Now that we have the first, the others should keep rolling in So long as we show the world that Canada dominates on our home territory, I will be happy!

As always, if you enjoyed reading this, please follow me on twitter.

It is finally here. Apple’s glorious iPad. Wait. iPad? Is that seriously the name for Apple’s latest “must have” gadget. In fact, at the time of writing this, iTampon is the number one trending topic on Twitter. Nice. Correct me if I am mistaken, but something like iTab, or iSlate have much more of a sleek sounding ring to them. At the end of the day, it is only a name. I understand that the iPad has close ties to the iPod. In fact, if you try to say “iPod” like a somebody from the southern United States, they sound very similar

For those of you who are reading this that do not really know me, you will not be aware of the fact that I have long been a sole fan of Microsoft Windows. This is not to say that I have disliked macintosh computers per se, but rather, I hated the stigma that came along with somebody flaunting their computer as if god himself granted them the power to wield it’s shiny, unibody power in their hands. At the end of the day, a computer is a computer. If I can write my school reports, listen to my music, edit my videos, design my websites, edit photos, blog, or do any of the hundreds of other tasks I accomplish with my computers, then I am a happy camper . My main argument has always been, though, that anything which you can do on your MacBook, I can do just as well on my Windows computer at a cheaper cost. My opinion still stands.

For christmas, I was given a MacBook Pro, and officially welcomed into the Apple brotherhood. Do I love my MacBook? Yes. Did Jesus himself give it to me? Nope. Would I have been just as happy with any other Windows laptop? More than likely. I still fully stand by my previous statements about functionality, but after using OSX for a while, I do find it very sleek and pleasurable to use. Apple have done an excellent job.

Now that you understand how I feel about about my computer brands, I want to explain my feelings about the iPad.

Hype

I have been following the hype surrounding the iPad for a looooong time. Actually, for at least a whole year now. They were supposed to announce it this same presentation last year. So many rumours were spread about it, yet very few of them made it into the final product.

My Complaints

Here are my 5 big complaints about the iPad:

1. No Camera
   Come on Apple. This is the 21st century. Video calling is a must have for any device claiming to be as “groundbreaking” as this. Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to skype with your family from your living room? I guess not. Maybe for 2nd Generation, apple?
2. No Multitasking
   I love the app store. You can find an app for just about anything. The only problem is, you are either using the app exclusively, or you are not using it. No listening to your last.fm internet radio in the background. No twitter updates while you are at your “computer”. Even Windows 3.0 allowed this :/
3. Cha Ching
   Open up your wallet some more, and let the money flow! A book store, an app store, a music store, and a movie store. One account, which is linked to your credit card. There is nothing wrong with having such a convenient source of digital media. The only problem is that Apple is the boss. They set the prices. Since everything is DRM protected (except for music now), you can ONLY use it on your Apple product. Stop using your computer? You can kiss all of your new books and movies goodbye, even though you bought them.
4. iAlready have an iPod
   And it fits in my pocket too! The experience of using the iPad will be very similar to that of using an iPod, albeit with a larger screen. There is no flexibility unless you “hack” it, which is against the law according to Apple. Sure, you get a bigger screen, but the limiting experience will be the same.
5. More Money
   So you dish out $700 for a decent spec iPad. Great. Now all you need to do is buy the docking keyboard station (sold separately), and the USB connection cable (sold separately), as well as the add-on camera extension (also sold separately). See where i am going here? To get the full experience, you will have to dip into your wallet a fair few times.

So that basically sums up what iThink of the iPad. Please let me know what YOU think.

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So far, I must say that it is an awesome handset! There is a reason that RIM is still #1 in the business world. Despite all of the cool apps that the iPhone has going for it, typing of that screen does not compare to having a physics keyboard beneath one’s thumbs. Oh, and I have done a lot of typing on my iPod touch, yet still am nowhere as quick as I am with the BB keyboard.

Despite my positive experience with the phone so far, I have still had to call up Bell on 3 occasions to sort out various glitches with the OS. Long distance calling to India is not so bad after all The support was actually not bad. The guys knew their stuff. Unfortunately, Bell Canada decided that they would tweak the BB OS to their own needs, and in turn, break some of the functionality (wifi web browsing?) that I was hoping for. Silly Bell.

“Hello, Sir. Thank you for calling Bell customer service. Bell is number one in customer satisfaction. We also have Canada’s largest 3G coverage. We know that you are already a customer, but since you are going to be waiting 15 minutes to talk to support, we figure that reminding you not to switch to Rogers would be fitting. Did we mention that we have the fastest 3G coverage? [...]“

- The helpful, friendly Bell computer lady :-/

The exams that I have are:

1. Computer Science
2. Accounting
3. Physics
4. Advanced Functions

I am not too worried about accounting or computer science, or physics for that matter, but for functions I am nervous. The functions exam is worth the full 30% of my mark, meaning that it can either raise my mark by 2% if I get perfect, or drop it by 30% if i do no write it at all. This does not seem fair to me. Oh well. I guess I am aiming for perfect

In order to get into Engineering Science next year, the minimum mark that I can realistically get is a 90% average. This should not be too hard to pull off, assuming that I do not bomb these exams. And bombing is one thing that I intend not to do.

Back to the books I go.

Last weekend, I was phoned by a Mr. Scott Tracy regarding a newspaper article which would be going in the Guelph Mercury. The article even managed to make it onto the front page of the paper and the website!

The full article can be accessed by clicking on the this link.

I am thoroughly grateful to Mr. Scott Tracey from the Mercury, who wrote the article. It really does feel good to be recognized. Many people have talked to me in the past week who were not aware of my flying experiences this past summer. It was nice to hear so many nice comments from people.

Having just written my Power Scholarship exam on Saturday, the next phase of my flying career is hopefully underway. I still have interviews yet to complete.

I have a new goal of actually writing a blog post 3 times a week at minimum.

Maybe some video blogs. Maybe some photo blogging. Who knows.

I will leave this post with one more image. I just cleaned my computer command center desk off . The image is below.

In the album to the left, you can see some photos which were taken during my recent visit to India.

Please comment if you liked the photos.

This is a video entry that Leslie Bothwell and I worked on for a Fraser Institute competition. We hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Anyone who needs me for your next blockbuster: I am not interested! My current deal is pretty sweet

From this interview, we can see that the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

- will not have any dedicated servers
- will be limited to only 9 Vs. 9 online matches
- will have no console access
- will rely on a third party for cheat control and matchmaking
- will have all online games hosted by the players and the game will pick the “best” host
- will not allow you to kick players from ranked matches, even if they cheat
- will be a direct 360 port, including the higher $60 price for less features

As a gamer I was looking forward to playing this with my friends… I will now not only boycott this joke, but will also buy two copies of DICE’s Battlefield Bad Company 2. It is simply a better PC FPS choice. It has everything that MW2 does not, and does not mock the PC gamer.