- Image via Wikipedia
It seems as though various news sources are pointing out the high international demand for the iPad. One example was in Tokyo Japan where 1,200 people stood in line trying to purchase an iPad. This exemplifies the overwhelming demand of international customers for the iPad as Apple tries to overcome low supply levels in order to meet its unexpected interest. In the past month, the iPad has only been introduced in 10 of the 88 countries that will sell the product and is short on supply everywhere.
Personally I was not surprised or captivated with the iPad or the sales that it experienced. As a new type of device, not many people know why they want one or what they would use it for. Of those who have purchased an iPad, 91% say they are satisfied with their purchase. I would never purchase an iPad in its current form. Originally I was hoping that the iPad would be a smaller landscape product that was based more so off the OS X operating system than the iPhone OS. I want something with a file system that I can manipulate files on between applications. A device which automatically syncs files with my MacBook so I can work on things at home or on the go. My main purpose would be to work on a project at home on my MacBook and then take it with me to work on a mobile device and work on it during my breaks. Currently, I do not see how the iPad would fit in to my lifestyle.
I also was not impressed with the demand of the iPad. Maybe I had high expectations for what the iPad could have been but I thought that a tablet-like device should have sold more units up front. Rumors were giving higher numbers which I believed would have set a better pace but those numbers were inflated. It is difficult in one respect because an iPad and an iPhone are similar so many people do not see a reason to have an iPad if they already have an iPhone. On the other hand, I think people should understand the importance of the product more because they have been exposed to the iPhone for so long. For example: many people have been saying that the demand for the iPad is so much greater than the original iPhone. The millionth iPad was sold after 28 days rather than whereas the millionth iPhone was sold after 74 days. This is a great achievement for Apple but now that Apple has introduced the app store, sells millions of iPhones a quarter, and developers have created hundreds of thousands of apps, the million unit amount seems smaller than I would have expected.
- Image via Wikipedia
Microsoft has just announced a new application which looks pretty interesting. This application will compose a tune to lyrics that you sing into the computer. The first thing is to choose what kind of song you want to compose and then the computer plays a beat. Then you sing your song while the computer records the lyrics. When its finished it analyzes the notes you sing and then creates a tune based on your song.
I will admit that the promotional video looks pretty cheesy but I think its a great tool for amateurs and something that can be fun for anyone. Heck if you are a professional you might as well try it out with your lyrics and see what this tool kicks out. Songsmith will also let you play instrument as well as singing into it. This is great for composers that are looking for both tunes to go with their lyrics or melodys. The program looks like it does a pretty good job and its available to download right now as a trial. This trial lets you compose for six hours and then if you like it you can purchase it for $29.95.
I thought it would be awesome to add a widget to my website so that I could publish the movies that I was watching through NETFLIX. When I saw this widget building page online, I knew that I should share with everyone because I thought it was pretty neat. What I thought was even more interesting and what I would never have guessed, was that NETFLIX publishes several RSS feeds that list the movies in your queue, most recent rental activity, movies at home, recommendations, and movie reviews as well as top moves and new releases.
This widget uses the information from your RSS feed from NETFLIX to display these movies on your site. To get to your RSS feed page, just log in to NETFLIX first and then scroll down to the footer and there should be an RSS link. Then once you see a feed you want to show on your site, copy that URL and go to the widget site. Specific instructions are on the widget site and also support if needed. You also have the ability to change the style of the widget like I have.
By the way I am using the blogging function in Microsoft Office 2007 to post this entry.
