The iPad is coming, the iPad is coming….wait a minute- it is already here! Yes, we did go out and join the other early adopters of the latest device from Apple.

Apple claims this device to be, “A magical and revolutionary product and an unbelievable price.”  Maybe in fantasy land! Yes, that’s what we are claiming.  Realistically, the iPad is a bit overpriced more evolutionary rather than revolutionary.  What Apple did right, as they’ve done with most of their products post 1999 (the year in which the iPhone development was started), was design a simple to use, easy to operate, good looking device. 

One of my favorite lines from a movie is, “Explain this to me like I am a two year-old.”  Well Apple definitely made a product that a 2 year-old could pick up and start using.  Even 99 year-old Virginia Campbell can use the iPad, which has given her new-found freedom.  So let’s begin the review. 

In an effort of full disclosure, I love my iPad.  But don’t be misled. The iPad is not a laptop and is not a replacement for your home computer, though there are some exceptions for mobile business owners.  In fact, if you decide to run out and try to buy an iPad today, 2 things will happen. One, you will not be able to buy an iPad as most stores are sold out, and two, you will need to sync this baby to your home computer and then activate it using iTunes.  “Did I just hear you correctly? You mean I have to activate my iPad, which is a computer, to another computer in order to use it??”  Yes, that’s correct! 

If you own and iPhone then you will be familiar with this process.  If not, it might seem unusual but it’s the way Apple rolls.  Simply plug in your iPad, using the included cable, to another computer and Apple will walk you through the process.  After that, just charge it up for about 4-6 hours and you can start surfing, reading emails, or whatever else you feel the need to do- there is sure to be an app for it. 

Here is the low-down dirty truth about the iPad – its great, but again, it’s not a desktop replacement and should only be considered as a compliment to the computer system that you already have.  In other words, it is a luxury item- but a very useful one at that.  I have been using mine non-stop for the past week and have really tried to abuse it.  So far, the worst things I can say is that the position of your body that you end up in while using the iPad is very bad on your posture and, some websites do not work properly.  If you have not heard, as with other Apple products, the iPad does not support Flash.  Flash is used by over 75% of all sites on the Internet.  Sites like hulu.com, netgear.com, and fox.com all use flash to show you dynamic web content.  No flash=no fun. 

I opted to buy the 32 GB version and decided not to wait for the 3G model, which would allow the iPad to connect to the Internet, since I already have a MiFi-2200- a device that allows me to connect up to 5 computers to the Internet simultaneously to the Verizon Mobile network for Internet access.

As I begin to use it more I will post follow-ups to this blog. More to follow…..

I purchased a new MacBook recently and although it is very quick and responsive, I needed a more durable solution for the hard drive.  I am tough on my machines and don’t always have time to follow my own advice when moving them.  It’s always best to turn off your laptop when moving around or at the very least, put the computer into hibernation.

Do you toss your laptop around and not think twice about what could happen?  I see the effects of “abused” equipment all the time and it’s not pretty.  What is the answer?  Reducing the moving parts in your computer is one way.  The primary and most critical component that can be replaced is the hard drive as it is the heart of the laptop.  Regular hard drives have tiny moving parts inside, and if the laptop is writing to the hard drive, and the laptop gets jolted, it can cause errors to occur and could render your laptop inoperable

Off I go to the local computer store to purchase the best SSD – only took 1 week of research time – anyone who knows me knows that was quick.  But why am I going to the local computer store? Doesn’t CUI sell parts?  We do and I will get into why we buy local later.  So as usual I try to test the local computer sales person’s knowledge.  First question for the Apple representative at Micro Center was, can I upgrade my MacBook to an SSD?  The answer from the sales person, “No”.

I decided to purchase an Intel X15 drive from Micro Center and as I mentioned earlier the sales person told me that I could not upgrade my MacBook.  So being the average home owner wanting to buy some parts I ask, “can I change the hard drive in my MacBook to an SSD?”  The saleswomen stumbles a bit and finally tells me that Micro Center does not sell a drive that will work in my MacBook.  I asked twice to be sure and she confirmed that it cannot be done

Why an SSD?  What is an SSD?  SSD is short for solid state design and is the latest in hard drive technology.  There are no moving parts in an SSD.  It uses similar technology to the flash memory you use in your camera.  There is very little heat and best of all the response time when reading from the drive is incredible. 

Going to the local computer store has the advantage of instant gratification as well as an easier return policy.  More importantly I was headed out of the country and needed to do this quickly.  But I digress.  So I was off to the hard drive section to buy what I was told would not work.  I am always trying to buck the system and prove them wrong.  To be fair I had already read the instructions from many other users who had replaced their MacBook hard drive with an SSD.

Back at the office I begin the process.  First thing I needed to do was back up my current hard drive and make an image that I could put on the new SSD.  Seems easy enough but having never done this on a Mac before I was a little skeptical.  Jason, CUI tech extraordinaire, had already done this but for me it was the first time.  At this point I took some time to review the Apple forums and then narrow down my choices of programs to copy my data from the old drive to the new drive.  After what seemed like an eternity, actually about 5 minutes, it was clear the winner was SuperDuper! Next I downloaded and installed the program.  In no time it was ready to go.  As this was a test I did not read the manual and turns out that was not a problem.

Finally I was ready to unpack the SSD and connect it to the MacBook, allowing me to make an exact copy of my current hard drive on the new SSD.  For this I used my Cables to Go USB to SATA adapter.  Plugged in all the pieces and nothing happened.  Why?  Simple answer – no power.  So off to the Computer Umbrella tech bag and retrieve the power source for the adapter.  Once I set up the power the MacBook recognized the new SSD drive right away.  Started SuperDuper!! and selected the new hard drive as my target drive and selected back up all files.  Now the waiting.  Wow was I surprised.  A mere 15 minutes later my new SSD was ready to go and best of all SuperDuper!! made it bootable.  All I needed to do was install the new SSD in my MacBook.

Flip over the MacBook to find 8 screws that needed to be removed to get access to the current hard drive.  I then removed the current drive which was held in by 2 screws.  So of all the things I did so far the hardest part was the next step.  The original MacBook hard drive had 4 posts that screw into the side of the drive.  They needed to be removed so I could use them in the new SSD.  I have just about every tool for computers and nothing was working.  In the end I used a small pair of pliers to remove each post.  Now that I was back in business I installed the new SSD into the MacBook and closed up the bottom.  Flipped it back over, plugged in power and turned it on.  Nothing happened.  Was this failure?  No.

I just needed to wait a little for the new drive to be recognized by my Mac.  Once it did the speed was great.  Instant startup of any program.  It has been 3 weeks now and all is good.  I traveled to our office in Vietnam and back and was very rough with the MacBook.   No problems and speed is still great.  I made the right decision.