Alright, so if you've been to the site at all in the past few months, you'll notice right away that you're looking a new theme. If you haven't been to the site...well, you'll just have to trust me.
Well, bear with me as I work out a few kinks with the new theme. Obviously, best practice would be to wait until I have the tweaks made, but I'm sooo tired of looking at the old theme; we're going to tweak on the fly.
If you notice a bug, just add a comment and let me know.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sure by now you're all tired of talking about the stinking iPad.
Honestly, I am too. However, I haven't really posted anything of significance other than a few tweets to get my initial reactions down somewhere.
Okay, I'm going to repost my initial comments and then I'll follow up with a more in-depth analysis.
Initial thoughts
Honestly, I'm a fan of the uber device. iPhones and droid interest me more than this whole e-reader business. I can do almost everything on one easy to carry device like an iPhone or droid. And, if I'm going to sit down and read or surf the net, why not use a laptop or a regular old book.
iPad = iBad?
Obviously there are tons of good articles out there about the iPad. Initially, yes, I was probably underwhelmed and focusing on what the iPad DOESN'T do. Now, that's not to say I don't stand by those comments, because I wholeheartedly think my initial assessment is correct. Moving on...
Point #1 : iPad = typical overrated Mac device
I'm not a Microsoft fan boy or an Apple/Mac basher, but let's be honest...the publicity around every Apple/Mac device is unbelievable. The most underrated people at Apple are their marketing staff and maybe their product/user interface designers. The Apple marketing staff do an unbelievable job of promoting items, that do perform well, but are outrageously overpriced.
For example, can you really tell me that a Mac computer is worth all that extra dough? Okay, so maybe you like OS X instead of Windows and how "pretty" your computer looks on your desk at work (no more hiding that tower under your desk...). Here's my beef and the ironic bit of all this...put OS X on a PC (which they are basically doing on the intel-based macs or your very own "hackintosh") and I guarantee it runs just as good; if not better. The difference? I didn't pay a fortune to accomplish such a feat. Now, the only thing I'm lacking is a great looking case. Of course, that isn't so hard to remedy either if you really strive for that sort of thing.
Bottom line, Apple is going to win the visual appeal award every time out. I have yet to see a company design nicer looking equipment and user interfaces and for that they deserve all the credit in the world. And to speak more to that point, I think the simple visual appeal of their devices is probably the primary reason people pick Apple equipment over other vendors. Seriously, their equipment is out of this world cool looking when put next to the competition. Their stuff just looks nicer, cooler, trendier, etc and people whether they admit it or not; really want a device that "looks" cool. Case and point...if the ipod looked like a Zune would it have sold like wildfire? I doubt it.
Point #2 : iPad = large ipod touch
I guess I was curious as to why people were so excited about the iPad and it's size. Sure, it's going to be a great e-reader device cause it's bigger than an iPhone or iPod. However, it appears as if most of the functionality will be consistent to that of the iPhone and iPod predecessors; just wrapped into a larger device that targets a different audience group. Unless, I'm missing something, nothing earth shattering to see here; let's move on.
Point #3 : iPad = cool if you want to carry around another device, pay another monthly service fee, and have unlimited funds; only to be tied to more proprietary apple software
Please don't take this as a slight to the iPad. But, once again, I ask the question...is it worth the money? 16GB and wi-fi for $499? Geesh...I could buy a fully functional, small form factor laptop for that price (Dell Mini, etc, etc). Of course, it wouldn't be a touch interface, but c'mon I could do so much more with it. But, back to my previous point...a Dell mini running Windows is nowhere near as "cool" as a touch screen iPad.
16GB? Seriously, I can buy a 16GB usb flash drive for under $40. I'd think you'd cram more storage space on there for that kind of cash. Apple also wants an additional $200 to go from 16GB to 64GB? Highway robbery in my opinion. Sure, you might not need lots of storage on an e-reader, but what about audio? Video? Photos? I couldn't even fit just my music collection on the mid-range model as it stands now. How am I going to do anything else on the device? What about the "hog" called video? Not to mention photos? Will I need to carry discs around or constantly stream content due to insufficient HD space? If so, can you really claim it to be this multifunctional device? I don't think so. You want 3G with that too? That's going to cost you extra too, to the tune of approx $1,189 for year one.
I won't go into the whole proprietary Apple software bit, but I do think that is another consideration. This issue probably only pertains to more tech savvy folks like myself who do not use iTunes for music or any of the iWork software, etc. The typical average Joe user will probably care less about this because they do use iTunes for music, etc. Oh, and do you really want another electronic device to lug around and care for all day long? I sure don't.
Not so bad?
Okay, now that I've put all the bad (if that's what you want to call it) out there...now for some good then a final wrap-up.
I've heard lots of gripes about the lack of Flash. HELLO, has anyone heard of HTML5? CSS3? I think Flash is about to hit upon some hard times. The new HTML5 & CSS3 specs are going to greatly increase audio/video delivery and presentation on the web. Flash will be directly impacted by this revelation. Also, Flash isn't exactly accessible for those with visual impairments, etc. In fact, creating accessible Flash content can be quite cumbersome and Adobe's attempt to tack-on accessibility controls isn't ideal. I'm perfectly happy with the decision to NOT include Flash support.
I also like that Apple incorporated the ability to use existing apps available from the app store. This will be a great way to allow that content to continue to generate revenue/usage. I do have one question though, will you have to purchase an app twice to run it on multiple devices? I'm guessing yes, and that begs the question of how many apps will be worth operating on multiple devices? Of course, there will be custom apps for the iPad but won't they mostly be extensions of existing apps that just take advantage of extra screen real estate?
I've also heard complaints about the lack of a camera. I laugh out loud when I think about this one....are you REALLY going to hold a device this large up to take pictures? I mean c'mon it's nearly the size of a sheet of paper (9.5" H x 7.5" W)! Hell, I think I'd rather whip out an old school polaroid than hold something this large up to take a photo. Plus, most people already have 2 cameras on them at all times. I think every phone these days has a camera (albeit not great, but still a camera) and every female I know carries a digital camera in their purse. I even know some guys who carry a small digital camera around. So why have a third ginormous one?
The multitask gripe could be a valid one, but I think Apple will work out the kinks and avoid this as an issue.
Summary
Overall, I don't hate the iPad. But, I definitely don't think it's the next great revolutionary device. I fall in the middle of the road. I do think it will be a great niche market product, a solid performer, and it will more than likely generate solid revenue for Apple; thus a business success. Just don't expect me to adorn it with the honors of greatest or coolest device ever. I'd probably label this product as an e-reader+...it's like an e-reader on steroids, but still kind of a "tweener" device; not an iPod not a laptop. That said, I do think the iPad will almost instantly become the #1 e-reader (a growing market), and in my opinion, force Amazon to reduce kindle prices and play itself as the "bargain" unit. Really, that's a pretty good start if you're Apple.
Personally, I would love a device like this to replace a portable DVD player for family road trips and the like. However, there is ABSOLUTELY no way I would pay that much money for what I see as a niche device. Sure, a touch interface would be cool, portability would be nice, but some of the cons I've pointed out (insufficient memory, proprietary software, price, etc); would easily offset those advantages. I really don't want another device to carry around either. I'm all about uber devices like droid and iPhone. Plus, I do have a laptop that affords me most, if not all, of the features of an iPad; it just isn't as cool as an iPad.
Ever wonder why services like Facebook and Twitter exist?
Well, I’ve seen research and articles that cite how people interact with one another (many small short communications versus fewer longer communications), etc, etc.
I think that is definitely a big reason why those services have exploded after the past few years. The communication via those platforms is second nature.
I think there are a few other reasons why too. It’s short. Easy. Flexible.
Think about it…how lazy are we, really? I know how lazy I can be on a given day. Oh, you mean I can type a few sentences on the cell phone in my pocket and alert all my friends of my current status. Okay, I doubt I get off the couch to go type a few paragraphs, yet detailed, for a blog entry.
Honestly, I think those are the biggest selling points for services like Twitter and Facebook. You don’t have to be dedicated or type something meaningful to stay connected and keep your online socialization in check. You can be lazy, quick, and probably best of all; you can be that way from anywhere you get an internet connection or cell phone service.
On the other hand, blogging takes dedication. Personally, I like the more thorough communication that can be provided in a blog; it’s just not as convenient and thus suffers from that fact alone. Not to mention, the amount of time it takes to actually post something meaningful and worth the time and effort.
I don’t think blogs will disappear completely, but I think those are the biggest reasons for why that venue of online communication isn’t as popular as it was two or three years ago.
Yep, went through and finally updated my Drupal install tonight. I know, an exciting Friday night!
Seriously, I've been putting it off for a long time. I also need to do the same thing on a client site too. Too bad Drupal isn't as easy to update as Wordpress...
I've also been putting off creating a new theme for a long time too, but I promise that is still in the works.
I also ran some updates on my kubuntu desktop at home tonight. Man, do I feel productive or what!
I've been using Windows 7 Enterprise since Sunday. Not a release candidate or beta version...the real thing. I know you're probably thinking, "hey that hasn't been released yet". Well, I work at a University and our group is special I guess. Special in the sense that I'm sure other Universities get the same cool and nerdy treatment too.
Anyways, I did a fresh install on my dell latitude d630 and had no problems whatsoever during install. All my device drivers installed without the need for any driver downloads from the dell website. That was pretty nice and made getting started a bit easier.
A fellow colleague did tell me that when he tried to perform the upgrade, he had to first upgrade to vista; then to win7. I did a quick search and this appears to be true. Users can purchase a software upgrade license from XP to WIN7, but you won't be able to upgrade and install over your current installation; unless you are using Vista, you'll need to do a clean install. I did my clean install just because that is my preferred method of upgrade as far as an OS is concerned. I've never liked the whole "upgrade" option.
I run a wide range of programs on my machine. I was really curious to see how many of my current programs would run on WIN7 without issue. I've installed MS Visual Studio 2008, MS Office 2007, MS Expression Web 2, Adobe Master Collection CS4, current downloads of browsers w/extensions(firefox, safari, opera, & chrome), and windows virtual pc. So far, all of these programs have worked flawlessly. Of course, I've only been running this for a few days; but still, it was a pleasant surprise.
Now, obviously, I'm running fairly new versions of software that were designed to be compatible on Vista. So, maybe it shouldn't be such a shock that everything has worked fine. An interesting experiment would be to install a pre-vista version of software and see what happens. I did see in the control panel there is an option "run programs made for previous versions of windows".
The most noticeable things so far...system boot times and program load times are drastically reduced from windows vista. I know some of that could be attributed to a clean install of the OS, but seriously, WIN7 boots faster than my vista setup ever did.
As far as look and feel...still looks and feels like windows vista. The User Account Control aka UAC (you know the annoying box that popped up every time you tried to do something in vista) also seems much less annoying in WIN7. I get prompted once during an install and that's it, and there appears to be more flexibility to tune the UAC to your desired settings; versus the on/off switch options of vista.
Well, that's it for now. I'll let you know more as I continue to use the new setup. My initial reaction as a web developer/designer is definitely positive, and the upgrade had a very minimal impact on my work flow.
I heard from a colleague today that xhtml is no longer going to be developed by the W3C and they will be focusing their resources on HTML5. I wasn't shocked considering they released the working draft of HTML5 in August. Of course, we'll still be using the current standard for awhile, but I thought it was still interesting information.
Plus, considering that most developers are drooling over the opportunity to use some of the cool new features...Smashing Magazine's article on HTML5 was a pretty good overview. I know I'm one in the drooling category...LOL...I'd be interested what others think...
Well, I've had the Mollom plug-in enabled on my drupal installation for 25 days. Before Mollom I had several blog entries which had comments enabled, and I had left them open for months. Needless to say, I had a ton of spam.
After looking around for a solution I found the Mollom plug-in and decided to give it a try. The service worked great. I used the free version, there are also paid versions, and didn't have any troubles. All I did was "set it and forget it", Mollom did the rest.
Over the course of 25 days, Mollom blocked over 5,364 spam posts. I also posted some test submissions myself (not logged in of course) and it was able to distinguish just fine.
I would highly recommend the Mollom plug-in to anyone maintaining a website with comments/posts that allow user feedback. The plug-in is available for a wide variety of systems, and you can check them out at their website: http://mollom.com
I've been spending some time over the past week or so tweaking my social networking work flow. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I'm totally serious. I'm trying to make my life easier. I'm not a big social network junkie, and I REALLY don't want to waste my time tweeting, posting status updates, or logging into a hundred different sites each day just to keep it all in order. I'm greedy. I want it to be drop dead easy, and I think I'm really close to making that happen. I'll let you know what my recipe was, cause maybe it will help you.
Well, I've had the mollom module installed for around 5 days and it has successfully blocked over 1300 spam attempts. Yes, that's correct...over 1300 attempts...on this low traffic web site. I even attempted a generic, legit post as a test and it went through fine. I'll probably try to fool it some more myself, but so far, mollom is passing with flying colors.
Long time no see! Yes, I've been extra super busy as of late. But, now that the busier part of my summer schedule is winding down, I should have some more time around here.
Anyways, I'm trying out this new web service called Mollom. I'm hoping it will alleviate the comment spam on the site. Of course, I never should have left the comments open for so long in the first place; but I digress.
Now, let's see how well Mollom works. I'll try to pass along updates when they become available.
