Apple, Try Harder Next Time

So, umm, yea.  Apple has came out with a new tablet that was supposed to ‘change’ the industry.  I’ve looked, I’ve researched, and thought about how I could use this device in my day to day activities.  And to tell you the truth, I’m deeply disappointed.  As a matter of fact I’ve been disappointed in Apple for quite some time now.   They are speaking of this thing like it’s going to change the world, when in fact, it’s VASTLY underwhelming.  This has been a habit of Apple for quite some time.  Their marketing gets people whipped into a frenzy, their designers come up with something that "looks" nice, and all of a sudden, people start to forget what this device SHOULD be doing.

Now granted, the Iphone changed things, and I have one as well, but when it came out, it came out with a lot of things lacking.  Things that ’simpler’ users would not really care about, but for those of us who know our gadgets in and out and use them to their full potential, there were things that were lacking.  And well, once my 2 year contract is finally up, I’m jumping ship.  I’ve been eyeballing the development on Microsoft’s latest mobile phone platform.  And even though the last one wasn’t ‘pretty’, it did everything I needed it to do. 

But back to the subject on this Ipad. First and foremost, I think it sucks.  There wasn’t enough to separate it from my existing Iphone to justify having a bigger screen. Especially since it runs on the same operating system.  But here are the things that I do not like about the Ipad

  • No HDMI ports – Sorry, but I want a device that I can hook up to my TV without having to buy some expensive proprietary cables to do so.  And don’t give us ‘technical reasons’ for not doing so Apple.  You just enjoy making the extra money off of that crap which is ridiculously priced for what it does.
  • No expandable space – Secure digital, compact flash, so I can easily transfer my movies, pictures, etc… without having to go through Itunes or just keep documents on my device.  Nope, Apple doesn’t think you need to do so. I have this same gripe in the phone area as well.
  • No multitasking – Are you freaking kidding me????? You mean I can’t listen to Pandora while I surf the web, or dart back and forth between face book
  • No Bluetooth tethering to your phone – Oh, but if you want to access the internet while out and about, you can pay for an additional 3g service from AT&T.   Wow! Haven’t the consumers been milked enough?
  • No flash – "Oh! But it’s too processor intensive!!!" says Apple.  No, the truth is that it will allow people to circumvent the Apple store for some of the cool games out there. Greed and arrogance is at the root of this one people.  Yet this thing can power through HD movies.  Enough with the BS Apple
  • Weak operating system – The Iphone operating system is decent for a phone and for the touch, but this is a TABLET PC.  It would have been really wise to include a customized version of Mac OS on the device. 
  • No Camera – Oh, this thing would have been SWEET for video calls and chat and many other things with the right software.  But nope!
  • No removable battery – Running out of juice? Sorry, you can’t just put in another battery.  You gotta recharge.
  • No usb 2.0 ports – SERIOUSLY APPLE!! HATE you guys for not including this stuff standard by now. Oh! Yea! That’s right, you want to use your own expensive overpriced cables and adapters so you can juice the consumer for more money.
  • GPS – From the Apple hardware specs page, it looks as if only the WiFi 3g model has it.   Which will cost you around 130 bucks extra over the standard model.
  • The back is not flat – Kinda negates the effectiveness of some of the accelerometer featured apps.
  • Still have to go through ITunes for your software – Unless I want to jailbreak my phone, I don’t have the option of using some of the really sweet and effective software out there.

I’ll just stop here for the moment on my ranting about what I don’t like about this device.  Apple brought this thing to market too fast in a weak attempt to get the jump on competing products from Microsoft and other tablet manufacturers.  And for those that don’t know, yea, Windows 7 was designed with tablets in mind.  So once the hardware starts appearing, we’re good on the operating system. Not to mention that Microsoft has an "interesting" idea on how they think a tablet pc will be used.  Here are some videos.

 

 

But anyway, here’s what I would like to see in a Tablet PC and it’s operating system.

  • HDMI out for presentations onto projectors, TV’s, etc…
  • USB 2.0 – This could be used for charging, or just connecting to your pc in general
  • Wifi
  • Bluetooth – and support for a Bluetooth keyboard.
  • Dual Screen – Which is what I love most about Microsoft’s courier.  The OS seems a bit off for what I would need it for though.
  • Ability to Tether via Bluetooth
  • Expansion slots – Compact flash or secure digital for transferring and carrying extra data
  • Windows 7 or Mac OS operating system.  Even Ubuntu would be a consideration – This would resolve a LOT of the operating system related issues that I have with the Iphone, Touch, and the Ipad.
  • Camera
  • Accelerometer – Yea Apple, we can thank you for making this popular
  • Microphone
  • Speaker
  • Headphone Jack
  • Removable Battery
  • GPS – This would be interesting on a tablet device.  I think it could come in handy
  • Touch screen
  • Ability to install apps without going through a store – This would be resolved by the operating system suggestion though.
  • Enterprise level exchange support
  • Peer to peer networking capability with other tablets of the same type – Would be sweet in a presentation to push something from your screen to someone else’s or send a message to another person in a meeting without disrupting the flow of the meeting.  Or just sharing files and ideas in general.  

Aight, enough of my rant.  I got things to do.

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Some Furniture for the Studio With a Bit of Repair

Well, figured since it was a quiet night, I would take some time to repair a bench I bought for cheap (20 bucks) at an estate sale.  It had some pretty good staining on the upholstery and some wobbly legs that will both need to be taken care of if it’s to be used in the studio for the shoots.  Can’t have these beautiful ladies sitting on a raggedy bench can I?

Well, first on the to do list was to get a staple gun from Home Depot and some staples.  And as always, I picked up a few more things from there as well.  Some caulk for windows, etc… (might as well prep now for spring) and some more clamps for the studio. And then, it was time to get started!

Here’s how the bench looked before I started.  Looks pretty messy.  Heck! I wouldn’t even sit on that myself.

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So first, we start separating the old cloth from the bench board and at the same time, get those nasty staples out of there.  While working on this, it was easy to see that this has been done before. That actually made me feel a bit more comfortable.

 

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And now, on with the new cloth, getting it stapled down, and then trimming the excess off with scissors.  In retrospect, using an exacto knife would have given me some really clean lines, but it’s my first time.  I’ll just note it for the next time I do this.

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And here’s a comparison of the old cloth VS the new.  Yea, I don’t have the new one on perfectly smooth, but it’s not too shabby and will do the trick.

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Who’s the man????

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And on top of that, I picked up one of those Japanese style change clothes behind thingy at Hobby Lobby.  Might come in well for some silhouette shots as well as allowing for quick and discreet changes in the studio

 

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It’s Been A While!!

Man, I’ve been ignoring the blog for quite a while.  Not that I haven’t had lots on my mind, I’ve just been busy or just didn’t feel like posting some of the thoughts that I’ve had.   But so far, 2010 is getting off to a good start.  Here’s why…

The recent drama that I’ve been having lately with a certain person has been squashed.  For quite a while, I was pretty upset and angry about the things that were said and the fallout that resulted.  There are still some other people who are obviously holding their opinion on the matter based on what little information they have and formulating theories in their own heads, but that’s on them.  My friend apologized for what she said and I didn’t hesitate to accept.   I even shed a tear on the way home just thinking about it.  And to tell you the truth, it takes a LOT of strength to approach somebody and apologize.  I can’t hate on that at all.

My brother was also in town over the weekend to see his daughter, so he and his wife, my sister and her husband and my niece all went out to see Avatar.  3rd time seeing a movie which I originally had no interest in initially.  Wow James Cameron, I got to give you credit for making out the doubters believers. But then again, you created Aliens, my favorite movie of all time, so I should have known better.  Please forgive me man!

As far as my photography, I’ve been on pause for a few weeks in order to get some framework down.  Currently working on some backend projects for the websites to handle customer relations management software, project management,  and various other web based tools to assist me in the business and when collaborating with other photographers, makeup artists, and people with great ideas on various projects.  I’ve placed a demo at http://projects.marcellusking.com/demo/dashboard for those interested in taking a look.  All open source, running on Drupal which at the moment is WAY beyond my brainpower at the moment haha.  I think I’ll stick with Joomla for the majority of my projects whenever possible since it’s easier to get going on it even though it isn’t as powerful and feature packed as Drupal. 

As far as being a homeowner, I was a bit worried going into the winter, but it’s been pretty good so far.  No busted pipes, not terribly cold, and no unexpected drama related to the weather.  Well, at least not yet.  But I’m definitely looking forward to the spring season and learning to do a bit of landscaping to really set things off for the following year.

Back to the photography though (Dang, even in my writing, I’m ADD).  I’ve gotten quite a few good shots for the modeling portfolio, which I’ll be combining with the events and sports portfolio’s soon enough, and will soon be looking into doing a couple of weddings before considering the portfolio well rounded enough to get a portfolio book created, which in itself will also be a portfolio.  And on top of that, get a logo designed for my business as well and follow through on getting a tax id.   So many things to do, that’s for sure.  I just need to work on my motivation and really focus on my activities and what needs to be done.

Welp, back to work. Gotta get some things done and hit the sack before getting up in the morning and heading to work.  Peace out!

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