The iPad First Look: Underwhelming But Not For the Reasons You Might Think

I'm a Mac fan but I'm not particularly impressed with the iPad. Not because it wasn't what was expected, but because it was exactly what was expected. There is no wow factor in the iPad. Just a 's'aright' factor.

The So-so and So what

It's essentially a giant iPhone/iTouch, which is what most people surmised it would be carrying all the iPhone apps, iWork (with applications custom designed for the iPad). It does everything an iPhone does but make phone calls and worst of all there seems to be NO CAMERA, which makes no sense for a communications product. No mention was made of iChat or instant messaging and with no camera, Skype is out of the question. Doesn't seem to be able to run MS Office - though if it can run iWork - why not? Also, no magazines available. The more you want, the more you will have to pay.

The Up

All the usual stuff: iTunes, movies and yes, books, newspapers - and the exciting addition of iBooks bookstore. It's the addition of the print material that makes it exciting, but not exciting enough to say, 'supercalifragelisticexpialidoshous'.  It'll make lots of money for Apple. It does have a 10 hour battery life - but under what circumstances?

It will be unlocked and free to use with the AT&T contract flexible and can be dropped anytime. Oh, and the screen is 9.7" on the diagonal.

The price makes it fairly accessible starting at $499 US and going up to $829 US depending on the AT&T download quota you buy and whether it's a 3G model. All models come with Wi-Fi.

What I'm hoping is that it can do more than was said. Apple does have a habit of including plusses without mentioning them. But in the end, it's disappointing because it didn't live above expectations - and that's what we're used to with Apple. I will happily wait for the next gen model to see if it has a camera, will be ever-so-slightly bigger and can run OS X along with other apps like GarageBand.

The one possible salvation is the exponential effect of APPS. The SDK kit is already available for developers to start on the new stuff for the iPad. I can imagine writing apps that might require a stylus and maybe even design apps for the artists. Who knows. I think Apple may have been banking on the as yet unknown apps to bolster the iPad in the way they have the iPhone.

The wait is over, and so is the revolution...at least for now.

Check this link for more details. This link is for the first hands on test.

It's to reach stores in 60 days and the 3G models 30 days later. International markets will see it in June.

What Do You Want the Fabled Apple Tablet To Do?

It's only  a rumour,  but seems to be accepted as a given and all eyes are eagerly anticipating the Jan 26 'launch date'.

If and when it happens, what will this device do? What will it look like? For certain is it now set up be the greatest technological disappointment or phenom for the new decade.

But if you could design your tablet - what would it be like? What functions would you want? How would it work?

My take:

• It would be the size of a closed Macbook but as thin as an iPhone. 
• The screen would be about 13 inches and it would have all the function of a Macbook. 
• It would have a hard shell swivel screen cover that could double as a stand to keep the screen upright.
• A touch screen keyboard and some smart external keyboard attachment - the touch keyboard has customisable options that regulate: size, transparency, key position and function, and general interface (an iPhone interface or the iTablet interface - whatever that is).
• It would have a built in mouse - nothing more than a tiny ball or touch pad - about 1/4 the size of the pad on a Macbook.
• Some buttons would be included on the side panel but can be customised.
• Keys could have multifunction built in. Press the 2 and the @ and € also pop up a al iPhone and you can punch your option with another finger. Simples.

Love to hear your ideas.

Avatar: Not Racist, But Hollywood Might Be...Even Against Whites

Finally saw it. The 2D version though - but it was obviously a movie made for 3D. I'll get around to it. Now, is it racist? No, Avatar isn't racist but the prevailing culture of Hollywood is proving to be. At one time it most definitely was, so one could accept that the thinking hasn't disappeared just yet. We already know that leading roles for blacks are few and far between, and there are only a couple leading black names out there. One article included this rationalisation:

Robinne Lee, an actress in such recent films as "Seven Pounds" and "Hotel for Dogs," said that  "Avatar" was "beautiful" and that she understood the economic logic of casting a white lead if most of the audience is white.

The problem with this rationalisation is that blockbuster movies featuring white dominant casts are sold to all audiences around the world - and not just white audiences. Indeed, non-white audiences have been subject to white dominated US television and feature films for quite a long time, and have lived with it. Spike Lee only came out with Do The Right Thing in 1989 - still a relatively recent development and the idea that audiences can only consume material featuring their own race just doesn't compute.

Oprah, Will Smith, Tiger Woods (too soon?), Michael Jordon, Denzel Washington, Friends, Sex in The City,  The Wire, and a host of other examples, can be cited as stars and features that have a broad appeal simply because they are marketed that way, are very good at what they do or because they are part of the same species (i.e. Human). I, as a black man, have watched countless films with non-black leads (or no non-whites whatsoever) and  have yet to turn into a pumpkin as a result. 

White & American
But the idea that mass appeal equals white, dominates American media. This seeming insistence that white (and white blonde in particular for women) sells is manifest in the 'Blonding' of Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Morrison (House MD) as their careers have evolved - or to help their careers evolve? Yes, it appears that even if you are white you have to be the right kind of white to have appeal. 

Jamaican songstress Tami Chynn, former label mate of Lady Gaga, also went blonde, but perhaps too late,

Chynn claimed that her Chinese-black ethnicity hurt her in an industry where musical genres tend to be race defined. "My label made it very clear to me that they were not sure what to do with me because I was a seemingly white girl who was not white but also Chinese and Black," she said. "An (atypical) Jamaican girl is exactly what made them love me and exactly what made them not know what to do with me. That is why the first album was released in Japan only," she explained.

The gatekeepers seem to be convinced that ethnic groups (and that includes whites) only buy products from 'their own'. We know this not to be true, though it may be true to a limited extent. That said, I suggest that much of what we see in 'society' is not society but the perspective of society and its various groups manufactured by film makers and advertisers as they define markets with stereotypes and conceptual targets. 


But the bias doesn't end there. Earth is apparently made up of only one nation: The United States of America. Cameron had the opportunity to portray not only multi-ethinic characters, but multi-national characters, the plot being depicted as a Global initiative and expedition. But true to Hollywood only Americans are heroes - whatever their race (Michelle Rodriguez is Hispanic American), and the only country on earth is the USA. The main character, Jake Sully, was played by Australian actor Sam Worthington, why couldn't he simply have been an Australian Earthling? Would Americans explode upon hearing an Auzzie accent? I think not.

Avatar itself was a critique of racial prejudice (amongst other things) but, perhaps unwittingly, perpetuated prejudice in its production more than its presentation. The dominant group tends to see itself as the standard, normal - the touchstone of humanity, and is usually oblivious to its own bias. Everyone else is a novel addition to the wonderful world of 'diversity'. However, we can't ignore Cameron's efforts to make a movie with a 'universal conscience' or the unavoidable limitations of one man's universe.

Apple Tablet: the various envisionings and images of the fabled device

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WHICH DO YOU LIKE MOST?