Random Access Memories

This is beginning to really annoy me.

More and more the USA is becoming a nation of “if you can’t accomplish something yourself, you’re a loser”.

Even here in Seattle people are still judgmental and arrogant with their individualist thinking.

Makes it a bitch to try and stop acting like that myself, heh

I’ve been waiting for a viable “slate” device for 10 years. Knowing this was going to be a big thing when it hit the public market. Today I got the first hint that the markets are ready for a slate, but it’s not the slate I was expecting. I still think I was right and this is a game changer, but is this going to be the “Next big thing” for Apple? I don’t think so, here is why.

First, the iPad is not the iPhone, even tho they want people to compare the two. The iPad will have an app market, but it’s not an “app” device, it’s a true computer, and people will want to use it as a true computer. They will want to read books and comics and websites on it along with working on their business functions, which is not something the iPad will really allow, you only get one application at a time and you don’t get a true OS you get the iPhone OS.

Secondly it has no camera, stylus or mouse capability. People want all-in-one devices, they want options, they want precision, slates are going to be used for EVERYTHING, finger-touch will not be good enough.

Along with those you cannot make any calls off the device even tho it has the audio capability. A slate needs to be able to make calls over Skype or other providers.

You also cannot use spare batteries to extend your work time, this is something basic to netbooks and most notebook computers.

Lastly it has no expansion capability, no USB ports, no SD or even MicroSD card slots, on a device this big that’s like not including a spare button on a $200 sweater, it’s a silly lack of basic functionality that people are going to want.

In short, it’s not being treated like a computer it’s being treated like a big phone that you cannot make calls off of. Seriously who is going to be open to that type of limited functionality? When the first slates come to market running full OSs they will dominate multiple fields that the iPad will not be useful in, such as medicine, research, college students, anywhere where a full-size computer is useful and needs to be carried around (Think the PADD devices you saw on star-trek) slates are going to be the pocket-calculators of the new techie revolution.

Now, the key is what companies to buy into to ride the wave. Unfortunately I don’t know yet, Asus and Acer will be big players, Dell is sure to make it’s own device, but it’s OS that will determine who succeeds, any of these devices can be made into functional PPCs (I’m thinking this is a good shorthand for “Pad Personal Computer”) by installing Linux, but people are still stuck on Windows, so I think the model with a functional copy of Win7 at a good price will be your first hit.

All hail the beginning of the next technical revolution, in ten years i’m betting PPCs will be replacing netbooks and small notebooks completely. (Well, at least i’m hoping)

Thanks to the Supreme Court corporate money can now flow into political campaigns with reckless abandon.

If money is now considered speech then those with more money have more right to speech.

So much for the average voter actually having a meaningful voice anymore.

It seems Google has raised quite a few of eyebrows with it’s public announcement of attacks from Chinese sources.

I think it’s way past time to hold tongues just because of profits.

Oh i’m very unhappy about this one.

Reports are that gmail accounts have been compromised by Chinese governmental organizations.

Precisely what is out there to stop them from trying to get into mine? Sure, I have nothing on it that China would care about, but that’s not really the point is it. It’s that my data is *MY* data, not China’s data.

I feel if Google wants to live up to their mission of not being evil they have little choice right now but to leave China for the good of all their other users around the globe.

Seems that being the largest private torrent tracker in the world has some downsides.

Especially when music is relatively small and fast to download. If you end up with new invitees just downloading what they want and trying to upload it to have a positive ratio you’re going to have alot of people waiting a very long time.

Their solution? Screen new members in an “interview” process. Make sure they’re capable of uploading something. But how many really ever get anything worth uploading that isn’t already there yet?

“I could upload my parents collection of Korean folk songs, but I doubt anyone would want it. However it’s the only thing I have that they don’t already have on the site.”

Also invites are only now being given out to users that upload, no uploads, no invites.

But thinking about percentages this isn’t really going to help them out. There is only so much music out there that “online downloaders” want in the first place. If you have 99% of it already then anyone you add is going to have a harder and harder time of maintaining a positive ratio. And you’re going to get more people uploading junk because that’s all they can find to upload.

The solution? I suggest converting to a private pay site, no other fix it going to deal with the ratio issues music entails.