Being an enthusiast of technology, I get great satisfaction from playing with new computing devices. I also get great satisfaction out of getting new functionality out of old computers and gadgets. Which is why I am completely torn about being yet another blog writing about the iPad.

The thing about the iPad is it’s simplicity. This inspires love from those tired of fighting with their computers. It also inspires hate from those that like to customize every aspect of their UI to the point where it is unrecognizable to most users. I used to be a customizer. There is something fulfilling about being the only user able to use a specific computer. I can see why PC users would hate not seeing the file system, knowing where files are, and customizing every aspect of the experience.

The iPad, while similar to the iPod Touch/iPhone, is still a huge departure from the general use PCs we have been used to. It is a clean break from the Mouse/Keyboard UI we have been using since the mid-80s. It’s about time. It is absolutely the future of computing, and will be as widely copied and stolen from as the Mac UI by Microsoft and the iPhone has been by other smartphone makers.

I love the disruption and change that every Apple product seems to prod industries into. Make no mistake, tablets have been around for close to 10 years. Their problem is they tried to cram a mouse/keyboard UI into something that is mobile and unsuited for that paradigm. Hence even netbooks (really crappy small laptops) have gained in popularity when it should have been more mobile and useable computing devices.

What bugs me is that there are truly innovative companies capable of pulling of an iPad. HP, Microsoft, Sony, any one of the mobile phone companies. This should have been done years ago, but nobody had the balls to develop something new, to ask their users to embrace change and learn. To be loved and hated for bringing needed change to stagnant industries. I love that Apple does that. Success or failure, they are trying to create change.

I won’t be in line to buy one, just like I wasn’t in line to buy an iPhone. I have not pre-ordered, and won’t for a while. I have enough technology and gadgets in the house, and we are sophisticated enough users that another computer is just not needed with 2 Macs in the house. I still think it is the future, though, and that my son may never have to ever use a keyboard or mouse. Just like I have never had to use punch cards, or kids today have never had to use floppy disks. Change comes, and I look forward to changing with it. That is why I love following technology, and even more why I really like Apple.

It’s all about change.

I agree with a few points:

• Don’t listen to analysts, they are usually wrong when it comes to Apple.
• Apple and Verizon are going to meet.

Where I don’t agree is that it will be CDMA. I think it will be Verizon’s flagship LTE device, to launch a new 4g network. First my Gruber-style disclaimer:

I know nobody at Apple, this is pure speculation.

Let’s put this together. The rumor is Qualcomm will provide the chips for it. Correct. CDMA? Nope. I bet LTE, as Qualcomm is sampling chips as we speak. Apple does not play with old technology, so I think CDMA is off the table. So who will have a 30 market LTE network in 2010? Yup.

So, a 4G, truly next generation phone. If you read this press release here, and scroll down to the MDM9600 line, take a look at supported legacy standards:

“MDM9600™ chipset designed to support UMTS, HSPA+, EV-DO Rev. B, UMB and LTE”

Read this other Qualcomm press release. Dual carrier? You mean two carriers might get the iPhone, one with a clear performance advantage if they do have an LTE network? That is what I think.

The rest of the world is on a multiple carrier deal with Apple, I think it is North America’s turn. This chipset will work on AT&T and Verizon. I believe that is what the iPhone 4G will be. A LTE phone that can play on both networks.

1. Found some nice art for banners. The ‘ol blog is now more personal.
2. Added archives to side bar, deleted it from top. HTML editing ftw!

Left to do: personalize the little pictures by every post. So far so good. Just need to blog more!

So what happened? Warner Brothers cut a deal a deal with Netflix. Yeah, heady stuff. Basically, Warner is not making as much money on DVD and Bluray rentals as they used to. This can be said for most studios as we move further into on demand digital distribution.

Put yourself in the shoes of a studio exec. You are filthy rich, immensely powerful, fantastic connections to famous people, and yet the peons are not buying as much crap as they used to. Who do you blame? Recession? Nope! Unrelenting sequals? No again! Remember, think like an exec. Ding! Times up. Your customers! Blame your customers for watching movies how they want to watch them.

So this sucks, as we have to wait a few weeks to watch movies from one short-sighted studio. The good news is, DVDs are dying. Yup, they will be akin to VHS in about 5 years. Bluray is a mere bridge to future, don’t expect that to save the studios. Digital is where it is at, with streaming players being placed in all sorts of convenient places.

How convenient? New TVs can stream movies from Netflix.  Your cable/satellite box probably streams movies. Your home theater PC/laptop can stream movies. Get the picture? The internet has already won, we just have to wait for the final gasp. Apple and Amazon are even streaming and allowing digital movie downloads. Both those companies usually end up owning segments like this.

So to breathless bloggers and outraged twitterers, I say calm down. It’s already over, we have already won. The only thing left to do is have the government ban digital movie downlo… Oh crap.

Part of the problem is making an online home out of this blog. Registering a domain is the easy part. Picking a publishing platform is fun, with WordPress, Moveable Type, Joomla, and a few others offering complete solutions. I have always like WordPress, and the community surrounding it, so I naturally picked that.

Next up was the theme. I have tried several, and will eventually try my hand at creating my own, but for now this is the one I like the best for what I am doing. I just need to put in the time to customize it, make it less generic and more about what I want it to represent.

Today I fixed most of the links in the header (still figuring out how Archives is going to work). I need to get the pictures that accompany each post to be less generic, and then design a decent header picture. So that is my current plan. Header picture first, post pictures second, and then the Archives. Let’s see where this takes me. You never know, it could generate a fairly entertaining WordPress rant.

You see, Microsoft and their partners have had some interesting products in tablet form, and even modest evolution centered around Windows 7 should produce something compelling. So why is this thing so underwhelming to me? I actually like HPs other Tablet designs, and have almost bought that one in particular.

I refuse to nitpick an unreleased product, as it may be something cool yet, but if I was going to introduce a “new” device in the tablet mold, I would not introduce something thicker than laptops my biggest competitors have had released for over a year.

I try really hard not to look through Apple colored glasses, but this just reeks of trying to rain on a parade that hasn’t been announced, demoed, or released. Calling it a “slate” when for years these devices ran as “Tablet PCs” also says the same thing: they worry about a niche company (Apple has pretty small market share on all it’s products, with great profit margins offsetting this so-called problem) and try to counter something that doesn’t exist with something mediocre.

I hope I am very wrong about this, and all the touchy feely good stuff Microsoft put in Windows 7 works very well with light, thinner-than-it-looks hardware, whose battery will last more than 2 hours. I’m just not feeling it on this one. The good news is, Lenovo may be getting it right very soon. Too bad they use Linux/Android, not Windows.

So day 1 of CES, interesting but not compelling. Hoping for something to blow me away, and just not seeing it yet. Except for maybe the Panasonic 152″ TV. Wow.