Why I’m keeping my Kindle – no iPad for me

There are at least another hundred thousand blog posts out there about this iPad and how much they love it, or hate it. I am kinda in the middle but I must admit that I was surprised by a few things when I listened to the announcements.

• The price – I really thought Apple would price it around $1000 – no matter what
• The availability – 60 days was way better than I thought. Summer was what I had in mind

That ends my short list of pleasant surprises.
The things that are keeping me from really wanting one are:

• It’s not a laptop, it’s not even a HUGE iphone – No multitasking and no Flash – whoopidy-doo !
• It costs extra to have a 3G connection – I can only compare this to the kindle and nook that do not charge for 3G access. Granted the ebook reader are only using the cell network for downloading ebooks but that may be all that I would use the iPad for too.
• The “web experience” is just like my iphone, no flash. Nothing revolutionary here. Heck the display isn’t even as good as it could be, the resolution is only sVGA.
• There is no camera – not that I would really use this as a camera but it would be cool If you could use it with skype video
• There is no standard usb port – it seems that if you want to hook anything to the iPad, you will need an adapter. What if you want to hook 2 things into it? What if I wanted to use my own 3G usb device… that would have been nice.
• No GPS – Talk about a killer in car unit. GPS, Movies, Music… but alas, no GPS.
• It is not an open system. You still can only buy apps from the app store. This means that you may never get certain bits of functionality. What if apple all of a sudden didn’t like google or skype? Bye bye favorite apps! Thanks Apple.

So as I looked at it, I was thinking about how it could replace my kindle but after all is said and done, the Kindle for ebook reading is going to fare better for me. The display will let me read it in an airplane, in my home, on a sunny day… all with the same feel and no glare and no bothersome light for my neighbors.

In summary, I feel that the iPad is not THAT much of a game changer. I do not see the killer app here. At least with the Kindle and Nook, the solution was simple and beautiful in it’s simplicity…. they made technology as good as the original, plus some neat features.

Ian is now a Davis

Its official ! Ian is now a part of the Davis family. The process has taken a long time and I am happy for Jason and Lesily. They have been good friends for a LOOOONG time and I could not be happier for them. Here is my video blog (trying to get it to upload…) and some photos.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah9WqNt0nvw

A Visit to Pretend City

I got to spend a little time with the pesh ladies today over lunch and they were at Pretend City in Irvine, CA. This place ROCKED !!!! I wish we had a tiny little REAL town to play in when I was little. There were cars, a gas station, fire station, a performance stage (complete with lights and music), a house (furnished) a beach… a BEACH !!!, and so much more… I look forward to taking her back sometime ! Thank you Aunt Shelby for coming to see Gracie.

Grace Playing Outside

We had some friends come to the neighborhood and Grace got to see a friend. They had some fun outside and played well together. Of course, I grabbed the good ol 5D and snapped a few… here they are.










MMMMMMM…. Sweet Tea – Thanks Hunny !

Family Night out at the Kaleidescope

Tonight was fun, from watching Jordan skate, to sliding with Grace… Even recording the following video had be smiling
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmS4X9iuSzA
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80gKmfPH2Ys


















Heather took this next one.

Daily Photos – Jan 16 2010

Check out the video blog post… and follow along with the photos

I will be at the 2010 Pan Kids BJJ Championships

At the park with Paisley

We tooka little walk to a nearby park to do a small gift exchange with Paisley and her parents.

Walking with Grace – BW

This is what a walk with grace looks like from my point of view.

Serbian Christmas

Every year we head to Manhattan Beach to join our family for Serbian Christmas. This is the second year that Grace was there and she got a lot of attention. It is always fun to celebrte this holiday. We all look forward to trying to find the coin hidden in the bread, it brings you luck in the upcoming year.