My favorite part? It’s too hard to choose.
hi-res color iBooks, the keyboard dock, the revised iCal (that looks much better (and resembles my ancient(no, wait, did I ever actually use one of those?)Filofax)) or the ability to view all my apps on a larger screen.
Honestly? It is so very tempting for me. To say the least.
I was in a bus filled with middle school kids today and they were all atwitter, excitedly chattering away about how each and every one of them wanted to get an iPad. Mmmhmm. Those naysayers on Twitter don’t know what they’re talking about. This baby is going to be sizzling hot. I can feel it.
What about you?
Just another gadget you don’t need or want? Or are you dreaming about it and frequently thinking about it? Giving up your Kindle for this thing? Or sticking with your hardcover bestseller?
Hmmm….
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No, I did not get an iPad. And, sadly, this post is not sponsored. It should be noted, however, that Stephen Colbert got an iPad because, well, because he shamelessly begged for one. David Pogue, my absolute all-time favorite technology reporter (in fact, my dream is to do a tech review vlog with him! Or, okay, at least to participate in his next “I Want an iPhone iPad” movie – I can sing!), did not get one!! Outrageous! So…I am prepared to shamelessly beg for one.
What do you think of when you hear the word, “stationery”? Do you enjoy spending time in Hallmark stores and boutiques like “The Papery”? Or do you cringe at the thought?
I like paper. Not in a Dunder-Mifflin kind of way. No, I like writing papers. When I open my mailbox and see a handwritten envelope with an address label of one of my friends, I smile, walk quickly back into the house, put the stack of mail on the counter, then pull out the special envelope and put it at my place at our kitchen table.
I delight in its existence. I can’t wait to open it.
But I do.
I make a cup of tea, kick off my shoes and slowly sit in my chair, eagerly awaiting the discovery of the contents of the special envelope.
When I was a teen, my friends and I loved to discover beautiful papers or fun cards. We wrote letters to each other even though we lived less than a few miles away. We wrote to each other at summer camp. My favorite stationery was a fold-over Snoopy note card that served as its own envelope. Fold the bottom up and the top down, then turn it around and boom! There’s your address box. Sort of like a postcard, sort of like an envelope.
…in which I report back about my experience as one of 60 bloggers who spent about seven hours touring Ford’s Chicago Assembly plant and listening to Ford employees’ presentations about their company.
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When I walked into the hotel conference room to join the other bloggers for breakfast, I was greeted by some folks from Ford and Caitlyn and Karen from Ogilvy. Very soon afterward, I discovered that I was probably the most skeptical attendee. In fact, when Scott Monty, the Ford host, approached me, I sheepishly admitted that, if they were hoping we would leave singing Ford’s praises, I would most likely disappoint him. He emphatically insisted that he wanted to hear what I had to say. Good or bad.
In a nutshell? My perception of Ford vehicles was simply horrible. Where I grew up in the midwest, people regularly referred to FORD as the cars you had to Fix Or Repair Daily.
And now? If you were to ask me to name one person I know who drives a Ford? I couldn’t do it. Okay, maybe one – and she drives an Expedition SUV. Because she has a big family. My mom had a Lincoln, but I’ve never owned a Ford. In fact, I’ve only owned one domestic car.
Be honest. When you think of Ford, what comes to mind?
For me it’s this:
Which, if you like trucks, isn’t such a bad thing. I mean, they won Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year. And hey, there’s a site devoted to Ford Truck Lovers!! I kid you not! These folks love their trucks.
The thing is, I’m not a big truck fan. Nothing against them, just not something I need in my life right now.
So, if you put aside the trucks, where does your mind go next? The Taurus, right? Top selling car in the 80s, it competed head-to-head with Toyota’s Camry.
Parents often warn other parents to be prepared for those dreaded teen years:
“Just write off about five years of their lives.”
“During those years, they think you know nothing. Then, in college, miraculously, you’re once again brilliant and they ask you how to do everything from folding laundry to paying rent.”
“Oh, they’ll tell you they hate you, but they’re just really mad at you.”
“I didn’t know the person who inhabited my daughter’s body during those years. But, in about eleventh grade, the daughter I knew returned.”
In the early years of their lives, many kids try hard to please their parents. They implicitly acknowledge their necessary state of dependence and pretty much worship the ground we walk on. The effect on parents’ egos is rather intoxicating. We reach a point where we start to believe we know what we’re doing. We stand tall and breath sighs of relief, as we begin to feel confident in our parenting abilities. We go through stages where we proudly boast about achievements and quickly pull out photos of the little angels. But if we talk to parents with teenagers, we often hear them say (to those of us with younger children) that we should “enjoy it while you can” because it can change in a flash when those adorable toddlers and grade school kids reach adolescence.
As my kids approached middle school, I witnessed other teens grow sassy and more defiant so I found myself getting a little nervous, worrying more than I used to, wondering if my kids would change and, more importantly if our relationships would drastically change.
When I first heard about Amazon’s electronic reader, the Kindle, I was skeptical. Actually, I was close to being outraged. I feared Jeff Bezos planned to eventually eradicate traditional printing methods for all books and newspapers. I hated the idea of reading books on a screen, especially given the inordinate amounts of time I spend looking at computers, iPhones, handhelds and televisions. Then I tried it.
And fell in love.
My daughter and I devoted one of our family podcasts to the Kindle and the Kindle 2 and I taped a webcast about the Kindle 2 and the iPhone Kindle app. This blog post is not about the attributes of the Kindle, rather it’s about my recent discovery of a necessary accessory for the Kindle 2: a carrying case.
Unlike the original Kindle, the Kindle 2 arrives to you with no carrying case.
My obsession with books has been tested with the introduction of the second generation of Amazon’s Kindle.
If you’re interested in learning more about this (potentially game changing) device, watch the video below to hear some of my thoughts about it.
My intention was to publish a review of Amazon’s new Kindle 2, but after learning about the release of the iPhone Kindle application, I felt pretty strongly about its release and wanted to tell the world about it. After calming down (and researching more information about the intent behind Jeff Bezos allowing that Kindle app to be sold), I recorded more rational (and hopefully helpful) comments.
To hear general information about the Kindle 2, start about halfway in (5:10).
If you love books and find yourself frequently nagging your kids to read more, you may want to consider buying a Kindle.
What’s a Kindle? It’s an electronic book reader produced by Amazon.
Kindle 2 by Amazon
Anyone who travels several times per month (and likes to read) should seriously consider investing in this device. It holds 1500 books and is smaller and lighter than some paperbacks.
Have you ever been to a restaurant and noticed a serving piece that you wished you owned and used in your own home? Last month, while enjoying a delicious breakfast with my family, I saw this carafe:
and asked the waiter if the restaurant sold them or if he knew where I could buy one. The restaurant did not sell them and he had no idea where they were from.
I read a few key words on the carafe, entered them into Google on my iPhone and in a matter of minutes…voilá! I found the website for these thermal carafes.
Isn’t technology grand?
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UPDATE (11.30.08):
Want something more elegant (as requested in an email to me)? How about this one?
Or visit the Alfi website for a variety of well designed carafes.
