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I picked up an iPad when they first shipped in the UK at the end of May. Here's some random observations after three months of use.

It's no match for a desktop or laptop for continuous desk use. I hardly never use it when I'm at my desk.
Since I got it, my previous out-and-about device; my 15" MacBook Pro, has turned into a desktop. It never leaves the house and having an iPad will probably considerably extend the time before I replace the MacBook. The iPad is small enough to go pretty much anywhere and last for hours which is a big plus.
Every time I visit the App Store I'm disappointed by the same old apps always being in the featured section. Like for months. Doesn't feel like there's a massive amount of iPad app coding going on.
Screen smudges and smearing is a real niggle. I have invested in several strategically placed microfibre cloths around the house, in my case and in the car. I hate using it in smear mode, particularly in bright surroundings.
The Apple case is shit. Functional, but too 1990's in design. Get a Dodocase.
I'm being ground down by Update fatigue. This doesn't only apply to the iPad, obviously, but literally every day (sometimes multiple times a day) my App Store icon shows a little red badge number indicating one or more of my apps has an update waiting. This is a bigger topic which deserves its own post. And it's my fault for having so man

Worlds In SyncSeptember 1

Nice to see Tony Blair's memoirs released on both paper and digital form on the same day. It's a shame that expressing admiration for Blair always feels like it ought to be accompanied by a liability disclaimer or apology, but I always admired him in a paternalistic, almost fatherly way. With Blair it felt like we had a real, ballsy leader.

Tech News Volume TrackerAugust 31

I'm professionally curious to see how the Foursquare vs. Facebook Places thing plays out from a PR perspective, so over the weekend I decided to run an article search on Techmeme to get some opening mention counts. I then quickly decided to open that up to include other tech brands for the hell of it - it's quick to note down 50 search results in a spreadsheet. I ran each search term for Summary, a mention in title and first few words of the article, and Full which captures mentions anywhere in a news article.

I will try to remember to re-run these numbers weekly or monthly and see what changes. These are also top of mind, might be missing some interesting names worth tracking.

Mentions (All)

Mentions - Location Services

HDR Apps on the iPhoneAugust 30

HDR photo apps have appeared recently in the App Store and, all things considered, they are pretty amazing for impulsive, in-the-moment HDR photos. This shot is from an overcast Blenheim Palace bank holiday Monday picnic today, using True HDR.

Facebook is the new AOLAugust 30

Stowe Boyd says...

...I believe that Facebook represents the high water mark of social networking, as we understand it today, a time dominated by social networking applications, as if our social interaction is something best managed in a single enormous database, whose rows and tables are designed by a small group of developers in one company. Facebook is the new AOL.