OK, so I'm not an Apple fanboy.  I actually don't even like the iPhone and I think it is somewhat stale already.  With that said, I love the iPad (name notwithstanding).  I don't have anything against Apple.  I own 2 iPods, like iTunes.  I don't own an Apple computer, but I do like the iMac.  I have 2 PCs running Windows XP and Vista, respectively.  I also have one laptop that I installed Ubuntu on and love it.

Then along came Apple.

I have been in the market for some time for an e-reader.  I've held off on the Kindle due to the other e-readers that I knew were coming out.  Also, there is the little mess of standards.  Remember HD-DVD and Betamax?  I like to read a lot of classics that are in public domain so I'd like any e-reader to support the file formats that so many of these classics are already in.  I know there is software to easily convert file formats, but having it in its native downloaded format would be nice and quick.  ePUB seems to be the standard that the industry is gravitating towards so supporting that one would be nice indeed. 

Of course, anyone following technology knew of the rumors of the Apple tablet, but as is the usual MO, Apple was tight lipped.  Then yesterday, after a year of speculation, the Apple iPad was announced.  This is amazing.  I love it.  It's a game changer.  In one fell swoop Apple has turned the e-reader, medical device, PC/laptop, music/movie player companies upside down.

Now that the iPad design, tech specs and price have been released I've instantly made my decision about an e-reader.  I'm not getting one.  I'm getting an iPad instead.

Let me know your thoughts.  The iPad love it, hate it, other?

Well, somewhere along the line my wife's friends got the impression that I'm something akin to Wikipedia.  If truth be told I used to joke that I wanted to be an expert on everything.  Now mind you, the universe was a much smaller place then and yes, it's true, Al Gore had not yet invented the Internet.  I can't help it.  I love to learn, read, ponder, muse and digest information.  I actually like to read history text books.  Science?  That too.  I'll pick up Scientific American and read it just for fun.  One time I spent about 3 hours down a rabbit trail reading about the Picts.

I really don't know everything and I try to not ever pretend I do.  My friends still use me as a primary research tool when they want to buy any form of electronics because they know the geek that I am and that I've probably done the research for them already.  I can say that I rock at Trivial Pursuit, but we must remember it is called TRIVIAL pursuit so lets not mistake any amount of knowledge that I do have as earth shattering, time altering, life changing information to hang on to.

So go ahead ask me.  I may not know the answer, but you never know and if not I'll probably love learning about something new.  Then we'll both be more knowledgeable.

Have a nice day.

Mat

Hi, my name is Mat Maynor and this is my first post using the Posterous platform.  Keep reading and you'll find out a little bit about me and you never know you might also find something useful.

Let's just start off with this.  I'm not the most eloquent writer in the world  Yes, yes, I know that with practice I might get better.  But, I liken my style to a poorly written, foreign produced (no offense intended, but we've all seen those materials that were developed using sloppy automated translating software) US product manual for a complex child's toy.  During my undergrad I thought I wanted to become a history professor until I got to my senior thesis for my independent study course and the 30 pages nearly killed me.  What was my thesis about you ask?  I wrote my paper on "A Historiographical View of Otto Von Bismark".  It was a real barn burner, let me tell you.

I should qualify my statement, I guess not all of my writing sucks.  I'm great at Power Point presentations.  Give me a few slides with bullet points and I can talk for hours if needed.  Just don't ask me to write anything at length and have it make too much sense.  Here's the strange thing, somewhere in the recesses of my little brain is the desire to one day write youth "chapter" books that are historical action adventure fiction.  Okay, I know what you're thinking and you're probably correct so we'll just leave that there for now.

Well, I think I've written a sufficient amount to clearly demonstrate that I do indeed need assistance, but I'm not asking for your help.  If my style, spelling or grammar freak you out then stop reading now and we'll both be happier.  If, on the other hand, you have an abundant amount of grace and will tolerate my occasional blunder then I do think I have a few things to say that will hopefully be enlightening, useful and sometimes witty.

If you're a writer, blogger or even just a frequent commenter let me know your stories of those feelings of inadequacy.

Thanks,

Mat