* originally posted on the Loading Ready Run forums”

I want one for what it can be, not for what it currently is.

I think a huge amount of the disappointment today came from impossible expectations. The internet has been a blaze with rumors of what this thing will do. It was getting to the point that shy of blowing you and making a nice cup of coffee for afterwards was what this tablet was going to be capable of. There was just no way that it could have lived up to the hype.

BUT!

And this is a big but, at no point was I just blown away, there was never an AH-HA moment. It is, for the lack of a better definition, a giant iPod Touch. Now to be honest I don’t know what I wanted from this thing. I didn’t need a front facing camera for video chat, but at this point in the game and with the hardware this thing has, running multiple applications at once should simply be within it’s powers. I didn’t need facial recognition, or even a OLED screen but the support of flash in the browser or a SD card reader (and yes I know there is an adapter, but it should really just be built in) should have been included.

Something that I need to keep reminding myself (and everyone else should be aware as well) is that the iPad (BTW, horrible name) was essentially running a beefed up version of iPhone/iPod Touch 3.2. Now chances are it will ship with that OS but keep in mind that iPhone 4.0 (Software wise) is just around the corner. With the impending release of the new hardware this summer we should see an announcement of 4.0 either in the spring or at WWDC. Which very well might change a couple of my major problems with this device. 

Mainly
-No Multitasking. This is the big one. If I’m chilling in bed I don’t want to have to close down Safari to check in on my Twitter/Facebook App. This fucker has a 1Ghz processor, some people are actually thinking it might be a dual core 1Ghz procssor saying they could see the single core version find it’s way to the new iPhone. I shouldn’t have to close down one app to open another. Hell, even if you limit it to 3-5 apps open at once I will be happy. 

-Flash. Another big one. I heard Senior Jobs throw around the word “Netbook” a couple times today. And it’s fairly obvious thats the market they are gunning for (along with eBook readers) I WANT FLASH!

-SD Card slot. While it does have the option of grabbing the adapter for such tasks this very easily could have been put into the device, figure it out 

Will I still buy one.

Probably.

What can I say, I’m a sucker for tech and thankfully they offer a WiFi only version. I already own an iPhone and I don’t need another monthly bill (UNLESS! I can get 200MB for 9.99 from Rogers, then I might just tack it on, but that will never, EVER happen)

I see this thing basically living on my bedside table. One of my new years resolutions has been to read more books and I think this might aid me in that mission. I don’t care about owning a physical version of the book and this might prompt me to buy a couple more books. I would also much prefer to take this one the road than my 2500 MacBook Pro. I have great use for it in town. Recording/Editing podcasts and the occasional LRR video but I am always so nervous when I travel with it. Thats not to say I wouldn’t be concerned with my tablet but I know I wouldn’t freak as much.

Basically I want to be able to take something on the road that I can surf the web, watch some movies and dump my pictures onto after a day of photography. This can do just that.

PS: It would be a fucking KILLER comic book reader.

I stay till the end of the credits at Movie Theaters. It pisses off some people I occasionally see movies with but most of the time I don’t have people hounding me to get going.

I do this for a reason however, and it’s not because I don’t want to fight the crowds after the movie is over.

A movie isn’t an easy thing to make, even the really shitty ones. They require time and commitment from hundreds of people. Some might put in a days work, while other can spend weeks, months or even over a year (sometimes even longer) working on a major motion picture. When it comes down to it the actors will get a huge amount of credit, which they should and then credit trickles down the line. After the actors the director or writers will generally pick up whats left, but what about everyone else? How about the Director of Photography, First Unit AD, what about the sound mixer, even craft services. All of these people are listed at the end of the movie but who actually pays attention to them? Other than those post roll credits there is no other way to really see who was in charge of any given task in a movie and thats about all the credit they will ever get when it comes to the mainstream audience.

As someone who has been part of a creative team for 6 years now, I have come to appreciate every person in our crew and those that might just be able to help out every once in a while. LoadingReadyRun wouldn’t be what it is today without the hard work from Myself, Bill, Morgan, Matt, Jeremy, Kathleen, Graham, Paul, Tim and the countless numbers of other that have helped over the years. It’s the same with Hollywood flicks. People work their asses off to make a movie and I believe everyone deserves at least a little bit of credit, and the only way I can show that is to sit through the credits and actually watch them, read peoples names, see what they did to help get that movie made.

I don’t expect you all to start sitting through the full credits of every movie you see from now on, but next time you catch a flick at your local theater take a couple extra minutes, let the crowds clear and watch the credits.

So I read all the issues of this today.

It’s pretty hard core. But really good, I suggest you give it a try.

Other than that things have been pretty quite around here.

My read a book a month thing is going pretty well. About half way through More Information than you require and so far it’s been pretty amusing. I should get around to reading his first book one of these days.

My eat right has been going really well. Been eating at home more and more and have noticed the difference in wallet, not so much on the scale but I need to get back to the gym for that sort of thing to actually happen.

LRR has officially started up with The Escapist and things have been going well so far. The first video was fairly well received but I think a few people were confused as to what exactly we do. Hopefully with this weeks video (which is one of the best videos we have done in a while, IMO) will cement that we do wildly different things week to week.

Later Days!

So it’s Tuesday, and I have very little to say.

I have spent a huge amount of my free time lately over at http://www.twit.tv. What Leo and his team over there do on a daily basis continue to amaze me. If you have any interest in the tech world and enjoy listening to smart, funny people chat about it in a very laid back environment then I suggest you head over. If you have no interest in that sort of thing than I would suggest you not go to that site and you might find entertainment over here.

Last week was my first week going down to 4 days a week at my Full Time Job. With the new contract at The Escapist starting up this week, it has afforded me the oppertunity to take Fridays off and spend them at the LRR office and work on stuff there. It was actually a really productive day considering who we are and what we normally do. This week should be even better and I am really looking forward to it.

I wish I had more to say today but I got nothing. I think I’m going to go read for a bit.

Later Days!