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Re: Cory Doctorow on iPad, Apple ][+

DaveSchmenk wrote:

On Apr 6, 4:06 pm, "Michael J. Mahon" <mjma...@aol.com> wrote:


DaveSchmenk wrote:


I have to confess that I just picked up a 32GB iPad as well.  It is
quite a bit more than an uber-iTouch, but much less than a laptop. The
form factor sold me.  Very intimate and easy to use for the few things
it does.  VNC is the killer app for me, along with mail and browser. I
like to check on email and do a little browsing in bed before dozing -
my iPhone is just a little too small and a laptop is just a little too
big (even my 12" PowerBook).


So the iPad will be the enabler of the "data furnace"--the vision of
the server in a basement closet that hosts all our personal storage
and applications, but is never seen by polite company.  ;-)




Or heard - I got a free blade server from a company liquidation that
sits in my basement.  It drowns out the real furnace!


One problem with current generation blade servers is that they
are designed to maximize volume density of computing power.  That
unfortunately also maximizes power density, and as a result they
whine like banshees.

The next generation, benefiting from a newfound interest in
"greenness" and utility savings, promises to be lower powered,
and, in some cases, liquid cooled--more like a furnace every day!


      But it's nice
to VNC into it from the iPad in the living room. I think the iPad
might be the best device yet for accessing the whole "cloud computing"
paradigm. It makes for a really convenient portal. I don't mind the
lack of multitasking as it switches apps fast enough to be fairly
seamless.


But presumeably, only the VNC app need run to exploit the server's
multitasking just by flipping windows...


Or maybe the "personal server" will be a strongly-encrypted, cloud-
hosted capability with capabilities equal only to our credit card
limits.  ;-)



Typing on it feels much like the old Tandy Model 100.  If it only had
AppleSoft.


Wow!  What would a half-generation of journalists have done without
the Tandy 100?!

That will come, I'm sure.  ;-)




I downloaded Pages for it try my hand at content creation. I'm
struggling with the object drawing tools, but they are there. If I
could just find the page layout that mimics the Engineers
Computational Pad I would be happy.


A VNC connection to a MatLab notebook (or similar) might do the
trick--as long as you are well-connected.

I must admit that I worry a bit about the number of pixels--I'm afraid
I've become quite accustomed to large, detailed screens, and would hate
to spend most of my time scrolling or "pinching"...

-michael

NadaNet and AppleCrate II: parallel computing for Apple II computers!
Home page: http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."