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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Spokane Public Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Wednesday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In
computer news this week 01/25/2012
Ipad 1 2012
Apple II 1979
A review of the Apple Ipad 1 We bought an Ipad1 recently. We have a nonverbal
autistic grandson and
there’s a very neat application that lets him communicate very clearly
through it – if he’s hungry, thirsty, or he wants to do something
or express himself, and also allows him to surf the internet and watch
videos. So for him it’s a wonderful tool for him to function better in
the real world. It was recommended by his teachers and he does very well
using it. So as a special application computer it does the job we bought it
for. We bought a used 16 Gb Model with several accessories and
protective cases, in case he drops it, for around $ 300. This is the 2nd Apple Computer I’ve owned. The
first was an Apple II back in 1979 that could use a television screen for a
monitor if you wanted color, had a floppy disk drive, a case with a built in
keyboard, and 48 K of memory. The
list price back then was close to $ 3000. At the time the Apple II was one of
the coolest microcomputers available. The Ipad has several glitzy features.
The screen rotates automatically vertical or horizontal. It has a full color
screen, bigger than a Smart phone, but much smaller than today’s
computer monitors. It’s
about 7X6 inches, and most websites look pretty scrunched up on it. It has built in wireless networking so it will connect to any
coffee shop or business or home network you happen to be near, and It has
built in sound too so you can hear music or voices. For surfing the internet, it uses the Safari web browser, which
is a very rudimentary browser compared to others like Firefox. There are some rather significant things it doesn’t have,
and things you can’t do.
Probably the biggest is that it doesn’t have a keyboard. Instead
you type on a screen keyboard with your finger tips, which is awkward and
cumbersome. I couldn’t imagine typing even a letter on it. Using an Ipad also involves learning special finger movements and
combinations. It doesn’t
have a printer, because you can’t plug a printer into it, so you have
to have and print to an Airprint enabled wireless
printer. You can’t plug a USB drive into it to copy files. Instead
you have to do it the Apple way, which involves using a technology called Icloud, a service that stores your content and wirelessly
pushes it to your devices and computer, automatically keeping everything up
to date. In fact, it seems the Ipad presumes
you want to do everything the Apple way, buy music through Itunes, buy all your apps through
Apple, etc. It also comes with
several trial apps which you’re supposed to buy and upgrade to the full
version. Recognizing that this is 2012, I can see how a device like this
would be very popular for young people who want to surf the internet, send
mail, and do social networking. I
think it’s a very good device to do things like that, but I wonder if a
smart phone would be just as functional, plus let you talk and text. For me personally I’d rather have a netbook
with a keyboard and standard devices. The International Consumer Electronics Show results show that
many PC vendors
have committed to building Ultrabooks;
laptops that use flash memory instead of hard drives, have no disc readers in
order to stay thin, and weigh less than three pounds. Some computer makers
see Ultrabooks as an evolution of the laptop in
response to demands created by lightweight tablet computers Whatever, it’s all going to be fun and interesting. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2012 MTA Micro Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbxmenu.html (509)624-7230 |
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