Your Most Personal Book. CERANDOR 2 Contents 1 2010 5 1.1 January . 5 1.1.1 The Dawn of a New Shiny (2010-01-27 08:41) ............... 5 1.1.2 I Know What I Like When I See It (2010-01-28 11:01) .......... 5 1.2 February . 8 1.2.1 Assisted Death (2010-02-02 10:02) ..................... 8 1.3 March . 8 1.3.1 Tagline Twittery (2010-03-01 14:48) .................... 8 1.3.2 Getting Your Digs in Early (2010-03-04 11:24) .............. 9 1.3.3 Biblical in Scope (2010-03-08 12:28) .................... 10 1.3.4 Just Following Orders (2010-03-15 09:39) . 12 1.4 April . 13 1.4.1 iPad Arrival (2010-04-01 10:50) ....................... 13 1.4.2 Reboots and Catchphrases (2010-04-07 23:22) . 14 1.4.3 Apple Wows Internet With New Reasons to Complain (2010-04-09 12:36) 15 1.4.4 Immortal Thoughts (2010-04-16 11:07) . 16 1.4.5 Get a Grip (2010-04-19 10:18) ........................ 17 1.4.6 Bill Hicks Was Right* (2010-04-26 17:54) . 17 1.4.7 Rant Update (2010-04-27 23:26) ...................... 19 1.4.8 The Underdogs Done Good (2010-04-30 08:56) . 20 1.5 May . 20 1.5.1 All the Fun of the Election (2010-05-07 10:20) . 20 1.5.2 Daggers at the Ready (2010-05-10 21:36) ................. 21 1.6 June . 22 1.6.1 Face to Face With the Shiny (2010-06-07 22:45) . 22 1.6.2 Especially Irish (2010-06-12 17:51) ..................... 22 1.6.3 A Metaphor for our (Political) Times (2010-06-15 20:40) . 23 1.6.4 Shiny 2010 (2010-06-18 10:39) ....................... 24 1.7 July . 24 1.7.1 So Much For The South American World Cup (2010-07-05 14:19) . 24 3 1.7.2 Farewell to the Snack Box (2010-07-08 11:13) . 25 1.7.3 Unsurprising/Amusing/Depressing? (2010-07-12 09:36) . 26 1.7.4 iBan (2010-07-18 20:38) ........................... 26 1.7.5 Apparitions (2010-07-20 10:39) ....................... 28 1.7.6 A Creative Playground (2010-07-21 10:44) . 28 1.7.7 Spider Spam (2010-07-26 11:13) ...................... 29 1.7.8 The Ideal Shape (2010-07-27 15:21) .................... 29 1.7.9 Truth in Advertising (2010-07-31 21:17) . 30 1.8 August . 30 1.8.1 iPhone 4 Thoughts (2010-08-18 12:39) ................... 30 1.9 September . 31 1.9.1 Songs to Make You Walk Faster (2010-09-03 10:05) . 31 1.9.2 Apple’s Latest Offerings (2010-09-06 14:31) . 32 1.9.3 A Headache for the Taoiseach (2010-09-15 15:15) . 33 1.10October . 34 1.10.1 Back to the Mac (2010-10-22 14:34) .................... 34 1.10.2 Delayed Gratification (2010-10-27 10:22) . 35 1.10.3 Movember (2010-10-31 13:55) ........................ 35 1.11November . 36 1.11.1 Making the Best of a Bad Situation (2010-11-02 11:43) . 36 1.11.2 More Fun for November (2010-11-03 16:53) . 37 1.11.3 NaNoWriMo Update (2010-11-08 09:29) . 37 1.11.4 (M/N)ovember Update (2010-11-15 10:06) . 37 1.11.5 Wasting No Time (2010-11-22 12:50) .................... 38 1.11.6 Winter Warmth (2010-11-29 11:42) ..................... 38 1.11.7 The Matrix Redux (2010-11-30 11:32) ................... 39 1.12December . 40 1.12.1 Last Minutes (2010-12-13 06:00) ...................... 40 4 Chapter 1 2010 1.1 January 1.1.1 The Dawn of a New Shiny (2010-01-27 08:41) The greatest mark of Apple’s success in manipulating public interest in it’s products? The fact that you’d struggle to find any media outlet that hasn’t offered an opinion on the upcoming iPad/iTablet/iSlate/iJesus. This despite the fact said product hasn’t even been announced and exists only as a void at the centre of a boiling cloud of rumour and speculation, expertly stirred by Apple’s hidden team of media provocateurs. Now some of this interest derives from the fact that Apple makes products that people (such as myself) like. However, the majority must come from the combination of secrecy and care- fully leaked noninformation. Even the announcements of the company’s financial results get dragged in, with Steve Jobs and others practically bubbling with excitement as they "let slip" their unofficial confirmations of what’s coming. I’d love to believe that the bright new thing will be all that the speculation promises, but I’m not going to buy into the hype - yet. I’ll take a look this evening then, and watch the latest Jobs unveiling. Maybe I’ll have some- thing to add to my shopping list. Maybe I’ll be disappointed. Either which way, plenty of people have already been entertained by the speculation. 1.1.2 I Know What I Like When I See It (2010-01-28 11:01) So the name was "iPad" after all, and jokes about feminine sanitary products aside, it was probably the best of a bad lot, if also one of the more bland options. (I quite liked "iSlate" myself.) The product itself is a thing of beauty, and a shoo-in for any number of industrial design awards. Yes, it’s the same as an iPhone, but tweaked and massaged to suit the larger form factor. Obviously I want one, but the response isn’t as clear cut as that. There’s much to love but a few questions to be asked as well. The Good Books: The iPad is first and foremost a media consumption device, and at the size of a hardback book (if not the depth), book reading will be a major draw. The screen is as high quality as could have been expected (OLED was always going to be too expensive, and e-paper too limited), which will help. That it uses ePub books is even better - if the Stanza app on my 5 iPhone scales to the new screen, I won’t need much more. Other Media: Movies and music are present and correct, as on the iPhone/iPod Touch, with that screen definitely benefiting the former. The only blemish is the need to go through iTunes to get them onto it - not too bad with music, but a bit of a pain with films and TV. Battery Life: Ten hours sounds good, assuming that claim holds up to real-life experi- ence. The lengthy standby time sounds even better - without constantly churning 3G or Wi-Fi, the iPad can last a lot longer than its smaller cousins. Size: Much as I love my 13" MacBook, I preferred the smaller size of my older iBook. This is smaller still, a lot thinner and much lighter. Even wrapped in a protective slipcase, it’ll fit neatly in a shoulder bag or in the hand. I want to get my hands on one to try it out, but it seems like it’s just right for its many uses. Apps: The iPhone was a success even though the App Store didn’t open until a year later. The iPad is launching with 100,000+ apps that will work from day one, and many of those will be optimised for it by launch day. When was the last time a brand new product had such an advantage? iWorks: This is a big deal for me. With the addition of a word processor, I can do 90 % or more of what I do on my laptop on the iPad, all the more so when you consider the keyboard dock. Spreadsheet and presentation apps are just as important to other people. And where these go, others will follow. What odds a cut-down version of Microsoft Office appearing on the iPad within the year? Price: Sure, it could have been cheaper. But the base model has as much memory as my iPhone 3G, and the top end one would likely hold all of my photos and music. For the quality of the machine, I can’t really complain. The Bad Lock-In: This is Apple, and a certain degree of buy-in to Apple’s online ecosystem is required, especially if you want to watch videos. Still, the payoff for that is a reduction in hassle - you get what you want with minimal fuss - and that will matter to a lot of people. Plus, the App Store and the absence of a contract for 3G service help to loosen the shackles somewhat. No Camera: Of course, the iPad is too big to be used to take photos, but a front-mounted camera for video chat was widely hoped-for. It’s not a major failing, but it is a disappointment. No Expansion: The iPhone, engineered to within an inch of its life, can be excused not having an SD card slot. The iPad’s lack is less forgiveable. An Sd card slot would have been a boon for photographers, even amateur ones like myself, and reduced the need for tethering to a laptop or computer. Not Standalone: The iPad, like the iPhone, doesn’t stand on its own - it needs to be hooked up to a computer at regular intervals. In a way, this is understandable.