Information Systems: Jason's Web Site and Computer Tips:
iPod, iPad, web apps? huh?

April 9^th, 2010
By Jason Levy

Not too long ago, all we had was email and the internet.  We'd log into AOL and send an email to Uncle Fred in Florida, or to an old friend across the country.  If you had two computers, it was comparable to owning two television sets in the 1950's!  It was almost unheard of!  I paid $1700 for my first "post college" computer in 1998.  It was loaded with 32mb of memory, a 2 gig hard drive and a monstrous 17 inch CRT monitor that weighed 75 pounds.  I retired that computer many, many years ago.

Time flies and it's interesting to reflect back and see how much computer technology has evolved over the past 10-15 years.  Now all the hype surrounds the iPad, Apple's new tablet computer which is a morph between a laptop and a smartphone.  I don't own one...yet.  I own an iPod Touch, and from what I can see so far, the iPad is the much bigger brother to the iPod Touch.  The iPad runs a modified version of the iPhone Operating System and features include email, internet, music, a book reader, ability to watch videos, play games... and I mean literally board games from what I was told.  The game Monopoly is just too difficult to play on the iPod Touch, but with the iPad's larger multi-touch, LED backlight screen, it looks like the possibilities are endless.

A friend of mine said he is getting the iPad for his wife because she is home and in bed recovering from an operation.  A laptop is too difficult for her to manuever.  The iPad seems like a practical solution in many cases.  My only concern is the virtual keyboard.  I'd really have to test it out, but on the iPod Touch, it is easy to make mistakes while typing.  Also, popular software programs and suites such as Microsoft Office will not run on the iPad.  Microsoft has no plans to develop a version of Office for the iPad, at least as of now. (http://mashable.com/2010/04/02/google-microsoft-ipad)

The iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone all have the ability to download apps, some are free, and some cost a few bucks.  Needless to say, most are really cool!  While in Arizona two weeks ago, the thermostat in the apartment was displaying in Celsius, not Fahrenheit!  I had no idea what 15C was, but I knew it was freezing so I used a free and handy Temperature Converter app on my iPod Touch.  It will work on any operating system because this app is actually a web app, not an app that needs to be installed.  As expected, I quickly discovered that 15C was 59F!

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Thanks,
Jason