The plunge

 To those out there that bought the iPad on first launch, I applaud you. You clearly have a much bigger dedication to your brand than anyone could hope to have, because to a regular consumer, that was a really stupid move to make. The announcement of the easily mocked iPad came as no surprise to the tech community, but even less of a surprise was that their competitors would soon follow suit, and if pushed hard enough, would also release their equivalent product at much cheaper prices. 

 Let's be honest here; the average iPad contains no more tech than your average netbook, except with the added cost of a touch screen. What avid computer users have known for years is that it doesn't take expensive parts to make a good tablet, and unfortunately, no one else knows this, because the iPad sold thousands upon thousands of units. I'll give Apple credit, because they turned a very quick profit based on an already existing tech (the iPhone) by doing nothing more than making it bigger and slapping their friendly logo on the shell. They didn't even wait a half a year to release the thing. The guys at Apple actually knew that this was one of the few times where excessive buildup was a bad thing, and by releasing it so closely to the announcement shows that Jobs and Co. are not idiots by a long shot. If anything, we should be heralding Jobs as a genius. 

 This launch was supposed to fail, and it was supposed to fail in the worst way possible. The iPad was a train wreck waiting to happen from day one, and Jobs knew it. It was an old tech that the masses literally had to be forced into wanting (see iPhone again). Microsoft had been pushing for this idea for years. The announcement itself was underwhelming, as the product resembled nothing more than a bigger iPhone or a souped up Kindle. So many features were missing that people began to wonder what the $500 was actually being spent on. When videos became available of the iPad being "gutted", I wondered myself what could possibly justify the price tag being attached to it, and the answer was "nothing". There is nothing in the iPad that is special in any way. 

 If we had time to simmer on the announcement, we would have quickly found that there were other companies out there willing to give us the tech we were finally ready for but with a different interface. I'm not talking Windows, either. The trouble with Microsoft's push towards a tablet PC was that Windows itself was the problem. XP and Vista were terrible operating systems for a tablet. Windows 7, on the other hand, it well suited to the medium, but the push came years ago and Apple reignited the torch when Microsoft stopped paying attention. In otherwords, six months would have hurt Apple immensely. A quick release would ensure that they got market penetration and pushed idiots into buying their tech first and at a premium. 

 Now, Google, Acer, Asus, Microsoft, and various other companies you've never heard of have stepped up their efforts to get a tablet on the market as soon as possible. This was predicted. In fact, that was pretty much a given. Apple's tablet announcement would make tablet's feasible for the rest of the industry, and competition would reign.

 Why do I complain? Because a good tablet is only worth $300, and no one should be paying more. Tablets are netbooks, plain and simple. I said this years ago, and I'll say it again. Until tablets reach that $300 price point, don't even bother buying them. Wait for the big boys to duke it out, and then come out a winner a year from now when the prices are affordable and you know what's going to work best for your own personal needs. There is no killer-app for the iPad. There's no great need for an iPad. There's nothing you could do with an iPad that you couldn't do with an iPhone or a netbook. You can wait. 

Digg It Stumble it ! Reddit

Hedgehogs and politics

 Forgive me on the long break, but there's been a sense of hatred towards gaming as a whole this past week. Just coming off of the Ubisoft DRM catastrophy, we were immediately greeted by Sony's middle finger in the form of firmware 3.21. Then I saw the Sonic 4 footage, and I actually quit playing games altogether because I was so...what's the word...pissed off.

 For those behind the times, Sony's 3.21 firmware removed the OtherOS functionality, or Linux, from their old "fat" console models. It should have been a huge rage-storm, but instead the gaming community ended up raging at each other for the most part. Sony managed to make good customers turn to hackers, made potential script-kiddies drool at the thought of custom firmware finally within reach, and also made the community turn on itself in brainwash fashion. The vast majority of forums and postings dedicated to the announcement were filled with arguments over who was going to take the blame and whether or not people actually cared.

 To set the record straight, you should care. What really hurt the gaming community on this particular issue was the community itself. This, along with the Ubisoft DRM, should have been the rallying point for gamers to turn to publishers and say, "No."

 Instead, and even many websites posted this sentiment, the community acknowledged that they were willing to bend over and take it so long as they could still play games and Blu-Rays. Even worse, there were a few websites out there that put the blame for Sony's overreach on Geohot and not Sony themselves. Let's assume, for a moment, that every one of these people bought Ford Mustangs this year. In their own words, they would be very happy if Ford showed up at their house one day and swapped the Mustang engine with a Focus engine just because someone figured out a way to increase the original engine's horsepower. It makes no sense, and it only gives Sony and other companies more rights to steal what they wish.

 When the initial shock from that announcement subsided, Sega release game footage for Sonic 4. Dear God. I knew that the game was going to suck, but at this point, it's almost looking as if Sega wants to kill off Sonic for good. Nothing about the game looks fun or inviting, and I wonder why the fan community has managed to do it right every now and then while Sega consistently fails. Some recent mine cart footage looked painful, though I suppose there are questions about the legitimacy of the video. Either way, it's not a good sign.

 Then, if the week couldn't get any worse, the expected announcement of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski's re-election campaign turned up in our local paper. She's not as notorious as Republican nut-jobs like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, but she occasionally comes close. The very first thing she was quoted on in the article was how President Obama was being too partisan in his politics, and I immediately laughed at her and put the paper down. I am not voting on a Senator that doesn't have...well, brains. I need that in a Senator. These are the people hired to craft the laws and policies of our country as well as representing American interests, so I think it's only fair that we get, at the very least, someone with more competence than a first grader.

 Too partisan? Are you kidding me? You're telling me that a Republican such as yourself who has made stubborn partisanship a policy can honestly get up on stage and give a speech about how the President is playing to one side? Here's a tip, Lisa: You shouldn't run for re-election. That statement alone pretty much told me everything I need to know about your attention span, and I really don't think our state needs to spend money on that kind of ineptitude. Don't even get me started about how you got the position in the first place.

 Speaking of all matters Alaskan, that crazy lady we disowned is making headlines yet again. Sarah Palin has somehow managed to exemplify everything that I've criticized her for in the past with one shot. It turns out that very recently, she went back to her old stomping grounds and managed to get caught up in some high school drama, getting her daughter Willow off the hook for tens of thousands in property damage. Basically, Palin got all the girls that were a part of the "I'm better than you" clique off the hook while all of the guys took the fall. Read it, let it sink in, then meet me at the next paragraph...

 Remember that idiot girl in high school that was popular, except no one could figure out why? I mean, she was never capable of opening her mouth without saying something stupid, she never earned anything she had, and the only thing she was good at was being the communal "puts out" girl? OK, so that explains the popular part. Anyway, this was the type of girl that would say, "Sha! Who cares if you have a Mustang? I mean, you actually worked for that? What a waste of time! You're stupid!"

 ...only to immediately turn to her girlfriends and go, "Ohmigod! My boyfriend got a Mustang from his parents! OH MY GOD that's so cool!

 That's Palin in a nutshell. She's the idiot who still thinks she's in high school who believes that everything is wrong unless it comes out of her mouth. Look it up, she does this all the time. Her double standard is laughable, and I really don't think she's ever had a talking point in her career that hasn't been stolen and horribly misinterpreted. Sarah Palin is an attention whore, and I think comedians have pretty much left her alone lately because she does the work for them. What's sad is that she doesn't have a clue. I won't say I feel bad for her, but look at her on a stage. She routinely mocks people she just doesn't like for BEING SMARTER THAN HER. It's hilarious!

 "How's that hopey changey stuff workin' out for ya?"

 Awesome. Thanks for asking, and thank you for making my political choices MUCH easier to make. I gotta hand it to you, Palin...you're the best thing the Democrats could have ever hoped for. Digg It Stumble it ! Reddit