Kyle LeBoeuf

In case you live under a rock, the iPad was released today. I got word that my local Apple Specialist was carrying it and had demo units so I made the drive down to check it out. Here are my first impressions:

IT IS INCREDIBLE!!

That sums up my first impressions, but I’ll go into it in detail:

1. The display is gorgeous. The built in 9.7-inch screen is stunning. It renders the colors and images very very well. This is definitely the ultimate visual media consumption device.
2. The iPhone OS and multi-touch interface translates almost perfectly to the larger display: Since it’s an updated version of the iPhone OS, the iPad is entirely touch-based and this works well for the device. Performing tasks or browsing through apps and features on the iPad is a breeze.
3. The keyboard is terrific. When rotated into landscape mode, the iPad keyboard is pretty natural, really only slightly smaller than keyboards found on Apple’s MacBook laptops today. I found it really easy to type large amounts of text.
4. One of the best features by far on the iPad is the new Safari. I love using Safari on my iPhone because of the ease of the touch interface. The only problem I have with it is the tiny size. The iPad solves this problem thanks to its full-sized display. I can view websites such as the NYTimes and the full version of Facebook in full-resolution. Videos (non-flash) play within the browser window, rather than popping up the video player over your browser window like it does in the iPhone. All of the features that you are familiar with on the iPhone when it comes to browsing is all here on the iPad, just way WAY better.
5. There are ton of little odds and ends that bring huge improvements to the iPhone OS. One of these features is the ability to lock the orientation of the device into a single mode. This allows you to maintain a normal orientation (portrait or landscape) when you’re laying on your side. You can also change your home screen (think desktop wallpaper for the iPhone OS) background and have more then 4 apps for quick access at the bottom of the screen.
6. One of the coolest features is the “Photo Frame” mode: If you lock the iPad and go to the lock screen, you’ll notice a little picture button the bottom right next to the “Slide to unlock” bar. Touch this button and iPad instantly converts into an automatic photo frame slideshow, complete with iPhoto like transitions between slides. Interesting feature.
7. The iBooks app is nice: The iPad includes a copy of Winnie the Pooh for your reading pleasure, and it gave me a chance to play around a little bit with the iBooks application. The pages are very easy to read and the text is very clear, though I imagine that prolonged reading on the iPad’s LCD display will cause some slight discomfort. You can rotate the iPad and move between looking at a single page or two pages at a time (like an open book).
8. The Mail app on the iPad is terrific: It will instantly be a fan to many business types and other people who are use to mail formats like those found in applications like Outlook. When in landscape, mail takes on a very Outlook like appearance, with your inbox being in a column on the left and a full preview of the email being shown in a reading pane on the right. When viewing emails in full size in portrait mode, your inbox can be access via a popup menu that appears when you hit the inbox button in the upper right.
9. The device definitely has a different feel to it in terms of handling and weight: At 1.5 pounds, the iPad can be awkward to hold in one hand, which is required if you wish to use the device if you’re in a standing position, or if you want to hold it upright like you would a book. But it feels very solid, and I don’t necessarily worry about bending or breaking the device when I hold it.
10. Overall, the device is a pleasure to use: The demo units that the reseller had were not loaded with very many dedicated iPad apps, so there were many features on the device that I did not get to explore, but just from what I’ve seen so far, the device is absolutely amazing.

This device is going to change everything. After using it and sitting down at my MacBook Pro to type up this article, I already feel a little sad that I am not typing it on the iPad. I didn’t get to try out everything that I wanted to. For example, I wanted to spend more time with the Pages app. I also wanted to sit down and take a good look at the some of the iWork apps. I got a chance to play around a little bit with the Pages app but I really didn’t get as much with it as I had liked. My dad went out and picked up a 64GB model at Best Buy, so I may get more opportunities to play with it tonight. I’ll update this post with more impressions.

Can’t wait till the day when I can finally get my own.

Kyle

Thought I would take a moment and give a shout out to Mozilla’s “Open to Choice” movement, which a project from Mozilla that aims to educate users in Europe on the new “browser choice” situation that’s developed over there for Windows users.

You can find out more by clicking this banner here:

“The Failure of Empathy”

This guy gets it.

“…I was surprised by the reaction the iPad got the day it launched. Following along on Twitter I was seeing things like ‘underwhelming’, ‘meh’ , ’it’s not open’, ‘it’s just a big iPhone’, etc. And most of this stuff was coming from people who design and build interactive experiences. As designers, and technologists we’re very much aware that the interfaces we build are for people who are “not us,’ but we still haven’t made that leap about the concept of “computing.”

The people don’t want “tablet computers” with Ubuntu and OpenID (worst name ever for a product attempting broad acceptance). They could honestly give a shit whether it’s a closed or open system. And, let’s be really honest, they probably care as much about DRM as they do about baseball players juicing; by which I mean not very much at all. They want things to work most of the time, and be easy to fix when they don’t. And if the process by which it happens is “magic” they are totally cool with that.”

It’s not built for the people who are complaining about it (the techies). It’s built for my stepdad, who hates dealing with computers and just wants to look up something on the internet occasionaly and watch youtube without having to deal with the intricacies that come with a computer, or my stepmom who just wants to store and view photos, email, and read the occasional article about parenting.

So, Apple announced the iPad at a media event Wednesday and, as usual, the whole internet has blown up over the device. Unusually though, it seems that there is a very significant portion of the population out there that feels like there is no use for the device.

I’ve seen some pretty scathing editorials from websites such as Gizmodo, and Engadget, these websites all have a difficult time of determining a use for the iPad.

I disagree with about 60% of the tech pundits when I say this. I think the iPad is awesome. I think the tech pundits need to stop gabbing about its lack of multi-tasking/flash support and look at one thing:

Who really cares about multi-tasking and flash support? I mean really? The iPhone and iPod Touch has become prolific, and you don’t hear the average joe complaining about the lack of multi-tasking and flash support. The average user really doesn’t care. Flash support is something that is going to become moot over the next couple of years with the advancements in HTML5, and I imagine that eventually Apple is going to open the doors to multi-tasking, so in the end, it really doesn’t matter.

Everyone and their mom is going to want one of these. They want to be able to browse the internet from their couch without worrying about the complications that are involved with dealing with a full fledged computer. It’s less of a hassle to use an iPhone OS-equipped device to browse the internet. Just touch and go. No worrying about settings or configurations, or which browser to use. It’s simple.

One writer for Gizmodo put it in a good way: “The iPad is the Gadget We Never Knew We Needed.”

I think this thing is going to take off. And for all the people laughing at Apple for coming up with something like the iPad,  I think Apple is going to get the last laugh.

All the way to the bank.

So, pretty much everyone knows that something special is going on down in Cupertino, and the whole world is about to find out exactly what it is tomorrow during Apple’s media event.

Of course, we all figure that it’s some sort of tablet device but the public is very conflicted over what features the tablet will and won’t have. What will it look like? What operating system will it run? Will we be able to run our iPhone apps? What kind of connectivity will it have? If it does have some kind of wireless (as in mobile) data capability, which wireless data provider(s) will support it?

These are just a few of the questions that are posed by the public over this tablet. Here are some of mine:

1) Will I be able to use the tablet as a direct supplement to my Mac? (i.e. a portable external display or touch interface like a Wacom tablet)
Something that most of these other tablet-type devices lack is the ability to expand and enhance the functionality of the “primary computer”. Most of these devices are trying to be your secondary computer, but I think it would expand its market a little wider if it presented some advantage to existing Mac users (or PC, but I highly doubt that Apple would allow the tablet to enhance functionality on an inferior Operating System)

2) Will I have more control over its use (as opposed to the iPhone/iPod) or will Apple impose restrictions on the API and applications like the iPhone?
Something like a tablet can have more advanced use and functionality beyond that of the iPhone, so I wonder if Apple will be a little more lenient about the APIs and uses that applications built for this device will have.

3) Will I have to purchase one with data connectivity or will there be model that works on wifi only (similar to the iPhone/iPod relationship)?
If I would be interested in getting a tablet, I wouldn’t care for the 3G connectivity. It would be nice but I don’t really want to pay for a dedicated data service. I’d rather pay for tethering on my phone.

I have quite a few more questions about this upcoming tablet (Apple could even surprise us and not introduce a tablet at all) and you can be assured that I will be ready at my computer at noon tomorrow to scan the live blogs.

I’m not going to discuss the rumors in this space (update: with one exception, see the PS), as there are plenty of other websites out there that is beating that horse to death, but I will say that I am pretty excited about this.

I’ll be posting here with my thoughts within a few days of the announcement so stay tuned (if you care about this blog at all…haha).

PS: For what its worth, I do not think that Apple will announce the end to AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity contract. Too soon. I think some people are getting hopeful and jumping the gun on this one.

Every once in a while, someone creates an application or service that changes the landscape of the tech industry. This year, I think that distinction belongs to Dropbox.

I installed Dropbox on my laptop earlier this year without the intention of really making use out of it. I’m a tech enthusiast and I install all kinds of applications on my computer that usually never end up actually using. But Dropbox was different.

Dropbox is a web service that allows you to store specific data in the cloud and access it from anywhere. This is a very basic description of the service.

Basically, with Dropbox you can sync a folder (commonly called “My Dropbox” or “Dropbox”) with the Dropbox service. Any file or folder or you place in the Dropbox folder gets automatically uploaded to the Dropbox service. If you connect multiple devices (say, 2 or 3 computers) to the Dropbox service, it will push those files to your other devices automatically. Its amazing. You can also access your files on the Dropbox website, when you are not at a computer on which you have the Dropbox software installed.

This is the simplest way to describe the full services of Dropbox. Dropbox has a TON of real-life uses, and I learn more uses each day. Here are some of the uses I’ve had for Dropbox over the past year:

• File Transfer From Computer-Computer: I own two laptops: my trusty 13″ MacBook Pro and an old Dell ultra-mobile laptop on which I am running Windows 7. I also have an XP workstation at work. If I am working on one computer and I want my work to be easily accessible on the other computers, I just drop the necessary files into the Dropbox folder, and those files will be uploaded to the Dropbox service and redistributed to my other computers.
• File Transfer From iPhone-Computer: Dropbox does have an application for the iPhone, and this is not the first time I will reference this application for my favorite Dropbox uses. Lets say I took a picture with my iPhone, and I want a quick way to automatically transfer it to my computer without fooling with email. All I have to do is fire up the Dropbox app on my iPhone and upload the photo through the Dropbox app, and it is instantly synced to my computer(s).
• Syncing 1Password Keychains: I use Agile Web Solutions’ 1Password utility for secure data management (product licenses, passwords, etc.). If I need to be able to access this information from another computer, I can simply place my 1Password keychain data in my Dropbox folder on my Mac, and it’ll instantly get copied to my other computers. With 1Password Anywhere, I can access my keychain even when I’m on a PC. You can find out more about using 1Password with Dropbox here.
• Accessing School Documents from Anywhere: Lets say I need to print something for school that I’ve been working with on my computer. I can just save my work in the Dropbox folder and access the file on the Dropbox website from the school workstations. I can also access documents such as Word and Powerpoint files on the iPhone app (read-only purposes…perfect for studying when I don’t have my computer near me).
• Remote Torrents: I can simply add a Torrent file to my Dropbox folder and it can be picked up by another computer running a Torrent client set to watch a specific folder in my dropbox for new Torrents. You can find out more about Remote Torrents with Dropbox here.
• Sharing Files: Say I have a photo album I want to share with my friends, or an application, song, or any file that I need to send to others. I can simply place the file in my public Dropbox folder and give the people the link. I can also use the iPhone app to send a download link to a file that’s anywhere in my Dropbox, not just in my public folder.

You can find out more uses for Dropbox by visiting their website or check out the posts tagged with Dropbox on Lifehacker.

I was scanning some of my RSS feeds in Google Reader this afternoon when I stumbled on this article from MacRumors, reporting on some legal precedings in one of the many patent infringement suits in which Apple is a target.

“Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple has been told to pay a $21.7 million patent infringement judgment to OPTi Inc., a former semiconductor company that abandoned its business to focus on pursuing patent claims against other companies.”

What? A business that actually abandoned ITS INDUSTRY to sue people? That’s insane. This is the perfect example of a patent troll. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of a company that turned it unto their primary source of income.

This is ridiculous. The article points out at Apple will probably appeal and attempt to defend itself, as it should.

What is the world coming to?

Apple Ordered to Pay Finalized $21.7 Million Patent Verdict, Hit With New Suit Over iPhone Camera [Via MacRumors]

I’m currently writing this from inside the Apple Store (as a side note, since when did they start offering free wi-fi here?). I’ve been having some issues with my iPhone and since I was going to be in the Baton Rouge area I scheduled an appointment. While I had a happy outcome and walked out with a new fully functional phone, I did have some musings about the experience that I wanted to share.

For starters, no one really greeted me or asked if I needed help when I walked in the store. To Apple’s credit, it is pretty busy in here, but someone could at least acknowledge me. But I’ll give them that one. Having worked in retail, I understand.

When I did get to speak with someone, they told me to find this particular employee. Described as “the guy the over there in the red fleece”. Not sure if anyone here has been in an Apple Store recently, but they are ALL wearing red fleece. Nice. She did give me a name, so I managed to find the guy. I got checked in and hung around for 20 mins waiting for my appointment (I was early), keeping up with the Saints score. Here’s where it becomes a great experience.

I explained my situation to the Genius, and he swapped out my phone. No questions asked. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is great service.

So, aside from a few hiccups that were more entertaining then they were annoying, I would chalk up this experience as a success. Go Apple.

I’ve always considered myself as one to be on the bleeding edge of various software trends. That being said, I’ve always been hesistant to move to different browsers beyond that of the current stable build of Firefox.

That all ended a few days ago. I decided to start running the Dev build of Google Chrome for Mac as my full-time web browser. Why?

It’s wickedly fast and surprisingly stable. I love it.

A few days ago, Google dropped a new dev build that turned on extension support. I now have adblocking and notifiers for Gmail and Google Reader. Nice.

A beta is supposed to drop in December. Can’t wait.

Kyle

This website is a little over a year old, and most of its life, it’s been run on Wordpress, but I’ve been looking for simpler platform that doesn’t require so much upkeep.

One of the candidates for my new platform is Tumblr. Its a pretty interesting service. I created a Tumblr blog today and will be posting some of my content onto it. You can check it out here:

http://stuffkylelikes.tumblr.com