The Amazon Kindle has become increasingly attractive over the years as it continues to both shrink in size and in price tag. Owners of the eReader device rave about the convenience of being able to carry so much text around with them in such a portable package. Marco Arment makes an excellent case for why the iPad doesn’t endanger it and why it’s going to be around for a long time:

Reading on the iPad is a bit of a kludge. You can read on it, and it’s a lot better than reading on a computer, but it’s still too reflective, heavy, bright, and power-hungry compared to the Kindle.

People often assume that the iPad’s backlit LCD screen is an advantage over the Kindle because it doesn’t need a separate light to be read at night. But the Kindle’s e-ink screen is actually more versatile for different lighting: not only does it work in bright sunlight just as well as paper, but I find it easier to read a Kindle at night with a small lamp on than with an iPad in the dark, even using dark mode and low brightness. And I often can’t use those same nightstand or headboard-clip lamps with the iPad to light the area less harshly because the iPad’s screen is too reflective. The iPad is also too heavy to comfortably hold in most ways for long periods, and its wide range of software capabilities can be distracting. When you’re holding a Kindle, all you can do is read. When I read on an iPad, I always want to go check my email. And my feeds. And Tumblr. And Twitter. Just for a minute.

The idea of a device dedicated and designed exclusively to the task of reading is extremely appealing to me. I have a tough time staying focused for more than a few minutes when working or reading on my laptop, so the Kindle would help in that regard. But as tempting as the new $139 price tag is, I’ve still got some big issues with eBooks in general, and the Kindle in particular.

First, I’m a big believer in the ideas of ownership and fair use. Buy a paper copy of a book, and you have the right to do whatever the hell you want with it — resell it, lend it to someone else, or give it away when you’re done with it. But when you “buy” a Kindle book from Amazon, you can do none of those. Cory Doctorow:

When Amazon “sells” you a Kindle ebook, they don’t really sell it to you. If you read the fine-print, you’ll see that they’re waving their hands furiously and declaring that you aren’t “buying” the book, but rather “taking a license to a limited set of uses” for the book. Whereas a book that you buy comes with all kinds of rights, such as the right to sell or give the book away a book that you license from Amazon comes with a very small subset of those rights, as defined by a lengthy and difficult-to-grasp “license agreement.”

And while Kindle eBooks were sold at a discount by Amazon for a couple of years, recent price negotiations with publishers mean that you no longer even get a cheaper product in exchange for giving away your rights. Dan Gillmor put it well on Twitter earlier this week:

Second, both Casey and I are pretty heavy users of our local library. I even have my handy LibraryLookup bookmarklet ready at a moment’s notice to see if the book I’m looking at in my browser is available to borrow locally. But so far, there has been no word on a library lending feature for the Kindle. The Barnes and Noble Nook is supposed to give you the ability to borrow eBooks from libraries, but searches on the topic bring up little information, and I’m certain the Grand Forks Public Library does not offer this option right now.

Third, I have a dozens — if not hundreds — of PDF documents and eBooks on my computer that I would love to be able to read on a more convenient device. Recent versions of the Kindle software does support PDF files, but from what I’ve read and heard, it’s a painful viewing experience on the Kindle’s e-ink screen. And the built-in PDF reader on the Kindle 3 is supposed to be “improved”, but I’ll leave that to the Kindle veterans to determine. I know an iPad would do this job well, but I cannot justify a minimum $500 expense for a portable PDF reader.

Fourth, I’ve accumulated a bookcase of nonfiction books over the last five years or so that I still have yet to read, and there’s no way I’m going to pay a second time just for the privilege to have them in electronic form. But if Amazon had a feature where I could “upgrade” books I purchased from them in the past for a dollar or two after verifying ownership via a webcam barcode scan — I’d be all over that.

On the other hand…

On the other hand, while the Kindle and other e-ink based eBook readers have their share of technical and legal/political limitations, there’s still a lot there to make me want one.

First, while the Kindle store is by far the easiest way to buy new books for the device, there are other options. Besides the DRM-restricted Kindle file format, it also natively supports text files and Mobipocket files. You can also send a number of document and image formats to your @kindle.com email address to have Amazon automatically convert them to a native file type.

And then there are tools such as Calibre that let you:

• Manage your (non-Kindle store) eBook library on your desktop
• Perform eBook conversions to and from a huge number of formats
• Gather news from websites and publish it in an eBook format for your device
• Sync content to your Kindle or other eBook reader
• Server content to your device(s) via a built-in web server

Merlin Mann swears by it, so I know it’s good.

I also save and read a lot of long-form web content using the InstaPaper web service, and it’d be great to have a first-class reading experience with it. InstaPaper offers the ability to deliver bundles of saved articles to your Kindle, and it seems to be done very well.

So as you can see, I’m conflicted. I love knowing that the books I own are, in fact, mine, and that I’m free to use them as I please. I’m skeptical that the Kindle can successfully display many of the PDF documents I have. And I hate the fact that you can’t borrow eBooks from the library or “lend” one to a friend (Nook aside). But the Kindle is now cheap enough and open enough that it could make a good reader for news, articles, and books. If Calibre could convert my library of technical documents and PDF eBooks with a minimal amount of formatting issues, I’d instantly have years of content to read without ever buying a book from the Kindle store.

I think I now know what I want for my next birthday…

Possibly related posts:

1. iMeh: A Few Quick Thoughts on the Apple iPad
2. Amazon is the Coolest!

But in that time, problems developed. It started taking over five minutes after booting up for Windows XP to get to a usable state. Outlook 2007 got sluggish. There was a weird issue with Google Chrome, where it would randomly cause the entire system to freeze — forcing me to do a hard restart using the power button. I started thinking it might be time to petition the boss for a new computer.

Instead, I took the opportunity to upgrade to an inexpensive hard drive with twice the capacity and to finally make the move to Windows 7. I previously tested this version for a bit in a VMware virtual machine when Microsoft was asking people to beta test the operating system before its official release, so I never got to know it well. But having used it exclusively for a little over a month, I can tell you that I’m a big fan. Read on for more details in my leap from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Installation

It’s almost comical how much work Microsoft put into the Windows 7 installer given that it’s usually a one-time deal, but the process does set expectations for what’s to come. In that context, it was well worth their efforts. I started a clean install before dinner on a Friday night and when we finished about 40 minutes later, I was surprised to see it had already finished and ready to use. No prompts, no waiting for me to answer a question at some arbitrary screen, just the Windows desktop — ready to use.

Device Support

Every hardware device built into my ThinkPad was identified by Windows 7 during the installation process, so there was no need to hunt down WiFi or video card drivers after the fact. Most surprising was that the T61’s built-in fingerprint reader worked without installing Lenovo’s client security software, thanks to the Windows Biometric Framework API introduced in Windows 7.

Start Panel and Taskbar

I love what Microsoft has done with the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 7. I know, I know — some of these changes were made in Vista. But considering that I spent all of an hour using that version of Windows, it’s all a new experience for me.

The Windows 7 Start Panel is a smarter way of accessing the programs and files than the old style Start Menu. Applications, files, and folders all automatically get better placement for faster access while everything else is hidden away needed. For example, here’s the Jump List for frequently visited folders in Windows Explorer:

The new Taskbar too, is much improved. Instead of the old Quick Launch toolbar and space-wasting window tabs for open programs, Windows 7 replaces it something resembling Mac OS X’s dock. There are no text labels for applications by default (saving lots of space), and multiple windows get collapsed down to a single icon. Hovering your mouse over the icon for any running application will result in a small preview of each window (or browser tab, in the case of Internet Explorer):

Right-clicking a running program gives you a contextual Jump List that can give you quick access to application features, as shown with Google Chrome:

I was also pleased to see that the notification area of the Taskbar has received a welcome makeover in Windows 7. Every application icon is now hidden in its own overflow area, leaving only a few understated system icons for sound, networking, etc. It creates a much cleaner experience:

Search

I used Windows Desktop Search in XP, mainly to find old emails and information in PDF technical documentation. Searching was sort of slow and indexing seemed to be a drag on the system, but it got the job done.

In Windows 7, search is built into the system for seemless access everywhere. One of my favorite features of the Start Panel (which I didn’t mention above) is the search bar at the bottom. Hit the Start button on the keyboard, start typing, and within a second you can launch an application buried deep within All Programs. If you’re looking for text within a document or a file’s metadata, it just tasks a few more seconds to find and open it.

For me, having one button access to fast system-wide search has been the biggest productivity booster since switching to Windows 7. I rarely have to venture into the program menu, and opening a folder is a few keystrokes instead of navigating a series of nested folders. Easily one of my favorite features.

Multi-Screen

When Windows XP was first released, multi-screen computing was a novelty, and it showed in the basic support it offered for more than one monitor. Lenovo’s software made things more bearable on my ThinkPad, but switching between the built-in screen and the two LCD monitors attached to the dock on my desk sometimes felt like it was a kludge and not something I should be doing on a regular basis.

Thankfully, using two monitors with Windows 7 feels much more natural. There is still room for improvement, such the ability to extend the Taskbar or backgrounds across more than one screen, but it’s good enough that I didn’t have to install Lenovo’s software in order to manage things.

Performance

I’ve been extremely happy with how Windows 7 performs on my ThinkPad T61. I wasn’t expecting it to feel faster than XP, but it does in every task. Granted, it’s hard to determine how big a role the new hard drive plays in the speed increase verus the clean install of Windows. In any case, it’s a noticeable improvement, and makes me glad I did the upgrade.

Also, while the laptop tool over five minutes to boot into Windows XP, it’s down to about a minute with Windows 7. Shutdown time, too, is usually a lot faster, though a few times a week it takes about five minutes for the process to finish at the end of the work day. I haven’t bothered to investigate potential causes yet, but you can be sure I will if it starts happening more often.

Conclusion

I couldn’t be happier with my upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. It’s fast, rock-solid (I haven’t seen any of the crashes or freezes I constantly had before), and has some great new features that make me more productive.

Possibly related posts:

1. Making Windows Act a Little More Like Mac OS X
2. Prediction: You Won’t Be Using Windows In 10 Years
3. How the Command Line Saved Me from 19 Hours of Tedious Work

As much confidence as we have in the story we’re telling, we are also comfortable saying, “But what do we know?” This is our best version of the story of Lost, and it’s the definitive one. The worst thing we could ever do is not end it, or go with some bullshitty ending like a snowglobe or a cut to black. That was genius on The Sopranos, but The Sopranos isn’t a mystery show. For us, we owe our best version of a resolution here.

– Damon Lindelof in Wired Magazine issue 18.05

I was a latecomer to Lost, having waited several years to start watching the first season on DVD. I continued watching the series with interest (but also with a lack of urgency) until a couple of weeks before the final season started in February. Then, determined to get caught-up, I embarked on a two-season, 31-episode, viewing marathon that allowed me to experience the closing chapter of Lost alongside millions of other viewers.

Needless to say, I love this show. With its mixture of fantasy, religion, philosophy, science fiction, action, and character-driven stories, it is unmatched by anything else on television — past or present. And unlike most other television series, the creators of Lost were able to fully tell — and end — the story they envisioned.

And that’s what I want to talk about here. Not the show’s flaws — there are plenty — but how producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse chose to end things. Or not end things, depending on your opinion.

Warning: Spoilers Below

Lost’s finale, like the rest of the series, was a Rorschach test. What you think it means says more about you than it does about what ‘Lost’ masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse actually put on the screen.

– Gary Susman, TV Squad

I feel that the Lost finale — the most emotionally draining (and satisfying) television I have ever experienced — was, simply, perfect. From the coffin being taken off the airplane in the opening scene, to the shot of Jack’s eye closing at the end, it was masterfully crafted. Each person’s moment of “awakening” too, was beautifully captured as memories of their lives washed over them and filled them with joy. Yes — I cried.

True, many questions about The Island and its scientific and mythological properties were left unanswered. New ones were even introduced. I can totally empathize with those who were left disappointed and angry after viewing “The End”.

But, Lost is more about the questions, not getting clear-cut answers. Questions offer choices and possibilities — one of the ever-present themes throughout the series. Yeah, there would be some satisfaction in knowing how The Island works and how it got there, but I think there is something really valuable in not knowing. Speaking at TED of his long unopened “Tannen’s Mystery Magic Box”, Co-creator J.J. Abrams captures the idea brilliantly:

The thing is, that it represents infinite possibility. It represents hope. It represents potential. And what I love about this box, and what I realize I sort of do in whatever it is that I do, is I find myself drawn to infinite possibility, that sense of potential. And I realize that mystery is the catalyst for imagination. Now it’s not the most ground-breaking idea, but when I started to think that maybe there are times where mystery is more important than knowledge, I started getting interested in this.

Lost has always been about its characters: Messed-up, broken humans haunted by personal demons, offered a chance of redemption on The Island. “The End”, lacking in answers for some fans, gives as perfect an ending for the survivors of Oceanic 815 as one could hope for. We’ve gotten to see the best and worst of these characters, shared so many weird and magical experiences with them, and we finally get to see them all together again — and happy.

There are so many different layers of meaning and symbolism threaded through Lost that even though the series has ended and the creators’ story has been completely told, we fans are left with numerous possibilities to discuss and explore long into the future. By leaving us with questions, Lost will live on.

Seriously — Best. Show. Ever.

Possibly related posts:

1. Finally Getting into Lost
2. Nine Inch Nails, Buzz Marketing, and Lost

Unmanned aircraft systems are becoming big business. It’s estimated the Department of Defense will spend as much as $80 billion on unmanned aircraft in the next 10 years.

Phyllis Johnson, vice president for research and development at the University of North Dakota, says Grand Forks is at the epicenter of a growth industry.

“I think this region is positioned as well as anybody, if not better than most,” said Johnson. “We have all the pieces right here to really grow this industry and take advantage of everything that’s out there.”

There was a lot of uncertainty in the area when the Department of Defense recommended realignment for the Grand Forks Air Force Base back in 2005. Thankfully, instead of seeing it close with the departure of the 319th Refueling Wing, a new mission developed around the emerging use of unmanned aerial vehicles. And while the RQ-4 Global Hawk isn’t scheduled to arrive until next year, it’s already having a positive impact on Grand Forks.

Just this afternoon, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held down the hallway from where I work in the Center For Innovation to celebrate the opening of Northrop Grumman’s new Grand Forks office. According to Minnesota Public Radio, they expect to have about 100 employees here within the next two years.

In addition, area educational institutions are getting involved, too. The University of North Dakota is now offering the world’s first degree in Bachelor degree in unmanned aircraft systems operations and Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls is preparing to train mechanics qualified to fix and maintain the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft.

Having this new industry in the region also presents an opportunity for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Locating a supporting manufacturing or software in Grand Forks provides easy access to the United States Air Force, Northrop Grumman, and a variety of UAV training and educational resources. It’s possible that our little city could play a key role in this industry for well into the future.

Grand Forks owes a big thanks to North Dakota’s Congressional delegation and city officials for their years of hard work in making this opportunity possible. Between this and the potential for clean and renewable energy in the state, we’re positioning ourselves well for the future.

Possibly related posts:

1. High Turnout in Grand Forks Yesterday
2. Barack and Hillary Coming to Grand Forks
3. Britney in Grand Forks
4. Grand Forks Finally has High Speed Mobile Internet (EV-DO)!
5. I Just LOVE Grand Forks…

I made the mistake of auto-posting my activity feeds for the same reason so many other people do — it’s easy. Click a checkbox, type a username, then set it and forget it. But in this case, easy is also lazy. It gives me yet another excuse to not take the time to think and post about something that interests me and possibly the people I interact with on a given site. I lost sight of the fact that the point isn’t to make things easy for me, but to show respect to those who give me a slice of their limited attention.

The Unlink Your Feeds manifesto put it so well, I’ll quote a full page from it in full:

I have a vision of a new social networking paradigm. Handcrafted social networks.

I imagine a world where people take each network for what it is and participate (or not) on those terms. Instead of a firehose slurry of everything buckets, I imagine separate streams of purified whatever-it-is-each-service-does. I envision users that post when they’re inspired and don’t mind skipping a few days if nothing particularly interesting comes up.

I’m like Thumper’s mother. “If you can’t think of anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.”

I imagine people taking the extra 10 seconds to reformat a post for each service if the message is so relevant and important that it needs to show up more than once. I imagine being able to choose who I follow and what subset of their postings I get with a high degree of granularity.

There may come a day when this vision gets implemented on the server side. When all the social networks give me fine grain control for hiding subsets of the updates sent out by my contacts. But until that day comes, it’s gotta be solved on the client side.

Here’s the Plan

So going forward, here’s how I’ll be using each of the sites I post to. If you’re interested in following one or more, please do. You get my personal guarantee that, unless noted below, I won’t cross the streams.

• berbs.us: The blog you’re reading right now is for longish form writing that requires me to get my butt in a chair and move the cursor to the right. If you visit this site directly instead of in a feed reader, it’s also why I stripped it down to a bare bones style that gives you no choice but to focus on reading.
• Google Buzz: I’m still not sure how I’ll use Google Buzz in the long-term (that is, if it’s still around in the long-term). Right now I’m mostly using it to follow people in the technology business. For now I am auto-posting items I share out of Google Reader here, but I’ll reevaluate that soon.
• Delicious: My collection of bookmarks I intend on reading or referencing sometime later — mostly technology related and, oddly enough, recipes.
• Facebook: Where I occasionally check in on people I know offline. While I’m finding myself spending less time here recently, if you know me in meatspace, look me up (just don’t invite me to play Farmville).
• Flickr: Where I post photos, mainly of the family. New ones automatically get shared out to Facebook as an alternative to their own photo tool.
• Last.fm: A running history of what I’m listening to at home and on my iPod. I had been sharing this info out to other sites in the past, but now you’ll have to visit my Last.fm page if you’re curious about my odd choices of music.
• LinkedIn: If you’ve worked with me, went to school with me, or are a friend, feel free to add me on LinkedIn. I don’t visit it much right now, but you’ll never know if/when that’ll change.
• Twitter: Out of all of these on my list, Twitter is by far getting the most of my attention these days. It’s given me the chance to interact with a number of fascinating people all over the world. I regularly share links, pointed opinions, and attempts at humor, so follow me if you’re not already.
• Tumblr: Looking back through my blog archives, I used to post a lot of links to videos, other sites, etc. Since I’m trying to keep the blog somewhere I work on long pieces, I created a Tumblr link blog as a place where I can quickly post things I find online.
• Vimeo: If and when I have videos to share (again, mostly of the family), I do it at my Vimeo account. If it’s worthy, I’ll selectively share it elsewhere too.

Possibly related posts:

1. State of the Blog
2. Fast Company on Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook
3. Facebook Loves Developers, and I Love Facebook
4. An Experiment in Lifestreaming
5. Thrift: Facebook Open Source Tool

The thing is, after using Chrome for a while, I realized that I didn’t really need — or miss — all those extensions I had collected in Firefox. Instead, I’ve found that since that I’m usually wanting to initial a search or take some sort of action on the page I’m viewing at the moment, simple bookmarklets are almost always Good Enough.¹ These lightweight snippets of JavaScript sit out of the way in my Chrome bookmarks bar until needed, when each is just a click away from performing its specialized task. Best of all, since they’re just bookmarks, Chrome automatically syncs them across any Mac or PC I use.

Taking this obsession one or two steps further, I’m now experimenting with a web app called Quix that allows me to access all of my favorite bookmarklets from a sort-of command-line interface. When I need to take an action, I hit the Quix link in my bookmark bar and up pops a text prompt:

If I want to format the current page for easier reading, I can type read. To save the page for later viewing on InstaPaper, I type insta. If I’m looking at a page about a book and want to see if our local library has it available, I type odin. You get the idea.

Quix comes with a ton of commands already defined for you, covering a good 80% of what I need. The great thing is that I can define my own command file to override the default Quix commands or add my own custom ones. I’m hosting the text file as a gist on GitHub, so anyone is free to view and customize it for their own use.

There’s a lot to be said about simple solutions, and browser bookmarklets fit that description nicely.

Possibly related posts:

1. My Favorite Firefox Extensions
2. Chrome is Google’s Latest Jab at Microsoft
3. Great Software

Since I forgot about the thing immediately after ordering it, I was delighted to see that the mail lady delivered it yesterday afternoon. And although they had never seen a harmonica before, the boys were quick to give it a try.

Here’s Asa (2 1/2 years old) with a quick demo:

And, Kael (4 1/4 years old) with a longer performance:

Any suggestions on the next instrument we can introduce to our fledgling band?

It turns out that I’m a sucker for children’s books with great typography — especially when it’s used to great effect in the storytelling. While browsing yesterday, I found one I just had to bring home based on its cover —  Big Plans by Bob Shea, illustrated by Lane Smith:

The story follows a boy who has “BIG PLANS. BIG PLANS I SAY.”, and he’s not afraid to let everyone know it. I love the design of this book, which, while not fully appreciated by a four and two year old, adds a lot to the humor and tone of the story. WhatTheFont wasn’t able to identify the fonts used, so maybe I’ll have to submit a sample to their forum to figure out the main typefaces.

In any case, well done Bob Shea and Lane Smith. Well done.

The Name Sucks.

This is not opinion, this is established fact. It’s an uninspired brand coming from Apple, looking and sounding way to close to iPod for my tastes. And the feminine hygiene jokes were immediate and plentiful.

I wish they would have went with something like Canvas, though that name implies creativity over consumption — the opposite of the iPad.

It’s a Bigger, Faster iPod Touch. Or a Crippled Netbook Without a Keyboard. Take Your Pick.

The iPad is beautiful — a work of art. But Revolutionary? No.

It runs the iPhone OS and can run apps designed for the iPhone/iPod Touch in addition to new applications designed specifically to take advantage of the 9.7 inch display and the Apple designed A4 processor. This means that for yet one more device, Apple will play gatekeeper to what applications you can and cannot run. Or, as Dan Gillmor aptly put it earlier in the day:

The iPad is clearly Apple’s answer to low-cost netbook computers, but the problem is, it’s not really a computer in the way we typically think of one. Here is an incomplete list of things you can do on any netbook, but not on the iPad:

• Download and install applications from any source off the internet, including open source projects
• Choose an alternative web browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.)
• Watch Flash-based video and view Flash websites
• Run multiple applications at the same time
• Use any USB device

One last, important thing to note in this section: All of the many amazing use cases given for the iPad today could just as easily be accomplished on a laptop/netbook or the iPhone/iPod Touch. All of them.

The Price is Better than Expected.

Apple did a couple of really clever things regarding price for the iPad:

1. In the weeks leading up to Apple’s event, it intentionally fed the “around $1000″ price point to the media, setting expectations on the iPad being an expensive device.
2. Focused completely on the “starting at” price of $499. Nevermind that most people will opt to pay more for extra storage or 3G wireless — The iPad is now seen as a bargin.

In the end, an WiFi-only iPad costs $300 more than an iPod Touch equipped with the same amount of memory (though the entry level iPad gives you 16GB instead of 8GB like on the basic Touch).

It Should Make a Good eBook Reader Killer.

For all but the biggest book lovers, there won’t be a big debate between buying a dedicated eBook reader or spending a little more for the versatility of the iPad. The high quality screen should be just fine for reading large amounts of text. Plus, you can always watch HD video on it if you need a break.

Personally, I think Amazon’s Kindle brand will be around for a long time to come. They’ve got deep pockets and a huge advantage with the relationships they’ve made from their dead-tree book business.

But these other, up-start eBook readers? They’re screwed.

3G Wireless Sans-Contract is Nice. No Verizon Option is Lame. 250 MB Data Plan is Super Lame.

I’m glad Apple is offering 3G wireless broadband as an option for those who want to pay extra for it. And the fact that it’s being done without any long-term contracts is really nice. I hope that becomes the industry standard.

Apple partnering up with AT&T again for the iPad is a disappointment as they’ve already proven they can’t handle the network load created by the iPhone. It would have been nice to finally see a Verizon Wireless option.

The 250MB/month data plan for $14.99 is useless. You can burn through 250 megabytes in a couple of hours if you’re watching YouTube videos or streaming music from Pandora. I really think it’s there as a psychological pricing trigger — If you see it next to the option for “unlimited” data for twice the price, a lot of people will pay the extra money and be done with it.

iMeh.

The iPad is unquestionably an amazing consumer electronics device, but it’s not obvious why I’d want one. Maybe, as some Apple fans have said, you have to actually hold one in your hands in order to get it. Problem is, I don’t remember needing to get my hands on an iPhone to appreciate its significance. And that, I think, sums up the Apple iPad.

Possibly related posts:

1. Apple Announces iPhone — Cingular Only
2. The Problem with Tablets
3. Apple and AT&T: Inglorious Bastards
4. Wow — A Free Apple iPhone!
5. The iPhone on Verizon: Break My Heart Again, Apple

And while you can be sure I’ll be tracking Wednesday’s event coverage on GDGT Live and TWIT Live, I’m skeptical that Apple’s tablet device — or any tablet for that matter - will be a commercial success. Not necessarily because they’ll make a dud (possible, but unlikely), but because the very idea of a tablet computer seems unnecessary.

Still — I can’t wait to see what Apple has made.

Awkwardness

Although Apple will be getting all of the attention for its new tablet this week, it is far from the first company to take a crack at the form-factor. Microsoft alone has been pushing pen-based computers for at least eight years (I remember seeing Bill Gates demoing one at a technology conference in Fargo in 2002), and there have been various rumors of an Apple tablet for nearly as long. The product category has seen some success in niches such as law and medicine, but the average person has shown little interest so far.

Why? One big reason is size. There is a small size range — between 8 to 10 inches — that makes sense for a tablet screen. Any bigger and you might as well carry your laptop. Any smaller and you’re competing against the iPhone or Android-powered phones which already do a Good Enough job of running apps and providing connectivity wherever you are. The problem is that a 10-inch device is incredibly awkward. It’s too big to fit in your pockets and too small to comfortably get real work done.

Another problem is that, at least in the past, tablet functionality has been tacked onto existing interfaces and operating systems. Windows XP, Vista, and 7 are each capable of functioning on tablet devices, but from everything I’ve seen and heard, it’s not a great experience. Windows was designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse, and shoehorning stylus or touch technology to work with it creates a novel secondary form of interaction, at best.

Perhaps the best discussion I’ve heard on the basic problems facing the tablet form-factor is from the December 3, 2009 episode of the gdgt weekly podcast. The relevant section — which you can listen to below — is a few minutes long, and worth listening to.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Cost

Let’s make the easy to believe prediction that Apple’s table is beautifully designed and has a user interface to match — It’s a home run by every technical and aesthetic measure. That still levels the important detail of how much this new device costs. Apple doesn’t aim to be the price leader in any category (especially with a new product), so expect something in the $800-$1000 price range depending on storage and a few other “premium” features.

Again, the tablet is stuck in the awkward middle. You can get a Macbook for essentially the same price, or a netbook with a 10-inch screen and a keyboard for 1/3 the cost of an Apple tablet. Granted, it won’t be an Apple and the screen will suck, but for most people, price matters. But wait — there’s more! If rumors are true, not only will buyers of the Apple tablet pay the typical premium for the new product (that’s not a knock, by the way — I’ve happily paid it many times myself), but other ongoing costs.

First, it’s expected that just like with the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple will use the iTunes Store to distribute and sell applications. If this is true, it means you’ve got to go through Apple’s walled garden for every program you put on your tablet — no open source apps, no “unapproved” apps, etc.

Second, it’s rumored that the new Apple device will be the premiere platform for reading books, magazines, and newspapers. If this is true, guess where you’ll be going to purchase or subscribe to this content? Yup — the iTunes Store.

Third, it’s likely the Apple tablet will come with the ability to use Verizon or AT&T 3G broadband to give you an internet connection anywhere. Let’s hope this is at least optional, otherwise that’s another $30–40 monthly subscription you’re required to pay.

Watching with Interest

Don’t misinterpret my skepticism of tablets with a desire for Apple to fail with their new product.  Sure, I have issues with their general lack of platform and application openness and the potentially high ongoing price tag for their tablet, but I hope they deliver an innovative device that forces just as much industry change as the iPhone did. I just think they’ll face a much harder sell than getting people to buy a phone or a laptop.

And while nobody has scored a hit with a tablet computer yet, if anyone can, it’s Apple.

Possibly related posts:

1. Apple Announces iPhone — Cingular Only
2. iMeh: A Few Quick Thoughts on the Apple iPad
3. Steve Jobs Still Hates North Dakota
4. Apple and AT&T: Inglorious Bastards
5. The iPhone on Verizon: Break My Heart Again, Apple