dc0de’s & friends notes…

This is why I'm not getting one...

The iPad may be “cool” but I fail to see the point.  It’s not going to be the “next big thing”, tablets have been out for YEARS people, and they are relegated to minimalistic roles in the computing industry.  Would I use a tablet? Sure, if I had a way to input information as fast as I can type, which at last test was in the 55/wpm range.  Voice recognition isn’t there, handwriting analysis isn’t there, so what is the purpose of a “tablet” based computer?  Here’s what I can see as a viable use for such a product:

• reading documentation (similar to a kindle & other ebook readers)
• drawing and sketching
• surfing the web with a mouse only, as typing is cripplingly slow on any tablet interface
• performing tasks that currently have specialized equipment, such as retail inventory systems and bar code scanning
• a new pretty interface for McDonalds(tm) POS terminals

Aside from those, this is just another pretty toy.  When you couple it’s fixed configuration and limited battery life, you’re going to be sending it to the scrap pile in 3 years, adding to the pile of trash that we as Americans produce.  I’m still not giving up my laptop or my netbook, as they are both upgradeable (to a point), and provide all of the same functionality that I could get with the iPad.  Until there is a fully upgradeable tablet computer with a full keyboard that has the battery life of my netbook, I really don’t need this toy.

Way to go Apple, another non-green product for our future.

Ok, so as most of you know, I’m traveling between Atlanta and San Diego for work. I primarily fly Delta Airlines, as they’re home based in Atlanta, and I do like the benefits of being a Medallion member.

Since April, when I started my current position, I have been hearing about the inflight wireless services coming to the Delta aircraft fleet. I have patiently waited for this day to arrive. I’m now over 1/3 way through my flight, flying over Dallas TX, at 36,000ft at 525mph over ground, and writing a blog post.
I’m humbled, amazed, excited, and my inner geek is musing. I think back to the days when we booted our TRS-80 model-1 from cassette tape, with a whopping 128kbytes of RAM, and no hard drives. I never thought there would be a day when I would be posting an update to a web of inter-connected systems that spanned the globe.

I’m happy that my current wireless connection is free, since I received a free trial pass from the gate agent, however, I’m not sure that the $12.95 that they want to charge is going to be useful with shorter flights, but I will purchase it for these 4 hour plus flights.

If you have a chance to use it, please, try it, and if you can get a free trial, definitely use it.

I’ll see you on the ground….