Three themes encompass the various improvements embodied in the iPad 2 and its accessories: speed, power, and ergonomics.

I don’t think I need to explain “speed” at all. By “power” I mean the ability to do things which weren’t possible or practical before; this includes the cameras, the gyroscope, the Verizon-compatible 3G radio, and the faster CPU and GPU — there’s some overlap between speed and power. I’m excited about those themes, but they’re pretty straightforward. I suspect that “ergonomics” requires more explanation.

The iPad 2 has many ergonomic improvements: lighter, thinner, rounded edges, flatter back, and the Smart Covers. These advances together will make the iPad 2 a significantly better experience than the first iPad. Being lighter and thinner means it’s easier to grasp in one hand with less fatigue over time. The flatter back means it’ll work much better on a flat surface such as a table or desk without a case or stand — the curved back of the first iPad made a case or stand essential. The Smart Covers will also enable more frequent use of the iPad without a case, because they’re so quick and easy to remove.

Combined together, we have a device which will be much easier and more pleasant to use without a case, more likely to be used without a case, and which when held in one hand will frequently be significantly lighter.

I understand why Apple wouldn’t market the iPad 2 using these themes; they’re too abstract for marketing. People generally want to hear about concrete improvements in new models. But there’s value in identifying and understanding the themes embodied in a new version of a product, so as to be able to make a holistic comparison with the older version.

Some of the really savvy new media efforts like Flipboard are exciting, but after the initial “wow” factor wears off, these apps mainly serve to remind me that there’s already too much good stuff to read out there, and that my life is slipping away from me in an infinite stream of interesting bits about smart animals, dumb criminals, outrageous celebs, shiny objects, funny memes, scientific discoveries, economic developments, etc..

I only skimmed the article, and only half-agree, but this quote stood out. It really resonates with me.

Kirn has good points, and I don’t necessarily disagree with any of them. But as for ports, I think he might be missing something: wireless. The primary use of cables and ports is to connect two devices together so they can transfer data. (Control signals count as data too.) I wouldn’t be surprised if Steve Jobs has decided that most people don’t need USB anymore and that wireless is ready to replace it in most cases.

This could be a recurrence of what occurred in 1998 when Steve Jobs unleashed a storm of controversy by introducing the iMac without a floppy disk drive. He started the shift from using floppy disks for data transfer to using USB, optical disks, and networking. Today he may be finishing what he started; catalyzing the final shift from physical media to using radio waves for all data transfer.

Wi-Fi (802.11) and Bluetooth are at this point nearly ubiquitous, and the chips and controllers which implement them are now very inexpensive. Wi-fi is capable of transfer speeds similar to USB 2.0, which might allow it to suffice for transferring large volumes of data and connecting devices via Bluetooth is pretty simple these days.

Both standards also have recently added new features which can make connecting faster, simpler, and more secure; Apple could implement these features to make these technologies even more workable as replacements for USB.

This shift, from cables to wireless connections, is by no means a fait accompli, but it’s well under way, and will probably turn out to be a net win for most people.

source

I love that Instant Netflix is a subscription model, where we pay X dollars per month for our subscription – as little as $9 – and that includes instant streaming of any movie or TV show in their instant catalog. While I was never a fan of the model for music, such as Rhapsody, it works great for movies and TV shows, because I’m much less likely to watch a movie over and over again than I am to listen to a song over and over again. In other words, I want to build a collection of music which I own, but I just want to be able to watch movies and TV shows once or occasionally twice.

Pros:

• great sound
• highly custamizable fit
• good passive attenuation of ambient sound
• separate microphone and control button makes both more convenient and effective
• high quality materials and construction
• iPhone-specific plug

Cons:

• can hear cord bouncing around as I walk, I think this is called subharmonics, I find it really annoying, but I think it’s a general problem with all “canalphones”, not just these.
• The phones seal really well, and don’t feed any of my voice into the audio, so I can’t hear myself speak, so I end up speaking very loudly – good for callers hearing mr, disconcerting for myself and people around me.
• callers hear a lot of ambient noise when I’m out on the street. (but I am in new york)

Bottom line: excellent headphones with a few quirks, which shine where it matters. And a great gift. Thanks Elina!

(Posted from my phone while walking through Central Park, listening to music, taking calls, and shooting some snapshots.)

Crazy.

Your headline is misleading – I hope it’s an innocent mistake, as opposed to an intentional attempt to spread FUD about Open Source software. The crucial nuance that’s missing, both from the headline and the article, is that bugs such as this are just as likely to occur in closed-source software as in open-source — but with open-source software, they’re far more likely to be discovered, sooner, precisely because the code is available for anyone to peruse!

I expect more from Technology Review. Please consider adding a note or correction to this effect.

I’m not actually surprised or anything; TR has always had a corporate feel to it – it’s generally about MITers or ex-MITers making money, as opposed to pure excitement about technology.

Edit: Struck out the last paragraph; after Jason Pontin’s comment below, I realized that my impressions of TR are almost certainly out of date. BTW, he also responded to my comment; check out the discussion there.