Is a iPad right for you?

I have a lot of people ask me for tech advise which is great I am always happy to help and giving advice is the easiest way to do it. So being the nerdy tech guru that I am a lot of people may wonder why I got a iPad 1 so late in the game. I was seriously looking at the macbook air to be my next laptop but the more I considered it the more I realized a tablet was the right choice for me and specifically the iPad.

I knew the iPad2 was coming out but at the time (January) I was planning all of my events for my youth group. I was also speaking weekly and doing presentations and media with the projectors. So I always have all my info with me that is easier to read and share with other people. Keynote saved me a ton of time up at winter camp this year I started the slideshow while I was up there finished it when I got home. The cheaper price, lighter smaller package and easier to use for speaking made it a no brainer. The apps that are optimized for iPad really make it shine to there is some really cool stuff out there. For quick presentations I actually like the iPad version of keynote better and I really like keynote on the mac.

The last hold out was video editing with the new iPad 2 that has been solved too so my wife will gets the iPad one and will use with photography stuff.

So the breakdown:

1.) Choose by form factor if holding a tablet makes more sense then a laptop iPad is a good choice

2.) iPad1 is really cheap right now if you don’t need the camera’s or movie editing this is a better choice then ever

3.) iPad2 is the same price as the original and does more, it is good for Skype, FaceTime and other stuff. You can do video editing it is lighter and faster then ever. It runs iOS which isn’t as pretty as some of the other OS’s but it is more stable runs more apps and is more responsive then anything else out there right now. As for us we actually sold a nice 15″ laptop to pay for a iPad2 because I like my iPad1 so much.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Stuff for sale

Trying to get into the less is more concept I am selling stuff I don’t use anymore cheap to benefit others as well. I figured I would let those I know get first look before I put this stuff on Craigslist. So here is the list.

Photo frame takes USB drive, sd, memory stick etc I just use the ugly purple one cause I don’t use it for anything else also has remote. $20

10,000 candle power portable spotlight lots of fun camping $20.

Notw Bible bag $10.

Final cut express hd 3.5 with tutorial $40.

Mac os x boxset latest software u can get with G4′s and G5′s $100.

Apple wireless mighty mouse like new still have receipt. $20

One of my favorite items my digital mini dv Sony camcorder. Has super battery pack and normal pack battery operated directional boom mic and light FireWire cable and nikon bag and one spare tape. Non hd 20x optical zoom I still haven’t found a camcorder I like more then this one. $200 non-negotiable.

Belkin n52te awesome left hand controller for wow or first person shooter saves your keyboard from being beat up and is way more comfortable and ergonomic u can choose to have it light up blue or turn it off all keys are customizable. Some of the keys are a little warn but is in perfect working order I should still have box and cd as well. $40

Navigator 6 for palm pilots with gps and car charger kit and holder. Free for whoever wants it.

Nooma dvd’s by Rob Bell $5 a piece or $20 for all of them I think I got like 15 will take pic soon.

Really nice Swiss laptop purse all leather will have pics up soon. $50

Will add more as I find more stuff I am not using.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I jailbroke my iPhone

Well I finally did it and jailbroke my phone and finished customizing it. This picture is of my lock screen.

I am a hard core Apple fan but the added functionality and the ease of the jail break convinced me to finally do it. Here is what I did keep in mind I have a iPhone 3gs so speed is not a issue original iPhones and 3gs will more then likely see a big difference in speed.

1. Downloaded spirit jail break all I had to do was click and wait 30 seconds!
2. Got winter board and rock your phone this let’s you customize just about everything I chose the goc pro or glass orb color pro theme by Toyvan. It was $2 but his attention to detail is bar none it says it is the only them you need and he isn’t kidding it auto creates new icon from the app store I don’t know how and most popular 3rd party cydia apps here is a screen.

3. Downloaded 5 icon dock which works with the theme as you can see on that screen shot.
4. Got intelliscreen trial for now to see if I like it. It allows you to see calendar, SMS, email and weather all without even unlocking your phone. It also puts icons near your battery meter on the top right of your screen and let’s you know if you missed a call,SMS, email etc. One of the big reasons I jailbroke my device.
5. Open ssh let’s you remote in over wireless and change things like your text MSG alerts an backgounds which I did.
6. Installed fontswap and changed the standard lock clock to “gas”. This took me the longest to figure out.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Why I will buy a Ipad

The ipad is made for people like me here is a quick list why.

I have a  macbook pro and no desktop comp i have it plugged into all kinds of stuff including a 2 tb raid 5 external drive. Basically I don’t like to remove it, it is my desktop. here are some practical uses for the ipad.

[B]small presentations [/B] I have youth group once a week with a small group of kids. I don’t wanna fire up a projector for small presentations or just to show a few pics or news clips during Bible study and i don’t wanna bring in my big not so great battery life laptop that is expensive with crazy kids.

[B]bigger presentations[/B] I have a youth camp coming up this week and getting near a outlet for any length of time can be difficult but I would like to get pics together from people and put together a slide show by the end of camp. My laptop and even my netbook just don’t have the battery life to do it and are awkward sitting in tight spaces.

[B]Picture uploading[/B] There are lots of trips where i want to upload pics from actual camera’s. The ipad already has a camera kit apple has on their site and you can use the current iphone app flickit now but i am sure there will be ones especially designed for the ipad. Whether on wifi or the 3g this would be nice for me. Again i don’t wanna bring my laptop because it is big bulky doesn’t have great battery life and is expensive and i hate using my netbook because it is such a pain.

[B]vacation trips[/B] i like to blog, check a couple of sites send out some emails and be able to vnc to work etc. Netbook is a painful experience here so i bring it and dont use it, the laptop is a pain to pack so i don’t bring it, the ipad would be handy here where the bigger screen is better for blogging picture looking, web surfing etc, when i get back in the hotel.

[B]rural trips[/B] I just got back from a trip where i spent a lot of time in vans sometimes up to 6hr drives. my laptop didn’t have the juice, my netbook is annoying and my iphone didnt have the power to do what i needed to do. My job was to go through pictures and then upload select ones. My other job was to do a video and i find that it works best if i can come up with a story board on the trip and execute it at home with my faster machine. On those long rides it would have been nice to be able to go through the pics with the ipad deleting ones i didnt need so when i arrived at the hotel i would have set albums i could just upload.

[B]using around the house[/B] which jobs tried to kinda show during the keynote. i found that i would go in my office and work on the comp and my wife would watch tv. I found us increasingly spending time apart in our own home. So i started using my iphone in the living room more and more. This got really annoying really fast because of the input method and size of the screen but didn’t want to be in my man cave all day. The ipad would be nice here and seems to be its niche.

[B]reading in the bedroom[/B] i only really read digital books because i like to read at night with the lights out as i am going to bed. The bigger screen size makes this a obvious winner over my Iphone.

[B]bike riding to work[/B] I am fortunate that i live 3 miles from work so i can bike ride. There are times when i would like to get a flyer done or email a group of parents, or work on a keynote. i don’t need to do the whole thing just need to tweak some things during break. Due to the weight, size and in-expense of the device i could see throwing it in my bag getting some stuff done and be ready that night to do final changes on my laptop before showing it on my ipad to the parents.

[B]trip/event planning[/B] with big events it would be nice to have something bigger then my phone but more advanced then a pad of paper. i could look over my to do list email the needed people. have a picture layout of the event and where people should be. Who knows what developers could wipe up for wedding planners and event coordinators with this device in the future.

[B]interactive display[/B] My wife does photography on the side and for the price point this would be great to attract people to here display and not have to worry so much about people messing up a keyboard or it not being elegant enough for a wedding photography setting at a bridal show. For me it would be nice when we have church events and are describing what we do over the year and would be a nice conversation piece.

The list goes on and on, I have really thought it through and nay-sayers simply haven’t. I am not saying it is for everyone but for people like me it is gonna be epic. The new apps that will come out for this will be minority report awesome too.