So, unless you live under a rock, you know that Apple announced a new tablet computer they are calling the iPad. Umm...really?? iPad??? That's the best name some of the most creative minds in computer-dom could come up with? Fellas, I have two words for you marketing fail.

Anyhoo, poor naming aside, it's a beautiful thing:



Now, many in the media and the blog-o-sphere have been less than impressed with the iPad (bleh). And no I'm not linking to any of them...jeez, peeps, haven't I told you to embrace the Google? I think some people are focusing on it as a direct competitor to the Kindle a little too much. Apple never said they wanted to sell an ereader...yes, they are setting up the new iBooks store. Because, of course people will use the iPad to read ebooks - just like they use their Macs, MacBooks, etc. - and Apple does love to sell stuff to people so why force people buy their books elsewhere? Apple is all about ease of purchase. :-D Also, anything that opens up more people to reading ebooks is a good thing, says me. I mean, honestly, before the iPod came along, how many of us regularly downloaded music?? The possibilities...I seez them.

Anyway, back to iPad vs Kindle - I have no real desire for a Kindle. I'm sure it is an excellent reading experience and Amazon has made it very, very easy for people to buy books for their Kindles. However, I am leery of anything with a proprietary format - which is why I only get the free stuff for the Kindle app on my iPhone. Until I have a way to have a book I can read wherever I like (on my iPhone or on my MacBook or wherever I choose), I think I'll pass. And yes I know they say they are developing a Kindle for Mac desktop program...I'm sure the announcement of the iPad moved that right to the top of Amazon's to-do list, don't you think? Heh. I also think someone might manage to develop a setting that will somewhat mimic eInk. I'm not a techie so I don't know that it's possible but it could be and those crazy Apple folks might just manage it.

Moving on - I think the iPad is for people who want something more portable than a laptop but bigger than an iPhone (or whatever other smartphone). Something that will let them play music, view photos and videos, read books, surf and play games - and hopefully do more than one thing at a time, for crying out loud. I think the iPad will be excellent for travel. If Apple does One More Thing (tm Uncle Steve) - I want a full blown version of iPhoto on the iPad. If they can manage to put versions of the iWork programs on there (and yay that they did that!), they can also manage to put iPhoto there soon. I know there is a Photos app but it seems to be geared more toward viewing and less to importing, setting up slideshows, etc. - things needed if you're vacationing and taking lots of pictures. And you know I love me some vacay, peeps. :-D I know there are other things people would like - an iSight camera, for example.



Well, there's my rambling take on the iPad (gah!), peeps. I will be waiting to see what the early adopters say about the iPad. I'm not rushing out to buy one but it's going on my Christmas list. By then, there should be an update or two that should make me a Happy Mac.

Labels: 2 cents, apple, computer stuff, ebooks, gadgets, lolcat

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.


...and we still have so much to learn.

Labels: holiday

Doesn't that sound impressive? Like, all official and stuff?

First, a re-cap - in 2008 I read 115 new to me books. Maybe. I'm not convinced...I didn't do a good job keeping track of all my ebook reading last year.

Now for 2009 - I read (as near as I can tell) a grand total of 124 new to me books. Woo hoo! I actually read more this year, maybe (see note above). Still, a lot of those are ebooks that were a bit shorter than the average paper book. And I didn't do a good job of keeping track of re-reads (I will do better on that this year). Also I've been in a new-book-reading slump since early November so that kept the total down, too. It could have been an awesome reading year...sto0pid slump. *mutters*

Anyhoo, let me break it down for you. First my top ten (I'm too lazy to link to anything - embrace the power of teh Google, peeps). These are in alphabetical order by author, since that's the way they popped up after I sorted my spreadsheet:

1. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley
2. Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockmann
3. One Week as Lovers by Victoria Dahl
4. Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
5. Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
6. The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon (the first time an ebook has made my top ten, I think, so wo0t!)
7. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
8. Faefever by Karen Marie Moning (ZOMG ZOMG!!)
9. Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning (ZOMG!)
10. Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
11. Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh

The ratings breakdown:
10/9 books: 11
8 books: 34
7 books: 54
6 books: 21
5/0 books: 4

Contemporaries read: 68 (practically all of the ebooks I read were contemporaries) and if I add in the category books, the total goes up to 74
Historicals read: 42
Fantasy/futuristics read: 7
Time-travels read: 1

If I break down those numbers a bit further -

Paranormals read: 20
Suspense/mysteries read: 5

Number of new-to-me authors I tried this year: 19! Impressive, yes? Some of the newbies - Ann Aguirre/Ava Gray, Katie Allen, Lauren Dane, Sarah Mayberry and Sydney Croft.

Author with most books read by me in 2009: Victoria Dahl. I read 5 of her books. Heh. I know she's proud. :-D

ETA: I had my Fever books mislabeled...which happens when you do a post really late at night AND don't read it. So tis fixed now. And Faefever had to get a double ZOMG for the cliffhanger. O_O Those of you who have read it, imagine me onboard a ship bound for Iceland and reading that ending in the wee hours of the morning...do you understand the double ZOMG?? I think you do. LOL

Labels: 2 cents, 2009, book stuff, ebooks