Proof of purchase

When we buy something we need to feel that we have something real for the money. Many people still order a CD version of software they buy online for at reason. Companies put extras in the box to make people feel good about their purchases. Apple includes some logo stickers in theirs for example.

When you buy music, video of books online, you lose that connection with something real and nifty. There's no sticker or souvenir bookmark or prize in the box because there is no box.

Would people be more ready to buy if they got back some of that thrill of purchase? Maybe but what can you give them electronically that they can get that feeling from? Action figures or autographed collectible cards are liked because they are real. Who values something digital that can be copied or mass produced?

What if these companies included perks with their purchases? Give them a book related screen saver, or custom bookmark that would show in their reader based on what they've bought. Anything that makes them feel they have something more personal than just the bits that anyone can download could do the trick.

As it is, when I buy an ebook all I have to show for it is a tiny logo of the book cover art on my virtual bookshelf. That may not be enough for the average consumer to feel that they got value for their money. Time will tell what is enough to give them their emotional proof of purchase.

Money for nothing

When you buy a book you are buying more than a stack of paper the value is the information found on the pages. What you have really purchased is the license to access that information in a form that is permanent and transferrable.

There is a natural tendency to equate the medium with the content. The VHS tape is "Jaws". The bound volume is "War and Peace". This causes a problem when you separate the content from a physical form. Turn the compact disc into a set of mp3 files and people feel disconnected because there is nothing tangible left.

Maybe this is why people who would never shoplift a DVD from a store don't see a problem with downloading the same movie from the net.

It is the content that has value, not the medium. There is hesitance with buying content when the medium changes, but is it a valid concern? Is something lost?

The most recent emergence of this shift in medium is in the publishing industry. Books traditionally had only two forms - hardcover or softcover. That changes a number of years ago with audio-books. The book was now available on tape, CD, or electronic audio formats. That took a number of years to become mainstream but is fairly established now. The next step is the ebook. The ebook gives you nothing significant over a paper book it doesn't let you hear the voice of the author, or drive while reading. Instead it offers a lightweight, searchable form of  book that you can more easily tote around than it's heavier paper counterpart.

What remains to be seen is whether the public is ready to let go of the physical and truly value the pure information. There are a number of competitors in the apace so surely the book industry feels the time is now.

Consumers are choosing between Kobo, iBooks, Kindle and others when they dip their toes in the water of paperless books. Most come with samples or free books to try out. Whether that will translate into purchasing a desired new book in this form instead of the paper form remains to be seen.

The newspaper industry sure hopes people renew their interest in reading. If people get used to carrying around their readers and can wirelessly get today's newspaper they may find new life in the industry.

It hinges on our ability to emotionally let go of the medium and grab hold of the content.

With a paper book there is no worry that you won't be able to read it in 20 years. With a DVD nobody knows if we'll be a le to find a working player - just ask anyone with a collection of Beta video tapes.

With music it's even more restrictive when the music is properly licensed. The purchaser can only use it with registered devices and can't loan it to a friend.

Books are facing similar worries. If I buy a new book for a Kindle today, what can I do with it in 20 years? If the Kindle servers don't exist any more I won't be able to download it even if there are compatible readers available. It's that sense of risk that sellers will have to find a way to cope with if they want the  public to buy intangible products.

I type on iPad

I am not exactly on the bleeding edge but I grabbed myself a 64gb iPad today. First impressions are good. Apps do look better on it when they actually are built for it. The 2x feature to upscale an iPod app for use on the iPad sucks. It just ends up looking scaled and weak.

The most impressive difference i have seen so far is with newspaper apps. New York times did a good job of making it feel like a true publication and you can certainly get a better feeling from he experience, not to mention the help for old eyes!

Unfortunately it's too late to keep playing with it. The battery seems to have some good life in it and maybe tomorrow I will try doing some book reading with it. My Apple collection keeps growing.

The Indestructible Mac Myth

So stable... never crashes... just works

Right.

I've been using the Macbook Pro for a couple of months now and I'm finding it just as reliable as a Windows based PC.  Staying with the built-in hardware and software does keep it pretty stable, and granted, it does come with lots of core function that works well, but start doing your own thing with it and you're just as likely to get problems as with any computer.  The magic "just works" ideal is a myth.

Whether it's strange hangs when you put a usb drive in, delays when you start dragging some file around, or mysterious inability to open things like system preferences, it's not immune to problems.

I think the general belief that it's better is based on the fact that out of the box, it really does come with just about everything you need to be productive.  The web cam is built into the screen, as is the mic and speakers. Mail, calendaring, web browsing, entertainment and other software are in place and work with the hardware.  They should though - they're all from Apple and tested together.  For most users it's great because as soon as you open the box it's ready to do your thing with.  I have to admire that.  It's really a good experience.

I'm not slagging Apple or the Mac - I'm just looking at it with more realistic eyes than I started with and seeing beyond the myth.  It's a good system and well constructed, but it's not indestructible.

Mobile blogging and more let downs

Do computers ever just work? After hearing souch about how Macs "just work" I guess my hopes got too high. The latest disappointment is with mounting shared drives from Windows to the Mac. It works at first, but after any change, like going from wired to wireless, or sleep, the connection not only stops working but also causes weird problems like hanging system prefs or not being able to shutdown. Why is a stable mount too much to hope for?

Having shared drives also leaves little garbage files on the remote folders. Those little files that start with a dot that are invisible on unix can show on windows. Not too spiffy.

That's it for my first mobile posting by email... Hope it came through okay.  (well it mostly did - line breaks were messed up, but it could have been worse)

iPod screen protectors

Got a nice rubbery case for my iPod Touch today.  It's black, has a good grip to it and feels like it'll take the impact if it ever falls.  It came with a clear plastic screen protector too so I tried that out.  It was great at making me feel like an uncoordinated loser.  Air bubbles were not the look I was going for, but that's all I could manage.  For now I'm gonna go commando on the screen.  Eventually I may try again - especially if I find a store that says "hey, buy one and we'll put in on perfectly for you right now".

iCal and email let-down

Hmm, everything on the Mac/ipod seemed to fit so perfectly together until I got to iCal and email.  They're almost integrated, but doesn't quite make it.  Look at how "to do" lists work.  You create a to-do as a mailbox entry.  It doesn't show up in your calendar even if you put a due date.  Sure, you can ask it to publish to iCal (kinda) but it shows up tacked onto the side and not on any particular day, and that's just on the Mac.  On the iPod Touch version of iCal it's nowhere to be seen.  I just don't get it.

The basic functions of either calendar or email seem to work fine but they've left me wondering where the magic that seems to be everywhere else in the experience is.  Am I expecting too much?

How did I do that?

I know I'll forget most of the little things I did when first moving to the Mac so this post is for me to jot down things I figure out so I won't have to figure them out again.

• Keyboard/Nav stuff:
  
  • Home/End/PgUp/PgDn - use command-left/right/up/down keys to do that
  • Multi-touch drag-n-drop - click and hold with thumb then use another finger to drag around
  • Two-finger scrolling on multi-touch pad is great
  • Three-finger swipe to go forward/back
  • Four-finger swipe (up/down) to organize multiple windows
• Network stuff:
  
  • ipconfig getifaddr en0 - gives the ip address of the wired connection
  • ipconfig getifaddr en1 - gives the ip address of the wireless connection
  • Use Applications/Utils/Network Utility for a GUI network viewer
  • Mount network drives using Finder with command-K
  • For a windows drive use smb://
• iTunes:
• Mobile Me:

Rocky starts and techno-highs

The perfect picture of how things will go lasts right up until you start. Actually for my Mac buying it lasted even a bit longer. The Apple store was enjoyable to shop in, and once I got connected with a staffer who knew details I needed, it went really smoothly. Off I went with my bundle of goodies (13" macbook pro, ipod touch 32gb).

Even when I got home things were going pretty smoothly. The setup of both devices was a breeze, though the 13" screen resolution was a bit disappointing. It all meant nothing when the power cable snapped into place though - a simple magnetic connection and I was all smiles!

Next was orienting and setting things up. Coming from a Windows world I automatically felt a bit out of place. No 'home' key? No 'end' key? No mouse?

But then came Tuesday... things were going so well. I mentioned to a coworker that I got myself a Macbook Pro on the weekend, and he said "oh no - they just announced new Macbook Pros today" and my heart sank. I no longer had the latest and greatest! In less than a week! I went from techno-high to buyer's remorse.

The next day I called up the Apple store and they said they didn't know about it until Tuesday themselves and would let me exchange it. By Thursday they had stock so in I went, and upgraded to a base-model 15". The delta cost was only $250 and I ended up with a larger screen, higher resolution (1440x900), improved processor (i5 instead of dual core 2), and about 100gb more hard drive. They did it! They restored my techno-high, didn't give me any grief about the exchange. That's how I want to be treated in every store I enter. Thanks Apple.

So now I'm back to immersing myself in the new tech. Let the good times roll.

Here goes nuthin

Doing something new is always invigorating - even if you're dead tired. Writing a blog is new for me, as is putting my foot back into the world of Apple products. I'm writing this on my new Macbook Pro and wondering how it will look on the iPod Touch screen. I've always been a gadget guy, but my inherent cheapness kept holding me back.

One tax return surprise and a little bravery changed that so now I have new toys and a place to write about my experiences too. It's been a long time since the Apple ][+ days and building clones. Here goes nuthin!