Technology

by Mike Sterling

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Sometimes with the blur of technology, it is hard to determine what product does what.  One mystery is the popularity of tablets from many manufacturers.  I'm about to test the Kindle Fire.  Hope it works.

I just got a dandy new 17" Dell laptop that is lightning fast and good for professional use.  Tablets are way too slow for any serious use by me at least and the GUI does not lend itself to typing.  It's like everyone can read, but nobody can write.

I visited an old friend of mine, Dr. Jim Jones, recently.  He is a engineer and mathematician with degrees in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, Master's degree in mathematics and also a Doctorate in engineering.  He is a computer pioneer and author.

He thought he'd purchase a Mac Ipad to augment his array of computers and to fit into a niche that he now believes does not exist for him with a the Ipad.  He has a Kindle too that serves for his E-reading needs.

He  does consulting work in the United States and Australia.  He gave me this note that he recently sent to Apple:

"I just sent the following feedback to Apple.  Do you think they'll listen?  We need to strike the balance between proprietary and universality.

I have had an iPad for six months and use it virtually not at all.  In retrospect, what I thought I was getting is a MacBook Air without a keyboard which I could use for business while traveling.  (I consult on the Engineering Lifecycle.)  What I got was an Iphone that doesn't fit in my pocket.

 I bought a bunch of business Apps only to discover that my files were a mess because I didn't even have the fonts that came with MacBook Pro and couldn't upload them.  

The operating system is a toy and I have to use iTunes to transfer files!  I could use Jailbreak to add new fonts, but Apple in a recurrence of its past arrogance that lost its PC market want to make everything proprietary.

I had hopes for Apple when you went to a primarily Unix based Kernel.  But after this experience I am pretty sure that you will flush yourselves eventually to a Linax (or Android) based tablet much like you did with Microsoft in the 80s.  Too bad.  I would really like to trade this kiddie toy in for a MacBook Air while you're still in business."

Jim might be a little strong on "while you're still in business", but he was perplexed

I too have had some difficulty with the way they support the outside world.  For example, they always have a beef or two with some company that they see as competitive.  The long war with Adobe seems to never end and they haggle over support of things like Flash.  This followed a long battle over fonts that took too many lives and careers.

Also, they seem to have ignored proper support of things like iFrames that they'd like to wish out of existence.  There is a problem with doing that, however, because Google uses Iframes for embedding videos in millions upon millions of web sites, so it's unlikely that they can push them out of their browsers.  They do need to make them work properly, however.   They can't wish Google away.

The lesson to be learned by Jim's letter to Apple is:

Make sure you check your basic usage needs, when buying a new device.  A trial of a friend's device might be the best way to shop.  Everyone has different needs and experience.

 Ipads are good for a lot of things, but not the complexity of tasks that has built up around the computer industry.  Ipads can have many uses, but a good laptop can do all those and then some.   They don't replace the X-Box either, and as Jim says, they don't fit in your pocket.

On the plane coming to visit Jim, I saw an adult woman playing a game for the entire flight on her phone.  It didn't look that interesting, but boredom must have taken over.

Another woman spent her time well.  She was reading a book using her Kindle.  Even with the lights out, she had no trouble.  The Kindle has a single purpose.  The Kindle Fire has a broader spectrum of applications.  I don't know how good it is.... stay tuned.

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Friday, February 03, 2012