Back and Forth Forever

• People really need to be more considerate. The Apple Store website is next to unusable. Get off please and let ME get an iPhone too. #
• You’d think that Apple/AT&T would have prepared for the preorder load. This is beyond ridiculous, 3 hours and no success. #
• I hate AT&T more then any other company on the planet. They’re worse then BP. BP just killed some birds, AT&T is killing my soul. #

• Not sure what I think about chiropractic "medicine". (@ Claddagh Chiropractic Healing Center) http://4sq.com/cJ8Q3l #
• Just completed a 2.67 mi walk with @runkeeper. Check it out! http://rnkpr.com/a6hxrd #RunKeeper #
• I just ousted @alexdegruven as the mayor of Lucky Kitchen on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/9qv8Ab #
• I hate birds. Up since 4:10 AM listening to this out of my bedroom window: http://bit.ly/b6c2Ne #
• Just completed a 2.51 mi run with @runkeeper. Check it out! http://rnkpr.com/a6jmks #RunKeeper #
• Up at 5:30, ran 2.5 miles, made it to work by 7:20… what the hell is wrong with me? #

• I'm at Rochester Mills Beer Company w/ @24limes @castrojo. http://4sq.com/7q93zs #
• I just unlocked the "Bender" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/d01tq4 #
• Saw homeless guy on the way to work with sign that says, "Like Obama I need change." #
• I just ousted Matthew C. as the mayor of Jimmy John's on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/aWpm5u #

• I just unlocked the "Animal House" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/dvSS99 #
• I just unlocked the "Super User" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/bXUtqt #

• I'm at Qdoba Mexican Grill (Ann Arbor). http://4sq.com/9ceRur #

• I'm at Qdoba Mexican Grill (Ann Arbor). http://4sq.com/9ceRur #
• I'm at Buffalo Wild Wings (280 W 9 Mile Rd, at Allen Rd, Ferndale). http://4sq.com/7DZVab #
• I'm at Jimmy John's (2614 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor). http://4sq.com/aWpm5u #
• Hey @Crysis, I want you to put my name in the game! http://crys.is #Crysis2contestNA #
• I just unlocked the "Jobs" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/cTZLm5 #

• I'm at Town Tavern (116 W 4th St, btw Main St & S Center St, Royal Oak). http://4sq.com/5s4kEi #
• I'm at Kroger. http://4sq.com/c1cNAT #
• I'm at Micro Center (32800 Concord Dr, at 14 Mile and I-75, Madison Heights). http://4sq.com/6YLllZ #
• Watching Persepolis. Great movie. #
• Just completed a 2.36 mi run with @runkeeper, check it out http://rnkpr.com/a517ge #RunKeeper #
• Gray Powell's personal life is ovr. His myspace says who I'd like 2 meet "Steve Jobs, Busta Rhymes"… 1 wish complete. http://bit.ly/9aJaCq #
• I'm at Jimmy John's (2614 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor). http://4sq.com/aWpm5u #
• I'm at Buffalo Wild Wings w/ @andrewforgue. http://4sq.com/7DZVab #
• Wow, the three new Dell Android phones (Thunder, Lightning, and Flash) look awesome. #
• I favorited a YouTube video — Axis Of Awesome – 4 Four Chord Song (with song titles) http://youtu.be/5pidokakU4I?a #
• I'm at Western Market (447 W 9 Mile Rd, Btw. Livernois and Allen, Ferndale). http://4sq.com/5mgs0X #

• AirVideo is the killer app on the iPad right now. Live conversion of a 1080p movie at home looks perfect on the iPad over Wi-Fi at work. #
• I had no idea who Justin Biber was until I saw trending topics. Those fans are nuts. Like clinically crazy. #
• Lady Gaga now has the most watched video on YouTube. Internet, you've failed man kind. #
• I'm at Zoup. http://4sq.com/bFwjR2 #
• I'm at Gracie's Underground (22757 Woodward Ave., Ferndale). http://4sq.com/aDikrW #
• I'm at Inyo (22871 Woodward Ave., at Withington, Ferndale). http://4sq.com/64g0g4 #
• I'm at Club Bart (22728 Woodward Ave, at 9 Mile Rd, Ferndale). http://4sq.com/8SkB0F #
• I'm at Lily's Seafood (410 S Washington, btw 4th St and 5th St, Royal Oak). http://4sq.com/ajtTFn #
• I'm at Inyo (22871 Woodward Ave., at Withington, Ferndale). http://4sq.com/64g0g4 #

• Cat Eye rocks. Threaded the battery cap for my bike computer thing. They sent me a new one free of charge. #
• Cat Eye rocks. Threaded the battery cap for my bike computer thing. They sent me a new one free of charge. #
• I'm at Zoup. http://4sq.com/bFwjR2 #
• I just unlocked the "Don't Stop Believin'" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/bK2iQL #
• I'm at Woodward Avenue Brewers (22646 Woodward Avenue, at Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale). http://4sq.com/7IjDrQ #
• Wonder what's going on at #linode My servers AND linode.com are down, this is not a good day for my customers. #
• Back up now…. whew. #

No really, it is.  Take an iPod Touch shake down Mario or Luigi for one of their magic mushrooms, then feed it to an iPod Touch and voila the iPad is born.  Born in to a world of uber-nerds, rich hipsters, and technology addicts fully drunk on Apple’s “magic” Kool-Aid.  People who wear shitty Apple earbuds because it makes them look cool, people with more sense then expendable income, people who stand in line for 3 hours to buy the next Apple product without holding it, using it, or even knowing why they want it.  Why?  Because we can, damnit, and oh how we want it.

I was reluctantly interested in the iPad.  I told my co-workers, who (rightfully so) make fun of my Apple addiction, that I would probably hold off on the iPad.  I have a dust collecting Kindle, laptop, desktop, iPhone… “Why would I need all those rolled in to one shiny device?”, I’d exclaim.  ”I’ll wait until the second generation iPad comes out, probably.”  Yeah, right.  On April 4th I woke up with the Sun, slammed a Red Bull, made a cup of tea, donned my afore mentioned Apple earbuds and drove to Hell (the mall) to stand in line with the unwashed nerds, trendy hipsters, and creepy old guys more infatuated with Apple then I ever dread to be.

So here I am, doing exactly what I told myself I wasn’t going to do.  I’m in line, 2 hours before mecca opens its pearly gates.  My body is angry with my rushed morning, the copious amounts of caffeine I’ve poured down my gullet, and my anxiety at my sure to be regretful purchase.  While doing the I-have-to-pee dance I check my iPhone every few minutes to make sure time isn’t moving backwards because it sure as hell feels like it.  I stare with ravenous envy at the “I’m better then you, I pre-ordered” line, I down free Starbucks scones courtesy of the purple-haired Apple employee, I continue to do the pee-pee dance.

The doors open.  The line moves at a snails pace.  There’s 300 people ahead of me, most of them have pre-ordered.  I’m doomed.

After what seemed like an eternity, I move to the front of the line.  I feel like a school girl getting ready for Prom, I know I’m about to make a bad decision and love it. I’m instructed to follow an Apple Genius (really, I doubt that she was a Genius), and that she’d help me make my purchase.  I can see why the line moved so damn slowly now.  I inform her that I’m looking for the 16GB model, dock, and that’s it.  She tells me that I need Apple Care.  I tell her I don’t.  She tells me that I do, and rattles off her script of reasons why I do.  I tell her that she’s out of her mind and  that I’ll see her in a year when the iPad2 comes out well before my warranty expires.  After winning my small battle she vanishes to the back of the store to retrieve my prize, it has to be a prize I think I won the world record in bladder-holding.  She returns, and we complete the transaction.

I sprint to my car, tear open the packaging like a starving dog attacking a cute baby bunny, and with reverent hands I remove the coveted iPad.  I press the on button and feel gleeful excitement when the Apple logo pops up followed by dismay when I’m informed that I need to plug it in first… followed by deeper dismay that I still haven’t relieved myself in 4 hours.

—

Many days later, bladder properly attended to, and having spent dozens of hours fawning over my iPad I’m ready to do the needful.

I thought I would regret my purchase.  I thought I would end up selling it on eBay for a small profit or loss.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Maybe it’s because I had my first hit of Apple’s crack pipe when I purchased my second generation iPod and have been taking regular hits ever since, or maybe it’s because the iPad has filled a void I never knew was there.  Yeah, I definitely hit that pipe hard.

What the iPad is good at, it’s REALLY good at.  As a web browsing device it’s amazing.  Couch or porcelain throne surfing has never been this awesome.  The screen is bright, processor is snappy, and the battery lasts easily seven hours or more on a single charge.  Much to my girlfriend’s dismay it’s a great reading device too.

The real area where the iPad will shine is with the apps.  The lack of applications I’d be interested in was initially why I thought I’d wait until the second generation iPad, or a few months at least.  I prefer the Kindle app over iBooks but both are just as easy to read with.  I can see this being a great movie-watching device too, though I’ve only demoed the very version 1.0 Netflix app and extremely buggy ABC Player for a few minutes.  The video looks great and even though the device isn’t widescreen aspect ratio it’s still an enjoyable experience.  Most of the applications out right now are barely 1.0.  In a few months I’ll expect that I’ll do more and more casual computing on my iPad over my MacBook Pro.

Everything’s not all bright and shiny, though.  The keyboard is atrocious.  I tried writing this post on my iPad and got through the first few paragraphs at about a quarter the speed I’d normally type at.  I know, I know.  There’s a keyboard I could dock with it, or I could use a Bluetooth keyboard but that’d defeat the purpose of the portable-ness of the device.  For writing short emails, sexting, or IMing I can see it being passable, but I don’t plan on writing a novel with it.  It’s missing some other features like multitasking, 3rd party web browsers, and for some reason everyone is clamoring for a front facing camera (or any camera for that matter) so I’ll throw that on this sadface list.  Oh, what’s up with the App Store?  So the device is 3x bigger then an iPhone or iPod Touch, does that really mean all devs have to charge 3x  the price for the same application?

Overall, if you’re a trendy hipster, uber-nerd, hood-rich gadget addict, or have more expendable income then common sense you probably already have one.  If you’re on the fence go try one out and expect to walk away with one.  If you hate Apple and all things made by Apple, go try one out and expect to walk away with one.