#172 - The iPad is here!, The iPad is here!

A very highly hyped new product hit the streets today with a Bang! The Apple iPad was introduced to the world. As your able Technology commentator, I would surely be remiss if I didn't translate the hype and type a bit about this technology wonder.

So what is the iPad? Well like several other Apple products, competition doesn't really exist. The closest product would be the iPod, Itouch. Its not really a tablet computer. In fact lets take a paragraph to tell you what it is and a paragraph on what it isn't.

What it is:
It is nice size - 9.7" display (smaller then a netbook) and less then 1.5 pounds. I can run all the iPhone apps (140,000 at latest count). It can surf the Internet with the Safari browser. It can get let you buy books and display them like an Amazon Kindle. You can play all your iTunes music, display your Pictures, and view videos, movies and TV. You work with most email (on the Internet), get an app to edit documents, keep up your calendar and contacts. It does work on 802.11n WiFi (found many places) and if you buy a more expensive model it will also work on phone networks (data plan extra! Surprise!)

What it isn't:
I mentioned it isn't a tablet PC per say. It runs the iPhone operating system not OS 10. That means you can't run it like a MAC computer, you treat it like an iPhone or iPod. You can download a ton of iPhone apps, but remember they are designed for a 3 inch screen versus a 9.7 inch display (resolution sucks on apps played on the big screen). You can't run Firefox or Word or any other program written for the MAC. You can only run one program at a time (this is a biggy!). It doesn't have the phone function built in. There is no camera built in. It doesn't support Adobe Flash player and will only let you run Quicktime or Youtube type videos. So no Hulu or any other website that uses Flash video (another biggie). It has limited storage (16GB, 32GB or 64GB flash memory) which will eventually cramp what you save. (The smallest netbook comes with 160GB hard drive).

So first look, its pretty neat. Take a look at the apple iPad video: iPAD by APPLE
The first iPad's will ship end of March and I don't think I need one at this point, but hey I'm a gadget freak so you never know!

#171 Malware & Facebook

I am constantly fighting malware on customer computers. These are the nasty bugs that infect your computer, send information to bad guys on the Internet, put pop ups that say you are infected and please hand over $39 everywhere, can crash your PC and literally destroy your hardware. Where did I get it? is always the question I hear.

One source is Facebook causes and applications. Many causes and groups are now being put out there by the bad guys to get you to join so they can have control of your PC. They do this by putting out something outrageous that will get people mad. Things like Facebook is about to charge you monthly or that Obama is going to put your grandma in a detention cell. Items that if you step back and look at, you know can't be right.

The bad guys also hijack legit web sites and put links on there for FABULOUS opportunities (free Macbooks, iPods, HD TVS) that make you click on them. Hey People, if it sounds too good to be true, IT IS! I know your mother told you all about that.

My recommendation is to just stay vanilla when on the Internet. Don't join groups you have never heard of, or have lured you to their site with outrageous or fabulous offerings. Its dangerous out there and there is only so much of PCSS repair to go around.

#170 - The high tech car

Mr Gadget here! The new proud owner of a 2010 Honda Insight. THE GADGET CAR! It has more gee, whiz bang items then anything on the road. It looks pretty plain but with Honda the hidden stuff is all important. This is the hybrid car for the rest of us. Its priced reasonable(approx $20,000) and uses a conservative form of hybrid technology. It has an 98hp gasoline engine and a 10hp electric drive powered by regenerative batteries.

It has plenty of punch driving the mountains of Virginia. We go to Hot Springs from Covington twice a week and do fine in the Insight. We get around 43 miles per gallon over all and have gotten over 47 miles per gallon on trips over 1 hour using highways. The gadgets are all on the inside.

Here is the Insight's instrument panel: The speedometer is at the top and is backlit by a color rainbow that gives you feedback on how you are driving. All the instruments are learning tools to help you get better gas mileage. If you drive economically the rainbow is green, not so thrifty its aqua, press the pedal hard or brake hard and its that dark blue. It becomes a challenge to keep the rainbow in the green when you drive. There are "eco" guides, trip raters, real time and trip mpg feedback displays and lots more to keep you on the green path.

So the point of this car is changing your driving habits as well as using technology to get better gas mileage. I'm slowly changing how I drive not only in the Insight but in other cars. There are supposedly 3 computers in this geeks delight controlling everything from the continuous variable transmission to the trip computer. The heating/cooling system is even controlled to get better gas mileage!

I also enjoy the USB port found in the arm rest. I pulled a 16GB USB flash drive out and filled it with MP3 songs and plugged it in. The over 3,000 songs will take me a bit of driving to go through. Ain't technology grand?