iPad : Function From Design Desire

I've been watching all the iPad chat with only a passing interest. I've only recently got an iMac (which I love) but I don't have an iPod/iPhone or any other Apple kit. I can, however, see why people like them so much.

I'm not going to add much to the glut of ongoing iPad debate other than to make one observation.

When I first watched the iPad videos I found it hard to see how/when I would use it. I've got a lovely wee Linux Eee PC which does everything I need on the move (and quite a few things the iPad doesn't). The obvious occurred to me that most of the Apple techno-bling never has won the battle on function. Certainly, I've avoided the iPhone up to now because there were key things it didn't do. And yet, massive popularity and the must have tag results.

So, when you consider the iPad, you can argue all day long about what it does and doesn't do but that doesn't matter. What Apple seem always to be able to pull off is to make people want their technology. I want an iPad and I have no need for it and I'm not really sure what I'd use it for.

There is undoubtedly something a bit primal at the heart of this. Whether it is a basic need to 'keep up' or to reinforce self-worth through possessions the desire alone is enough.

All Apple do is create the desire through glorious design and have a platform open enough for the useful killer app type stuff to come along later. If you create enough desire, enough people are interest in building the apps on the device. It's all a little back to front, normally you shell out on high price tech because what it will do for you right away. Seems to me that people will buy the iPad just because they want it and knowing that they will find a use for it later.

Contrast with the desirable tech of my youth. When you were deciding whether or not you wanted a BBC Micro, Commodore 64 or a ZX Spectrum, you didn't care all the much how it looked or what it could do, you were primarily interested in the software/games that ran on it.

There have been tablets before but they have never taken off because they weren't sexy enough so not enough were sold so there wasn't enough app investment to make them any kind of game changer. The iPad will sell plenty for being sexy alone and the rest will just happen.

PhotoBlog : A Morning in the Museum

We went in search of buried treasure. My daughter asked last night if you still got buried treasure. She looked a little surprised when I said I would take her to see some the next day. The Iron Age gold that was recently discovered is on display at the National Museum of Scotland for 3 weeks. So we had a very pleasant hour of a Sunday morning around the much reduced museum. Looking forward to its full return in 2011.

On a photographic note, if you have a Canon DSLR and you don't have the Canon EOS 50mm/F1.8 Ef lens then get that on your Amazon wish light right away. For a prime lens it is incredibly cheap and is pin sharp in good light. In the low-light, glass covered world of a museum it at least gives you a chance, albeit on very high ISO (if you can avoid the people who insist on taking reflections of their flash in the glass). All of the images below were shot with it.



Treasure ahoy! One of the torcs we went to see. I call this one 'Peter'.



I love these, very famous, chess men. Despite their age, you can see a definite 'peace out' message going on here. There is nothing new in the world.



Much to my daughter's disappointment I was unable to confirm her assertions that these were pirate cannons.



It seems a particular quirk of history or historians that most female royalty are always allowed the suggestion (Anne of Cleeves aside) that they were beauties. If this image of Mary Queen of Scots (on her sarcophagus) is anything to get by then, well, decide for yourself.



This eagle head is part of a grand golden lecturn from a church. I picked out this detail as I thought it looked entirely gormless.



Museums are at their best, especially for kids, when they are interactive. This morse generator is good fun. As is required, everything should start with "hello world".



...and then you can go on to explain how you send that message with one of these.



-- insert joke about bald tyres here --

Why do we like Social Networking?

I watched Kevin McCloud's excellent two-part documentary of his stay in the Mumbai slum of Dharavi last week. I'm a huge fan of Mumbai but this opened my eyes even further to parts fo the city I hadn't seen. Kevin was at his honest and frank best and reflected the balance of the good and bad of Dharavi very well.

Clearly, in many ways, life in Dharavi can be seen as a squalid mess and Kevin didn't shirk from any of this. But one aspect that was also covered was the inherent happiness of the people, fuelled by the closeness and extent of the community around them. Although Kevin quite rightly pointed out that community isn't enough when you living in an open sewer, it was clear that was something there to be learnt in relation to the way we live, our city design and the architecture of dwellings.

Yesterday I did a presentation on Social Media at a technology workshop in town. As the excellent discussion progressed, my thoughts turned back to Kevin's experiences in Dharavi.

So, the question is, what makes social networking so popular? Obviously, the most popular things are those which satisfy a fundamental need. If we draw a contrasting parallel between our modern life and the close community of Dharavi, we see what we miss, at a fundamentally human level, is the day to day interactions with the humans around us. We sit in houses, flats, cars, offices, largely cut off. When we are in public we are still secluded, hiding in the fog our of business, glumness, frustration.

What social networking gives us is a way to feel connected, to feel part of something, to feel we are close to people. Perhaps even to belong. The day to day, minute to minute, face to face interactions of the people of Dharavi are replaced my tweets, pokes and 'I likes'.

So, could it be that the popularity of social networking is, at least in part, a product of a failure of urban planning and modern life that has has us feeling lonely and disconnected?

As Kevin also concludes, in the documentary, you wouldn't swap the comforts of modern life to have a community spirit like Dharavi, but there is clearly something we can draw on to improve the way we live.

PhotoBlog : Edinburgh Winter

When you've nowhere to go and nothing to do the snow is a wonderful thing. Had a great couple of days out and about in the snow with the camera(s). Here is a quick selection of the photos. I've thrown in a (short) video as a wee test. It's Full HD taken with a wee Kodak Zi8, quality looks ok but the camera work is a little ropey.

Day 1 - Edinburgh and The Meadows




A fairly standard shot of Calton Hill.



A very snowy Arthur's Seat from The Meadows.



You can't really resist the perspective of the tree lined avenue.



Works well in black and white too. This is a Gorman-Holbert conversion.

Day 2 - Botanic Gardens



It's not easy to do this shot of the castle in any kind of new way. I tried. Didn't really work!



I saw someone taking this shot through the trees. So I waited until they were gone and did the same. Thank you unnamed stranger. This is St. Mary's Cathedral in the distance.



The wildlife was being very amenable. I saw this wee guy from inside the terrace cafe. I went outside to catch up and he not only hung about but set very close and very still.



This squirrel was happy to pose too as he had a pile of food to get through.



St. Mary's again, this time with dramatic sky in the background.

And here's a wee video. I need a steadier hand but the Zi8 seems to work OK and scores very high on convenience. Got a great film of the family snowball fight that broke out.

Death of the Butterfly

Many moons ago, I wrote herein about my tendency to flap about like a butterfly. The truth is, I never really conquered that, until now. The butterfly is dead. Finally.


Sorry pal... (click to download hi-res free from MorgueFile)

This isn't a New Year resolution. Don't do those. Leading up to New Year, I have been planning all the things I want to do next year. There is a list. Nothing else is allowed on that list until something completes (or I bin it in a big hissy fit). I will allow left-field antics to jump in on an opportunistic basis but only if they are clearly more desirable that the stuff on the list and I'm happy to bin something.

The only issue is that it is a pretty big list. It has to be, otherwise I'd let new stuff appear.

I'm mentioning this here purely so @manicmorff and @stuartamdouglas can keep an eye on me. And also because I just caught myself researching writing a REST API based widget dofer for 30 seconds and had to give myself a row. It worked. The butterfly is dead.