Toys Archives - Page 3 of 5

iPad Ordered from the USA

After a week of hearing news and looking at photos and videos of the iPad, I’ve pulled the trigger. This thing should arrive in a week or so after making an 8,000 mile journey around the globe. Actually, it will be it’s second trip around the world: the first being from manufacturing in Shenzhen, China to the US for sale.

After playing with an iPad yesterday (Kevin’s) for a few hours, I’m really excited about getting this thing. At the same time, I’m wondering what’s going to happen to my 3G iPod Touch. Selling it would be easy but I’ve downloaded many apps, some of which I use everyday. Those are essentially unusable on the iPad and it seems redundant to keep both although the size difference is substantial and really affects use.

What am I looking forward to most? It’s hard to pick one, but it would have to be iPad development. I’ve been learning watching and reading tutorials on iPad app development and I’m looking forward to learning more.

After that, I’ve gotta say reading eBooks. Finally I can enjoyably read some of the hundreds of eBooks I’ve accumulated over the years. I’m already making plans to sell my current book collection which numbers well above 60 books. It’ll be a bit painful but for the first time in my life, I don’t feel that I’ll need them anymore.

You May Be a Victim

…of software counterfeiting. Honestly, I wish they had said piracy. It sounds so much more festive.

As I’ve been playing Starcraft 2 on my desktop recently, this message has been popping up frequently, kicking me out of the game. Recently almost every time I use Windows (I’m using Windows 7 on this computer) I’m bothered by how annoying it is. Programs crash, pop-ups distract me, and it’s generally just more of a pain in the ass than Mac OSX. I feel sorry for people who don’t know all the ins and outs of Windows like I do.

The Victim and the Culprit

Yeah, I didn’t pay for Windows 7. I was an “official” Beta tester before it was released, and then I downloaded and installed a cracked copy. If it actually came down to paying $350 or more (however much Windows 7 Ultimate Edition™ costs nowadays), I’d just as quickly go back to Windows XP. That operating system is ten years old and feels like Mac OS 9 (that is, painfully antiquated) but at least it isn’t as problematic as Windows 7.

Pondering the Future

Recently I came across this article, which considers the circumstances under which Apple’s market cap tops that of Microsoft. I wholeheartedly agree with the author: Microsoft’s days on top are numbered. With Google and Apple filling the gap by taking an ever-increasing market share from Microsoft with their superior mobile and desktop platforms, I say good riddance.