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It was wicked sweet to hit a button on my iPhone and see a high quality LIVE stream of the Apple Keynote. Apple used a new technology called HTTP Live Streaming. This click and watch experience made me think about other uses for this technology, like maybe being able to buy tickets to a concert and watch it as it’s happening? I dunno, time will tell.
Anyways, Apple announced new iPods, an updated version of iTunes, and a new service built into iTunes called Ping. Ping is a social network that focuses on music, which sounds like a cool idea. It tracks what you buy, people can follow your comments, what concerts your attending, who you follow, etc. It also looks to have exclusive content from artists, pictures from backstage and video of them in the studio or on the road. Great, another place to check after Twitter and Facebook :\
New $99 Apple TV anyone? Hmmm,… Netflix integration and 99-cent TV shows? This is kind of cool, only because a DVR and a cable bill is much more expensive. Unfortunately though it’s only two cable networks, ABC and FOX, but I think it’s a sign of where things are headed. Hopefully we’ll all just rent TV shows that we want to watch instead of flipping through channels. I love my AppleTV, so I’m glad Apple isn’t letting it die.
Alex Lindsay streaming on the twitlive network, and Steve Jobs giving the Keynote live. Ahh, it doesn’t get any better than this.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of the iPad, and it’s not because I was eager to purchase, I just love the energy and excitement that takes place at an Applestore when a new product is released. I also have a lot of friends that work at my local Applestore so I was anxious to see them all. Both myself and Paul got up bright and early to stand in the reserve line. I thought it would be funny to purposely dress as scummy as possible. I made sure not to shave for a good week and I ate skittles for breakfast. I have an odd sense of humor…check out the video below.
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So today Apple announced the iPad, the long rumored net book killer. Like most Apple geeks I sat in front of my Mac with 3 internet windows open, watching all kinds of live coverage from Steve’s keynote. I was also on my iPhone checking twitter, and talking about the iPad with my friends. For those who didn’t follow it live, the keynote was nearly an hour and a half, and after all the hype and expectation what did we get? Well, I think we got exactly what we wanted, a big iPhone that plays HD movies, allows us to surf the web, check our email, and read ebooks wherever we want. So, why do I feel like, do I really need this?
Shortly after the keynote, filmmaker Gary Nadeau tweeted “I think they may have created something that no one needs. I need a laptop – I need a phone – I don’t need an ipad too.” Hmm, that’s a good point, I guess I don’t need an iPad. As a filmmaker, I really just need to be able to edit video, and that’s what I’ve got a Mac Pro for. And like most people I need a cell phone, and the iPhone fills that need.
So where would an iPad fit into my life? Hmmm, well, it could be cool to read books, check my mail, watch movies, and browse the web on a little bit larger screen than my iPhone? But, I can already do that on my Mac and iPhone so it’d probably be a waste of money to spend five hundred dollars on another device that I don’t really need. But you know what damnit, I still kinda want one! So I think the question is, do I want an iPad bad enough to actually go out and buy one? And I think the answer is yes, here’s why.
I often find myself sitting in front of my Mac listening to music, or rendering out video, and instead of going to a browser to check twitter, I pull out my iPhone and start tweeting. I usually catch myself after about 5 mins and I think, “what am I doing??” So then I open up a browser window on my Mac and go to twitter. But I think it’s worth recognizing, that when I want to do social networking, my first instinct is to pull out my iPhone. To me, that’s where twitter lives. And I think this is exactly what the iPad wants to take advantage of.
Say I’m out near the TV and I want to look something up on the web, I usually pull out my iPhone and click on Safari, but I could very easily see myself thinking, where’s the iPad? I think convenience is the selling feature for me. And as someone who does a majority of their work at home, an iPad could make working out of the house a lot more productive.
As computers become more ubiquitous, I think it’s important to come to terms with what each computer we own really does for us. For me, my Mac Pro is my editing station, my iPhone is my communication device, and an iPad, well that’s yet to be determined. But I know I’m going to pick one up out of curiosity, and I have the feeling that a year from now I’ll probably be saying. Man, I really don’t need this thing, but, how did I ever live without it?
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of the iPad, and it’s not because I was eager to purchase, I just love the energy and excitement that takes place at an Applestore when a new product is released. I also have a lot of friends that work at my local Applestore so I was anxious to see them all. Both myself and 
