I’m already 100% bought in to the “Apple Way”.

Firstly, i’d like to point to a couple of neat things that people have been saying about the iPad.

Gruber nailed the hardware implications in his post:

Apple now owns and controls their own mobile CPUs. There aren’t many companies in the world that can say that. And from what I saw today, Apple doesn’t just own and control a mobile CPU, they own and control the hands-down best mobile CPU in the world. Software aside (which is a huge thing to put aside), it may well be that no other company could make a device today matching the price, size, and performance of the iPad. They’re not getting into the CPU business for kicks, they’re getting into it to kick ass.

Stephen Fry’s post can be boiled down to:

it’s not just a scaled up iPhone or a scaled-down multitouch enhanced laptop – it is a whole new kind of device.

Some of my peers have been skeptical on the impact of the tablet; It’s just a big iPod Touch to them. To me, this is another device that fits quite nicely into the way I run my computing experience. Most of them have no idea how the whole package fits together.

I’m already 100% bought in to the “Apple Way”. I’ve got an iPhone and an Apple TV. I’ve got a MacBook. I’ve even got a few Airport Express units. All of this stuff together allows me to have a pretty seamless experience across my home. The iPad will just add another layer to my setup.

Apple’s ecosystem extends beyond the ability to get content or have a snazzy device. It’s about how their whole media experience fits seamlessly into my computing. I can grab music from the store, copy over to my wife’s PC and then control which portions of the house it plays on using my iPhone. It’ll even play on my entertainment centre via my Apple TV.  Even the DRM on TV and Movies is unnoticeable to me, as I only have media devices that support FairPlay. Even my non-DRM cd rips are supported across the entire setup. It’s not even too hard to let my friends play their iTunes music over my speakers, all without cables.

The iPad probably isn’t as compelling a device for somebody that runs a Microsoft household, but even PCs will run iTunes, which gives you a gateway to this awesome way to run your media.

The iPad already has access to many of the applications that I’d like to use in a tablet platform

From a software perspective, I think that the decision to have the device run the iPhone OS rather than full blown OSX is a great move. The tablet is first and foremost a mobile device; by forcing the iPad into the same category as the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple is ensuring that the expectations for the device remain clear – it’s not a replacement for your laptop and you’re not going to be able to run iMovie on it.

Using the App Store, the iPad already has access to many of the applications that I’d like to use in a tablet platform on the go. SSH, VNC and Remote Desktop clients are already on my iPhone, but will become much more usable on the bigger screen. Software developers will soon start to port applications that were previously impractical on the iPhone – They’ll be geared to run on a multitouch platform and scaled to the computing capacity of the device. I’m looking forward to apps like Coda, which would allow me to be productive without hauling around the MacBook that I use for heavy lifting.

I’ve also seen complaints about the hardware being underpowered. I’d agree if this was a desktop device, but it’s not. It’s got plenty of power for basic apps and browsing the web. I wholeheartedly agree with their decision to use custom silicon, as you get much more efficiency from using hardware designed to do a specific task. While I’m skeptical of their battery claims, there’s absolutely no way you’d get anywhere near those numbers if they’d used an off the shelf solution. The opportunities for power management are also better when you’ve got something that will only operate in spikes.

I’ll be ordering an iPad as soon as they’re available in Canada, and I look forward to the innovative things that the App Store developers will bring.

I tend to leave everything in a giant jumble and try not to expose anything inappropriate. It’s not too hard, as I don’t really do anything that would get me in trouble. There are, however, many people on both sides and everywhere in between. 

It seems fairly common for prominent web 2.0 people to “bare it all” on the internet. Openness tends to become almost a given with success; we all want to pry into the lives of those few who are running things. It’s hard to control what leaks out to media and the internet in general.

It’s also common for younger or less computer savvy people to have a very open internet presence. It really makes me wonder about where the line is. At what point are you famous enough, in internet terms, to have a things overlooked. Or, are these people just really good at keeping their internet noses clean. Granted, things do surface and destroy careers, but, in this case, i’m talking about people in the web 2.0 industry, where things tend to be a bit more lax.

On the private end of the spectrum, you have the fellow mentioned above, Why the Lucky Stiff; _why for short. A very prominent member of the Ruby community, famous for his eccentric style and extreme talent, existing completely under his pseudonym. Even during conferences he’d stick to _why rather than his (unknown) real name.

caller asks, “should i use hpricot or nokogiri?” if you’re NOT me: use nokogiri. and if you’re me: well cut it out, stop being me.
@_why on twitter (now unavailable)

In contrast, David Heinemeier Hansson, who also happens to be a prominent Rubyist, tends to be quite uninhibited.

Blending like this isn’t free. You’re bound to upset, offend, or annoy people when you’re not adding heavy layers of social sugarcoating.
David via http://www.loudthinking.com/posts/39-im-an-r-rated-individual

Both extremes give you a certain degree of freedom. Personally, I’d rather not worry and go the same way that David has, but I can see the appeal in the mystique that a true pseudonym grants.

From a more general standpoint, it’s also easy to unintentionally reveal information, especially when the people around you are heavily engaged in social networking like Facebook and Twitter via smart phones; there have been many pictures that have caused trouble and it’s easier then ever to post pictures online with integrated applications and cameras.

For more information about _why and his disappearance, check out this awesome eulogy by John Resig.

It seems like all the smartphone love is dedicated to the iPhone. Even here in Viet Nam where there is no “official” iPhone presence, all the cool kids have an iPhone. My poor G1 gets no love…
Chris, via Android gets no love! @ d o l l m o n t . n e t.

I’ll admit it. I’m an avid iPhone user. While the lack of background tasks gets on my nerves once in a while, overall I find it to be the best phone I’ve ever had.

Chris, makes a valid point in his post about Apple’s marketing department being a driving force in the success, however I don’t think that’s all there is to it.

The iPhone was the first device to really challenge Microsoft and RIM. It was a smart move to go after the consumer market first; it’s where the competition was the lightest. But the iPhone really was ground breaking. From a feature standpoint, it was a brilliant product coupled with brilliant marketing that brought a more powerful phone to the masses.

Combining a phone with an iPod was a killer idea. Mobile Safari also helped to change the landscape of mobile browsing. As a touch screen device, especially compared to Windows Mobile phones, it was a lot of power in an amazing form factor. The iPhone also had a lot of room to improve, which is the state of Android now.

Push is a great way to make up for the lack of background processes. Even if it’s a bit dicey right now, I applaud Apple for innovating in this area. With applications like Prowl, you can push notifications from applications or custom scripts. I’ll go over some of my custom scripts in later posts.

I still think that Android is a groundbreaking platform. Openness is amazing when you can script your phone to do anything you want. I’ve seen some amazing demos of applications like Locale, and the actions you can bind to practically any event.

But the operating system is lacking that polish that Apple is so well known for.  It also suffers from the same Achilles’ heel as Windows Mobile. It’s too easy to run too many background applications and kill your battery. It even lacks the ability to tether.

I do thank all of Android’s early adopters for dealing with the rough edges and helping it gain the momentum that it needs to become a powerhouse in the future. Right now it’s that polish that keeps me attached to my iPhone.