Reflections on Apple iPad

Since Steve Jobs introduced Apple iPad — the most anticipated device from Apple for a long time — in his keynote presentation on Jan 27 2010, there have been wows and woos. Actually from what I read, more complaints than compliments.

For instance, Adam Frucci from Gizmodo talks about “8 Things That Suck About the iPad” (well, more than eight):

• Big, Ugly Bezel [it's not a smartphone]
• No Multitasking
• No Cameras
• Touch Keyboard
• No HDMI Out [don't care]
• The Name iPad [don't care]
• No Flash [don't like flash much]
• Adapters, Adapters, Adapters
• It’s Not Widescreen [not really necessary for reading or photo viewing]
• Doesn’t Support T-Mobile 3G [ don't care]
• A Closed App Ecosystem

I don’t agree all of them, excepted the highlighted ones. Especially people’s rants on the size and name. If they were given one smaller than Kindle’s size, they were likely to say “Tiny”. Come on, it’s not a pocket smartphone. As for the name, well, it’s a matter of taste but it really doesn’t bother me at all. Don’t people use pad and pen in the meeting? Do they feel awkward or funny when using them?

Science News & Articles from Nature in Your iPhone

Nature.com has launched its iPhone application for you to check the latest science news stories and research articles* from Nature Publishing Group.

Here are the listed features

• Great reading experience
• Save for later
• Saved searches
• Zoom and pan figures
• Easy references

I was really excited to check what it can offer and immediately installed it on my iPod Touch.

The setting menu. Here I set the fullscreen on, and others use the default settings.

Argerich Plays Chopin – Legedary Recordings First Released

Last year first heard of this CD and was very excited about these never-released-before Chopin works. But then it was taken off from HMV and some other sites. Later last year, it was up again but this time it got a new artwork. Some track — I check later — was dropped, though.

Here is a short video campaign for this CD. (The video is back.)

New Persona in Firefox 3.6 (& Faster!)

Get ready for the faster Firefox and try out some personas. (Ya, I’m wearing one. )

See what’s new in Firefox 3.6.

Note: Google Notebook add-on doesn’t work with Firefox 3.6. Just follow the instruction here except that now change 3.0 to 3.6.

Would You Pay for Reading New York Times Online? [Updated]

New York Magazine reposted that New York Times may soon announce its plan to start to charge for online access. The Times declined to make any comment until they have decided what to do.

Before this, the Times tried the free and premium accounts coexisting but that plan didn’t work well. Now they may settled on the metered system. That is, readers can sample a set number of articles for free each day, after which they’ll be prompted to subscribe.

I like to read the New York Times and the only way for me is to read it online. But I also don’t have much time to read a lot everyday. Therefore, if they indeed come out with the paid system, the subscription fee will a determining factor for me.

Source: New York Magazine (via Lifehacker)

[Update]

New York Times has confirmed the “murmur”. The print subscribers needn’t pay for the online access. But New York Times has not laid out how they will charge the online users.

Copy/Transfer Music without iTunes – Part 1

I have a MacBook Pro at home and a PC in the office. Never as a fan of iTunes, I didn’t use iTunes until now I got an iPod Touch and felt reluctant to install it in my PC (since the MacBook Pro already has). Therefore, I started to look for a solution to replace iTunes for copying/transferring music or video to iPod Touch (or iPhone) for PC.

There are many solutions using free or paid apps. I did some researches and tryouts. Below is my test result (for Windows OS).

iPod Touch Start-up Time

Just bought an iPod Touch 32GB last week. Installed five apps so far: Stanza, Louvre Museum, free French Tutor, Dictionary.com and New York Times.

“Love this app. Also New York Times app.”

I’m having fun with this new gadget. It is certainly better than my old PDA Palm TE2 (bought in 2005). I kind of treat this as an replacement of my old PDA. What I didn’t do much with TE2 was to listen to music. Now with this new iPod Touch, I certainly can enjoy the music more, plus learning a language or two.

Before I never considered I’d buy an iPod device, mainly because I don’t like iTunes and it doesn’t support flac. But it does have some advantages, e.g. various applications to choose from. I am still not used to iTunes (never used it before), e.g. how it handles the syncs in applications. Still need to read the user guide.

Anyway, I just notice that my iPod Touch is not instantly on when I press the power button. So, how long does it talk? Well, let’s find out.

Ameling Sings Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen

During this big project of ripping my CD collection to flac, I listened to this lied again. And again. It’s like going back to the time when I first heard of this lied (& that’s long long time ago). I was completely thrilled by Elly Ameling’s voice. I also liked the lyrics. Now I  have that same feeling as before.

Schubert’s “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” (The Shepherd on the Rock) D 965 is a very long lied for soprano, clarinet and piano. It’s about 12 minutes long, with clarinet solo as the opening for more than 1.5 minute. During the whole lied, the clarinet plays equal part with soprano.

The lied consists of six verses, and can be divided by the changes of the emotion. In the first section a lonely shepherd sings on the top of mountain and listens to echoes from below. Then the shepherd express his grief and loneliness. In the next two sections, the shepherd looks forward to the coming of Spring and with its rebirth.

This piece was composed in 1828, not long before Schubert died, and is thought to be the last song Schubert composed. It is believed that Schubert wrote this lied for the operatic soprano Anna Milder-Hauptmann for a concert aria, which would allow her to express a wide range of feelings. Therefore, this lied is quite different from other Schubert’s, much more operatic. You can notice this especially on the last lively section (the 2nd youtube clip).

Here are two youtube clips for you to try. (I recommend to get the CD-quality one. There’s a big difference)

PBS Covering Google’s Goal of Digitizing Books

Here is PBS NewsHour on Google Books mission (aired on Dec. 30, 2009):

In a new era of E-books, Internet giant Google is attempting to offer millions of books online. Spencer Michels looks at the controversial plan and what it could mean for the future of reading.

You can listen to the mp3 or read the transcript on PBS.

Top 10 Physics-related Books in 2009

Reviews editor at PhysicsWorld.com, Margaret Harris gives a list of her top 10 physics-related books for 2009. Some of them are intriguing to me.

10. The Physics of Rugby by Trevor Davis (Nottingham University Press).

Hmm.. if the book is about bicycle I might check it out.

Another interesting thing is how this book is received in different Amazon sites: three stars in US vs five stars in UK.

A similar book, also mentioned by the reviewer in Amazon US, is The Physics of Baseball by Robert K. Adair. The professor who taught me General Physics mentioned this book to us many years ago.