The iPad

Do I get any credit for mentioning the name iPad back in Aug 2009? :-)

Massachusetts Senatorial Election - What is happening?

Needless to say, the entire country is focused on today's senatorial election. Out of no where the republican candidate has surged in the polls within the last two weeks and now its too close to predict who will win. How did this happen? How could it happen? This would be unimaginable months ago when Senator Kennedy passed away.

I see two significant factors. First, Martha Coakley, the democratic candidate lacks the X factor. She simply does not possess the dynamic personality usually required to win over people. I say usually because Representative Paul Tsongas certainly lack charisma and that didn't stop him from getting elected. However, it still can't be ignored that Ms. Coakley has not yet developed the necessary persona to convince the general public that this is the individual who will best represent them in Congress.

The second factor in Congress. Many say the factor for the negativity towards the democratic candidate is the Obama administration but I can't place the blame with them. I blame Congress. The House and Senate have democratic majority and have had the opportunity to show the country how their party can do what's right for America and yet their handling of health care shows the worst congressional behavior.

One of the founding principles of the Obama candidacy was transparency. Then comes the health care bill and leaders Representative Pelosi and Senator Reid. The House passes a bill that is over 1,000 pages in length and yet no one has had sufficient time to read and understand it. Then the Senate proceeds to draft its version of the bill. Except the drafting process is done behind closed doors. Republicans are not included in the process. The final straw is the negotiation to get Senator Ben Nelson's vote. Senator Nelson received a commitment from the federal government to fully fund his state's expanded Medicaid population. No other state would be fully funded. In my world this is called a bribe. The Senate then followed the House and passed a bill that was also over 1,000 pages in length before giving members of the Senate an opportunity to read the bill.

This congressional behavior demonstrates what is wrong with Congress. Pelosi and Reid had an opportunity to show the country the proper way to address the health care problem and instead they demonstrated the worse possible of traits of public office - secrecy and blind ambition. The voters clearly see that Congress did not step up and provide transparency or a proper opportunity for public debate of health care and all of its problems. The voters of Massachusetts are calling for a change. Whether or not the Scott Brown wins, a loud message has been sent to Washington. The wind of change is blowing towards Washington and the people will ultimately have their way - do what is right for this country or we will.

Can a tablet replace a laptop?

I just read a piece in MacWorld asking the question, "Can a tablet replace a notebook?". According to the article the answer is no. I propose that the question is invalid. A tablet and a notebook have different functionality and are not substitutes for one another. In fact, I believe that it is this type of thinking, i.e., one replacing the other, is responsible for the failure of tablets in the past.

You use a laptop to act as you portable desktop. Anything you can do on your desktop machine you should be able to do on your laptop. I personally have taken this concept further and simply use a laptop for everything. The only concession I make is that when I'm working at a desk I use an external keyboard and mouse. In addition, I use an external monitor in my home office.

So what is the purpose of the tablet? First consider the functionality found it today's smartphones, e.g., the iPhone. It can do email, surf the the web, manage your contacts, manage your calendar, act as your iPod, take photos, take video, do texting, and provide maps. If that isn't enough then all you need to do is visit the App Store and browse through the 100,000 apps.

What doesn't the iPhone do well? Two things come to mind - typing and surfing the web. The virtual keyboard works well but I wouldn't want to write a multiple page document with it. Common sense dictates that a laptop would serve that function much better. However, the vitual keyboard on the iPhone is great for short emails, texting and taking quick notes. That takes us to surfing the web. Now I use my iPhone constantly and I surf the web with it. However, once again, this task is better suited for a laptop because screen real estate matters. Surfing the web with the phone is great for quick inquiries but you wouldn't want to surf and read for hours.

So why should I need a device to fill the space between a laptop and a phone? Answer - You Don't. Each device serves a separate purpose and they serve them well.

Then what would a tablet do? As I have stated previously, it will act as a media pad. You will access the internet, read ebooks, read newspapers, read periodicals, look at photos and view videos. Can you do this with a laptop or an iPhone? Yes, but the form factor is wrong when you think of portability and functionality. The laptop is too big and the iPhone is to small. Hence, enters the tablet.

Will it run productivity applications, ala, iWork? I believe yes but it will run them in a cloud computing environment. The focus will be on accessing documents and making minor changes. It will not serve as your primary typing platform.

The only question is what will you use for a keyboard? I believe you will have the choice of using a virtual keyboard or a bluetooth keyboard. However, if you need a bluetooth keyboard then you are probably using the wrong device. Heavy keyboard activity should occur on a laptop.

Replacing a laptop with a tablet is like replacing your oven with a microwave. They both cook but each is suited for a particular type of cooking.