Has Apple become the Big Brother they rebelled against in 1984? How large should the role of tech be in education? Has internet privacy gone the way of the dodo? Join us as we shake out the answers to these and other burning questions in this month’s episode.
OWC Radio is a monthly, forum-based podcast focused on the events and happenings in the Mac community. This week’s hosts are: OWC Grant, OWC Chris S., and OWC Mike H.
Instant gratification can be exhilarating…but like first impressions, they often leave you wanting more or a deeper insight. So while others on blogs, sites, forums, etc. rode this introduction like a firehose rodeo, we thought we might wait a bit and give you a themed examination of the iPad.
In this installment, we wanted to see what various team members here thought of their iPad after having it for a week and the roar of the hype fades quietly into the night. The really cool thing about this one week insight summary is that the users represent a wide diversity of personal and professional traits. So there’s sure to be a reviewer with whom you can relate. Without further adieu, here’s the blogroll of OWC’ers Tim, Mike H., Erik, Ron and Jamie. Article Continues…
“A revolutionary product like the iPad deserves a category defining accessory like the NewerTech iFolio,” said Grant Dahlke, Brand Manager, NewerTech. “The handcrafted quality, ruggedness, and user functional design of the iFolio enhances both the appearance and portability of the iPad.”
Newer Technology, Inc. announced today the NewerTech iFolio™, a custom handcrafted carrying/protection case for the new Apple iPad being introduced April 3. Made in the US from premium imported black or red Brazilian leather and with meticulous attention to highest quality, the NewerTech iFolio offers the ultimate in luxury protection and transportation of an iPad and comes backed by a Lifetime Warranty.
The NewerTech iFolio is handcrafted in the US from top grade imported Brazilian leather. A variety of carrying and transport options are offered thanks to both a collapsible elastic-backed, double stitched leather handle and a removable double stitched leather shoulder strap that is adjustable from 24″ to 42″. Both handles are affixed to the iFolio’s black or red leather outer body via highly durable nickel-plated hardware.
The case opens with one single motion using a genuine YKK pull tab equipped, soft-touch nylon zipper, revealing an elastic-backed, double stitched expandable leather loop designed to hold a variable-sized writing or pointing device.
The iFolio’s left compartment contains a single 7″ W x 10″ H hard backed document sleeve ideal for holding passports, notes, and other important papers. The flexible sleeve also provides two personal ID holders perfect for business cards, debit/credit cards, or a drivers license. Taffeta lining offers fingertip easy-glide insertion and removal of these personal effects.
The right compartment features four elastic-backed, non-marring, double stitched leather retaining straps to securely hold an iPad while allowing full access to all iPad ports and functions. The straps can expand to hold a silicone case-equipped iPad for users who take the iPad out of the iFolio for less formal uses.
Keeping both the iFolio and its contained iPad looking like new for a lifetime of use is a sewn-in hard shell, surrounded by soft padding and enveloped in rich leather. As a result of such meticulous attention to quality and finish, the NewerTech iFolio comes backed by a Lifetime Warranty.
This morning, the online Apple Store has been taken down temporarily stating “We are busy updating the store for you and will be back shortly.” This action usually indicates a new product being released or updated.
Is Apple updating the MacBook Pro lineup to add Core i5 and i7 processors? Is the iPad being released earlier than expected? Perhaps the Mac mini will be getting a power boost?
We’ll have the details for you here on the OWC Blog as soon as we know. Stay tuned.
UPDATE:
Well the Apple Store is back up and while our hopes were lifted to see a performance increase in the MacBook, MacBook Pro, or Mac mini – it looks as if the only addition to the Apple Store was the release of Aperture 3.
Guess well have to wait a while longer to see if those i5 and i7 processors are going to be used in more than just the iMac line.
Since at least September (and, really, quite a bit of time before then), rumors and speculation have abounded about Apple’s amazing new tablet device. How big was it going to be? What OS would it run? What price points are we looking at? How would it integrate with our current systems? How many unicorns would it be brought in upon the backs of?
Well, the waiting is over. Today, Apple introduced it’s new product, the unfortunately-named iPad.
We’ll save the pondering of the intangibles for later, once it’s all had some time to sink in. For now, let’s take a look at what is being offered.
| 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | |
| WiFi | $499 | $599 | $699 |
| WiFi+3G | $629 | $729 | $829 |
That’s the “hard data” rundown. However, there is a lot more to this device that can’t be broken down into technical specifications. Stay tuned to the OWC Blog for a closer look into the pros and cons of the new iPad.
One gadget we know is being debuted in just a few short hours is the new Apple Tablet. Apple’s Hype Machine has had interest in this not so new concept brewing to its current peak for months. It’s really incredible the art of Apple’s team in seeding the rumors, stirring the pot, and – for lack of a better term – manipulating the masses to have all eyes turned on Apple for what this Magic Tablet will be.
I’m not trying to be a downer here… I have incredible expectations for what Apple will unveil. It won’t be the techie specs that make it though, it’s going to be all that Apple has coordinated behind it. To be sure, there were a host of slick Windows OS Tablet/Slates shown off at CES. And then products like Amazon’s Kindle have put books on digital for quite some time. What I expect Apple to show off is an elegant piece of hardware with the functional, real-world use software tools that makes their Tablet consumer ready right out of the box. Great tech specs are nice, but more important is what you can do with it. Where others show off specs, tomorrow Apple is going to sell their new Tablet – not unlike the iPhone – on all the great things you can easily and intuitively do with it.
As an iPhone on steroids, out of the box the Apple Tablet should already have the same function and support as an iPhone. But more than that – it’s said to be the right product with the right display technology to take the ‘old media’ experience to digital. Translation: getting magazines, newspapers, and, of course, books in an agreeable and appealing display format. While it’s all been done before, Apple tends to be ground-breaking by providing a solution with a software accessibility that has everyone wanting to use it.
Reportedly, a huge segment Apple is after with the Tablet is education. McGraw-Hill has already spilled the beans that they’re excited about their deal to make their textbooks available via the Apple device. If the usability is up to all the hype that Apple’s brought upon their tablet – just this one segment alone is a game changer. At all levels, from grade school to university, printed books consume considerable financial and physical resources. Worse, when books are updated – prior editions become obsoleted forcing schools and students to buy the latest editions new. The proof is in the pudding, but this could be Apple’s ticket if they deliver a model for education that shows a long term cost benefit whereby the tablet with eBooks replaces those traditional printed texts. And of course, the Tablet is far more than just a glorified Kindle in doing this too.
The possibilities are whatever one can imagine. I expect a lot of what has been imagined will be delivered in the new Apple tablet. It’s not going to be about the raw specs, it’s going to be about all the things people have imagined doing with a tablet and Apple having the software and deals in place that make it real.
Nothing like an impending Apple announcement to get multitudes – from the casual observer to the rabid supporter – talking about it. And hey, since we fall somewhere in that range, it was time for us to weigh in with our thoughts on the Apple Tablet Mac.
Now, some sharp readers here may remember a post by OWC Michael in early December about how the Mac tablet is already shipping. While there was a bit of nudge nudge wink wink in that post, the truth remains today as it did back then:
If you want a pen based Mac tablet computer running OS X that you can draw and write on, our Modbook or Modservice gives you a full computing experience and then some.
Meanwhile, we’re hearing there is a conference center being rented for end of January to discuss a device that will maybe have a 7-10″ screen and cost around $1,000.
And that the device will also be an e-book reader to take some thunder away from the Kindle.
Perhaps the best terms I’ve heard used to describe this impending announcement is an iPhone on steroids or a ginormous iPod. That doesn’t exactly sound like a computer to me. Desktop and notebooks are what I define as a computer. They run business oriented apps (WP, speadsheets, databases, graphics, etc.). You start going down to a netbook…and now perhaps a new term for this new category – webpad – and the lines of what truly can be called a computer – or at least one that can be easily used to run the aforementioned apps – are getting blurry to my old eyes. And we won’t even touch on the subject of one fingered typing…
All of the pre-announcement hype seems to be a Touch Too Much…heavy sounding for sure, but when it comes down to it, the proposed product appears to be a glorified iPod Touch with a bigger screen. Certainly not the Holy Grail, but if it features a full sized QWERTY keyboard for us Baby Boomers, I might just get off my Grinch and proclaim it a highly worthy product.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit any shortcomings on my prediction of this impending product being just a bigger iPod Touch. After all, it seems many other “experts” were off on their original iPhone predictions.
In the end though, I can’t help thinking about what George Costanza would say to impending product announcements.
OK.. the Axiotron Modbook, currently the world’s only Mac-based tablet computer, has been shipping from our docks since 2007. Apple has had the trademark of TabletMac transferred from Axiotron to Apple within the past year, sparking more interest into the rumors of an “official” Apple Tablet-style computer across the web. Some of the rumors include an iPhone-like device with larger, netbook-sized screen; a MacBook Air based device, even a resurrection of the Newton. Many of the rumors include thoughts of running a tablet style Mac off the iPhone OS rather than the Mac OS.
Regardless of the speculation of whether, if, or when Apple may or may not introduce their fabled TabletMac device; Other World Computing, a fully certified Axiotron Authorized System Manufacturer (AASM), has two options to allow you to get your Mac Tablet Computer now. Why wait to feed your craving for a Mac-based Tablet? There’s no need to sweat whether the features you’re looking for may even be included. Article Continues…
