| Thursday,
January 28, 2010 Bob
Holmes on iPad
Jerry,
A lot of "experts" seem to be disappointed with the
iPad. I think that they have completely missed the point.
The is a lot of griping about the aspect ratio of the
screen. It is 4x3 and the pundits think that 16x9, the aspect ratio of HD TV
would be better. Well, the primary functions of the iPad are associated with
documents and 4x3 is a better aspect ration for this. Movie viewing, while
possible, is only a secondary function.
The iWork applications seem to have been missed by
many who express disappointment. Once again this is a document oriented
device with some rather nifty secondary functions.
The inability to display Flash content in web pages is
also cited as a minus. Just wait until the iPad is ready to ship. I am
reasonably sure that Adobe will have this base covered by that time.
As I watched the presentation unfold I began to think
about what price I might be willing to pay and thought that $600 would be
the price point that might get me to wield my credit card. As it turns out,
the 32GB WiFi iPad at $599 is what I will probably get.
Jerry, you have said that it won't Tweet. I don't
Tweet and I don't got to Twitter and I don't plan to, so not gotcha for me.
With the 9.7" screen and color the iPad sure looks
like a Kindle DX killer. The only concern that I have is how good the PDF
capabilities will be. I have been looking for something to easily carry
literally hundreds of user manuals and technical documentation. I was
considering a MacBook Pro 13.3", but if the PDF reader is up to snuff the
iPad is it for me.
Bob Holmes
I was egregiously incorrect in saying it didn't
Twitter; of course it does, as it does email. It does not use a stylus.
See Roland's note below.
I had hoped for something that would do TabletPC
plus OneNote, which is the best research package I know. I would also want
a camera or at least a USB port that I could plug a camera into. More in
the column. Thanks
==
Roland reminds me again why I don't do topical
news:
Of course you can tweet with it, sir. Why would you
say such a silly thing?
And do zillions of other things you can do on an
iPhone or iPod Touch. With a keyboard. With a larger screen.
And thank God there's no silly, annoying stylus to
lose - although note that nothing *stops* you from using a stylus with it,
which means handwriting recognition will in fact be supported on new apps
based upon Apple's Inkwell, I'm sure.
It's Apple's netbook - no hard drive, 64gb,
lightweight, long battery life, built-in 3G, voice via the Skype app for
iPhone/iPod Touch. I'm definitely buying one, because I can do everything I
need to do on a business trip with this thing, yet it's slimmer/lighter/has
more battery life than my MacBook.
In fact, just about the only thing I can't do on the
iPad is post-process photos. But I can sure store them via the iPad's SD
card reader, and then upload them into my MacBook for processing when I
return home.
You underestimate and misunderstand this product, sir,
because you use only about .0001% of what your iPhone can do via apps. If
you utilized your iPhone to its fullest potential, you'd be excited about
the iPad, as am I.
--- Roland Dobbins
And one presumes that the iPad and the iPhone can
connect together, so that between them they do the whole pocket computer
thing. And the iPhone has the camera.
I suspect that it will take an iteration or so to
shake out problems and let the applications designers work on this -- I
can hardly wait for Dan Bricklin's reactions -- but I agree, it's
something one might be enthusiastic about.
I still wish there were a really good update of
the Compac HP Tablet PC I have now; just a good CPU improvement and Win 7
would make that the most useful machine I have.
==
ipad first impressions -
Hi Jerry,
Apple released the iPad today. There's a number of
links (www.macrumors.com) with feature lists, so here's the other side.
Key gaps:
1) No flash for the internet - the demo at the
announcement even showed the broken plugin on one page! - bad form Apple 2)
no camera (and thus no video conferencing) 3) no multitasking 4) accessories
are extra $$ 5) apparently no USB, removable storage, speaker, microphone 6)
AT&T data services (the worst network in the country just got even more
overloaded).
The more I look at this, I'm not sure I want one - I'd
rather have a 128GB iPod Touch that fits in my shirt pocket. Though since
the iPad only has 64GB max, and is a bigger unit, that may be a long way
off.
Would an ebook reader be nice? Maybe. It appears
though, that the books are in epub format, so you'll probably be able to
read them on your mac using third-party applications. However, I still
prefer paper - but that's a separate argument. Is it a Kindle killer? Maybe
- a bit pricey. But beyond ebooks, why would I want one of these over a
small Macbook and an iPod Touch? Totally unclear. It's too large for daily
carry (especially for men), and I'm not sure I'd want an extra couple of
pounds in my carry on next to my computer and paper book (so I can read
during takeoff and landing). So what about college students for textbooks?
Perhaps - but only because of battery life. Otherwise, a MacBook makes a lot
more sense if it can also read the downloaded textbooks.
For me at least, the iPad is an iYawn. I think that
Apple made a strategic error in announcing them 60 days before release -
there will be a lot of folks who have time to reflect and avoid the impulse
buy. Again, in summary, a neat piece of engineering at a decent price. A
very muddled target market.
Cheers,
Doug
==
Der Führer Disses the iPad
*heh* Apparently "Hitler" doesn't think any more of
the iPad's feature set than I do. I kinda hate to find myself in agreement
with Der Führer, but...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8Ya4&feature=player_embedded
David Needham
-- “In a democracy (‘rule by mob’), those who refuse
to learn from history are in the majority and dictate that everyone else
suffer for their ignorance.”-third world county’s corollary to Santayana’s
Axiom http://thirdworldcounty.us
============
The Iron Law in Science
Here is a blog post (with an unfortunate cut-and-paste
duplication) on the institutional roots of scientific dishonesty.
http://realphysics.blogspot.com/2010/01/inst-roots-sci-dishonesty.html
"Furthermore, it is entirely normal and unremarkable
for scientists to spend their entire professional life doing work they
know in their hearts to be trivial or bogus – preferring that which
promotes their career over that which has the best chance of advancing
science. Indeed, such misapplication of effort is positively encouraged in
many places, including some of what were the very best places, because
careerism is a more reliable route to high productivity than real
science...
Original at:
http://medicalhypotheses.blogspot.com/
2009/10/truthfulness-in-science-should-be-iron.html
Mike Flynn
============
: David Warren and the Special Interest State
Jerry,
David Warren's column is correct. Little wonder that
the Ravening Wolves will want to reclaim their power. But that power may
already be waning. See: The American: Journal of the American Enterprise
Institute.
The Coming of the Fourth American Republic
By James V. DeLong Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Special Interest State that has shaped American
life for 70 years is dying. What comes next is uncertain, but there are
grounds for optimism.
At:
http://www.american.com/archive/2009/april-2009
/the-coming-of-the-fourth-american-republic
Descriptive quote: "Much of the Progressive
movement’s complaint was that special interests, often corporate, captured
the governmental process, and its prescriptions were appeals to direct
democracy or to administrative independence and expertise on the theory
that delegation to technocrats could achieve the ideal of “the public
interest.”
The real-world answer imposed by the New Deal and
its progeny turned out to be special interest capture on steroids."
The Great Society institutionalizes class
warfare. The unions for a while resisted all this but the public service
unions have strong incentives to tax and spend. The whole point of Civil
Service was to keep the Civil Service out of politics; now they get job
protection while unions campaign for them to get more public benefits. In
the Spoils System they were routinely turned out at a change of
administrations.
==
Subject: David Warren's article
David Warren’s column on the change in politics was a
great read…and I hope the assumptions from it follow through. Special
Interest groups catering to politicians behind closed doors is a bad thing
for everyone, and if the recent events mark a sea change in the other
direction it’s a welcome thing.
However, the discussions on health care continue
behind closed doors with a select few in attendance. I suspect that either
directly or indirectly big Insurance is buttering the bread of the Congress
Critters in those meetings, as their interest in what is happening has huge
dollar signs attached to it. Probably a host of others, too….AMA, GE, large
Health Care organizations…all of them flush with cash and ready to influence
things their way.
I’m probably a marked man now.
==============
State of the Union thoughts
Dr. Pournelle,
I know I'm just a kid, but for the first time that I
can remember in 20 years of watching these speeches, this was the first one
that was not in large part a long list of new spending initiatives. You know
the standard template, I have a great idea and I propose spending $200
million on it, blah blah blah. This was something different, and I really
wonder how Washington will handle it.
Mostly I think the problem will boil down to 3 basic
issues. First, he threatened the hell out of the "special interest" lobbies
that in many cases determine the success or failure of re-election
campaigns. That much influence behind that much money simply won't sit back
and accept this, and there will be consequences. Second, he chastised both
houses and both parties for not playing well together. Instead of coming up
with bi-partisan ways to spend money, he told them that they need to quit
bickering and start governing. Some of them will fall in line, but some of
them are going to make it their life's work to make him pay for publicly
berating them as a father would a son (or daughter). Third, his proposals
might actually cause some change in how our government works, and in the
same way that massive health care reform scares the hell out of normal
citizens, big changes in how govt works will scare hell out of the
government itself, no matter how good that change might be.
Not only that, it is going to be tough for people to
argue that much of what he said is patently false. He told a few whoppers
such as saying the Bush administration actually tried to implement
conservative republican theory, but politicians complaining about this
speech are going to look like whiny children.
Still, the criticizing may be the biggest negative of
the speech. He threw darts at the supreme court, both parties in both
houses, govt administrators, the military (effectively a direct verbal order
on national TV to eliminate the homosexual elimination policy) and the
media. He even threw a dart at the public when he claimed that opposition to
health care reform boils down to "what is in it for me". I personally think
people are scared to death by the huge unexplainable changes, and they are
really asking "what is it going to DO to me?" but maybe he doesn't think
we're smart enough to be scared.
Regardless, it was an interesting speech and certainly
a departure from previous litanies of who is going to get how many millions
of dollars in new deficit spending initiatives. He surely gave priorities
for spending, but it sure sounded like he is going to leave it up to
congress to implement those initiatives such as more nuke power plants and
more "green" jobs. I disagree with some of what he said, but the way he said
it sure matches how I was taught the president was supposed to lead. Provide
guidance, stick, carrot, but leave legislating up to the legislating body. I
wonder how badly they're going to come down on him for acting presidential.
Sean
That was not my interpretation of what I heard.
=============
UK Science czar calls for openness on climate
questions
Original URL:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/27/climate_data/
UK Science czar calls for openness on climate
questions
Reveal the things we know we don't know
By John Oates
Posted in Environment, 27th January 2010 10:30 GMT
The government's chief scientific adviser John
Beddington has called for openness and honesty in the debate over man-made
climate change.
He said climate scientists should release the data
behind their predictions and be less hostile to those who disagree with
them. He said that more openness about the uncertainties of climate science
would increase public confidence rather than undermine it.
He said: “I don’t think it’s healthy to dismiss proper
scepticism. Science grows and improves in the light of criticism. There is a
fundamental uncertainty about climate change prediction that can’t be
changed.”
Beddington is particularly dubious about the use of
computer modelling. He told The Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
/tol/news/environment/article7003622.ece
#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084 ): “When you get into large-scale climate
modeling there are quite substantial uncertainties. On the rate of change
and the local effects, there are uncertainties both in terms of empirical
evidence and the climate models themselves.”
He also said climate scientists should release the
data on which they base their predictions. He said: "Wherever possible, we
should try to ensure there is openness and that source material is available
for the whole scientific community."
He added: "There is a danger that people can
manipulate the data, but the benefits from being open far outweigh that
danger.”
In other news, Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will not resign because of
mistakes in a 2007 report which claimed that Himalayan glaciers will
disappear by 2035 or sooner.
He dismissed the mistake as human error and said it
did not detract from the fact that glaciers were indeed melting, nor would
it undermine confidence in climate science as a whole. ®
Tracy Walters, CISSP
Hurrah. I'll go for that!
==========
For the last ten years or so I had pretty well given
up on ever seeing space exploration that was envisioned in 60’s and 70’s
science fiction but this article just seems to drive a knife into what
little hope was left.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/
os-no-moon-for-nasa-20100126,0,6969808.story
When the White House <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/politics/
government/executive-branch/white-house-
PLCUL000110.topic> releases his budget proposal Monday, there will
be no money for the Constellation program <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
topic/science-technology/space-programs/
constellation-program-ORGOV0000166.topic> that was supposed to
return humans to the moon by 2020. The troubled and expensive Ares I rocket
that was to replace the space shuttle to ferry humans to space will be gone,
along with money for its bigger brother, the Ares V <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic
/science-technology/space-programs/
ares-v-launch-EVHST0000219.topic> cargo rocket that was to launch
the fuel and supplies needed to take humans back to the moon.
There will be no lunar landers, no moon bases, no
Constellation program at all.
"We certainly don't need to go back to the moon," said
one administration official.
This last quote really gets to me. I guess “The Man
Who Sold the Moon” got to me at an early age. I have always wanted to see
“Luna City”.
At least “D.D. Harriman” may not be dead yet.
There will also be funding for private companies <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
topic/economy-business-finance/
companies-corporations-04016046.topic> to develop capsules and
rockets that can be used as space taxis to take astronauts on fixed-price
contracts to and from the International Space Station — a major change in
the way the agency has done business for the past 50 years.
Maybe a private party who sees the potential profit of
a moon base will be able to raise the money and “Luna City” will really be
founded as envisioned.
Thanks, Greg Coley
A Earth farmer who always wanted to be settler on
another planet
I seem to have lived to see the first man on the
moon, and the last one...
============
Class in the UK
Apparently Labour's free spending has not produced
what might be considered the desired effects--the class gap has widened
during their stewardship, and their policies seem to discourage social
mobility.
This is not really surprising. Most people in the UK
working class dislike social mobility, as the down-side is a lot worse than
the up-side opportunity. They absolutely hate taking on debt, and they
prefer to invest in their homes and in tangibles.
Financial Times: <http://tinyurl.com/y9vwlkf>
Telegraph: <http://tinyurl.com/yzmcfk9>
BBC: <http://tinyurl.com/ycm94hw>
<http://tinyurl.com/ygccaud>
Guardian: <http://tinyurl.com/ygpaeal>
Times: <http://tinyurl.com/yjvat25>
<http://tinyurl.com/yewz8rt>
-- Harry Erwin, PhD "If you can't be a good example,
then you'll just have to be a horrible warning." (Catherine Aird)
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