Naives – My Blog

Last time I wrote about talking myself out of an iPad and basically talked myself up into an MacBook Air all in the quest to find a lightweight setup for traveling. Apple you know you got a sucker as a customer with your pricing! So anyways, the most expensive model is only like $170 more than the cheapest Air, not including of course, the extra stuff I need with the iPad mentioned in part 1. Ok, still no modem but we are living with that already. However, one does need an ethernet to USB dongle for the Air, again for the stone age hotels without wireless. No memory card slot, a lot less HDD space, but I suppose I could use a USB stick for my backups, glad I got the 64GB model. Battery time is down to 5 hours, perhaps this can be compensated with some careful use or an external battery. This is beginning to sound a lot like part 1 where I talked myself way up to this model, hmm. It’s going to cost me $1000 to save roughly a pound (possibly even less with all the extras) in my backpack, might as well go with the MacBook Pro. Oh wait, that’s what I already have, and the new one definitely does not have enough going for it to replace my almost 2 year old MacBook Pro. Oh well, guess I’ll have to revisit this in a couple of years or perhaps never.

Sounds like decades ago when I was a devout Apple II user. I wanted a Mac when the original one came out, I really did. At the time though it was just too expensive, especially if one had to buy all new software. The killer was you couldn’t add any cards for hardware interfacing which was my main interest. Currently, my 2 year old 3GS battery needs replacing, and I’m sure my 3 iPod ones will too very soon. I found that it takes $90 bucks to have Apple change out the battery for the former, since it is not a simple battery change like almost all other cell phones. Even if it were free, not having a phone for even a few days would be a major inconvenience. Haven’t priced out the Classic but the 2 others are lowly Shuffles so having a battery replacement done is probably not economically fesiable. I will most likely do the changing myself, “pirate” packs are readily available. The conspiracy theorist might deduce that this is a way for Apple products to “phone home” or a way to extert more of itself onto the consumer. I don’t see how Apple can claim to be green if we are all needing to send these things in piecemeal back to Cupertino every few years. At the very least it’s getting harder and harder to be an Apple customer, ya gotta be either a hacker or rich!

The announcement of the then new iPad (I mean the original one0 had me in line with my $500 in hand. While at my age, you wouldn’t find me first in line or for that matter, even 2nd or 3rd or even in line outside, but I was ready to buy as the supply got better. As always it was your typical elegant Apple product that just wasn’t even close to any netbook I’d seen IMHO. In fact during the time I was waiting, I’d justified myself up to the very top end model! But then reality set in and even the iPad 2 couldn’t change my mind.

One of the main reasons I want one is for traveling, something lighter than my current 13″ MacBook Pro, a bag a bricks compared to the iPad obviously. I don’t do a whole lot of traveling but resigned myself to always needing some sort of computer when doing so. Some of my reasons for having some sort of portable device is for email, getting info on the internet, entertainment during layovers, charging of any USB devices, backup and review of my pictures. Having the iPad would immediately require me to have add ons which would add weight and prone to loss or forgetfulness.

During my last trip my MacBook served as my cellphone and camera battery charger. Replacing the laptop with an iPad would immediately force me to take a USB charger to handle these duties. Additionally, I’ve found my iPhone and one camera a little fickle about who they accept power from, so I’d have to remember which USB charger works, and remember to take it. No USB port? That also means I have to buy Apple’s proprietary connectors at, what was it, $30? It is my understanding that the USB connector will not work with USB flash memory so nix the backup documents I keep on my keychain (come to think of it there isn’t a file manager that allows direct manipulation of the files anyways). I guess I’d have to forget about backing up my pictures due to the lack of memory on the iPad also. Well, since I will be on vacation, maybe I should just forget about everything and live dangerously. Remember, I haven’t even mentioned editing shots, I just want to review them and back them up.

While I do like the minimalist designs that come from Apple, more and more I’ve been feeling that they need a reality check. Even with the MacBook Pro, I’ve already found that not having a modem can be a pain sometimes. I was visiting my uncle in the boonies last year, and granted this was partially caused by the fact he doesn’t want to mess with computers in his ‘advanced age’, but at least he has a phone. But MacBook was too advanced to have a modem. Along the same lines, at 2 out of the 3 hotels I stayed at had wired Ethernet but no wireless. Wireless means no connection with the iPad, couldn’t Apple have at least included a USB port? They could bring back their rather ‘antiquated’ USB modem and sell more USB to ethernet dongles! As things stand, iPad would mean taking a wireless access point. Apple’s Airport Express is not bad bagprintwise but needsto be set up beforehand with a hardwire connection (ie you are screwed if you need to change this on the road).

I suppose one could argue that the iPad is just not meant for this sort of thing so why bother? In part II,if I ever get around to it, I try to talk my way into a MacBook Air. I just kinda get the feeling that Apple is too advanced for our age, and with all the design decisions made, things would be a lot easier if Apple just got rid of the user also.