IPad

Theres been a lot of hype lately about an Apple Tablet. They finally released the details of this new product yesterday. It is called the IPad. I have no idea what the marketing team was thinking when they named this. I was relieved to see the general population had the same thoughts I did when they heard the news. Nintendo had a hard time when they called their new console the Wii, but the name caught on and most of the grumbling went away.

I personally don't believe Apple will have the same luck as Nintendo. Twitter has been a buzz with names like the IMaxi and the IPeriod. Women seem to consider the name insensitive or disgusting. I can only begin to imagine the jokes the first time someone accidentally sits on one. Putting the name aside for a moment I watched a few of the videos to get a better of idea of what this new thing really is. A lot of people have been billing it as a tablet PC. It is definitely not.

The IPad is essentially a bigger IPod. The design is the same but larger and so is the OS. The device itself seems to offer no functionality that was not already available on the the IPod and in some cases even less. The videos constantly touch on "the best browsing experience" and "the best email experience". The problem is this is no more true than it was on the IPod. Yes you can read a newspaper online and surf basic sites. So can the IPod, and just like the IPod the IPad does NOT support Flash or Silverlight. Hopefully you weren't planning on visiting Facebook, Hulu, Netflix or any other non basic site.

The larger screen is nice to watch videos on until you remember that the only comfortable way to get those videos is from ITunes. You have a DVD you want to watch on your IPad / IPod? Sorry. You'll need to buy or rent it from ITunes or buy some extra software to try to Rip your DVD to a special Apple supported format. Another feature they have introduced is the new IBookstore. The feature itself is not specific to the IPad as much as it is ITunes. It will allow you to rent, buy, and read books. Weee...

From reading this you might think I'm not a fan of Apple's products. In reality I am. I really loved the IPod and I own a Nano and a Touch. The problem I keep running into the ways in which Apple wants to control the use. When thousands of people routinely buy your product and immediately seek a "hack" or "jailbreak" to unlock it so that it will do what they are wanting to do, you have a problem. I understand why they don't want to allow Flash or Silverlight. The fear is that this will cut into the App Store market share, but even though I understand this it doesn't make it any better. I'm still left holding a product that I essentially have to "break" to use the way I want to.

The biggest reason I support and favor the Android over the IPod is that I have more control and options both as a consumer and as a developer. If you ask an Apple Zealot about these issues the response will usually boil down to: "If Apple says it should work this way then it must be so. Question not the ways of the Apple and the prophet Jobs." Well that's what it seems like anyway. In the end the consumers will decide.

Star Trek Online

I've been looking at Star Trek Online recently with some friends of mine. Some time ago I promised a friend that when it came out I would play it with him. I have been playing the beta and found it to be interesting and enjoyable. It has its problems not unlike any other MMO, but many of them are being resolved or haven't seriously impacted game play.

I think my biggest gripe would be not having enough information about what things are or how things work. Some of this of course I attribute to beta, but with the game so close to the release date I assume the details of core principals of the game have been pretty firmly established. You have 3 classes, Science, Engineer, and Tactical. There are also three different types of ships, cruisers, escorts, and science vessels. Any class can pilot any type of ship but nothing really outlines what the advantages or disadvantages of the combinations are. I also don't feel like there is enough information on the skill trees and how they impact your character.

My initial issues centered around the handling of the ship. When start you are given a Cruiser class vessel. The ship is a decent starting ship but as a cruiser it doesn't give you quite the control I was hoping for. It wasn't until I tried piloting an Escort class ship that I felt pretty comfortable. I also tried out the Klingon ships. The handling of Klingon vessels far exceeds that of the Federation ships and you can really feel the difference in the game play. As I have come to understand this factor and its affect on the game I have come to appreciate it more.

I was disappointed that they did not implement cloaking on the Federation ships. With the changes in the storyline there is no good reason the cannon shouldn't support it. In the end I believe a lot of the anxiety around cloaking will depend on the interaction during game play. In general I had been leaning more toward the Federation but the superior handling of the Klingon ships and ability to cloak has caused me to seriously consider aligning myself with the Klingon's. I have always enjoyed speed and stealth over brute force.

It seems STO will also offer a Lifetime Subscription option a limited time. This option will cost $239.00 but it is a one time fee and you can play for as long as the game is around. At $14.99 a month it would take just over 2 years of play before you would come out ahead on your investment. The cost is a little steep but is it smarter in the long run. Not to mention the more serious question: How do I get a thumbs up from my wife?

Resolutions - progress so far

So far this year I feel like I've made practically no progress towards my goals / resolutions. I suppose I am cussing less than usual but I am sure I could make a better effort than I have been. Part of my problem has been that I am tired. It seems like I am more tired more often. My wife thinks it may have something to do with the sunlight. It seems like I don't sleep very well and I can barely get up in the morning. Where as I used to get up and go in the mornings I feel like its all I can do to drag myself out of bed and shuffle around for a few hours.

Perhaps I just need to give myself a kick in the pants. I have changed my diet recently. I am trying to really cut back on my sugar intake as well as increase the amount of water I drink. I don't drink very much in general and what I do drink is usually not water. I've started working out for at least a half hour every other day. My arms were already sore before a started so I've been trying not to life to much weight at once. I need to get all the gym equipment in order so I can actually do a real full workout again.

Valentines Day

I'm going to gripe for just a moment, but honestly please chime in if you don't agree 110%. V-day is still a ways off but I got a an email the other day with various offers. Before relegating it to the archive I decided to take a look. The site had a few things that caught my eye so I decided to look at a little more detail. The problem with almost single bouquet is that the description has been carefully crafted to not tell you what I would call pretty significant details.

When you buy flowers especially roses what are the first two questions that come to mind? (assuming you already know the price) How many roses are there? What kind of roses are they? Most of the selections will show you a pretty arrangement and never mention either of these details. When they do tell you how many the description reads similar to: from 15 to 33.

From 15 to 33?!? Excuse me but last time I checked they was a pretty significant difference between those two numbers. Is it $50 for 15 roses or $50 for 33? One of these deals is not like the other, one of these deals is bad! There is no other product that comes to mind that is sold in this manner. You wouldn't pay $5 for 15 to 33 doughnuts, or apples. To add a insult to injury the site offers two upgrade options; deluxe and premium. These two features add an extra $20 or $40 to your purchase. What are you getting for this extra dosh? The helpful link they provide for an explanation simply alludes that the order will contain higher quality flowers. Higher quality? What quality are the ones that the arrangement started with?

I suppose the lesson to be learned here is to avoid online flowers all together. If someone wants to sell you something without telling you exactly what you are getting they are trying to rip you off. Otherwise they would be upfront and make a point of telling you what a great value your getting. Find your local florist, tell them what you want or better yet what you expect for your money.

Just my 2 to 15 cents...

Resolutions

This post is a little late in part due to recent illness. Never the less its time to tackle resolutions. Last years resolutions actually didn't turn out too bad. This year I decided to focus on some core issues.

1. Drastically reduce / stop cussing. I have come to realize that I cuss a lot more often than I should.

2. Stop being passive-aggressive or change the manner in which it manifests itself. One definition for insanity is repeating the same process and expecting different results. At my core I am people pleaser. I say what people want to hear and not necessarily what I think. I let things "slide" that I shouldn't, and I don't stand up for myself as often as I should. All in the name of avoiding confrontation or because I'm worried about how someone might "feel". Well, what about how I "feel"? That never seems to make it into the equation, until now. Maybe some people will think I'm a jerk, maybe they will be right. Regardless, for my own sanity I'm going to make my real opinion known and let the cards fall where they may.

3. Stop procrastinating. For the record, the irony in the fact that this blog entry is late did not escape me. Everything in my life has seemed to center around waiting and patience. Patience is abused virtue for putting off what you don't want to do. What I need is a task list. It will help me remember what I need to do an allow me to judge how well I am staying on task.

4. Try and take one day a week for myself / us. Last year there were times where it seemed we never had a free moment. This year I am going to try and set aside one day week in which I will not have any scheduled commitments that are not leisurely and of my own choosing. This may not be possible as I am sure that things will come up from time to time. Even at the most hectic of times I hope to be able to set aside at least 1 day every two weeks.

5. Try to keep up with correspondence. I have the best of intentions but I have a bad habit of not following up with people when I say I will. I need to change that. I need to make the time to follow through.

6. Try to get back in shape. I don't really need to loose anymore weight but I'm sure I could stand to tone up a little bit. For a while last year I was working out pretty regular but then somewhere things sort of fell apart.

That's all for now.

I didn't sleep again last night, but this time at least I think its due to being sick. I was extremely hot all night, which is very odd for me as I am almost always cold. I'm still sick but I went into to work today. I'm going to try and get some work done and then head home and crash.