iPad or iPud?

Not a great title, but it's the best I could do at short notice. Dave Walker's take on the iPad is an interesting one, which expresses the concern voiced in my office this morning, that the iPad is nothing more than an expanded iPhone.

I can see the criticism here. It's not a full blown Mac by any means. It only has a slow processor (comparatively) and zero expandability. It really is just a big iPhone!

Having said all of this, I still want one! What is it about Apple that makes me want to buy everything they produce despite the inflated prices?

I think I know the answer. Apple are the best company in the world at anticipating the future desires/needs/lusts of the general public. They are also very good at understanding the importance of the human interface with the machine. This is what marks the iPhone out against other smartphones and the Mac OS against the ubiquitous 'Windows'.

The other thing that makes the iPad an interesting prospect for me is its use of 'apps'. This feature wasn't top of my list when buying an iPhone, but I've come to appreciate the app store and the many wonderful (and/or useless) things one can find. I think this will turn out to be a strenth for the iPad too.

Whilst I can't predict the future as well as Apple seem able to do, I can predict with some confidence that there will be an iPad in the Lanky household by the end of the year.

Behold the iPad

Here it is! The long-awaited news that Apple is entering the tablet computer market. Here's the BBC story. More comment later.

What flavour for the new Apple?

Even though we have no money to buy Apple's new toy, I'm very excited to see what they will be unveiling today. If, as predicted, it's some form of tablet computer is on the cards, we may just have to save up a bit.

I love the image from the 'Wired' story about the rumours:

God bless you Barack Obama

I watched this programme on BBC 2 last night. It was presented by Robert Beckford, and provided an interesting perspective on the religious side of American politics. I find it intriguing that, in a country where Church and State are constitutionally seperated, religion can have such a massive effect on electoral success.


As a major West Wing fan, I see the American electoral system as a perplexing and awe-inspiring machine. This programme gave me yet another perspective that I hadn't considered. It also gave a personal insight through interviews with many people who are close (or who were close) to the President.


If you find the time, give it a watch.

Snow across Great Britain

I thought I'd link to the NASA original too...

Snow across Great Britain

Amazing image

I've not posted anything in ages! It's been a hectic few weeks, and I'm only just getting back into the swing of things.

I just had to post about this image from the BBC, courtesy of NASA:

Amazing!