Cole Camplese

What Year is it?

There is, however, a severe shortcoming inherent to the iWork suite of iPad apps: document syncing between Mac and iPad. It’s a convoluted mess. In short, the only way to edit a document on your iPad that was created on your Mac, or vice versa, is to go through a convoluted multi-step process of exporting, copying, syncing or downloading, and importing.

Ted Landau has copiously documented the entire situation in this article at The Mac Observer. Read it and weep.

via daringfireball.net

John Gruber regarding the insanity that is iWork syncing on the iPad. I was *very* hopeful iWork.com might provide something more akin to a WebDAV style sync instead of a silly 1999 style upload/download service. At the moment dealing with versions is a disaster waiting to happen for me. I am very confident that apple will address this with some serious upgrades to either iWork or Mobile Me, but until then I am really disappointed. Couple that with the inability to edit a google doc in mobile safari and I am looking at a cramped workflow. I want to feel like I live in 2010 with my tools, not a decade ago.

Only for Consumption?

Much has been made about the idea that the ipad is strictly a consumption device. While I agree with that to a degree I am starting to see much more potential for creating content -- especially the kind of content I produce the most, text supported by images.

This morning I was struck by the fact that of the 26 icons on my iPad's home screen, 11 were for creating content. That may simply show my own bias towards making stuff, but it could also be looked as a sign that the iPad is also about creating. Some of those apps are free and some cost money, but for the most part they are similar to the apps I use on my laptop to do my work ... iWork is a go to suite on my MacBook, it costs money, and it is here. I can't yet create/edit video, but at this point that isn't impacting me. I can obviously do screenshots and even edit them using other apps.

I think part of this is getting to know what is important on a personal level all over again. I am only a few days into this and it has impacted my workflow, but not necessarily in a negative way ... I am relearning how I do things and am enjoying that. I know throughout this month that I will continue to bang my head on things, but that's what we do as we are learning -- as long as the head banging isn't constantly against the wall.

I don't want to make too much of these two points as it is early, but a new app has been released each day since Saturday that has positively impacted my overall experience on the ipad and I am beginning to see the ability to create content (at least this kind of content) as an emergent feature. Again, take all this with a grain of salt, but I thought I'd capture those initial thoughts to see how they hold up over the long haul.

A Month with an iPad?

I know at the end of the day what I am proposing will be very difficult to pull off. I've been using my new iPad since Saturday and while it is quite a remarkable device I am not sure it can really take the place of my trusty MacBook for all my mobile needs, but I am going to see. Starting today I am committing myself to the idea that I will only use my iPad when I am not at my desk. Crazy? Yep.

I have already bumped my head against some issues with this whole experiment but I think if I am going to be able to really understand the affordances of this platform I need to really live with it. I have some rules that I am going to try and live by:

• I will only use the iPad when I am away from my desk. That means when I am heading to meetings (most of my days) I can only use the iPad. When I am at my desk, the MacBook is fair game.
• What will this mean for my every day work I have no idea. So far the App Store is delivering new and useful apps to support workflow so I am relatively confident that it will get better as the month progresses. I will make sure I share thoughts on what might be making this possible.
• I'm not really sure what this means for me at home, but I've honestly not touched anything other than the iPad since it showed up on Saturday so I am confident I can live on it at home as well. I am going to try and do all my mobile computing on the ipad as well. That means I will still sync my photos with my Mac Mini and use it for managing the iPad, my iPhone, and run media in my family room. I'll make sure I report on that as I go forward.
• When I travel it will be only with the iPad.

As of tonight that's it ... I will say if something at work explodes and I need to use the MacBook to deal with a fire then I will. I'll also try and share thoughts along the way and report on apps that are supporting my ability to do my work. So we shall see if, at the end of April, if I can live a month on the iPad as my only mo lie computing device. If anyone else is doing something similar I'd love to hear about it.

iPad Shipped ... Hell Yeah!

Just got one of the best shipping notices ever. Both the 16 and 32 GB iPads I pre-ordered shipped today ... it still says "by April 3, 2010" but they are at least on their way. Could they get here early? Did I mention I am excited?

Yep

I pre-ordered a 32 GB wifi iPad, a standard dock, and a VGA adaptor. I thought I'd share the results of my totally unofficial quick Twitter poll from the other day where I got (a whopping) 32 responses ... eight have have pre-ordered iPads with six of those being wifi only. Another eight said they would be buying an iPad with half going for the wifi only. Seven aren't at all interested in buying an iPad. We shall see.

1Password and iPad

I hope it comes as no surprise that we're planning, plotting, and otherwise scheming to bring 1Password to the iPad in a big way. But if you are surprised, well... surprise! I hope it's good news, because we're really excited about our progress. So excited, in fact, that we feel like sharing some of our design concepts with you.

via www.switchersblog.com

I am hoping one can also use the bookmarklet in mobile safari on the iPad to fill usernames and passwords while in the middle of browsing workflow. The thing about this post is that it shows off how developers can rethink their applications so they actually fit the iPad ... it has me even more interested to see what people come up with fo this unreleased device.

Opportunity Cost

But it's almost as shocking that the Times Company is having a discussion over this question at all. Really? You're going to ruin this little gift from Steve Jobs? You're still not sure if you're ready to commit to this internet thing? Sigh.

via gawker.com

I have to say that if the newspaper people blow this opportunity I believe they'll look back in a few years and wonder what happened to their business. In a lot of ways it parallels so many of the conversations we hear in higher education around the adoption of new technology and teaching practices -- behind it all is a fear that holds people back from taking the right risks. I get there are millions of dollars at stake with the iPad and potentially new subscription models, but at some point someone has to take the step and see what happens ... I wonder if anyone is ready to make that leap?

ThinkPad

Did the naming of the ThinkPad create as many giggles as the Apple iPad name? That just dawned on me.

Mule Design Studio's Blog: The Failure of Empathy

I went back for a second helping of Avatar this Sunday. There’s a scene early on in the movie where one of the scientists walks across the lab carrying the “mobile computer slab of the future.” We’ve seen one of these in almost every sci-fi movie of the last 50 years. It comes free with a jetpack, I suppose. Except this time, one month later, my 12 year old son turns to me and whispers “Look Dad, it’s an iPad.”

via weblog.muledesign.com

When I saw Avatar with my friend and colleague, Scott McDonald, the iPad hadn't been announced yet but we both looked at each other and had an unspoken, "that's what the iPad is going to be like" moment. I think, like Gruber noted in his post that, "Mike Monteiro gets it."

Real Life Social

The iPad is real-life social in a way that a phone and a laptop just aren't. You really can just hand it to someone to show them what you mean: share photos, videos, writing with real people right next to you. I can see using it to learn with a child, share pictures with my mother, discuss house remodeling, and many other tasks normally done with paper.

In the office, the iPad offers a middle-ground I've found lacking in electronic devices. Bringing my laptop into meetings puts up a screen between me and others, is a hassle to unplug and carry around, and can be personally distracting. Taking my iPhone to make notes makes people think I'm bored of the meeting and sending text messages to friends instead. So normally I choose paper, and tend to lose my notes afterwards.

The iPad is a device that will find fans not only in a family setting, but in a creative setting where collaboration and comment is in person. Criticized for not being open because of digital rights management, the iPad is actually very open, in the sense that it erects few physical barriers to sharing.

via radar.oreilly.com

I like the idea of "real life social," but I depend so much on the web for much of my social networks. I am really lucky that I do work in a place that I like the people I am with and that it is relatively open and social. I wonder how it plays out in a situation like what @Robin2Go wrote about yesterday? We are living in such splintered social times. All of these conversations are really interesting to me.

I do like the idea Edd mentions in that second paragraph ... laptops and cell phones in meetings have not only become the norm, but a huge crutch. With an iPad I wonder if we'll see the birth of shorter standing meetings -- where we can get together with our devices and never even have to sit down -- just get to business and show each other our ideas. I have no idea, but not having my colleagues hiding behind screens may be an interesting change brought about by devices like iPad.