iPad and the Future of Comics

So Disney bought Marvel and Steve has Disney in his pocket. So all Marvel comics will be on the iPad?

What Does the Future Hold?

Looking back on my older posts I see that most of my predictions are dead on.
I'm working on Apple's future road map and hope to have a new site up featuring my predictions and some cool concept art.

Well I predicted in 2008 there would not be an Apple tablet, I was correct for 2 years or so. Over-all I still feel that there is not a tablet. The idea of a tablet is something you can write on and would be more newton like. What apple has brought us is something a bit different. It's a book reader. Software will make it so much more, but really it's a big iPod touch with 3G. The huge thing here is they made there own chip and they made it for $499. This thing is going to be huge and it will snow ball like mad. What Apple has done is reinvent the PC. Instant on. Easy to use. Long battery. Always wired. Amazing retail pipeline. Best user experience. This is the Mac on the couch I was talking about.

x-A multi-touch mouse came out and it's not what I was hoping for, but like all things Apple it's baby steps. iPhone is a great standby so here's to hoping the iPad is too.
*-Black keyed backlit keyboard for the iMac -- Sadly this has still not happened. Why Steve?
*- AppleTV wand remote and hardware update.... GIVE ME A Break!!!!
*- iPhone Hardware update -- Right on schedule every summer... Happy Birthday to me!
X- Mac Mini with more HD and No optical drive -- WOW! Dead on.
*- Even more media server function to the Timecapsule -- little by little, soon we will control our own sky.
X- Better Battery Life -- Apple is making their own and it's getting there. 10 hour iPad?
X- LED Backlit LCD across the board -- I think it is close enough. How bout some dynamic backlighting now, instead of this edge-light crap.
*- Games on the AppleTV -- Still a no go. Why does Apple hate you?
X- New Store for anyone to sell, movies, music, books, software, art -- Pretty much there if you know how. WE NEED BETTER TOOLS!!!!!!

Looking back at my thoughts of what Apple "wants" is pretty much in line with what they are doing. They are ignoring the Big screen for now and focusing on something much more important. The sacred 5th screen... They are trying to save the publishing industry. It really makes sense to me. They will soon lock in all the best content and apps and as TV's try to tack on software into their machines we will eventually see Apple put out a TV or really a Giant iPad. I don't know much about the industry, but I think they will put the hammer down on TV in a few years, once the widget TV's have had a bit of a run.

The fear so many people talk about Apple having a closed system is really just the stupidest thing they could say. It just proves they don't know what they are talking about. Apple makes the Best tools for us and it is our job to make the best content with those tools. That content is not locked down in anyway. (ok it is, but not in anyway that pisses me off) I'm really happy with what they are doing for the most part, I just don't have the patience to wait for them to train us all how to use their awesome products. I want it all now. But I can dream.

Just a Few Gaps Left

I've been enjoying all the updates. Still some holes in the product line up but it's starting to become clear how good it's going to be.

Apple Wish List:
- Multi-Touch Dial wireless mouse replacement for desktops
- Black keyed backlit keyboard for the iMac
- AppleTV wand remote and hardware update
- iPhone Hardware update
- Mac Mini with more HD and No optical drive
- Even more media server function to the Timecapsule
- Better Battery Life
- LED Backlit LCD across the board
- Games on the AppleTV
- New Store for anyone to sell, movies, music, books, software, art

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It's Hard to Switch

When you use windows for a long time, it is hard to switch to OS X. There are so many cool tricks you very slowly learn while getting into this OS. You really have to change your ways of thinking about windows management. For a long time in the days of OS 9 I really disliked the ways the Mac handled it's windows it was always a mess for me and part of what drove me to using a PC for many years. That and the fact that Macs where too expensive for me and until they switched to Intel, too slow. And they didn't get sexy until the last couple years.

It takes awhile to get used to using OS X. It is different than
windows in the sense that you use the track pad or other shortcuts to
get to the windows. You leave the windows on your desktop which for a windows user can seem like madness. I was so used to minimizing my windows to navigate. You can use spaces
to create multiple desktops. Use shortcuts to switch to windows or
other apps. It takes some time to get used to but after using it for
awhile it is hard to go back to windows. I have noticed these
features are not as easy for me on macs without the new track pad.
Say you have 10 windows open on your desktop, you can move each
application to it's own "space" or desktop up to 16 of them. You can
then use the track pad to switch apps. In the app you may have 5
windows open, you use the track pad to show them all smaller and
click the one you want. It is very fast and lets you see all open
windows at one time, or all open windows for that app. Go here and
watch the video about the multi-touch track pad
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features-15inch.html

Once you get used to the shortcuts and having your windows move
around your screen like magic, windows will become the bag of hurt Mac
users have been crying about for years. I will say that Windows 7 has some
nice features that I really want to try. I can't wait to get Vista off my PC.
 It is a screamer and Vista makes it feel like a snail.
 I really just want to install OS X on it. But I haven't had the time.

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It's Funny How Money Changes Situations

It irritates me when people go off on the Mac vs PC thing. There is no debate. The bottom line is OS X is better in many ways. Windows is good for some things. I think you can divide people into many groups and here are a few. People who are smart and have money buy Macs. People who are smart and don't have money, get someone else to buy them a Mac. People who are smart and can't find a way to get a real mac, build a PC and dual boot. People who use windows are stuck in a single mindset and lack the will power to learn a better system because they are too lazy to learn it and too lazy to afford it. People who have money and are idiots and buy Macs because they look cool. People who have money and buy PC's because they are loaded. People who like playing games on PC and don't mind the terrible interface and haven't bothered to learn OSX. People who are extremely nerdy and play text based games and write their own OS.

Of course there are many other ways to be a PC or a Mac. Personally, for daily use a Mac is best for me. I used to enjoy building my own machines but the pleasure I get from a Mac far outweighs that joy. I still boot up the old windows machine to play some games or just because my job requires it. But seriously with a multi-touch track pad this thing is off the chain. There is not a PC on earth that comes close to be this slick.

Are Macs perfect? Hell no. Are they the sexiest best computer I've ever used? Hell yes.
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Will Apple make it's own chips?

There has been some speculation that apple will make there own chips for the new notebook computers. This is very unlikely for a few reasons. First, there are many users who install multiple OS' on their machines. Ditching Intel for their own chip would limit this possibility. Apple is far better off making there own chips for the Apple TV, iPhone, and iPods. This will allow them to lower the price and increase their profits.
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NowLocal iPhone Application

This is a cool idea for an iPhone application. News that is location aware.

NowLocal

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