Yes, Virginia, the iPad can replace your laptop (maybe)

June 10th, 2010

Both lovers and haters of the iPad have been quick to point out that the iPad isn’t a laptop or netbook killer. They point to the closed OS, the difficulty getting files on/off the device, and the lack of Flash as “proof” that the iPad is pretty much just an entertainment device, and not much more than that.

I beg to differ.

A true geek finds workarounds to problems, rather than simply throwing their hands in the air and bemoaning the limitations of their device. A true geek finds a way to make it work. At least, that’s how I feel about it. Maybe that’s because of my roots; after years providing support for IBM’s OS/2 and then proselytizing Linux, finding a way to “make things work” is almost second nature to me and seems, to me, to be the defining characteristic of the hardcore geek. After all, Microsoft seemed almost deliberate in blocking many Windows applications from running in Win-OS/2, and the same holds true even today for running Windows applications under Linux. The code monkeys are constantly tweaking WINE to get more and more applications working properly, and those of us who simply cobble together solutions are still, to this day, trying to figure out how to make things work outside the software environment the applications or hardware were designed for.

From what I can gather, critics and fans have listed these as reasons why the iPad cannot be considered a laptop replacement:

1) You have to activate it in iTunes before you can use it
2) There is no easy way to transfer files from a computer directly to the iPad
3) You can only run software Apple has given its stamp of approval
4) You can’t use any hardware you want with it (such as game pads, joysticks, printers, etc.)
5) I can’t play my Flash-based games because Apple hates Adobe!

So, my response to these reasons:

1) So what? I’ve plugged my iPad into a computer only once or twice since purchase. I have an iMac at home, and another at work. I don’t consider plugging my iPad into iTunes for activation any different than the steps you have to take to set up your laptop for the first time, and copy your documents over to it.

2) This is true, and yet not. I’ve been a Dropbox user for quite some time, and have the Dropbox app installed on my iPad. Through the Dropbox app, I can read any document and view any image file I have saved to Dropbox…and anything I truly need to work on is saved to Dropbox. There are a host of other applications that provide similar functionality, and more on the way. QuickOffice for iPhone works on the iPad, even if it looks like crap…and I expect the folks at QuickOffice will have their iPad suite of applications ready for purchase any day now. For those who don’t know, QuickOffice can pull files from MobileMe, Google Docs, and Dropbox, among other sources.

The other option is to email a document to yourself, and then open it in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote for iPad. This really isn’t that difficult…I do it from Dropbox all the time when I need to edit an existing document that I don’t have in Pages or Numbers yet. Not that big of a deal, IMO.

3) Don’t really care. There is a wide enough variety of apps that I have yet to find something I can’t do with the apps available through the App Store.

4) True, but how often do you lug a joystick around in your laptop bag? For that matter, how many laptops out there are good gaming rigs to begin with?

5) Ahh, but you can! You just can’t do it directly. I’m a Farmville fanatic, and have tested this a couple of times…you CAN play Farmville (a Flash-based game), for example, on the iPad…just a bit indirectly. See, I have LogMeIn installed on my desktop computers, and have LogMeIn Ignition installed on both my iPhone and my iPad. When I want to do something that requires Flash, all I have to do is a remote login via LogMeIn Ignition, and voila! I just use my desktop, via the iPad, to view or run whatever software I want! It’s a bit slower than if I were sitting at the computer, but not terribly so.

So, here’s my final word: you CAN have an iPad replace your notebook/netbook computer…IF you are flexible in your computing needs and think through some decent workarounds. It might be a little frustrating to get everything set up, if you don’t enjoy the challenge…but I LOVE a good geek challenge!

Philosopher of Technology

May 14th, 2010

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these days about how I tend to interact with other people, especially when it comes to the use (or abuse) of technology. I seem to sincerely ponder how people use technology, how they should use it, who should use it, and who shouldn’t use. It seems to me that the best way I can really describe myself is as a philosopher of technology.

This…label…has several drawbacks. First of all, I’ve done very little studying in philosophy, so I don’t really know how much my pondering and pontificating really resembles what the great philosophers of the past did and went through. I hope that, through my new line of work, I’ll be able to devote some time to actually studying philosophers.

The main drawback, though, is that I seem to generate the same types of reactions that other philosophers have had to suffer. Namely, abject vilification when my thoughts and views diverge from the mainstream. When I express the thought that children shouldn’t be on Facebook, for example, that philosophy is viewed with hatred and animosity. My refusal to just cave in to excuses of “Well, everyone else lets their kids on Facebook, so why shouldn’t I?” just don’t sit well. My opinion that children shouldn’t be allowed to just use technology however they want is seen as meddling or, worse, hatefulness and spite.

My opinions are, of course, none of the above. They are, generally, fed by my own observations of how disconnected people have become, especially children. They’re bred by my abject disapproval of the mentality that we should just give our children all of the things we weren’t able to have, even if there’s an excellent reason we didn’t have those things.

This warrants further thought, of course. Maybe I’m not a philosopher at all, but I’m enjoying the thought that I am…even though my thoughts bring a bit of ill-will from others, I remain hopeful that I can, some day, make a difference in how someone views technology and uses it to better their lives and their ability to be a productive member of society, rather than abusing the technology and letting it serve as a replacement for genuine enjoyment of life and all that society has to offer.

Freelance Tech Journalism

January 5th, 2010

I’ve started writing freelance for Examiner.com, as some of you probably already know. I’ve just added RSS feeds to the sidebar of this blog, so you can see my latest articles and link to them with a bit more ease. Feel free to give me any feedback you might have by way of comments on the articles!

The Allowances We…Allow

September 6th, 2009

This is the beginning of what I hope will become a collection of posts called “Life Philosophies Through Technology.” I’ve got the notion that some of our personal philosophies are heavily reflected in our use (or lack thereof) of technology. We’ll see what comes of this…

This first entry in the collection is about the allowances we allow in our lives…the little (or maybe not so little) concessions we make because the intrinsic value of those concessions’ effects on our lives are strong enough to motivate the latitude we grant things that might otherwise annoy us to no end. I think that most people do this in some form or another…we value something strongly enough that we “put up with” any of its idiosyncrasies that might cause us confusion, inconvenience, pain, etc.

For example, I was once the proud (and soon not-so-proud) owner of an HTC Mogul smartphone. I say soon not-so-proud because soon after I got the device and tested it, I became annoyed with its limitations. Quitting applications completely was a chore, and leaving anything running that relied on Internet access drained the phone’s battery so quickly that I ended up disabling email, messengers, and anything else that might periodically poll the Internet for data. I was annoyed that I had to remember to plug the phone in to charge every night, or risk the battery dying before I got home the next day.

With all of my annoyance at the phone’s limitations and annoyances, when I read the reports of how quickly the Blackberry, iPhone, and iPod Touch would drain their battery, I was more than hesitant to put out the money to change phones. I just stuck with a phone that I hated, because I didn’t think there was any point in going from one device that I would have to plug in everyday to another one that I’d have to do the same thing with.

The problem here, though, was why I hated having to charge my phone every single day. I was so annoyed by this not because of the act of plugging it in…but rather because I wasn’t really doing anything with the phone! Here I was, charging it every day, but I hardly used it as more than a phone, address book, and calendar. Ultimately, though, I had a valid reason to switch phones…I switched my computer from a PC to a Mac, and found synchronizing the phone with my computer painfully difficult and unreliable. I didn’t want to switch phone carriers in the middle of my contract, though, so I went with the Blackberry Curve.

Do I still have to charge my phone every day? Yes, of course. However, I’m doing so much more with the device than I did with my Mogul, so it doesn’t bother me at all. I use my Blackberry as a phone, address book, calendar, and much, much more. I have 4 email addresses associated with the Blackberry, so I’m getting 70-150 emails on the phone every day. I run Ubertwitter, so I’m keeping up with my Twitter timeline throughout the day, as well as sending tweets. I actually use the camera, and often send pictures from it to Twitter or to friends or family. I keep Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk running almost constantly. I chat with my wife and a couple of friends on Blackberry Messenger just about every day. Occasionally, I fire up Blackberry Maps to get directions to somewhere I need to go, but can’t find. I actually feel like I’m using a day’s worth of battery charge each day, so I don’t mind the inconvenience of having to make sure I plug it in at night.

The same goes for my iPod Touch. I use it as much more than just an MP3 player…I also use it as a calendar (since my calendar gets synced to both the Blackberry and MobileMe), I watch videos on it, I play games on it. I also use it as a quick and dirty Internet client when I don’t want to take the time to break out the MacBook…I can keep up with Twitter a bit easier than under Ubertwitter, I can visit web pages that just don’t work from the Blackberry, and I can do things on Facebook that the Blackberry doesn’t even approach.

Since I’m getting so much value out of the Blackberry and iPod touch, I actually have some motivation to give the devices some latitude, and not be constantly annoyed with the fact that I drain their batteries so quickly. And I think this sort of concession, or allowance, occurs in our day-to-day lives in just about every aspect…not just technology.

As a last example, think about your children (if you have children…otherwise, try to associate this example with something else.) I doubt anybody would question the fact that children can be extremely frustrating, annoying, and even embarrassing when they’re disobedient. I mean, think about when a child throws a tantrum in the store because you won’t buy them exactly what they want. It’s extremely disturbing, but do we just ditch our children and be done with the whole concept of parenting? No, of course not…but why don’t we?

We don’t ditch our kids because we love them. That love, the feeling that we get back from our children, the joys we take in watching them grow and live their lives…that’s our motivation to give them a bit of latitude when they don’t meet our expectations. Rather than abandoning them, we try to mold them and guide them into behaving better, into becoming good people. The good outweighs the bad, I guess…we get to laugh at the funny things they do, cry with joy at the love they show us, and marvel at how quickly they learn and mature. All of that, for most of us, is motivation enough to muddle through the bad, because we know how much we enjoy the good.

Edubuntu LTSP Installation

August 4th, 2009

I just finished an installation of Edubuntu LTSP for my children’s daycare center. It’s my first attempt at an LTSP solution, and I’m pretty proud of the results :-)

The daycare acquired several extremely old Compaq Deskpros when they moved into their facility. The computers have Pentium II 400Mhz CPUs, 4GB hard drives, and 64MB of RAM running Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 98. They were used by the previous tenants (another daycare/community center) for Internet and entertainment by children in the after school program. Evidently, they weren’t  supervised very well, as the computers were chock-full of spyware and pictures inappropriate for children.

My client wanted the computers updated, and wanted to be able to run educational games and other software. These machines are so old, though, that most of the Windows software out today just won’t run on them. So, I recommended Edubuntu, and the client agreed.

I had a Pentium D PC with more than enough power to act as an LTSP server, and the thing was just collecting dust…so rather than build a brand-new machine for the LTSP server, I just re-tasked that computer. It’s running Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope (9.04), with the Edubuntu add-on CD fully installed.

The thinclients (which is what I’ve turned the Compaqs into) have a small gPXE boot image installed on the hard drive. Basically, I took the image for a bootable USB drive and installed it to the hard drive. It’s literaly as simple as “dd if=gpxe.usb of=/dev/sda.” No need for a floppy disk or a CD-ROM in the thinclients, they just boot from the hard drive and then pick up the main kernel over the network.

I installed the server today, and expected massive headaches from the thinclients…but they booted right up into the Edubuntu environment! My first Edubuntu LTSP lab, successful at my first attempt! Woo hoo!

Now…I’m seriously thinking about trying to market this to other daycares in the area. Not sure how much response I’ll get, but it’s worth a shot!

Recent events…

June 9th, 2009

I keep meaning to blog about this, but keep forgetting. So now, while I’m trying to settled down after the excitement of the last 15 seconds of Game 6, I’ll go ahead and post.

I’m sitting in a hotel room in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. I flew out here on Monday for a job interview at Nicolet Area Technical College. If I get the job, I’ll be a full-time English instructor here, and will immediately begin planning a new certificate program in technical communications for the college.

I’m very nervous about this…I want the job; it’s a fantastic opportunity. This part of the country is absolutely beautiful…so many lakes, so much nature. I saw 2 deer running across the road as we were driving through the college campus this morning! The college looks more like a resort or a park than a college. I think everything went well, but…

The chair of the search committee took me to dinner tonight, and said that the committee had one last question they wanted to ask me. The question? “Why do you want to teach [as opposed to getting a job in the corporate sector as a trainer].” I can only pray that my answer was good enough for them…that my answer made enough sense, and will help them realize how badly I want to teach, and to teach HERE, in the Northwoods of Wisconsin!

Anyways, we’ll see what happens…but everyone, please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Web Design Work

February 26th, 2009

For those who don’t know, I’m in the Civil Air Patrol, the official U.S. civilian auxilliary of the United States Air Force. I recently transferred to Pennsylvania Wing Group 6 as their Information Technology Officer and Aerospace Education Officer. One of my main duties as ITO is maintaining the Group 6 website.

I just finished a minor update to the website, making it look a bit more presentable and professional. All I did was update the layout a bit with hidden tables, create a logo for the site, and implement site-wide CSS styles for uniformity across the pages. It really wasn’t all that much work, it’s not a terribly extravagant site, but they think it’s great.

My next plans will really wow them, I think. I’m going to redo the site in PHP, and integrate some sort of blog (hopefully WordPress) into the site. That way, I can have other officers in the group make updates to their sections of the site, rather than emailing updates to me.

First, though, I have to relearn PHP. I’m perusing the available titles on Amazon, trying to find a good PHP book. I figure it’s worth it, since refreshing my PHP knowledge will help me in the ColdFusion class I’m taking over the summer.

Thoughts on graduate school…

February 18th, 2009

So here I am, only a couple of months away from graduating with my M.A. in English. Those couple of months seem so short, though, and I have so much work to do before then. I have a study to conduct (on student perception of the importance of grammar in personal and professional emails), a website to build, documents to produce, a training module to develop, and a presentation to give. In addition to all of that, I also have my obligations as a comp instructor…prepare for classes, teach the students (who, for the most part, don’t want to be taught), and grade papers.

You’d think that I’d be fed up with all of this, and be anxious to just be done, already. But, I’m not fed up with it. In fact, while I’m balancing all of this, I’m also preparing my application for another Master’s degree program, in computer and information systems.

Maybe I’m not semisane after all. Maybe I’m a stark raving lunatic.

Thoughts on Institutional Review Boards

February 9th, 2009

I made a comment in my Methods of Composition Research class tonight that was rather off-the-cuff, but most of my classmates (and my instructor) seemed to agree with it, at least partially. While it’s fresh in my mind, I want to go into it a bit deeper.

Institutional Review Boards are academia’s punishment for the sins of our fathers. For those who don’t know, the IRB is the watchdog for any research dealing with human subjects. If we’re conducting a study, even one that just involves sending out surveys, we’re supposed to get approval from the university’s IRB.

Why do I say that IRBs are punishment for the sins of our fathers? Well, quite simply put, because no other institution that I’m aware of is forced to do this. When a Gallup Poll is conducted, is there some agency that approves or disapproves their poll? When a consultant interviews and surveys a company’s employees, is there a committee that has to give their okay? If that same consultant wants the employees to role-play situations to see how the employee’s would react, is there an oversight agency? The answer to all of those is, for the most part, a resounding “No.” So why does academia have it?

Well, it’s actually pretty simple. No consultant (to my knowledge) ever coerced people into giving electrical shocks strong enough to fell an elephant, all for providing wrong answers to an asinine test. No Gallup Poll has ever treated syphilis with medical (and non-medical) procedures having absolutely no efficacy against any form of VD. Polls and surveys in the business world aren’t at all to blame for horrible medical experiments in Nazi Germany. All of these things, and many more, have been conducted in the name of “academic research.”

So yeah…I think the IRB is punishment for the sins of our fathers. Obviously, it’s a necessary form of governance, but it wouldn’t be necessary if it weren’t for “evil scientists.”

I hate Trojans…

February 9th, 2009

Found out this morning that my Windows desktop had the DNSChanger Trojan. I might have noticed something up with my DNS settings a while back, but thought it was just Embarq using weird DNS servers. Then Windows Defender starting bitching about not being able to update, Windows Update threw a nasty error message at me, and everything pointed to….DNSChanger Trojan.

I have no idea how I got the damned thing, but it’s finally gone. If you find yourself in this same situation, here are instructions for removal:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5398

I’ll warn you, though, you may find that you can’t actually get to that site. I’d recommend downloading the files from another computer or going to http://www.download.com and searching for Malwarebytes. After that, go to http://malwarebytes.gt500.org/database.jsp for the latest database files. Running the Quick Scan worked fine for me.