What Does Pee Wee Herman Think of the iPad?
Pee Wee Herman is back and look what happens when he supposedly gets an iPad from Steve Jobs himself.
That multitasking globe is a hoot!
apple
Passing on the iPad (for Now)
So Apple finally unleashed its tablet with the iPad. Despite it’s funky name, the device is very cool and is set to revolutionize this developing mobile space. At an aggressive price point starting at $499, who’s not getting an iPad?
That would be me. Although an Apple fan boy at heart, I’m not totally convinced I need an iPad just yet. Yes, I was slow on the iPhone bandwagon, waiting for the 3G to hit the street before succumbing. And now, I can’t imagine life without my iPhone. Perhaps the iPad will have a similar arc where using it will validate its need.
But I’ll wait. Looking at my wants from a Netbook, the iPad comes very close but misses a key mark in what I’m looking for, and that’s the ability to offload digital pictures. While this might be a small gripe for what the iPad can actually do, it’s something I think is important. Looking at the iPad accessories, there is a Camera Connection Kit which adds a SD memory card reader or USB port to the iPad so you can connect a digital camera to import pictures and videos. But with the low end iPad model with 16 GB of storage, how many times can you offload pictures from your 8-GB SD card? Eight gigs of photos and videos is actually a lot but for an extended vacation trip, it’s a possibility.
Why not just get a larger capacity iPad with 64 GB of storage? And that’s why I’m waiting. You know the cost for capacity will be better in the next version. And maybe the cloud computing power of MobileMe will mature where pictures imported to the iPad are then safely synced in my MobileMe Gallery or iDisk. Or someone will cleverly figure out yet another way of fixing this need.
So I’ll pass on the iPad, for now, anyways.
Recreate the iPad Intro
Who will be the first designer to offer up a mock simulation of the scene at the Apple Event where the iPad was introduced? I’m talking about bundling that iChair with that iTable, and maybe a bottle of that iWater with purchase of an iPad.
Who Makes that iChair?
Forget the iPad. Who makes that iChair used in the Apple Event presentation? Surefire sales!
Watch or Wait?
In a few minutes, Apple’s special event is going to start with Steve Jobs announcing the McGraw-Hill announced tablet. Biggest question for me is do I “watch” the event unfold online or simply wait. Many, many sites offer live updates and tweets covering the event, but it’s maddening refreshing a bunch of web sites or catching 140-character tweets of news. And really, as the event happens in real time, how much updates can you expect every minute?
It’s almost a time saver to wait to the end or at least near the end of the event then catch up on sites like Gizmodo or Engadget. You probably can read all the live posted information in 10 minutes versus staying tuned for 60 minutes.
Adding to the time sink is actually watching the QuickTime video of the event. This is a must, more so with the introduction of a new Apple product. You heard about augmented reality with regards to iPhone apps? Watching Steve Jobs preside over an event is the definition of augmented reality!
So do I watch or wait?
I Like “Canvas”
Macworld has a list of potential names for Apple’s forthcoming tablet. From their list, I like “Canvas”.
It’s already spreading around the Net about the CEO of McGraw-Hill spilling some beans about Apple’s product announcement tomorrow.
I’m still hoping for some kind of tethering or MiFi-like wireless sharing for the iPhone and Canvas combo. I really don’t want to pay yet another wireless bill for the Canvas.
Apple and LaLa, What Could Be
Here’s a convincing article about what Apple could be announcing as part of their Special Event next week. How Apple uses its buyout of LaLa and its rumored plan to reshape the digital music ownership landscape sounds very Apple-esque.
Leave it to Steve Jobs to change the game.
Stealing Apples
It was bound to happen, but a crime ring in California is targeting buyers of new Apple hardware. After leaving the store with your purchase, the thieves would watch and follow you. If you leave your vehicle with your purchases inside, you’d come back to a burglarized car.
Haven’t you noticed or seen quite a few people toting around Apple boxed items in popular malls like Ala Moana and Kahala Mall? It makes good advertising for Apple products but does sometime bring unwanted attention to yourself.
Observing a Heretic
Some general observations to round out my review of a Hackintoshed Dell Inspiron Mini 10v.
I wouldn’t consider this Netbook a multitasking machine. Sure, it can run several apps simultaneously, it’s just that I wouldn’t. The Netbook is built for the convenience of portability, not performance. So take it nice and easy.
The Dell Mini 10v actually looks decent. While it’s not an art masterpiece like Apple products, it doesn’t look cheap or cheesy. The black obsidian and silver combination is appealing, but the glossy top does show fingerprints too easily.
One irritation I have is you need two hands to open the Mini 10v when closed. I’m used to needing one hand to open up the screen, but since the Netbook is so light, you need one hand to hold the bottom of the 10v while the other hand props up the screen.
I haven’t upgraded to the latest version of Snow Leopard, 10.6.2. There were previous incompatibilities with Netbooks so I stayed at 10.6.1. I think the incompatibilities have been resolved though.
MobileMe works fine. I can access my iDisk and sync information which is a great and hassle-free way to copy needed information.
Startup time takes about 80 seconds and shutdowns are blazingly quick at about 5 to 15 seconds.
While video performance is acceptable for everyday tasks, the integrated graphics processor isn’t powerful enough for HD tasks. Watching HD content on YouTube is too choppy to be watchable. The standard definition versions playback well enough but not the HD renderings (I used the DWTS performance of Derek Hough and Joanna Krupa dancing a futuristic paso doble as a reference movie). And this is with the beta version of Adobe Flash 10.1 with hardware acceleration specifically for Netbooks.
So the obvious observation is to manage your expectations from a Netbook, and you won’t be disappointed. Don’t expect $2000 performance from a $300 machine, you know?
That wraps up my experiences with my Dell Inspiron Mini 10v running Mac OS X. I covered my reasons for getting a Netbook, the conversion process to Mac OS X, interfacing with a small Netbook, the software I installed, and my general observations. All in all though, for a $300 investment, a Hackintoshed Netbook definitely fills a niche.
Software for a Hackintosh
Since the Netbook has lightweight tech specs, I’m not expecting it to outperform a laptop or desktop machine. Accordingly, I’m not going to load it up with a bunch of intensive software. Instead, I’m keeping it simple.
Installation
Before getting to the apps though is the hurdle of installing applications. With no optical (CD or DVD) drive, installing software distributed on discs takes an additional step. I had to disk image the iLife ’09 DVD then copy the software image to the Netbook for installation. Another option which I forgot about was using CD Sharing, now built into Snow Leopard. On a Mac with an optical drive, you can enable CD Sharing then access that disc on another Mac over the network. Mostly all the other software I installed is available online or transferred via a flash drive.
Software
Here’s the list of software I installed on my Hackintosh:
- Acorn – basic image editing
- Adium – instant messaging
- Awaken – great alarm clock (especially while on travel)
- Chrome – Google’s speedy browser
- Dropbox – to store stuff in the cloud
- ecto – blogging client
- Fetch – classic FTP and file transfer client
- Firefox – a solid, compatible web browser
- iLife ’09 – a must
- Imagewell – simple image editor
- LittleSnapper – screen shot app
- Onyx – Mac system maintenance tool
- Picasa – just to try Google’s image gallery app
- Pixelmator – another great image editor
- Quicksilver – venerable but aging app launcher
- Textmate – for editing text files and configuration files
- Tweetie – my Twitter client of choice
- Yojimbo – where I collect my notes
Most of these apps were from previous MacHeist or MacUpdate bundles, and I had extra or unused licenses. Again, the primary purpose of this machine is geared for use on travel:
- Accessing the Internet
- Communicating (email, IM, tweeting)
- Offloading and sharing digital camera pictures
- Blogging
And my current suite of software has my needs covered.
Laying Hands on a Convert
Now that you have a converted heretic, it’s time to lay your hands on your Hackintosh Netbook. The first thing you notice is the Netbook’s small size. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is 10 inches wide, 7 inches deep, about 1 inch tall, and weighs 2.5 pounds. Compared to a 15-in MacBook Pro, the Mini looks like this.
The Screen
The wide-aspect ratio screen is clear, crisp, and easy to see. The tech specs for the 10-in screen specify a resolution of 1024×600, but in OS X, the display operates at 1280×600. At first, the screen had a purplish hue but after selecting “Inspiron 910 Display” in the Display preference, the colors looked more natural.
With the external VGA port, I was able to mirror and extend my desktop to a second, external monitor. This worked with a Dell 1708FP monitor running at 1280×1024, 60 Hz but couldn’t sync up on a Dell 2408WFP cranking at 1920×1200 (either mirror or extended desktop mode).
A potential limitation of the screen resolution is the minimum needed by Apple’s iLife apps. Apps like iMovie and iWeb want a big screen. While these apps still work, I wouldn’t want to run them exclusively on a Netbook screen unless absolutely necessary.
The Keyboard
Even though the Netbook itself is tiny, the keyboard is only a little cramped. You do have to get used to the slightly smaller keys, but really it’s not bad at all. The keyboard is a little “clicky” sounding but types and feels okay. The keyboard layout differs from a Mac with extra keys like a forward delete button. I’m still figuring out the Control, Windows, and Alt key equivalents, trusting in muscle memory. Whatever keystroke machinations I use on the Mac (including Expose functions), work on the Hackintosh-ed Windows keyboard.
The Trackpad
This is probably the worst interface element of the Dell. The trackpad works, but I would say it’s far from usable. There is a hack to tame the trackpad and make it more “Mac-like,” but it’s still too uncontrollable for me. I disabled “tap to click” since my finger swipes were interpreted as clicks. Apps in the Doc started firing up, and I kept inadvertently moving icons on the desktop. If at all possible, I’d rather use an external mouse.
Everything Else
All the other hardware components of the Dell Mini 10v are compatible with Mac OS X. Audio sounds good, WiFi and BlueTooth provide wireless connectivity, the webcam works, and so does the integrated SD memory card reader. I didn’t try out the Ethernet RF-45 jack, instead relying on WiFi connectivity.
And yes, Time Machine backups to an external USB drive work great too.