consider lowering prices if initial demand appears to be slow.

“While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated),” Shope wrote.

If Apple did make price cuts shortly after the iPad launch, it would be reminiscent of the original iPhone release. Apple sold the original 8GB iPhone for $600 when it hit stores in June 2007; two months later, the company dropped the price to $400.

Wall Street analysts estimate Apple will sell between 1 million and 5 million iPads in its first year. Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company said that because Apple is defining a new category of devices, sales of the iPad are likely to ramp slowly, but “the $500 starting price point is low enough to attract a sizable portion of the early adopter crowd, consisting of iPhone and iPod owners.”

Via The Wall Street Journal

Wired.com © 2010 Condé Nast Digital.

First off, praise the Lord.  I have finally almost finished writing the research paper that has consumed my life for the past 2-3 weeks.  There is still a bit of work to do on it and a bunch of other deadlines for things coming up, but hey, one big, stressful thing is almost finished, and I am thankful for that.

Now on to 2 Corinthians 3.

Outline:

D. The Ministry’s Nature
2. The commendation of the ministry (3:1-6)
3. The basis of the ministry (3:7-18)

Section 1: Christ’s Epistle (vv. 1-3)

The false teachers in Corinth were questioning Paul’s credibility and competency as a minister.  In response, Paul writes the following:

² You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ³ clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (vv. 2,3)

The transformed lives of men and women are the proof of an effective and faithful minister.

Section 2: The Spirit, Not the Letter (vv. 4-6)

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, (v. 5)

It is God, not ourselves, that makes us adequate to do His work.

who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (v. 6)

How is it that the letter kills and the Spirit gives life?  John MacArthur provides this answer:

The letter kills in two ways: 1) it results in a living death.  Before Paul was converted, he thought he was saved by keeping the law, but all it did was kill his peace, joy, and hope; and 2) it results in spiritual death.  His inability to truly keep the law sentenced him to an eternal death… Only Jesus Christ through the agency of the Holy Spirit can produce eternal life in one who believes (John MacArthur Study Bible).

Section 3: Glory of the New Covenant (vv. 7-18)

Here are verses 7-11 in summary.  The Mosaic law had a certain glory to it, since after it was given to Moses, the people could not look his face, as it reflected the glory of God.  If the law that brought death had so much glory, how much more glorious then is the New Covenant?  The law had glory, but the New Covenant has so much glory that, in comparison, it is as if the law had no glory at all.  The law that is passing away was glorious, but the New Covenant is glorious.

I really like the way Matthew Henry explains the remaining verses (vv. 12-18), so I am going to quote him:

It is the duty of the ministers of the gospel to use great plainness, or clearness, of speech. The Old Testament believers had only cloudy and passing glimpses of that glorious Saviour, and unbelievers looked no further than to the outward institution. But the great precepts of the gospel, believe, love, obey, are truths stated as clearly as possible. And the whole doctrine of Christ crucified, is made as plain as human language can make it. Those who lived under the law, had a veil upon their hearts. This veil is taken away by the doctrines of the Bible about Christ. When any person is converted to God, then the veil of ignorance is taken away. The condition of those who enjoy and believe the gospel is happy, for the heart is set at liberty to run the ways of God’s commandments. They have light, and with open face they behold the glory of the Lord. Christians should prize and improve these privileges. We should not rest contented without knowing the transforming power of the gospel, by the working of the Spirit, bringing us to seek to be like the temper and tendency of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and into union with Him. We behold Christ, as in the glass of his word; and as the reflection from a mirror causes the face to shine, the faces of Christians shine also. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary)

Two quick vids to share. A Math lesson demonstrating how easy it is to use LinQ to connect to the Smartboard relieving the teacher of having to be at the front of the class. There is also some use of Microsoft Math (however the general uptake of which has been disappointing).

There is also a Science lesson which I was covering. I sent out the work by email so the students had a document for reference. It was a Word document but the students were able to use the preview function in Outlook. The lesson also shows how the SmartSync program can be used to help with classroom management and sharing work.

[Here's another column I wrote for FoxNews.com. In this one, I try to summarize some of the major things that non-geeks need to know about the iPad.]

When Apple finally announced its iPad tablet computer at a San Francisco press event last week, we learned that it was “magical.” And “revolutionary.” And that the price was “unbelievable.”

That’s the truth according to Steve Jobs, at least. As usual, the facts are a bit more complex. The iPad is an ambitious product that’s hard to sum up in a few words, or to assess at all until it’s actually available for sale, which won’t be for weeks. Herewith, some early answers to major questions about the device, based on what I learned at Apple’s launch and the hands-on time I got with one after the great unveiling concluded.

What’s the keyboard like?

Better than I expected. It looks like a jumbo version of the iPhone keyboard, but the keys and the space between them are so much more roomy that tapping the right character is much, much easier. You’re not going to want to write a novel on the iPad, but quick bursts of text, such as e-mails, should be simple enough.

The iPad will also work with Bluetooth keyboards, and Apple will sell a charging dock with a built-in keyboard: That’s good news, but you’ll want to try out the on-screen keyboard yourself if at all possible before plunking down any money.

What’s the software situation going to be like?

The iPad will run “virtually” all iPhone applications without modification, which means that it’ll work with more than 150,000 programs on the day it ships. But that’s a stopgap, not a long-term plus: Unaltered iPhone programs will run on the iPad either scaled to fit its larger screen (with correspondingly chunky text) or in a tiny window. If you invest in an iPad, you’re gambling that developers will write their wares to take advantage of its larger screen and richer user interface. Many will, but it may take a while before true iPad apps are as plentiful as iPhone ones.

What are the device’s biggest limitations?

The blogosphere is rife with debate about the many things the iPad doesn’t have and can’t do. There’s no camera (which would have been cool for video chat) and no support for Adobe’s Flash technology (so many video sites and most online games won’t work). Only Apple’s programs can run in the background — so you can listen to music while browsing the Web, for instance — and all applications run only in full-screen mode.

Oddly enough, these gotchas don’t bother me as much as two less-discussed omissions. The iPad comes with a splendid photo viewer, but it doesn’t have a USB port or memory-card slot; if you want to import your digital camera photos directly into it, you’ll need to buy a clunky-looking external adapter. And even though Apple showed off nifty-looking versions of its iWork word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation program at the iPad launch, there’s no way to print from the device. The best you’ll be able to do is create PDF files, move them to a PC or Mac, and print from there.

[UPDATE: As several readers reminded me, there are several third-party iPhone printing apps which will presumably work on the iPad. But they've all got their share of limitations and aren't a full substitute for built-in printing capabilities.]

Is the price really as unbelievable as Steve Jobs thinks?

A. The iPad is a lot more reasonable than pundits were expecting — the conventional wisdom was that it would run $1,000 or so. Instead, the iPad starts at $499 for the version with 16GB of solid-state storage and no 3G broadband, and tops out at $829 for one with 64GB of storage and AT&T 3G. Apple is pricing its tablet to move — which is presumably why it lacks some features that most people expected it would have. But with its aluminum case and high-end display, it outclasses similarly-priced netbooks from the standpoint of pure aesthetics.

Q. I like the idea of a tablet, but I want a real PC. Will be I be able to buy an iPad-like gizmo that runs Windows?

A. Sort of. At last month’s Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer previewed devices he called “slate PCs,” including a model from HP. They’re all screen and no keyboard, like the iPad. But the single thing about the iPad that’s most impressive is that Apple came up with a user interface optimized for a touch-centric, no-keyboard computer. Microsoft, by contrast, says it has no plans to tweak Windows any further: A slate PC will simply be a Windows 7 machine with no keyboard and no mouse.

Q. Will the iPad be a satisfactory substitute for a PC or Mac?

Absolutely not, if you’re talking about making it your primary computer. For that, you want something that can run a wider variety of software, and work with cameras and printers and other devices. You may also want a machine with enough storage to hold a bulging collection of music, photos, and videos — even the most-capacious iPad has much less storage space than the skimpiest current netbook. And you almost certainly want a system with a bigger screen than the iPad’s 9.7-incher.

Q. Speaking of netbooks, should I buy an iPad instead of one?

A. That’s not as much of a slam-dunk as you may think: A lot of people are going to be more comfortable with something that looks and works more like a traditional PC than the iPad does. But I think that others who might have bought a netbook in the past as a secondary computer will buy an iPad instead, and be pleased with the purchase — especially if they’re primarily interested in consuming music, movies, e-books, and Web pages. Netbooks are notoriously sluggish when it comes to video and graphics, but from what we’ve seen of the iPad so far, it’s a zippy little beast.

Q. How about getting an iPad instead of Amazon’s Kindle or another e-reader?

A. That’s going to be a decision that many people will be confronted with from now on. The Kindle certainly isn’t going away anytime soon: It costs only a little more than half the price of the cheapest iPad and runs for days on a charge rather than the iPad’s claimed life of ten hours. It boasts an impressive collection of books, plus lots of magazines and newspapers; the iPad will have to scramble to catch up with Amazon’s book selection, and Apple hasn’t said anything about its plans for periodicals at all.

Despite everything, though, the iPad is going to be a formidable Kindle rival. Amazon’s e-reader is a one-trick pony (albeit an impressive one) with a screen in dull black and white; the iPad is in glorious color and e-reading will be only one of many things it’ll let you do. If Apple can ramp up its content offerings, its gadget promises to be a treat for people who like to read — as long as they’re willing to charge it up frequently.

Q. So should I buy one?

A. Make no decision until the reviews come out at the end of March, when the first units ship. (The Wi-Fi only models, that is; the 3G version will arrive a month after that.) At that point, if the iPad sounds intriguing but not utterly irresistible, bide your time. If the history of the iPhone is any example, Apple will announce a second-generation iPad in 2011 that fixes most of the biggest gripes and packs more features at a better price. And many of the smartest tech fans I know are unapologetic late adopters who’ll consider the device seriously only then.

As for me, getting my hands on gadgets early — sometimes too early — is what I do for a living. Stay tuned for further thoughts on the iPad once Apple ships the thing.

MSI Wind modded with sliding keyboard and touchscreen — Engadget.

Sony catches tablet fever, wants to be an ‘active player’ — Engadget.

Joojoo tablet now in production, will support full Flash at launch — Engadget.

N900 gains PS3 Sixaxis control over SNES gaming (video) — Engadget.

X2 brings the Amtek iTablet back from the abyss, forgets that no one cared the first time — Engadget.

Fujitsu’s Lifebook MH380 hits retail for $449 — Engadget.

“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”

—The Wall Street Journal

P.S.  The newspaper was referring to the Apple’s iPad.

An analyst with Needham & Company has projected that Apple will sell 2 million iPads this year with an additional 6M being sold in 2011. The sales will come at the expense of Apple’s iPod Touch, according to reports today.

Sales will begin moderately. The anticipated spike in sales will occur after “the arrival of a catalyst,” but the report did not specify what that incentive would be. The iTunes store worked before, and it may work again.

That is evidenced by reports of interactive textbooks headed to the iPad. The iPad also could appeal to people who have light computing requirements such as seniors.

In comparison, the iPhone was much more mass market. Over 1 million iPhones were sold within 71 days of its introduction, and sold over 8 million units last quarter. The iPhone has contributed remarkably to Apple’s revenues–without massively cannibalizing the sales of iPods. The iPad could be viewed as a substitute for the iPod Touch.

The thing to keep in mind is that this is only the first iteration of the iPad. There’s no shortage of speculation about what Apple may or may deliver when the iPad ships – from evidence of a camera to an “intelligent bezel.” We don’t know the entire story of what “it” is yet, or what it will become. The iPad could very well end up carrying other Apple products.

Whether those reports are accurate or not, they do prove one thing: there is no shortage of potential for the tablet category. Even if Google enters the market, increased category awareness and growth should only support Apple’s sales.

Apple iPad

I’ve been trying really hard not to write a blog post about iPad- simply because the bloggersphere is absolutely flooded with iPad blog posts and everyone has an opinion. Alas, I am weak. I need to get this out of my system. I have just two points that I want to make, and I’ll do my best to keep it short.

Point #1

The iPad is not like other eReaders. Many observers and critics believe that the iPad will be a huge threat to Kindle and Nook. Even if Apple does land a deal with Harper Collins and even though Apple will allow publishers to control the pricing of eBooks, there is just one little nagging feature about the iPad that makes me believe that it won’t draw crowds of eBookworms overnight… the iPad’s LED screen.

Ever wonder why Nook and Kindle seem to have a bland, black and white, 1980’s type of electronic screen? It’s because the technology behind this digital display is known as eInk. The screens in the Kindle, Nook and other eReaders are designed to have a low res screen that does not support animation and has a very low refresh rate. This is to reduce eye strain.

The iPad is equipped with an LED screen, a standard for notebooks. So while the iPad will support eBooks, the biggest consumers of eBooks (those eBookworms) are likely going to stick with devices that are most comfortable for long periods of reading. The iPad is nice for magazine browsing, where color is important for flashy photos and rich content. But for those people that buy the most eBooks, the iPad will not replace a conventional eReader.

Bottom line: the iPad is not an eReader category killer.

Point #2

The iPad is not like other Netbooks and Tablets. A Netbook is a slimmed down laptop PC meant for basic computing and generally runs on web-based applications. They are small, light weight, and generally inexpensive. The WiFi enabled iPads can be considered as Netbooks, given that the iPad will primarily be used to access the web and Apple Apps. Also, many Netbooks do not have conventional hard drives, and the iPad is like these devices because it only contains a solid-state flash drive.

A Tablet PC is a slim laptop with a touch-screen interface. Some can be used with or without a stylus, and all Tablets can function without a physical keyboard (Tablets that have keyboards are called hybrids or convertibles). Most of the Tablets currently on the market run Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. This operating system is everything that Windows XP is, with additional features that support a tablet, such as pen sensitivity. So any program compatible with Windows XP will work on a tablet running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

In a sense, the iPad is trying to be both a Netbook and a Tablet, but it is not really good at being either of those things. The iPad operating system is based on the iPhone OS, not the Mac OS. This creates a lot of limitations, especially with productivity and creating. Many have called the iPad a giant iPhone, and this is why: The main purpose of the iPad is to run Apps.

If you’re looking for a Netbook, I’d say skip the iPad and wait for the Chrome Tablet. The folks over at Google have been working on the Chrome OS, known to be part of the Chromium Project. The goal is to develop an open-source operating system built with the web at the core, instead of a computer hard drive. It’s the cloud computing OS, and most ideal for a Netbook, which is why I believe the Chrome Tablet would be superior to iPad for this purpose.

Now if you’re looking for a Tablet, the question is “why?”  Is it to have a productive mobile computer, or is it because you want a toy? I believe the iPad is a toy, it is really cool and very flashy- perfect for those long commutes on the train. I want one, I’ve been drooling over this device since its big reveal. But it’s not something that would help me be a better and more efficient Interactive Producer.  For word processing, spreadsheets, and project management, a Tablet that runs Windows XP, though not as sexy, would help me get the job done.

Bottom line: The iPad is not a revolutionary Netbook or Tablet PC device.

What’s your take on the iPad? If you think I’ve got it all wrong, leave a comment and tell me about it.

So is it just me? Surely not! Have you not noticed the parallel running between Star Trek Next Generation Technology and the vision of Apples new IPad?

Well I suppose, only if you are a self-confessed fan of the show, which I am and proudly for just-this reason. The innovation of Technology in the show was coming from a point of view much like that of the Zeitgeist Movement, a Resource based Economy. That is world without money as the driving force behind everything we do!

The idea being…

We work together to better our Knowledge and Mankind.

Ok. So there is my inner nerd but you get the idea.

Steve Jobs has enjoyed somewhat of a golden persona. Always getting it right in the eyes of the Public and the Media, however this time, they hate the IPad. Now I have to admit the name is little, lets say feminine hygiene sounding but the Product, the Potential, the Vision and the Belief are totally outstanding, Hence the criticism. I am not sure who said this but its goes something like this,

“When the truth is told, first it is Denied, then Critiqued and then eventually Accepted .”

The IPad has already given the Publishing Industry a massive shake down. The publishers now very aware that its the 21st Century and we have changed. Our children are not likely to read paper books!
We will find versions of IPad or Tablets (as they are also called) everywhere within the next 5 years.
Its bigger than that. Doctors for example, the medical ramifications of having your records in your hand, with an ability to cross check your history, which surely will be uploaded very soon anyhow online.
Schools become paperless, text books not needed, libraries become data storage where hard copies are kept in reference only, with a code to scan onto your Tablet. Do I need to go on?

So why the article? Well this (IPad) has been created out of passion, to add something to the world. It also happens to be the most sure fire way to create billions and billions of dollars, which is the perfect result. Whilst we as a world still operate under such primitive social / financial ideals.

So not all big companies are here to stunt the growth of humanity. Imagine what could be achieved in a world based on Resource only. A dream for now maybe but with innovators like Steve Jobs and his merry men around I am pretty sure, we will prevail.

Make it so ..

Paul’s handsplint, showing the Pogo Stylus attached with black Velcro.

When Apple announced the iPad the first thing I thought was “how, as a quadriplegic with limited use of my arms, will I be able to use this device?”. Fortunately I immediately already had a pretty good idea on how this could be accomplished being that I’ve been an iPod Touch 2G user for almost 18 months. Ultimately the iPad is probably going to be able to do quite a bit more than the iPod Touch but the iPod Touch is still essentially the iPad’s “little brother”. So I thought I’d share the methods I use to access my iPod Touch in hopes that these ideas may be useful for people with physical disabilities hoping to get an iPad.

I can move my right arm reasonably well but I have no triceps, wrist, or finger movements. I can use an iPod Touch with one of the knuckles on my right hand but not very well as it isn’t particularly precise. This is where the Pogo Stylus comes in handy. The body of the Pogo Stylus uses what appears to be some type of aluminum that detects the electrical impulses that the skin produces. So as long as your skin is making contact with even the smallest portion of the stylus it will work perfectly fine with an iPod Touch (or an iPhone and iPad) in the same way the tip of a finger would. For able-bodied people this offers more precise control than what a finger can provide, particularly if you have thick fingers. However if you can’t hold the stylus what are you to do?

If, like me, you have some movement in your arms you need to find a way to attach the stylus to your hand so at least a small portion of it makes contact with your skin. In my case I have splints that I wear on my hands at all times. So I basically had somebody attach the stylus to a part of the splint where it barely touches part of my hand but at the same time points straight down. I then mounted my iPod Touch on my armrest using industrial strength Velcro (the Velcro is attached to the case that the iPod Touch is in so I didn’t have to stick it directly onto the iPod Touch itself). It’s important that you have whatever Apple touchscreen device you’re using mounted on a flat, hard surface. Because of my limited motor control I never had much success using a mounting bracket with a rotating arm. Your mileage may vary. Now obviously I don’t really get much use out of the accelerometer nor can I do complicated multi-finger gestures. Nevertheless I can still control my iPod Touch fairly well and it has been incredibly useful to me. Check the pictures below for a better idea of my set up.

iPod Touch mounted to the armrest of Paul’s wheelchair. You can see his arm and the pogo stylus at the top of the picture.

When I first had my iPod Touch I also experimented with using a mouthstick to control the iPod Touch. Being that your skin has to touch the stylus for it to function this was a difficult challenge. With the stylus at one end of the mouthstick and my mouth at the other end it just wasn’t working. After an extensive amount of Googling I did find out that aluminum foil might do the trick. So I got some aluminum foil and a friend of mine put three layers of it over the tip of the mouthstick then flattened out the tip on a hard surface. Even with no skin contact this method did work but unfortunately it didn’t work particularly well. I either had to press harder than what should have been needed to make the iPod Touch recognize it or half the time it didn’t even work at all. Needless to say I got frustrated and completely stopped trying to use my iPod Touch that way entirely. This wasn’t that big of a deal for me as I could use the iPod Touch while sitting in my wheelchair with the stylus attached to my splint. However, I sometimes like to get in bed a little bit early and therefore would have liked to have a way to use the iPod Touch while laying down.

A mouthstick with the tip covered in aluminum foil.

A couple weeks ago I decided to revisit this idea. I figured maybe something had changed in all those months so perhaps a Googling session now might find something. To my surprise it did find something! I found a match to a YouTube video that showed this guy using a mouthstick to control an iPod Touch! The guy’s name is David Wallace and his website turns out to be a really good resource for assistive technology ideas. So before I go on I want to give David Wallace full credit for this idea. His site is “lifekludger” so please check it out if you can.

He discovered that copper wiring conducts those electrical impulses that come from human skin. So he took a mouthstick and attached a Pogo Stylus to the tip, wrapped some copper wire around it so it’s touching the stylus, then had the other end of the copper wiring go along the mouthstick shaft all the way up to the mouthpiece. So when he’s holding the mouthstick his lips are touching the copper wiring which sends electrical impulses from his skin all the way down to the stylus which allows the iPod Touch to detect the stylus touching it.

A mouthstick, with aluminum foil on the tip and copper wire wound up the shaft.

I immediately attempted to replicate this with a plastic mouthstick, some copper wiring from the hardware store, and some aluminum foil. I do not currently have an extra Pogo Stylus so I figured I could just use aluminum foil at the tip instead. The finished product took literally less than five minutes to throw together and would you believe that it works perfectly! So well that I can control my iPod Touch better with the mouthstick than I can with the stylus. Now I don’t really want to carry a mouthstick around with me all of the time so since I can use the stylus attached to my splint method while I am up in my wheelchair I will continue to do so. But when I’m in bed I now have a way to use the iPod Touch very effectively. I’m able to read this way before I go to sleep or even check Facebook, Twitter, and my RSS reader. It’s awesome! Bare in mind this mouthstick was thrown together in a few minutes. There’s lots of other better ways to attach the copper wiring and so forth.

So when the iPad finally comes out if you have a physical disability which prevents you from using your hands effectively or at all then rest assured that you’re going to be able to use this neat-looking device regardless. And as Ricky pointed out in her excellent “Accessibility and the iPad: First Impressions” article the bigger screen alone makes the iPad immediately more accessible for people with physical limitations. If and when any of our readers get an iPad I’d love to hear your experiences in using the device with the Pogo Stylus, mouthstick-attached method or not.

- Paul Natsch

Share this

Do you know somebody else who would find this interesting or useful? Please forward it to them. Did somebody forward this post to you? Visit http://atmac.org/ and subscribe to receive posts for free.
Accessing the iPad: Mouthsticks and Styluses

Related posts:

• iPod Touch Ideas For Stylus, Mouth Stick, and Head Pointer Users
• iPhone Assistive Technology Round-Up
• Accessibility and the iPad: First Impressions

 

Accessing the iPad: Mouthsticks and Styluses
Paul Natsch
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:26:10 GMT

Well clearly today kinda proved im not ready to take on the responsibility of a job. I couldnt sleep last night so took a Zopiclone to help me along. I had arranged with mum to work in her shop for a few hours at 11am today. My dad let himself into my house and woke me out of bed at 12.30pm this afternoon. i had been out for the count and slept through my alarm, my phone and even the bin men that normally wake me up at 7am on a wed morning.

I quickly washed my hair and went alog to my mums shop for a few hours but i was sooo sleepy i came home after her craft class was finished.

Iv to go get my hair cut today. A girl iv known all my life is the manageress of one of the busiest and well known hairdressers in our county and one is situated across from the college. They have evening classes there so im managing to get a cut and blow dry for £5 which im not moaning about. how hard can it be to fuck up a straight cut.Im not sure exactly what i want yet. just alot of layers i suppose to make my hair look a bit more life like as its quite straight, boring and long just now.

I cut my arms last night because i felt people were getting at me through no fault of my own. Iv definately realised it is darn near impossible for me to cut and bleed from my left arm. Its like my right hand is hesistant to cut. When i cut with my left hand on my right arm thats when the blood flows. Its relaxing to watch it drip. I didnt cut deep or anything i just wanted to see a bit of blood to get me back to reality. I dont remember much of last night because of the zopiclone. and thats only 1 zopiclone. i remember taking 3 and then seeing double for the next 2 days.

Iv not heard from my friend today but she did take her tablets at once yest instead of spreading them out. it wont do her any harm – just make her really sleepy. Im sure ill hear from her when i get back from hairdressers. i phoned her and txted her once just to say id phoned to see if she was up. she will wake up when its dark (as per) and wonder if shes even slept hehe.

xxx

Specifications:

Battery type-Lithium-ion

Claimed battery life- 10 hours

Diagonal screen size- 9.7 inch

Network interface 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, HSDPA

Primary hard drive 64 GB

Memory card reader No

Integrated webcam No

TV tuner No

Other features Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Processor speed 1 GHz

Other software included Calendar Contacts Notes Maps Mail Safari Photos iPod App Store iTunes YouTube

Embedded stereo speakers Yes

Digital audio output Yes

User Reviews

Apple said the iBooks store will feature both popular books as well as text books. Notably absent was any mention of whether magazines will be available as well.

Just like iTunes, books are split up into what’s popular and by genre. Users can preview the first few pages before purchasing and downloaded books are sent directly to the user’s virtual bookshelf. They can then be read in a similar manner to what’s already been available with Amazon’s Kindle app. Users can read their books in portrait or landscape mode, change the size of the text and hop around using a persistent table of contents.

This is what I believed while I was watching the iPad announcement. But eventually the iPad will be seen as something quite the opposite. The US$499 iPad is Apple’s lowest-price computer (the Mac Mini is US$599, without a monitor or keyboard). With the US$69 keyboard dock (or a Bluetooth keyboard and a plate stand), it’ll make a decent general-purpose computer for a family’s common room or kitchen. And it’s small enough and has good enough battery life to chuck in a briefcase or bag so the owner can consume some media or get some low-effort work done when away from home.