I love books. I love to read but I also love books, the physical object. Hardback or paperback, I love the way they feel in my hands… the way they smell. I like scrawling notes in the margin and highlighting passages. Reading is a very tactile experience for me (and probably for most).
In a couple of days, I will join millions of others in pre-ordering the Apple iPad. I’m looking forward to using all of features and apps (current and future). I can’t imaging giving up my beloved books for a digital experience but I’m trying to keep an open mind. It is possible I will enjoy reading on the iPad.
With that in mind, I’ve been making a mental list of titles I plan to put on my virtual bookshelf.
Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
Complete works of William Gibson
1984, George Orwell (haven’t read since high school)
Life After Death, Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra
Mac OS X, David Pogue
Some of these are books that I have read several times (or expect to). I assume I will be able to highlight, annotate and search passages of my digital books. It might also be fun to link from the text of the book to a website. I haven’t heard or read anything about such a feature. We’ll see.
In a study published in the Annual Report for Smithsonian Institution in 1953, scientists found that 98 percent of our atoms are replaced each year. Atoms make up molecules, which make up cells, which make up tissues, which make up organs. 98 percent of the atoms in the body are replaced yearly.
My new birthday sort of slipped past Barb so she decided to fall back on the old date (8th of March) and brought a cake and presents (massage certificate and SI Swimsuit issue) to the Coffee Zone this morning.
The cake was created by Joan at Chez Monet Bakery (next door to the Zone). She somehow managed to create icing that had the exact look and texture of the brushed aluminum body of a MacBook.
It was the best 21st birthday a boy could ask for.
UPDATE: In the screencast above I mentioned that I screwed up one of the labels. The nice folks at AppMakr gave me a coupon code that allowed me to go in and fix the mistake. And if you did not get it from the little demo above, this was REALLY easy to do. If you decide to take the plunge, use coupon code SMAYS FANS (through Feb 28) and save $50 on a new build.
UPDATE: Ryan from AppMakr sends along this clarification:
“You can make changes up until the time you pay for your App. At that point, we consider the build to be published and are required to do some internal quality control before sending it off to Apple. Allowing users to make changes at that point would hinder our ability to ensure quality prior to submission. Once submitted, you can make an actual change for $49, not the $199 fee again.”
British wit and tech daddy-o, Stephen Fry, on the iPad (just a couple of snippits from lengthy but excellent review):
“Newspapers, magazines, literature, academic text books, brochures, fliers and pamphlets are going to be transformed (poor Kindle). Specific dedicated apps and enhancements will amaze us. You will see characters in movies use the iPad. Jack Bauer will want to return for another season of 24 just so he can download schematics and track vehicles on it. Bond will have one. Jason Bourne will have one. Some character, in a Tron like way, might even be trapped in one.”
“How much easier it is to distrust, to doubt, to fold the arms and say “Not impressed”. I’m not advocating dumb gullibility, but it is has always amused me that those who instinctively dislike Apple for being apparently cool, trendy, design fixated and so on are the ones who are actually so damned cool and so damned sensitive to stylistic nuance that they can’t bear to celebrate or recognise obvious class, beauty and desire. The fact is that Apple users like me are the uncoolest people on earth: we salivate, dribble, coo, sigh, grin and bubble with delight.”
Ahem. I confess to all but the dribble. I try not to dribble.
I’ve wanted to to. But just couldn’t bring myself to stick something to the silky brushed aluminum of my MacBook Pro. Same lack of committment that’s kept me from getting a tattoo. But tonight I did it. In proud, Mac fan-boy fashion.
Maybe it had somthing to do with today’s earnings report by Apple (north of $50 billion). Or the rumor (TechCrunch) that Jobs has referred to the forthcoming Tablet as, “…the most important thing I’ve ever done.” Who knows.
The Missouri House and Senate opened the 2010 session at noon today and I watched from way up in the nose-bleed seats. I think I heard a list of names of the reporters who were given permission to take pictures from the floor but must have missed my name. Since I was not ON the floor, I figured it might be okay to turn on the iPhone and stream a little video via ustream.
I just leaned the little bugger up against the railing. I forgot to disable the sleep mode or something and the video cut out a couple of times. But the audio really very good.
There’s absolutely nothing visual about floor debate unless a fist fight were to break out. And I saw why they don’t want cameras in there. A couple of senators (who are not allowed to have laptops) were burning up the old BlackBerry’s and iPhones.
I’m eager to try out the wireless webcam at one of the committee hearings (Budget?). This seems like a no-brainer for any group or association whose members would be interested in committee testimony/discussion.
I’m pleased to see –once again– the iPhone and apps work so well.
George and Tom told me about this a week or two but I just got around to trying it. Amazing. My new favorite iPhone app. And it’s free. This takes care of any problem I might have had using the iPhone keypad.
I love books. I love to read but I also love books, the physical object. Hardback or paperback, I love the way they feel in my hands… the way they smell. I like scrawling notes in the margin and highlighting passages. Reading is a very tactile experience for me (and probably for most).
