I can see replacing my 13″ MacBook with the iPad and using my iMac to do the heavy lifting.  I can see using Dropbox and Evernote even more.  I can see converting all my current OOo [OpenOffice] documents to iWork which means that it easily justifies the expense [not that I consider iWork expensive].  In fact, I think that I could buy 1 iPad for each of my family members and then set up accounts on our iMac as the kids get older.  This would allow my boys to each have one for online games and Apps and their own music selections.

While my personal transition to eBooks has been slow, this may entice me to make that move.  I am using Stanza on my iPhone & it isn’t really a compelling experience.  I also don’t have a lot of reading time and find that Audible is a better resource for me right now.  I hope that this iBook software allows for marking and notes because that would be a big failure right out of the gate if it wasn’t included.  I hope that Amazon gets on board like Audible has with Audiobooks available via iTunes; especially if they can keep the books at the low cost they already are for Kindle owners.

I think this beats the NetBook model hands down even if it isn’t quite what I thought it would end up being. Now, a few weeks ago I published my own predictions for the iPad.

I predicted that Apple would release a multi-touch device similar to the JooJoo [aka CrunchPad] that ran Apps, eBooks, with WiFi/3G, iTunes, a built in battery, Lala, and the content aspects of the Sports Illustrated Tablet demo.  I was right on some items and we could still see Lala become part of the service package MobileMe [I was not the first to suggest this].  I will admit that I am still blown away.  I love the device and look forward to heading into town in 60 Days and testing one out.  I think I will have to get a sitter & take the wife to a movie to justify the whole thing.

I know that many people will not get it until they see others using it and that I can understand.  It was the same way with the Kindle and other devices.  I didn’t get the iPod until I owned one.  Yeah, until I owned one and then I felt dumb because I had not invested in it before then.  It was a mind blowing music experience and since then, I have bought a couple dozen albums.

New Prediction, iSlate with Inkwell for writing with a finger or 3rd party stylus.  This will be more like the Axiotron ModBook.  It will be slide between the iPad and MacBook.

iron wil

1. ‘Available networks’ tool on taskbar — already present in OS X, works great! It was called Internet Connect, but now is just part of the Network pane in System Preferences.
2. Fewer annoying pop-ups — true we get a bouncing dock icon if you want it; but pop-ups aren’t standard.
3. HomeGroup — oh yeah, I think we call that Bonjour.
4. Device Stage — sounds like more work, OS X launches the program and gets ready to work.
5. BitLocker support for removable storage — Now, for businesses, this has promise.  Home users get nothing from what I understand.  There is FileVault; however if you want whole drive encryption, you can get tools like TrueCrypt.
6. Speedier boot-up — yeah, that is working . . . my MacBook was still faster booting OS X than it was booting Windows 7.
7. Libraries — copycat?  Yeah, *Nix systems have been using this model for some time now.
8. User Account Control is less in-your-face — about time!!!
9. Multi-touch — okay, this is only available on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and ModBooks; we are still waiting for Apple to release a NetBook or Tablet PC that will blow our socks off.
10. It’s not Windows Vista — yeah, we never thought we would see something more busted up than Windows ME; but that has come & now they are ‘getting it right’.

Commentary added.

iron wil

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Guest: Mary Jo Foley

Sinofsky, release timeline, multi-touch, MinWin, and more.

Topics:

• Steven Sinofsky interview on CNET
• Windows 7 release timeline
• Multi-touch
• MinWin
• PDC08

Audible Pick: State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III by by Bob Woodward.

get yours here.

iron wil