Your World As I See It

Wow, hard to believe it, but Summer Quarter up here at UW is almost over. It's really been a blast, and I've got to say that I'm going to miss being up here, though I am, of course, excited to start up with USC.

As you may (or may not) have heard, Apple recently release another Mac accessory: the "Magic Trackpad" (Seriously, I really hope they grow out of this whole "Magic" motif...I think we, as a society, have come to the moment in history where things with blinky lights are no longer considered to be "magical"). Anyway, what Apple has done here is take the laptop trackpad from their MacBook computers, enlarged it, and made accessible to all their computers. Obviously, this is not a product for those of you who truly hate trackpads or can't stand using anything besides a mouse. The design fits in well with their current philosophy of grey metal minimalism. Its shape is a perfect match to their line of keyboards (either wired or bluetooth), and the color matches their computers as well. The trackpad connects via bluetooth, so there are no wires to add to the tangle surrounding most computers. The trackpad is comparable to Wacom's "Bamboo" line o...

Well, who doesn't love a little Hello Kitty in their iPhone/iPad? Anyway, for anyone who wants to let out their inner Hello Kitty fandom, this app is sure to be a winner. There are basically two parts to this little game. The "action" mode is pretty simple: you launch Hello Kitty into the air using your touch rubberband-a-pult, and then, using accelerometer controls, guide your pastel protagonist through an obstacle course filled with prizes. The "photo fun" mode allows you to take all the prizes you have collected in the parachute mode and situate them around Hello Kitty on her couch. And then take pictures! Woo! The entertainment, naturally, is endless.

Let me get this out of the way...wooot! Ok, moving on... Brief version: Is the iPad awesome? Yes. The iPad has been advertised as a device to fill the void between smart phones and laptop computers (whether or not that void actually exists is open for debate). After playing around with this gadget for a couple days, I am willing to agree that it far exceeds any other competitor for this area, such as netbooks. That being said, it does have it's limitations. Can it be used to replacer your main work/school computer? Only if you're willing to really go out of your way to make it work. Possible, but most likely more work than it would be worth. However, it is ideal for most everyday uses. Web browsing/Email: I pretty much engage in these activities daily (need to cut back!), so it's important that they work well. And they do. The screen is a great size for browsing and manipulating Safari with my fingures becomes quite intuitive very quickly. The native mail app that comes w...