PostBadge tag to show // FeedBurner FeedFlare. // ------------------------- // FeedBurner account and feed required. // Sign up at http://feedburner.com //================================================ class module_feedflare { function init(){ global $gregarious; $gregarious->add_settings ( array ( 'feedburner_url' => '' ) ); $gregarious->add_page ( 'FeedFlare', 'modules/feed-flare/icn_Flare.png', 'page_feedflare();', 'feedFlare' ); } function postbadge_tags(){ return array ( array ( 'tag' => '%FLARE%', 'replacewith' => 'feed_flare("",false)' ), ); } function update_info(){ return 100; } } //------------------------------------------ // TEMPlATE TAGS //------------------------------------------ function feed_flare($settings = '', $echo = true){ global $wp_query; $post = $wp_query->post; $sets = array('postID' => $post->ID, 'before' => '', 'after' => 'Gregarious FeedFlare', 'force' => 0 ); grab_sets($settings, $sets); if ( !$sets['force'] && hideOnID($sets['postID']) ){ return ''; } if( !$path = _get_feedburner_url() ) return ''; if( substr( $path, -1 ) == '/' ){ $path = substr( $path, 0, strlen( $path ) -1 ); } $path = str_replace ( 'feedburner.com/', 'feedburner.com/~s/', $path ); $path .= '?i='.get_permalink($sets['postID']); $result = $sets['before'] . "" . $sets['after']; if($echo) echo $result; else return $result; } function _get_feedburner_url(){ $feedurl = greg_get_option( 'feedburner_url' ); if ( $feedurl ){ return attribute_escape($feedurl); } else { $feedburner_settings = get_option('feedburner_settings'); if( is_array($feedburner_settings) && ($feedurl = $feedburner_settings['feedburner_url']) ) { return attribute_escape($feedurl); } else { return false; } } } //------------------------------------------ // OPTIONS PAGE //------------------------------------------ function page_feedflare(){ $feedurl = _get_feedburner_url(); ?> The iPad at spencerb.net
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The iPad

Published on January 29, 2010 in Technology. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Apple announced this week a new device, the iPad. I have been reading reviews over at Engadget and around the web. This comment crystalizes what I think is the most meaningful insight regarding the iPad:

it’s hard not to see it as a pretty bold statement of what Apple thinks general-purpose computing should look like in the future

I’m starting with a positive comment about what I will mostly have critical things to say. The same the comment could have been said about the iPhone or the iPod and would have proven true today. Most MP3 players look something like an iPod or have borrowed some functionality. Furthermore, no personal media player is more pervasive than the iPod. In some ways, Apple defines what the MP3 player stands for. Few touch screen phones existed before the iPhone. The ones that did were so clunky that few people would purchase them (some still are).

Something that really excites me generally about new technologies, but specifically about the iPod is the innovation unlocked by the platform. Our society has a wealth of creativity that would have possibly been dormant had the iPhone not existed as a platform and the App Store and iPhone SDK as a development tool. Now, thousands of Apps exist, many of them for free. The iPhone has gone in a direction no one could have predicted because of the thousands of developers and Apple engineers. Neither of them could have accomplished the status quo on their own though.

The iPad, then in my opinion, begs the question – what ideas are out there that the iPad will unleash? The answer might be none. The device could be as marginally useful as I think it is. It could change how we conduct basic tasks on the computer.

The most positive way to look at the iPad is as a souped-up ebook reader. Kindle vs. iPad – the iPad is clearly more advanced and more capable. Otherwise it looks like and functions like a giant iPhone, even running the iPhone OS. No multitasking and no camera. Not exactly a netbook replacement, although it obviously looks flashier.

The real question is when do I need a giant iPhone? What tasks could I not conduct on my iPhone that I would want this device for. The size makes it no different than pulling out a small, portable computer. Again, as an ebook reader, I won’t argue the iPad is an expensive, but good one. As a giant iPod touch with a big screen for watching videos…okay. What remains to be seen is what the forte of the iPad will be? What will the top 10 iPad apps be that make this device shine? Or will it flop in the first generation? Do Apple engineers need to go back to the drawing board?

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  1. spencerb posted the following on January 29, 2010 at 6:19 am.

    A possibly impressive use: iPad + Windows 7:

    http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/28/ipad-apple-microsoft-technology-cio-network-windows7.html?feed=rss_popstories

  2. Tony Schwab posted the following on January 29, 2010 at 3:45 pm.

    I agree. It’s a bit confusing where they are trying to go with this thing. I wouldn’t say thin touch-screen tablet computers are anything groundbreaking and visionary. Microsoft has been advocating tablet pcs for a long time now.

    I expect, based only on intuition, that this thing will have issues in its first iteration, but for those who need a giant iPhone that can’t call but can display books, it will likely be of great use to them in future generations.

  3. spencerb posted the following on January 30, 2010 at 4:07 am.

    It almost seems comical to imagine someone walking around with a giant iPhone…something that Will Ferrell would do.

  4. Anastacia Bissonette posted the following on January 31, 2010 at 12:45 am.

    Lots of of bloggers aren’t very happy with the new iPad.There was just too much hype regarding it and alot blogers got disapointed.Quite frankly, I for one see some of the awesome potential of this device. Third-party apps for composing music, games, newsprints and magazines and books, all sorts of cool stuff, but IMHO they just didn’t really sell it properly (aside from the books). It feels sort of not finished

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