We have embraced a new technology here at Ber Manor. Well, new to us but not new to the world. I got an iPad through my friend and Apple devotee Jambo. Yes, I have gone to the dark side of the force but let me explain.
I’ve wanted a tablet for a long time but only in the last year have been able to afford one. I liked the idea of an extremely portable means of internet access/e-reader. We’re out of town often enough and even though I now have a laptop, it would be nice to be able for both of us to get online at the same time, or for Carjo to be able to stream a movie or read while I’m writing. And though I have a healthy disregard for all things i, I did keep the iPad in consideration.
We got my sister-in-law a Kindle for Christmas and it appears that it has become quite the device for her. My mother-in-law has complained that her daughter is addicted but hey, it’s perfect for a bibliophile who didn’t have a computer at home. And as fellow bibliophiles, the lure for my wife and I was strong. So I considered the Kindle, the Nook, the Samsung thingy, the Windows tablet, and the iPad. But I hate Windows 8, Kindle and Nook are too tied to one content provider for me, but the iPad would sync up well with our iPhone. It was expensive but I figure I won’t be replacing it for quite a while. So I took the plunge.
Pros: the retina display is really sharp. On some apps, like IMDB, the images practically leap out at you. I found the proper apps to read all the e-material we have accumulated over the years, which turned out to be a combination of Kindle/a comic reader/Pages/a pdf reader. That’s four apps but given the scattered and confused content providers out there it was the only choice. It’s a little heavy in the hands but given how well-made it is that’s an acceptable trade-off. I found some decent guitar apps, set up Facebook and YouTube to my wife’s accounts, got a WordPress app for my blog, and Amazon prime for TV/movie viewing. And that should be more than enough to keep us entertained.
Cons: To load content you have to go through iTunes, a bloated piece of software if I ever saw one. Three times it choked up and locked while loading photos, which should be a simple operation. And while photos look great on the display, there appears to be no way to delete the duds. iTunes needs to be fine-tuned to select files/folders because it is really clunky compared to other media players.
But other than that we’re fine. I will get a case to protect it but I think we’re all going to be happy together. So here’s to Jambo, here’s to the legacy of St. Jobs, and here’s to me for catching up with the Joneses but not breaking the bank.
jeroljohnson 
I hope you enjoy your tablet. It’s true, I’m limited to what Amazon makes available, but the content is plenty for me. I do wish I could get more obscure, indie, and foreign films. For instance, “Sex Lies and Videotape” and “The Station Agent” aren’t available for streaming. But really, thanks again for the Kindle. I have watched exactly one hour of conventional TV since December! After almost six months of leaving it only to sleep, go to work, and shop for essentials (and, yeah, showering, in case you were wondering), I’m starting to get out occasionally and am making new friends in a Meetup walking group.
These days I’m focusing its use on education. I’m reading books on biology, astrophysics, history, etc., watching videos, reading blogs, and researching on those and other science subjects. I’m taking math lessons on YouTube to make sure I didn’t miss anything in my lousy schooling. I keep adding books to my wish list and bookmarking science websites and videos. I’ve only explored the apps a little bit and got one or two games and puzzles, but I see there are ones for learning languages, math, geography, history, musical instruments, etc. It would have been nice to have a sight-reading app when I was singing. I enjoy my GoodReads, Wikipedia, IMDb, and I Heart Radio apps. I have Inkpad for my writing exercises.
Here’s a fun site I discovered that you may like: Strip Search (http://www.penny-arcade.com/strip-search). It’s a reality show about webcomic artists competing for prizes. I discovered it through the blog Sci-ənce.org where the attachment is posted. I love the geeks and skeptics and geeky skeptics’ websites and blogs.
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