…my nose in a bookFood, research, yoga and music. . . is there anything else?

There have been rumors and rumblings for the past couple years about a Apple Tablet that combines the iPod, iPhone and Macbook all into one nicely sized tablet screen.  I have been eagerly awaiting hearing any news about this, and am always on the look out for any new comments on the Internets.  Every month it seems there is a post promising the Apple tablet’s emergence into the world “next month” or “any time now”, yet it never shows.

This week, the Nook by Barnes and Noble was released, which of course has spun much discussion on this being the precursor to the Apple tablet.  This fascinating eBook reader seems to put the Kindle to shame, yet as I was looking at product demos it seemed vaguely similar to something I have seen before.  Now, the Nook has a much fancier screen (in color), with 3G and Wi-Fi, yet the more I looked at it, the more it seemed reminiscent of the Apple MessagePad 2100 a.k.a. the Newton.

So I immediately tasked myself to go find a Newton to confirm my suspicions.  Lo-and-behold, a wonderful professor of mine had one in his possession.  So I took a peek at it.  This MessagePad 2100 (Newton) was created in 1989, has a bright blue/green back-light, decent sized 8″x4″ screen, weighs about 1.25 lbs, but seems as sturdy as an Otterbox Case.  This “tablet” style mini-computer has a stylus that you use to write on the screen, which uses a writing recognition software to convert the writing into text (Plus the writing recognition learns from your writing style – more than I can say for many of the writing recognition applications built for the Apple iPhone).

With different sound capabilities, a 28.8k modem (though quite zippy since the files maintain a very small size on this machine – and keep in mind this thing’s battery life far outshines my Apple iPhone which only lasts me 12 hours when not using it), mail.app, notes, calendar, organizational assistant, games and more, I was intrigued by this machine that is 20 years old. Yes,  this tablet style computer with a word processor, with a touch screen, address book, writing recognition, and with Internet (and the ability to fax), seems too good to be true. Yet, I sat there holding it in my hands wondering how the long awaited Apple tablet doesn’t sound like it has changed all that much, expect with the addition of color screens, better resolution, and access to the Apple App Store (But any critics of the potential new tablet are skeptical about it being able to maintain enough battery life).  The Nook and Kindle also don’t seem to have come very far in comparison either, they are simply eBook readers with Internet (and a white case).  I think a modern day revision of the Newton would be a welcome product,  seeing as Apple already pretty much has had the beta out for 2 decades.

I am not going to stop waiting with baited breath for a glimpse of a modern tablet from the Apple store.  Though now that I have seen what Apple was capable of 20 years ago in a tablet style portable computer, I think I will wait on buying a Nook or Kindle, and just hold out for the Apple Tablet.  If history proves anything, it will definitely be good.

Cheers,

Deanna

So after all the hassle of waiting to get my Macbook Pro (Zappy the Lappy) fixed, between the problems with the zapping, the bad optical drive, the kernel errors, the glitchy mouse after the replaced logic board, the problem has been solved.  Well, the problem with the old laptop has not been repaired or figured out, but yours truly ended up getting a brand new laptop replacement!

I am the proud new owner of a Macbook Pro 15″ laptop (still waiting to name it). Since the Apple store doesn’t keep any old stock in their store, I ended up getting the newer swankier version of the 15″ Macbook Pro!  It has a 7 hour battery life, lighter weight, and a little bit speedier too. Ahh, after all the stress and hassle of having a glitchy laptop, I now have a happy, faster laptop.

So happy that everything worked out in the end. Though the funny thing is, this laptop emits a small electrical charge (zap/buzz) off of its top case as well. I think I can live with that though. I am just happy to have a functional laptop, with all my files, so I can sit on my couch, curled up with a blankie, and mark papers in peace.

Cheers everyone, and have a great weekend.

Deanna

I have been dealing with the Apple Store (Pacific Centre) and the telephone Applecare support centre for the past few months, trying to get my laptop fixed.

It all started with my laptop zapping me when I was typing, and there was always a consistent buzzing feeling emanating from the top case.  I didn’t think anything of it until my keyboard started to become a little more violent with its zaps to my little finger tips (sometimes it actually hurt, and for my fingers that is saying something – I played piano for 2 decades).  So I took my macbook in to get fixed.  The guys at Apple were so cheerful and nice, and I had high hopes.  They replaced the topcase on my laptop, and sent me on my way.  Lo and behold, it did not fix the problem, and even worse, my trackpad was now totally wonky.  So another visit to the Apple store needed to be scheduled.  They then replaced the top case again, and this time the logic board.  Alas, after this fix, the laptop not only seemed to be a little “off”, it was having Kernel errors on a daily basis! I couldn’t win.

After consulting with the Applecare phone support, numerous troubleshooting strategies and testing and testing and did I mention testing, it seemed like the laptop just had a weird problem. So today @nachoman was nice of enough to take my laptop back over to the Apple Store to see what is to be done about it now.

Fingers are crossed that I either get a new replacement laptop or they can find the magical way of making my poor little laptop feel better.

I will keep you posted.

Deanna