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May 10, 2010
 

Obama's misdirected statement about the iPod, iPad, XBox and PlayStation

President Obama said the following at a commencement speech at Hampton University:

You're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter. And with iPods and iPads, and Xboxes and PlayStations - none of which I know how to work - information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it's putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy.

I agree that the iPod, iPad, XBox and PlayStation can be -- and often are -- a distraction. What bothers me about the assertion is that is states that President Obama believes that these devices are putting pressure on the country's democracy because they expose "us to all kind of arguments, some of which don't always rank high on the truth meter" by turning information into distraction, diversion and a form of entertainment.

There is something very Fahrenheit 451 about that statement.

Is it better not to have access to all kinds of arguments? Should we just have access to arguments which rank high on the truth meter? Should we be afraid of devices that facilitate access to information? No, no, no, and the fact that he even suggested these things is kind of scary.

I want to believe that this was just a poorly written statement that he included in the speech more as a father to keep his daughters from spending time on these devices than as the President of the United States. But he is a lawyer and an excellent speech writer, it would be odd if he did not mean to say what he did. Which ever the case. His assertion was patronizing and misdirected at best.

And talking about distractions, I rank receiving prayers to your Blackberry every day higher and more troublesome.

Filed under  //   Information   Obama   PlayStation   XBox   iPad   iPod  
January 29, 2010
 

iPad vs. paper. [iPad's impact on the environment]

Yesterday, I wrote the reason for my decision to buy an iPad (I will get an iPad. Here is why.). My brother did not think that I my assumption about the iPad being better for the environment than its dead-tree counterparts was correct. He offered to contact a friend of his (Jonathan Lung) to ask him about it. Here is his analysis: iPad? How bad?

Filed under  //   apple   environment   iPad   paper  
January 28, 2010
 

I will get an iPad. Here is why.

I want to pay for content (i.e. Newspapers, eBooks, Magazines) but I refuse to pay for it if I have to sit in front of a desk to consume it.

I've been tempted to subscribe to The New York Times, but I haven't done so because it bothers me that I would be responsible for so much waste of resources to get this paper delivered to my door. Again, I want to pay for the subscription. I believe the paper is worth it, but I won't pay for it if I have to consume it in front of a desktop or a laptop.

Also, I want publishers get a fair revenue from advertisers. Advertisements in print media deliver their message without demanding an action from me. Newspapers and magazines sell advertisement that is valuable because people look at it. You don't have to click on it. The advertisers communicate their message, publishers get revenue based on impressions and readers consume the content they want with minimal disturbance. This model has not been able to work on the web for many reasons, without getting into them, I believe that the iPad's format and size will allow a distribution of information that makes this possible because it allows for page design. There is enough room for both the content and the advertisement.

There are some other reasons for me to want the iPad, but the one that is going to make me get it is that one. I want to pay for the content I consume and consider valuable. I just had not found a way to do so without being responsible for so much waste of energy and resources.

I'll get it to use it as my one and only newspaper, magazine and book. The rest is extra.

Filed under  //   apple   iPad   publishers