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I have heard about Audiobooks, from Leo Laporte and services like Audible but, never put any thought into listening to audiobooks but, I recently tried a free trial of Audible and have enjoyed every minute of listening to my audio book. When I got my book I started to read it while I walked to classes and it is just great. I actually tried to spend more time walking so I can hear more of my audio book. When I listened I felt like  I got all the information out of it because I could hear it. Now, that I listened to my first audio book, I plan to go back and listen to more books because I get the information more easily and really enjoy the experience. I also can carry several books on my iPod and carry them wherever I go. The only downside is that every book is not able to heard as an audio book somewhat restricting your choices but there are still thousands of books in a variety of genres to listen to and enjoy!

Now that Apple has released the much anticipated iPad, and we know that all the applications in the iPhone App store can now run on iPad in regular size or in double size to fill the screen. There are certain applications that I think if they are developed for the iPad that will make the iPad an even more amazing device.

1. Dropbox with Editing

This would be great, although you can buy iWork of the iPad, this would work much better because you can edit documents and then synchronize them to all your computers.

2. Newspaper and Magazine Readers

During the Keynote, the New York Times showed an application to read their articles one the iPad in a full screen application. It would be really nice if there was an application that would allow you to subscribe to several Newspapers and Magazines and have them delivered to your iPad once they are released. The 10 inch screen, is a great size to carry and read newspapers and magazines especially for travel

3. Note taking Application

A Onenote-style notetaking application would be a great application for the iPad because users could either use the keyboard dock or a Bluetooth keyboard to take notes whether it is for class or for a business meeting.

The iPad which is the long awaited tablet from Apple, has be called by some, “Just an iPod Touch with a bigger screen”, although I think it is some-what accurate, I think there are certain jobs that the iPad is much better at than the iPhone. I do think it still needs further development to make it a more viable device, but, there are some uses that I think the iPad can do very well already.

1. Netbook

Although Apple has mocked Netbooks in the past, this device would work very well as a netbook because you really don’t need a full operating system on a netbook which is used primarily for surfing the internet, checking email, and word processing all things that the iPad is great at. For those who don’t want to use the touch screen keyboard, you can either use a Bluetooth keyboard or the keyboard dock to have the ability of using a hardware keyboard. This is also great for traveling because it won’t take up too much space.

2. Ebook Reader

One of the newest applications introduced on the iPad is the iBooks app and the iBook store which allows you to browse, buy and read books on the iPad. Although other, Ebook readers are less expensive, the iPad also allows you all the functionality of an iPod Touch as well as an ebook reader. It also has a full color display!

3. Video Player

Although you can watch videos on an iPod Touch, the screen is only 3.5 inches and makes it a little difficult to see all the details. With a full 10 inch screen, the iPad is perfect for watching videos and enjoying content on the go.

Netbooks and Kindles beware, today Apple released their much anticipated tablet computer called the iPad. First, I want to say I am not a big fan of the name, although as I keep using it it does grow on me. The iPad in it’s simplest explanation is an iPod Touch or iPhone with a 9.7 inch screen. Although there are more features on the iPad but, it is a slightly modified version of the iPhone OS on the iPad. The iPad also has the iBook Store which lets you read, browse and buy ebooks on your iPad. It also has email, ipod, video playback and picture viewing capabilities just like the Ipod Touch. Also similar to the iPod Touch, you can watch Youtube videos in High definition and get maps and directions. Your probably wondering about the App Store that has all those apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. They all work on the iPad in a letter boxed regular sized or full screened double sized. They also announced that a new SDK (Software development Kit) is coming out today for developers to make Applications specifically for the iPad. The iPad has both WiFi and Bluetooth for connectivity and for $150 more on each model price, you can get 3G Wireless, unfortunately from AT&T, but, there are two options 250 MBs for $15 or Unlimited for $30, and they are prepaid meaning no contracts!The Wifi iPads will be available on March 27th and the 3G models will be availible on April 27th because of carrier approval.

The pricing scheme for the iPad is:

Wifi Model:

16 GB: $499

32 GB: $599

64 GB: $699

3G Models:

16 GB: $629

32 GB: $729

64 GB: $829

Where I think the iPad is going to be effective is in the Netbook Market, with the keybaord dock or a Bluetooth keyboard. The other major market it will be useful in is the ebook market, because although it costs more than the Kindle, it has a full color screen and has web access and all the features of an iPod. I think that this is not meant to be used as a computer but,  it can do the job of a netbook because they are main used for Office documents, which there is now iWork for iPad which is $10 per application and web surfing which it does well! I would have liked to see it running a touch version of full Mac OSX and i’m sure graphic artists would love it for Photoshop as well! But for reading, and surfing the web, at home on the couch, as Steve Jobs demonstrated during the keynote or for when you travel the iPad could be the device for you.

Wednesday is the big day! Apple is having their big press event at 10 AM Pacific time, 1 Pm Eastern and the rumors of the fabled tablet have been circulating for well over a year now! The event invitation said “See Our Latest Creation” and had paint splatters which, would indicate it to be a creative product announcement, but I think it will be more than a tablet release. I think they will be announcing several new products and save the tablet as the “One More thing”.  These are a list of what I think Apple will be announcing at their event on Wednesday.

1. iLife 2010

This is logical, since they are making this seem like a creative event, they should update their iLife Suite and hopefully add some more significant features, since the last version iLife ‘09 added very few new features, it’s time for an real upgrade!

2. Macbooks/ Macbook Pros

I’m not expecting a major change, but just a bump in specs and maybe, the rumored Core i5 and Core i7 Macbook Pros, will hit the market!

3. iPhone Software update

Rumor has it, that Apple will unveil their new operating system for the iPhone and iPod touch, i’m not 100% sure that they will becasue they traditionally announce the new OS in March and launch new hardware either in June or July.

4. Tablet

I’m not going to say much about the tablet, because I have covered it with my two articles [article 1] [article 2]. The one thing I will say is that I don’t expect it to come out this week, I would expect it in a month or two, but definitely not right away

As I usually do with Apple events, I will write a wrap-up/ reaction article after the event which I will release either on Wednesday or Thursday to summarize what happened at this event. I think that this event will be a major, revolutionary event and Steve Jobs will compare it to other revolutionary products Apple has released in the past: Macintosh (1984), iMac (1998), iPod (2001), and iPhone (2007). I think this event will be one of the great ones!

The internet has been the home to humorous videos of people covering songs, commenting on celebrities, playing lightsaber and other entertaining videos for many years, but, there has also been high quality programming made for the internet as well. People  have been making television-quality programming for the internet like Revision3, and many other production companies making content for the internet like Blame Society productions who make Chad Vader. These shows have become very popular and have made web series a common thing for people to watch.
I think that in the future all video will be distributed if not exclusively, at least as an addition to other distribution methods. Another trend that will be growing is video produced specifically for the internet because it allows people to watch h their programming whenever they want asnd whereever they want. One thing that has  happened recently, is that is Hulu, the popular video site has begun to distribute  independently films and series which provides them a platform to share their content without having to go through a film distribution company. This will continue so more people can produce and distribute their content easily and get their work out!

I know I already wrote an article about what I think the Apple tablet will be, but after I wrote it more news came out and I thought of more things that I didn’t include in the first article and wanted to add them on now before it is too late.

First, I think it will look like the top/lid part of a Macbook Air or Macbook Pro meaning a metal enclosure and glass screen. I think it will run a modified version of Mac OSX for tablets but will work more like a regular Macbook. I think the name will be Macbook Tablet or something with Macbook in it because it will be more a notebook than a iPod Touch.  The only other thought I have about the tablet is that it will be a major announcement and will probably be the “One More Thing” of the keynote and will be accompanied by other new products as well, I will predict the other new products in a later blog post closer to the event.

I know having cables all over your work area is a pain at times, but wireless is no  better. I had a Wireless keyboard and mouse for less than a month and then decided to return it because it was not reliable. First, if you don’t want to spend more that $50 on a wireless device, you will have to plug in a dongle so that you can use it, if you spend more than $50 you will be able to find a Bluetooth device so that you can use the Bluetooth that is built-in to most new computers. Plus, you need to make sure you computer and the device are in sync so that they can be used, and connections can be broken at random time making it a major nuisance. Another issue is that because there is no cable connecting it to a USB port, the device requires batteries to power it which is another annoying thing you need to worry about,  making sure your accessory’s batteries are fully charged and that is also not good for the environment.  The final major problem is that there seem to be more random problems than it’s wired counterpart and makes the cable clutter more worthwhile.

I especially don’t recommend using wireless for anything that need to be high quality like audio recording or any audio for that matter because wireless just has too many variables. I think that wireless technology needs to be better developed before it is ready to be used in daily life. I still prefer Bluetooth because it is more standard and because you don’t need any extra devices to be plugged into the computer. But, for now I am going to stay wired because it is still much more reliable and hassle-free.

The Consumer Electronics Show has been for many years the place to see a preview of the new gadgets coming out in the coming year. Thanks to Leo Laporte and his TWIT Network as well as Revision3 I was able to see everything that was going on at CES without having to go all the way out to Las Vegas! One thing about CES is that there is a lot of weird or gimmicky stuff but, along all that, there are some really cool gadgets and I would like t share them with you.

One of the biggest things of CES this year were tablet PCs, although I have in the past not been much of a fan of Tablet PCs, but these new ones are really cool. The one that I liked the most was the Lenovo U1, this is a truley innovative device because it has a base that when it’s docked, it looks like a normal latop computer and runs Windows 7! However, you can pull the monitor part off the base and allow it to work as a slate and once it is off the base, it instantly switches over to Linux and goes right back to Windows 7 when you re-dock it.  This device is the best tablet computer I have ever seen, but, I have a feeling Apple will one-up Lenovo at there even at the end of the month.

One of the biggest gimmicks of CES, was 3D TVs, personally I don’t want to watch TV in 3D and definitly not if I have to wear 3D glasses. I think this will be a passing trend and won’t catch on.

Something, I found interesting is the Boxee Box which allows you to watch internet content both from television networks and web content on your TV using an internet connection and is a competitor to the very popular Roku box. Between these two boxes, I think I won’t need a Mac Mini for my media center in the future and I can use either a Roku or Boxee box and save over $300!

Another big thing was smartphones, Google’s Nexus One was released just before the show adn was there on display. The other big announcment is that the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi will be coming to Verizon in the first quarter of this year!

There were many other smaller gadgets that you may want to look at but, these are just my thoughts and what stuck out to me!

When I found out that The Weekly Spin was going to have to go oh hiatus while Plaz travels to China, during the month of January, I decided that I should start a new production project so I don’t just waste the time we can’t be recording The Weekly Spin. I decided to launch my new show, Screencast Weekly, which is a video series of screencasts that have both how-to videos as well as product tours. My goal is that these video will help the viewers get the most out of their computers and be able to do more with their computer, that they never knew they could do before. Screecnast Weekly comes out every Monday and is available on screencastweekly.com as well as iTunes, Youtube and Vimeo. This is an exciting project and I enjoy making episodes and hope everyone enjoys them!