First Impressions of the Apple "iPad"

OK - so the Apple iPad could have been a break-thru device if it wasn't for some glaring flaws and omissions to it's design. I envisioned it as being a device that could replace the netbook or even the laptop when one was in the market for a new one, so long as said person was willing to make that evolutionary leap into 100% cloud computing. But sadly, no dice Apple:

1) No camera?

2) No multi-tasking?!?

3) STILL no Flash support?

4) 4:3 display?

5) I can understand no optical drive today, but no ports to speak of? No MicroSD card slot? No USB or IEEE port? No ethernet? No HDMI out? NOTHING AT ALL?!?

6) That stupid name. Do you have NO women in R&D/marketing/design at Apple?!?

7) What if you aren't near WiFi or have access to 3G in your area for some *ahem* reason? No connectivity would make this device completely and utterly useless - and not useless in a Netbook way, but 100% useless... speaking of WiFi and 3G (which isn't REAL broadband anyway, by the way) that brings us to:

8) AT&T again Apple?!? Have you learned nothing from the iPhone partnership?

the Sad Reason Why Facebook Really Is Beating MySpace

[this is copied over from my older CNET blog]

There is nothing that Facebook and Twitter have to offer that MySpace doesn't do at least as well or even better - and in most cases has done for far longer. Add to that the ability to have complete control of the customized personalization of your profile (which is also a double edged sword when used by those w/o restraint), the options to tweak REAL privacy controls and a "lite profile view" setting to simulate the cleaner Facebook experience, the extraordinary access to media and unsigned artists and the fact that they have enabled their users to have a simple URL (myspace.com/user ID) long before Facebook added the same. A simple ID-based URL profile page which can be, if you chose, viewed by ANYONE who knows it rather they have an account on MySpace or not. Combining all of this in one packaged site it would seem as if MySpace should be dominant and growing.

On MySpace I can add widgets from YouTube, Digsby, Twitter, Meebo - pretty much from anywhere I like to my profile page. Graphics and music players. Donations and support buttons. You name it. There is one simple, killer feature to Facebook that MySpace lacks (which could be one of the top reasons): "the Wall". On MySpace you have your "Blog" ("Notes" on Facebook) and the "Friends' Comments" section. Combined they are still a clumsy second to the Facebook Wall - where not only can you post sharable content but your friends/contacts/fans can as well. Could this be the sole reason why?

Nope - what is killing MySpace is the same thing that regulates which IM client you use most often. Most would agree that AIM is crap compared to Yahoo's IM/YIM and even Windows/MSN Messenger... but most people still are using AIM. Why? Because due to the early adoption of AOL as an ISP, AIM is the network protocol client that most of their friends & family use, even if only occasionally (of course ideally a multi-protocol client like Pidgin/Adium, Digsby, Trillian or Meebo is your best choice today). Same thing with Facebook. I was using and loved MySpace for years but then discovered that almost everyone I knew on MySpace was also on Facebook + A LOT of friends that weren't on MySpace are on Facebook. So I started using Facebook more and more... even though I still love MySpace for all it provides.

That is why Facebook is winning. Ironically it could be the fact that you must have an account to view a profile that started the snowball down the hill - but who knows? Maybe it started with all the absurd bad press over MySpace (see D&D circa mid-late 1980's) or the fact that it didn't introduce a "lite" option soon enough to control those profile creators that seem to never even look at the eyesores they designed. I think it (like with IM) ultimately boils down to where all of your friends & family are. That's what a social network is for after all.