The above image has been surfing its way around the internet, and I just thought I would say a few words in defense of the big yellow book that arrives on our doorsteps. Although I agree that the world be a much better place if there weren’t so many phone books sitting around without use, they do have a time and a place.

One day, about 2 years ago, I had moved into a new apartment in a new city. Like most people in the middle of a move, I needed some take out as I was not about to try to cook with a kitchen full of boxes. I walk over to my laptop, open safari, and “Webpage not found” appears. I didn’t have internet installed at the new place yet and these were the days before my blackberry and the ability to tether my phone to the computer. I sat discouraged for a long time, wondering how did people find phone numbers to take out places before the internet? Then it hit me. The PHONE BOOK!

So you see, there are still times when the use of such analog methods is still required. Not to mention, old people still need phone books, and sometimes they come in handy as step stools or doorstops!

After all, we are talking about a product that has sold over 2 million units in its first 60 days of life; 1 every 3 seconds as Jobs himself told us at D8 and WWDC. Now, if you factor in the 2 iPad a person limit, at the minimum, we have 1+ million individuals purchasing a machine that costs at least $500 a unit in just 2 months, and demand for the product is only rising. Apple itself cannot produce iPads quick enough to satiate consumer demand, so I beg the question, are we out of the recession yet? I think we must be at this point. It’s either that or Apple has some secret recipe for success even in bad economic times. I guess both are possible. What do you think?

Today, I received some disappointing news related to the iPad. I had heard on the news that a woman had gone into an Apple Store planning to purchase an iPad with cash and was turned down. According to Apple’s iPad policy, only credit or debit cards can be used to purchase the product in order to help them track their 2 iPad per person limit. Now, we know why they have this limit in place- people have been purchasing iPads and distributing them overseas for higher costs and Apple doesn’t support this illegal trading of it’s products. I get that, but then why not put a system into place where a cash customer can show ID and their name and address can be used to track them so that they do not purchase more than the limit.

Now, what was doubly disappointing was that in the news broadcast, the reporter said that gift cards to are a no no for iPad purchases, which made me raise an eyebrow. They didn’t mean Apple Gift cards, did they? I have a $100 Apple Gift card that I received for my birthday this year, which I was planning to use to buy the iPad, in the event that I decided to purchase one. I have been saving it for just this purpose, and now it’s usability was being called into question. So, I decided to ask an Apple Expert via the Live Chat feature on the Apple website. This was the conversation, my messages are in pink.

As you can read in the conversation, apparently Apple Gift cards cannot be used to purchase the iPad either, unless you are doing so online. Again, I am disappointed that Apple doesn’t have a better method in place for situations like these, especially since my $100 Apple Gift card would not be the sole payment method for an in-store transaction- I would use my credit card to cover the difference. This makes me not want to buy an iPad!

If you couldn’t guess from the title of this post, today is Earth Day! Perhaps some of you will let this day pass without notice, but to the few of you who may actually be interested in the planet and would like to make a small difference in your day to day lives I have something for you! Today, and today only (until Midnight) you can get FREE SHIPPING on your order from Baggu! I took advantage of this today, and it equates to $4 off your purchase ($4 is the standard flat rate delivery from the USPS). Just use the code earth10 at checkout!

Now, if you have never heard of Baggu before, you are in for a treat. Baggu is a line of handmade, reusable shopping bags made from 100% ripstop nylon and each regular sized Baggu is the equivalent of 2-3 plastic bags from the grocery store. I LOVE these bags, and actually, I am sort of obsessed with them because they are so useful in so many ways. The philosophy behind the bags is to use products that have more than one use, so you can ‘own less stuff’ as they say in their literature, and these bags do just that. I own a few sizes of the Baggu including the backpack- not only are these products well made and durable, they do function in multiple ways. I keep a Baggu with me whenever I leave the house and they are great for not only grocery shopping (where I get 2 cents off my purchase per bag I use and the bags each hold up to 25lbs so I no longer worry about them breaking on my walk home) but I have used them to carry wet clothing and shoes in my luggage, to cover my head during a rainstorm, to store linens in, as a laundry bag, as a lunch bag, and probably a few more ways I can’t remember right now. They are washable and come in a nice little carry bag that is made from the scraps of fabric left over when they make the bag itself- so these bags are really well thought out and well designed. They also come in an array of colors so I am sure you will find one you like.

Like I said, I’m obsessed, but I think this is a good obsession. These Baggu’s have taught me to look for multipurpose products helping me to reduce my consumption and, happily, my spending. For someone who lives in a tiny apartment, owning less is a philosophy I can get behind! So, seriously, check out the website. I know this isn’t a tech gadget, but I think that Baggu is a company with products that embody the promise of technology: to enlighten and simplify our lives.

3D, the wave of the future and the next generation of how we view television. Now I like so many have gone to a few 3D movies, watched those Superbowl commercials in 3D, and even gone to a few amusement park shows that had a 3D portion. So obviously it was only a matter of time before it was time for 3D to come to your living room. But the big question I have to ask myself is “Why?”

With many television companies trying to develop and market the new 3D TV’S, will they be the wave of the future? Will it revolutionize the way we watch CSI or American Idol? My guess is no. I don’t see everyone going out and replacing their flat screens for TV’s that support 3D shows. And wait, there is a bigger problem… what shows will broadcast in 3D? We have standard channels, HD channels, DVD’s, and Blu-Ray disks and now we will have to have new 3D channels and 3D movie DVD’s?? The cost of re-broadcasting a show or producing a movie for this new format seems too high and with too few of a return of customers buying them.

But beyond the novelty of seeing a tomato fly right out at your face, what else is the point? Every time I have seen a 3D show the constant thought of “is this in 3D? Oh I guess that flew out at me… What does it look like without the glasses?” and so on. 3D is a fun thing to watch as a spectacle, but not for everyday life. Sorry TV companies, I’ll pass on your new product.

Not to mention that since I wear glasses, having to put on another pair of glasses is a little hard to do.

Post brought to you by Cousy the Boyfriend.

Well it didn’t take long but Apple rumors are swarming the internet all over again. After months of iPad fever it was nice to have a little break of the constant barrage of theories. But like all good things, it must come to an end and new rumors have started again. So what is the buzz on the internet now? Well it turns out people are gravitating their focus towards the iPhone. Part of the fever is because the iPhone 4G could be coming out…. soon…sometime…maybe. A lot of features are being speculated like it will be made of titanium, have a removable battery, have GPS, and will cook you bacon anytime you want (a guy can dream). Let’s be honest, like all Apple rumors most of them will probably be dead wrong so I’m not trying to get my hopes up too much. But what fascinates me is what people think will “solve” all of the iPhone’s problems. And what I find odd is that many are saying that it is all about the Benjamin’s baby. Yes people are saying that the $99 price point is just too great of a commitment to make and is the big turnoff for them. In face a recent survey by Morgan Stanley Research says that people are focused on this most of all.

But I have to wonder about this, since to me $99 isn’t a horrible price to pay for a phone with a camera, internet service, and games. Sure the prices of the phone, plan, and contract length aren’t the best things in the world for the iPhone… but why is the service provider ranked as 6th on the chart? People are more concerned by a battery than the service? No offense to AT&T, but their service hasn’t been getting a lot of great reviews both for quality and price, and I’m not switching from my very good carrier to that just for a phone. If Apple really wants to expand their market they need to not renew their exclusivity contract with AT&T and let more carriers in. Besides if they did that that might bring down the 2nd and 4th items on the list with more options for service plan costs and lengths.

I know this plea that the iPhone should open up to more carriers has been said a hundred times before and will be said a hundred more times, but to claim that the price is a bigger problem than the carrier just seems stupid to me. So what about you? What do you think is the biggest problem for the iPhone that needs to be solved? Leave a comment below and let us know!

I read this article the other day, writen by the notable tech writer Andy Ihnatko that got me thinking about the practical nature of the iPad, which I had previously deemed impratical. Okay, so as I have already said, this thing is a big iPod Touch- I wouldn’t say it’s an iPhone necessarily because thus far it is not a phone, although with a Skype application this could indeed make voice chatting and even calling a feature, but that is a conversation for another post.

Never the less, the iPad’s greatest asset is its screen real estate, which is arguably larger than a majority of netbooks out in the market (if anything 10 inches is the max for netbooks), but unlike said netbooks, the iPad comes with a multitude of content, some you may have to pay for, some you may not, and of course I am referring to iTunes. See, for someone who already has an iPod(s) full of content (movies, music, apps, ect) you are already pretty well set up if you were to buy an iPad, which is certainly not the case if you were to buy a netbook or a tablet of another brand.

Now the big A-HA moment I had while reading the Ihnatko article was that, I, and I am sure a nice slice of the consumer market, have an interest in ebook readers, and so the ibookstore available to iPad users (question; is this ibookstore going to be available to iPhone or touch users??) gives me (and you!) the ability to fullfill ebook desires and make use of my iPod content at the same time. Of course the math of this decision would be more than simply…

ereader= $250

netbook= $300

total= $550

$550>$499 (iPad)

iPad Wins!

You have to take into consideration the fact that the iPad would be a means to spend even more money on content that you now need to own because you have a screen larger than a cell phones to work with. Apple is running a business after all and they will try to seduce you into their ever growing content market one way or another.

For me, I think it is time to refocus my thoughts in a new area. I know I want a tablet, and in light of the availability of content for the iPad perhaps it could be the tablet for me. I certainly have a good amount of time to think about it, but I fear my anticipation for the device may cause me to purchase too soon, something I ended up regretting with my iPod touch. Remember, longing makes the heart grow fonder!

The progression of gadgets and electronics has been something I have been thinking about a lot for the last few days. In the next few days, Apple could possibly announce a life changing device to the market- but what is life changing anyway? When I think about it, nearly every gadget I have owned has been life changing, even within the scope of similar devices. As generations of them progress, they become more featured and intuitive, suiting the needs of the user to a greater degree.

Consequently, all this deep thought on electronics forced me to recall all the gadgets I have owned, so I thought I would share with you the laptops I have owned throughout the years.

My first laptop was given to me in 1996 at age 10. I can’t recall the brand of the computer, but it looked very similar to this photo above. It was grey and thick and ran Windows 95, and what I thought was very interesting about it was that it had a trackball for a mouse. It was heavy and had a small screen, but it could connect to the internet via a phone line and so I loved it!

The next laptop I owned was a Compaq Presario 1200 series which I received in 1999. Coming from that old clunky early 90’s laptop, this thing was light and fast and had a much more attractive form factor, not to mention it had a floppy and CD-Rom drive. It also ran ‘the new operating system’ Windows 98. At the age of 13 when I was given this machine I had no clue about operating systems, but the jump from Windows 95 to 98 opened my eyes to a new world of computing I never understood before. I have since become an OS junkie.

In 2003, the year before I went to college, I bought this even more modern Compaq Presario 2500 series. This had the largest screen of any laptop I had owned, or have owned since. It also had a DVD drive, so this was also the time I converted from VHS to DVD- a little late, I know! This machine also ran, what to me at the time, was a revolutionary new operating system- Windows XP! Everything about this laptop seemed more vibrant and refreshed, and I remember having the distinct feeling when I bought this that I had entered the future.

As we all know, college is a crazy time in a persons life. They learn new things, they experiment- some of it good, some of it bad. As an Art History major in college I was surrounded by these new machines I had very little knowledge of before this time. I mean, as a PC user for all of my life until that point, I had been conditioned to think of Macs as the enemy and an inferior computer to the PC, but I was never really taught why. So, in college I dabbled, and unsurprisingly, I liked it. So, in 2006 after my PC died on me in the middle of Maymester (May semester), I started researching Macs. Coincidentally, this was also nearly the exact same time that the intel based white Macbooks were announced and so I took it as a sign to convert.

By 2009 when I upgraded to a 13 inch Macbook Pro, I was already indoctrinated into the Macintosh lifestyle and haven’t looked back. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me technologically, as looking back from that very first laptop over 10 years ago, I have made such a substantial jump in my fluency with computers that I wonder how much further it will all progress in the next 10!