Reflections on Steve Jobs Passing

October 5, 2011 Leave a Comment

Just a few minutes before I started to write this, my mom sent me a text message on my iPhone, that Apple Computer co-founder and technology visionary Steve Jobs died.

My love affair with Apple Computer and my admiration for Steve Jobs began a long time ago. In the mid 1980’s I was in the U.S. Navy. I had been trained to work on the radars and computers in gun and missile fire control systems. When I got to my ship, the USS Missouri. I was given an opportunity to work on an experimental project installing and maintaining a network of personal computers on the ship. The computers we used, were Apple Macintosh computers.

For those that remember Apple Computers of that time, we used the Mac SE, SE30, Macintosh II, IIc, Iicx and IIci’s. We also had quite a number of Apple Laserwriter printers. We networked these devices together using LocalTalk connectors, twisted pair phone cables, Pharalon connectors and the like.

Our project put computers on desktops all over the ship and even bolted them to chart tables in the pilot house. We connected Navy systems for communication, weather forecasting and navigation to these computers using interfaces we cobbled together using amateur radio equipment and home brewed components.

While I was working on that project, I obtained my own computer for my apartment, an Apple II+ I got from a fellow ham radio operator. That would be the first of many Apple products I would own. Over the years, I would have quite a number of Apple Computers. I have had a few Apple Newtons, and a number of iPods. Right now, I am also on my second iPhone and I also have an iPad. I am typing this post on a MacBook Pro.

My love affair with Apple has lasted for 24 years so far. During that time, I have admired the holistic approach that Apple has had melding hardware and software into a beautiful and functional products that have transformed computing and the way we communicate and create.

Much of the credit for what Apple Computer is today goes to Steve Jobs. His attention to detail in the design of their products is legendary. His visions for technology and innovation have changed our world for the better. It’s sad to hear of his passing. Yet, his was a life well lived in that he left this world a better place. That’s a legacy to be proud of.

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So I Changed My Mind

June 25, 2010 Leave a Comment

I know, I know.

I previously posted that I was not going to get an iPad. However, recently I broke down and ordered one. In fact, I got a 32gb. iPad 3G.

I have had it for a couple of weeks now. I have started to get it integrated into my normal workflow. I was a bit skeptical at first that it would only be a nice “toy”. However, now that I have had a chance to get used to it I can honestly say that it is proving to be a fabulously useful device.

I had an iPhone 3G for about two years. I really enjoyed the device but the real drawback of using it for any real work was it’s small size. The iPad with it’s much larger screen does not have those drawbacks.

For example, I like to look at my calendar in the whole month view. On the iPhone you saw a little dot in each day cell if there was a calendar item. You had to click on the day cell to see what was on the calendar for that day. The iPad’s month view actually shows the calendar entry and not just a dot.

For the most part the web browsing experience is not far from what you’d get with a laptop as long as the website you are trying to view doesn’t rely of Adobe’s Flash. For the most part, the sites I frequent are not heavily Flash dependent so this isn’t a real problem for me.

The on screen keyboard is actually a lot easier to type on than what you might expect in fact, if you are in portrait mode, I am just about as fast typing on it as I am on a real keyboard.

I’ve been using mine a work a lot lately. There are a few others in my line of work that have taken to them too. In fact, here’s a post from one of them about his experiences.

So far I have been suitably impressed by the whole thing. I think it will be very interesting to see how this platform evolves in the future.

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No iPad For Me Thank You

January 31, 2010 3 Comments

This past week saw the much heralded announcement of Apple’s new device, the iPad. Apple’s products are legendary for spawning a legion of devoted fans. As someone who has been using Apple computers since my Apple II+ in the 1980’s I am well aware of the wonderful innovations that Apple has been responsible for.

This time however, I just can’t justify this device. I have a couple of nice laptops, a MacBook and a 17” Dell Inspiron. I also have an iPhone, or as Andy Ihnatko is now calling it, the iPad Nano. Steve Jobs is hawking the iPad as the device that is supposed to fit between the laptop and the iPhone. For some reason though, I’m not feeling like there is a huge gap there that needs filling.

Maybe an ebook reader is a niche between laptop and iPhone, but I already have a Kindle. In fact I love my Kindle. One of the best features of the Kindle is the E-Ink display which is very easy on the eyes and is a very close approximation of reading paper and ink. Apple’s iPad has a backlit LCD display that while likely gorgeous, is probably not going to be as good a reading experience as the Kindle’s E-Ink.

Also, as the proud owner of several iterations of Apple Newtons, I can tell you that sometimes being an early adopter of groundbreaking Apple products isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I’d caution anyone wanting an iPad to wait for v.2, or at least v1.2 of the product before taking the plunge. I don’t doubt that it’s going to be a huge, groundbreaking success but I don’t see it gaining momentum for a few years yet. Sort of like what happened with the iPhone.

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Of Macs and Men

August 30, 2009 Leave a Comment

I went down to the Apple Store yesterday and dutifully paid homage to the Apple Fan Boy in me by purchasing a copy of the Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system. I also ended up buying some new video editing software (Final Cut Express) and some photo editing software (Photoshop Elements). Now I can play with video compositing which I have been wanting to try for a while, and get back to some art photography that I used to enjoy.

My OSX upgrade went off without a hitch. My MacBook was getting a bit long in the tooth so Snow Leopard should help me get a few more years out of it. It ended up freeing up 7.14 GB of extra hard drive space which is really needed. As I got to thinking about this, I thought back to all the Apple computers and related items I have owned over the years. Here’s the list:
  • Apple II+
  • Mac Classic
  • Performa 575
  • Power Mac 7100
  • Green G3 iMac
  • 17″ Flat Panel iMac
  • Powerbook 140
  • Powerbook 7500
  • iBook
  • MacBook
  • Sharp Expert Pad (Newton Message Pad 100)
  • Newton Message Pad 110
  • Newton Message Pad 130
  • 15GB 2nd Generation iPod
  • 2nd Generation iPod Nano
  • iPhone 3G

I still have a few of these items. The rest have been passed on to others or sent to the big network in the sky. This doesn’t include all the other Macs I have used at work either in the Navy or at my current employer (we had one or two at one of my assignments years ago). My work history with them goes back to 1989 and was with Mac SE and SE30 era. I guess 20 years is a pretty long time for a love affair with Apple products.

When I was at the Apple Store yesterday my daughter commented on how even the shopping bags were cool at Apple. I tried to explain Apple’s industrial design philosophy covered all aspects of the user experience. I’m afraid I fell short of explaining why Apple products are cool. Yeah, I’m an Apple Fan Boy.
Shalom,
Scott D

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