Opinion: iPad
“A magical and revolutionary device”. Apple’s iPad has officially landed in Ireland for more than a week now. More importantly, it’s given me a terrible decisive dilemma. While I am hugely tempted by this fascinating breakthrough in hardware and software synergy, I cannot quite come to stump up the massive cash outlay required to get one. For a device that is certainly worthy of the mantle “a giant iPod Touch”, a price-tag resembling that of a mid-range notebook, the iPad is a stone’s throw away from costing a fortune when one weighs up its benefits and obvious shortcomings.
But far from being compounded by pricing issues, I believe the iPad suffers from some fairly serious wounds which will distance the product from the masses and force it into niche markets which will quickly wane in popularity and could ultimately damage the device’s appeal as it furthers in its life cycle. Right now I see the primary market for the iPad being those who can afford to spend money on something that is essentially a larger iPod touch. However, the practicality of the iPad makes it even more restricted. It’s a very large device in your hands. And, though I didn’t expect this at all, it is a very heavy device. Sure it’s made from anodized aluminum and glass but it’s still quite heavy at the centre which makes it unfriendly in your hand in terms of ergonomics. And while the iPod Touch can be held in one hand comfortably and gripped securely, it’s very hard to do the same with the iPad (because you need your other hand to interact with the device). The notion of sitting it on your lap or on some horizontal position is also impractical. The genuine Apple iPad case is also quite a flimsy and unattractive addition to the device and while its modular design affords the iPad a vertical and horizontal stand, the angles are all wrong.
The operating system used on iPad is also an issue which gives me pause. Running iOS 3.2, the iPad is now behind many iPhone and iPod Touch models (for those who’ve upgraded to iOS 4). Multi-tasking is missing, among other enhancements. The operating system appears solid, however I fear for the length of time it’s taking Apple to release iOS 4 for the iPad. There are obviously technical reasons, and also the issue that iPad should have been launched with iOS 4 with the iPhone following suit later. I don’t understand why Apple chose this path of releasing an inferior operating system on a device a few months before releasing a brand new operating system on a smaller device (which is essentially the same).
However it’s the hardware at which I’m most disappointed. Sure the form factor is new and a far cry from the plastic, bulky and torrid devices that accompanied Microsoft’s TabletPC operating systems, but the iPad has some definite shortcomings. For one, the iPhone 4 included for the first time, a front-facing camera. Given the fact that the accompanying FaceTime software allowing video calls on the iPhone requires a wireless network instead of the existing 3G network, one would have thought the technology more appropriate for the iPad instead. I don’t see any reason for a rear-facing camera on the iPad, but I do think that a device which will primarily live in the home would benefit from a front-facing camera in the presence of ubiquitous wireless networks. I know the primary reason for not allowing FaceTime over 3G is because 3G is a pretty dismal technology in terms of speed, latency and bandwidth (and the cell coverage in the continental USA doesn’t help either) but the iPad tends to seem like the more appropriate manifestation of hardware for FaceTime – even when Apple launch FaceTime on their iSight-enabled Macs and MacBooks. Another thing that’s missing, which caused consternation when my colleagues first saw an iPad, is the lack of an SD card slot. Even if a microSD slot were provided, the iPad would capture another market instantly – photographers and designers – Apple’s loyal adopters in business. Lacking an SD card slot or some interfacing mechanism (that’s built-in rather than a dock connector accessory) is leaving those who wish to use the iPad in place of a fully-loaded hard-drive wielding notebook. On-the-go photographers, architects wishing to display their wares to clients, engineers wishing to review plans on-site etc. These are the markets Apple needs to target with this device – for the iPad is far more a device to replace the Netbook than Apple touted at their unveiling. The iPad is for all intense purposes, a Netbook killer. Though it lacks the teeth to accomplish this feat. The iPad is internet-connected, powerful (a 1GHz A4 processor Vs. the 1.6GHz Atom) and stylish enough to become the device many would use in place of smaller notebooks. But software would have to adjoin this hardware. iOS 4 needs to be more open to utilitarian applications. Photo editing software for example such as the much lauded ‘Camera+’ application. Perhaps a scaled-down version of Aperture or even an iOS version of Final Cut Express. These are the methods by which Apple can eliminate the chiclet keyboards and herald the era of the Star Trek-like panels. This iPad is the tool to get us there, but I fear Apple’s hesitation in releasing iOS 4 and their omission of currently-present hardware in the iPhone leave the iPad in the corner, feeling sullen and unloved by the masses.
In conclusion, iPad is a fantastic product. I’ve had the opportunity to play with it for a while at a store and with a customer who purchased it recently. However his and my ambition was to eliminate the notebook with this device. While his business relies on older uninspiring software providers who probably have yet to realize that a ported version of their application would actually be a good investment, his delight at the tactile feel of touching his mail on a screen more suited to a man in his 50s was a promising sense of that is possible. Very often in my line of work I encounter companies using software that was created for PC and was never ever ever ported or re-designed with the future in mind. My views on this are that the financial world’s software providers are holding businesses back with their reliance on the status quo. An accounting package is the same no matter who wrote it. It’s boring and very often hasn’t changed since the people who use them started using them. Companies and businesses rely on this software and if it’s not touch-enabled and future-directed, the work that Apple does to advance the human interface with computing will be held back for many years to come. But I cannot tally why Apple advanced the iPhone 4 and held back on the iPad. The bottom line is the iPad is a large iPod Touch. The reality is it could be so much more.
diarmy
read moreTwitter Under Pressure
Twitter, the love-it-or-hate-it social chatter service has gone down this evening. Seems to be down for quite some time also. None of the API connectors are operating and the website itself has ground to a halt. While Twitter I’m sure has the power behind it to support the vast amount of users who keep the site worked over every day, this is an example of how popular social media has become. Facebook too occasionally has its issues, but the rise of Twitter has been a spectacular success.
Hopefully it’ll be back soon!
diarmy
read moreOpinion: Hyper-V
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 came with Microsoft’s stab at virtualization – Hyper-V. VMWare more or less popularised the now widely adopted technology of in essence using one server to run many servers. In today’s ever more difficult economic climate, the unfortunate reality is that for many businesses, expense on IT is among the first costs seen to be reduced. To an accountant, this makes sense – however to those who know the value of IT, this is a chokehold manoeuvre that can very often lead to stifled growth, sweating of older assets and inevitably greater long-term expense due to rising maintenance levels. The solution? Virtualization. Replacing 3 old ageing servers sporting out-of-warranty hardware with 1 new server without any real downtime seems an appealing sell. However the reality in small business isn’t so true.
Virtualization, for those who’ve not taken the leap yet, is one of the most stressful IT projects that can be undertaken. Which technology to use? Which backup solution is right for the business? What hidden pitfalls are present in the current system? All of these lead to more planning and testing than the average project. There is no clear path one should adopt. The general rule in IT is that no two problems are ever the same and no two devices are ever the same. A job in IT which puts you at the coalface of managing and maintaining systems can vary from very stressful, to “oh shit, is that the time?”. Virtualization just makes that worse – but does return a better payoff.
For my part, I’ve been using Microsoft’s Hyper-V for almost 3 months. In that time, I’ve virtualized 3 customers whose hardware had reached the outer limits of its capability and sustainability. Again, each one was different, but to the uninitiated, the same result was reached – one server running inside another. Hyper-V is still, as a technology, in its infancy. Released in 2009 as part of the Windows Server 2008 R2 product launch, it went through a fairly testing beta programme. The finished product is far from polished, and as a result, is a nightmare to work with on small low-cost IT projects. To start with, Hyper-V has no concept of USB. That’s not strictly true, but to be more precise, it has no way of performing USB pass-through. So where you may once have used a 56K USB modem or a 1TB USB hard disk in the past, you may no longer do this in the Hyper-V world. These are all considerations needing attention when looking to virtualize with Hyper-V. This is Hyper-V’s achilles heel. USB whether we like it or hate it (and I’d have preferred if FireWire won that battle) is the basis for a lot of products these days, and for Microsoft to say “No, we haven’t got it quite ready yet, so you can do without it for now” just isn’t good enough.
Beyond that, Hyper-V works well. Yeah it has problems dealing with dynamic disks, hates to see a former RAID file coming its way, and loves to kick and scream at you when it’s 2am in the morning and you’re wondering how you’re gonna back it up properly. I’ve found that if I overcome the legacy USB hardware interfaces and an acceptable backup strategy (because it doesn’t do USB remember!) then it works OK. My usual strategy of ‘image > convert > mount > clean > test > run’ seems to work for most of the projects I’ve done and am doing. But Hyper-V is far from a complete product. Faced with massively increased competition from VMWare and even Oracle, Microsoft got on this band wagon late in the day, and the result is an unfinished product. In some ways, Microsoft should have held Hyper-V back until the USB issue at least was resolved, but that’s their way- look at Vista.
For what it’s worth, Hyper-V does work. And I can attest to 3 working examples in small businesses here that took little more than a few late nights, some grey hairs and a great sense of relief that it worked. Getting around the hazards is all part of the IT job, but Hyper-V seems to throw some really nasty curveballs at times. My advice? Test your ideas thoroughly. And make sure you can get around the USB thing. And be prepared to pay – the licensing on this is some of the most complex I’ve seen from the Redmond giant in many years. But give it a go – I did and it does work.
diarmy
read moreOpinion: iPhone 4
When I saw the keynote address by Steve Jobs from the Moscone Center West in downtown San Francisco earlier this month, I was amazed. Sure, we’d all seen the seething photographs from Gizmodo and later on some other secrecy breaching people in Asia, but this was the event Jobs had been born to play. How do you maintain the same enthusiasm and passion for a product that was so shamelessly exposed weeks before its official unveiling when in the past this wasn’t a concern? Gone were the fantasy-laden pre-game mock ups, and the hype and hysteria over hardware features people really wanted. We knew what it physically looked like, but Jobs kept the creamy goodness of the goods under the hood for the main event.
Lashing into the new iOS (a term licensed from Cisco who’ve used the phrase to describe their operating system for switches, routers and other devices since the dawn of time – or maybe it feels like that when you start using their IOS) Jobs launched into a tirade of 9 features that simply served to blow the competition away. There is now not one single plausible reason for anyone to own a Blackberry or Nokia ‘Smart’phone. From the beauty of the svelte stainless steel antenna/cage to the stunning beauty of the screen and the amazing improvements not touched on such as the unified inbox, multiple Exchange accounts, app folders and much much more.
So we must now wait for this amazing piece of technology to appear on this side of the Atlantic. I for one will be upgrading. My aged 3G has served me well. Recently I convinced my boss to get some 3GS phones for our office and that was a nice upgrade, but not one I would have made organically – but the 4 is definitely the one I want.
Now I await the iPad 2 with a camera which will really make it a device to treasure.
diarmy
read moreApple TV Kills Box Office
Finally. Finally. Finally after about 3 years after the US gets movie rentals and purchases on iTunes, the veil of anti-competitive studio activities in Ireland has been lifted. Yesterday, Apple released movies to the Irish iTunes store. Not so much as an email arrived in my inbox, but the Irish media covered it in the morning. As an Apple TV owner for nearly 3 years now I’m delighted that this has come to fruition. The selection is pretty OK at present and I expect more to arrive shortly, but this is a great step towards Ireland becoming more like the US store. TV shows are still missing, but they’re largely US shows who’s clout stops us from watching them online in Ireland (except thanks to Channel 4) but this is good news all round.
The real thing I noticed though, is that this now puts Sky’s Box Office product on the ropes. Earlier this week I purchased ‘The Ugly Truth’ on Sky Box Office HD for €5.75. It’s a good film (I like chic-flics for some reason) but the same movie is available on Apple TV through iTunes for €4.99. Not a massive saving, but a saving none the less. And I can watch the full trailer beforehand. My first purchase will be this evening when I hope to sit down to ‘Couples Retreat’ and might even push the boat out and watch the brilliant ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ again.
So this is great news. Apple TV was a product on the wane outside the US (not that it’s a phenomenal success in America) but now it’s finally become a viable product here. It still lacks the clincher of being able to use the built-in USB port to watch DivX and MKV movies from an external source, but that’d clearly clash against Apple’s revenue model. But then again, iTunes allows you to rip your music so I’m hoping that ripping your DVDs into MP4′s will happen sometime soon, if the studios allow it. When you think about it though, why the studios even put money into producing DVDs instead of online-releases, they’re generally a bit slow to catch on. Another thing I’m hoping for is that at some stage Apple TV gets the releases before our incumbent rental store Xtravision who’s product model I grew tired of many years ago.
Get the Apple TV now from €269 on Apple.com/ie. It’s a great product, and as I use the AirTunes all the time along with watching photos on TV, I’d recommend it. But alas it’s not a finished product yet. Western Digital’s WDTV Live is as good, but now lacks the direct-purchase that Apple TV has.
diarmy
read moreEircom NGB Hates Kerry
There’s a lot on DDN about how Eircom fail time and time again to provide broadband to rural Ireland. In fact, there’s a lot on almost every tech-related blog about how broadband is missing from rural Ireland. However, Eircom, everyone’s favourite crap ISP / national telco, has recently shown its true colours. The shades of gray that turned from blue are really tinged with bias and a tendency to neglect.
We’ve all seen the latest advertisements on TV about the loveable hip and cool wannabe ‘Jim’ from Eircom. In one ad he tells a customer who complains about disconnected cables that resetting the router will solve the problem, neglecting to mention how the little fecker of a child she has who disconnected the cables would have rendered a reset useless without reconnecting the friggin cables. We also see ‘Jim’ looking out the window of his space age office at trees as he tries to up-sell a customer to a phoney (pun) ‘bundle’ which masks an unfair line rental charge that the customer gets no return on and is among the highest in Europe. Lately we’ve seen ‘Jim’ do a ‘Minority Report’ on some of the products Eircom peddle. Real classy!
But since last week, a new ad started appearing on the nation’s tv screens, promising something called “Next-Generation Broadband” or “NGB” as the trendy blondes in marketing have called it. The titillating and tantalising mentioning of ‘fiber-network’ in the ad would have the viewer believe that Eircom have finally copped on that copper is shite. Oh no. Next Generation Broadband according to Eircom is about reducing contention ratios. That’s fantastic, but it’s so 2005. I guess it was too much to hope for.
So tonight I decided to check out their flashy microsite at www.eircom.net/ngb only to find something a little disturbing. NGB is being rolled out between now and December and parts of Dublin are apparently already in service. Hmmm, I thought – no surprise there and they’ve hardly laid fiber to the door so it’s still copper. But to my shock and horror as I checked the rest of the country, I came across something even MORE disturbing. THEY’VE COMPLETELY BLANKED THE COUNTY OF KERRY! How the fuck can this be? I’m sorry for swearing, but this is a national disgrace. Every one of the other 25 counties in Ireland is covered in some way. Even Leitrim. But Kerry gets nothing. Nothing West of Mallow gets the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ treatment, never mind the tantalising orange of ‘now enabled’.
I’m sorry but this is just a disgrace. Ireland’s most popular tourism county is Kerry. Almost all of the national conventions held by unions and political parties end up in Killarney at some stage. The two highest mountains in Ireland are in Kerry. Fungi is Ireland’s most famous animal attraction. Dingle is a favourite town of most Irish people including celebrities like Matt Cooper, Bertie Ahern and the late Charles J. Haughey. But Eircom doesn’t see Kerry. Way back when I was living there, Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon had broadband before Dingle – a town of twice the size! Geography or no geography, you cannot disenfranchise an entire county when you’re serving 25 out of the 26 we have left! I’m so pissed right now!
diarmy
read moreFollow @diarmy
