Down with the iPad! Long live the Modbook!

Greetings.

Jewish date:  13 Shevaṭ 5770 (Parashath BeShallaḥ).

Today’s quasi-holidays:  National Kazoo Day, Rattle Snake Round-Up Day.

Worthy causes of the day:  “Stop the corporate takeover of our government”, “Take Action | Oceana North America:  Tell Your Senators to Vote NO on the Dirty Air Act”, “Find a Lasting Solution to Medicare Doctor Payments: No More Cuts! - The Petition Site”, “Libel reform campaign petition statement”, and “Free Press: media reform through education, organizing and advocacy:”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “You'll Go Blind: Does Watching Television Close-Up Really Harm Eyesight?”

Image via Wikipedia

By now you should have heard about Apple’s iPad, introduced yesterday.  I am disappointed with what they have produced.  The iPad is essentially a big-screen iPod, something which I neither need nor want.  What I want for my next computer is a tablet version of the MacBook Pro (my current computer).  I do not want a tightly-controlled iPhone OS device unless it is to use it as a telephone; I most certainly am not going to buy one of these things to read books on.  What I do want is a Mac OS X device I can do whatever the gezornenblat I want on it without anyone else’s approval; this includes a lot more than just reading books.  What is really annoying is that the technology for a tablet MacBook is not something limited to Star Trek; it exists here and now.  In protest of the iPad, today’s weird awesome things are the real-life tablet MacBooks, the Modbook and Modbook Pro.  Apple should buy these people out or license their technology and make Modbooks instead of iPads.

Note:  Apple can be contacted at their Website Feedback page.  Axiotron, makers of the Modbook, can be contacted at their own Website Feedback page.

Enjoy and share the weirdness awesomeness.

Aaron