iDevil?

I was doing my studies a minute ago on my iPad, and I wanted to post this up for quite a bit already.

A few days ago trying to figure out the mysteries of my assignment, I got really tired. I sat on my bed, wanting to take my afternoon nap, and then like usual, I couldn't sleep.

I picked up my books, again and I could focus even better. I felt relaxed more with my phones, netbook and the iPad on the table that I call my workstation.

I could absorb information better rather than staring into a "backlit-LCD" screen with my notes on it.

I mean, it is the exact same issue with you reading books, and reading eBooks, if anybody ever experienced or encountered any problems like that?

I tend to lose focus over the times where I'm closer to technology.

Is that kind of odd?

I remember reading one article about one person giving up the cyberspace and it improved his memory.

Besides his memory, he also had boredom.

Boredom is the most important emotion to actually feel to get inspirations. He was one of the few people who bought an iPad, and then he sold it off because it took up too much of his time where he prefers to be bored.

Which is pretty interesting really. I sat down, like what normal families would do before the introduction of the iPhone, the iPad, and other smartphone-related devices. If you switch off notifications, you'll end up refreshing your applications to figure out if there's anything new or whatsoever.

Just so happens, I was too lazy to reach out for my i-Products, and I was happy with it. I focused way better, and I felt better studying - with a book.

This is a pretty interesting thought for myself, and I'm not sure if you all experienced it.

I know when I go online, most of my time is wasted no thanks to Facebook. Because of Facebook, I don't play as much guitar as I used to. And when I play guitar, I play it better when my girlfriend is not online, or when she's busy, and with my netbook shut.

Boredom kills some people, like my 4 other housemates downstairs, but I think it's a divine source of major inspirations.

Although the idea of Apple products being highly promoted here, that is clearly the wrong message to send out. It's only because I own these things. If It was years back, I'd blame it on my PS2 and the home computer.






Give me my boredom so I can study right. No wonder I haven't touched my iPad for a bit. It's an odd sign.

Close Call.

I just got to uni not long ago, and I know that my lecturer didn't release the first week's lecture notes.

At least that's what I know.

When I double checked again, it was released already, and boy, was I in for it. I didn't upload it to my iPad, and I was in deep shit (Somehow. Since they use the projector to review the slides anyway)

I checked out Safari, and saw that the lecture slides were available for download. Sheesh.

Since I had three methods to upload the PDF files into my iPad, the Wi-Fi share network was blocked by our glorious UTAS' firewall network. Can't blame them for taking up security anyway. So I had to think of another method.

Download from link - But the iPad/iPhone does not support PDF views in a different frame, so that was another problem.

Downloading from a link, but if the link were to be in a user-friendly interface. Fuck Hotmail for once, but Gmail?

Poof, and I'm all prepared. I think this iPad was a tad bit underpriced. :)

And for those iPad users, please do get the 3.2.1 update. It's released today! (I thought it was the iOS4, like finally. Sigh)

Failure.

I failed 2 subjects.

Yay.

Of iPhones, Fender Stratocasters, and MacBook Pro..

Well, I believe that some of my list is fulfilled by purchasing this glorious iPad. Now to continue on with the rest of the items that I have in mind. Between the 3 expensive items up ere, its a tough thing to choose. Let me break it down.

I need a new phone, I need an electric guitar (which manipulates my playing styles and skills), and I need a new laptop (after how my HP motherboard died on me)

So, pre orders start very soon for the Australian market. The problem is, will they have enough micro sim cards to be issued out to whoever plans to change from normal conventional phones to the iPhone 4?

And if I were not to spend on the iPhone 4, I can get my guitar at least a month quicker than expected, inclusive of the whole rig.

I am constantly reminded by the sweet sounds being played by guitar gods.

Which brings me to my next problem. I have a guitar, but I do not have a proper computer to record stuff on. Not like I do much recording, or anything, but.. That's just ironic.

Talk about spoilt for choices. This really sucks big time.

A Slight Review of the Anticipated iPad.

Yes, like other fools, I've bought the iPad if you did not know already.

After all, I did make my countdown to the iPad very very discreet. If you knew and followed up, that means that.. Well, you've been following my blog too efficiently.

The iPad.

Mine's the 64GB Wi-Fi model (Non-3G, mind you) and I must say, like any other iPhone-related product, it's well built, and it's well made as well.

The key here is that you don't adapt to the iPad, but the iPad adapts to the way you want it to be.

On a high-power consumption basis, I faced the first problem after getting it out from the box. It does not charge via USB 2.0 ports on laptops. I believe that the newer Mac products are prepared for this as this consumes about 10W from a USB port, and normal laptops (like my HP Pavillion dv2000t 2007 make) is unable to support. So that breaks the first tradition of iPhones and iPod Touches. It does not charge while you sync your stuff with iTunes.

Great, huh?

The weight, feels light at first. But I was walking from my place to NextByte (which is about a 10 minute walk), it began to take a toll on me. Although it may be light at first, but I think it's a bit too heavy. Regardless of it is, compared to any 10inch notebooks or netbooks out there, I think it's just convenient to carry about.

Apple iPad Case - It's way below my expectations. I'd give it a 3/10. Firstly, it's made out of a majority of latex. So it feels flimsy, and it doesn't even feel right. Easily dirtied as it's that sort of a material, and it feels dirty at some point as well. The only upside of it that it's extremely handy when you need to start typing on your iPad as the casing allows you to raise it a few degrees higher.

Now, on the applications. They're more souped up. At least they look so much more different yet having the same basic functions of how the iPod Touches/iPhone has, but even at a more deadlier approach. With its on-screen life-size keyboard and multi-touch (up to 11 fingers I heard?) makes it so realistic. Just that you don't hear the clicking or tapping on conventional keyboards.

It takes quite a bit to get used to it because of the symbols, but that's a entirely different issue.

The iPad is responsive. If you're unsure about which direction or what position to put it in place, it adapts quickly and never misses a single turn.

The design for the applications are just superb as well. Since I just started purchasing applications off the AppStore, I'll share some that I'm using at the moment.

FaceBook - There's no iPad version, so you'll have to deal with the pixelated version when you zoom in 2x compared to its original resolution.

IM+ - Paid for. Probably 3.99 I think, and the iPad version is pretty awesome. In its landscape position, you are able to view your contact lists, see your currently active chat windows, and also surf a light web browser to check on other things without accessing Safari. The only problem I faced is that I couldn't view my Skype contact list when I'm signed into MSN, although I'm online in both accounts?

Need for Speed: Shift - ... Haven't really played it yet, but auto-accelleration really sucks.

AccuWeather - Probably one of the most hilarious weather-forecasting applications I've come across. Available both free, and at $3.99. I'm not sure if it's as accurate as it is, but it has an offline feature where it saves the weather forecast as at when it was last online. Besides that, it has other misc stuff explaining about the things you can do and might fall sick from (e.g. probabilities of getting sinuses, walking your dog, weather for jogging, etc)

PDF Pro - Oh hell yes. I don't need to explain much about this application. One thing bad about this app is that it does not view bookmarks or page titles that you might find important.

BlogPress - That hosts plenty of other blogsites and allows you to blog on the go. The ability to upload photos is hopeless though. Besides that, everything's based in HTML. So if you know how to link pictures and you have THAT effort to do so on an iPad, this might be the programme for you. Heh.

TweetDeck for iPad - I only got it because it was free, and it had a better view for the iPad. Other than that, it sucks because it doesn't push notifications towards you. Gotta check it once in a while.

Pianist Pro - The midi programme that I've been blogging about, and I have still no idea on how to sync it to my laptop to get things up and ready for Reason 4.0. Sigh.




Anyways, here's how it goes. I have two hands on typing stuff on my normal laptop, and I get my left hand to do all the link-tapping and responding to Facebook on my left!



I tell you, it's just so much more fun now. Except the fact that the iPad additional accessories costs me up to $189, excluding applications I bought for the AppStore.

Oh Boy.

'Nuff said. You know when I'm online via the iPad. AND MY FUCKING GOD IT IS JUST AWESOME!

Oh-Khay. My Bad.

The iPad would arrive latest on the 31st of May.











WITH THAT SAID, I HAVE ALREADY BLEW MY PARTIAL GUITAR SAVINGS TO BUY APPLICATIONS FOR IT.. MUAHAHAHAHAHHA.

Oh Yeah.

My Australian TNT Express is up and running! And my iPad is happily being stored in Sydney! Most probably it'll get lodged out today, and will arrive in Hobart tomorrow.

Feels great to be alive.

And once I get my iPad applications out right, I'll be..back in business. Heh.











This is so.. orgasmic. Heee.

The Discovery.

This should be a post on my other blog about music @ msglacius, but I have yet to confirm if this were to work.

Friends, and dear musicians, I believe you know that I will be getting the iPad very soon, and I just can't bloody wait.

And thanks to another day of shopping at the AppStore, I stumbled upon this application that's about AUD$12.99, called Pianist Pro. What this does is that it allows you to play a keyboard user interface on the iPad over a wireless network that syncs with your PC/Mac/Linus device and keys in the MIDI data you transmit over.

Latency can be set through this programme. If you were to kindly watch the video below, you'd get what I'm saying.

This is just awesome! For 3 years, I never had the money to purchase a MIDI keyboard, and I lost all sources of inspirations in buying a new one just to get things started. But with Pianist Pro, and if all goes well, I might get down with some tunes; once again.

For three years! And I've considered to get a MIDI controller here in Hobart after the guitar, and looks like I have a cheaper alternative to last me until I get one!

I've got LoopBe (A type of MIDI Loopback Driver of some sort) installed in my computer already, and Reason 4.0's picking it up. The other programme to bridge the iPad's transmitted data to LoopBe would be none other than Pure Data.

The final step is to key in a few numbers and blow AUD$12.99 and sync my iPad to Pure Data, which is already connected to LoopBe, I can begin fine tuning the latency (if there's any) of the iPad to the laptop, AND get tunes produced, once again!

I was thinking on how the hell I'm supposed to get Fragments of Beliefs (Gray) up and running again after leaving the original Reason file in Penang. I can always remake it, and now I don't have to painfully mouseclick every single note out.











Besides showing off, I'm really waiting for the iPad to come by.

Steve Jobs is right. No matter how ridiculous you all think the iPad is, I'd love to see another mobile device act as a MIDI Controller to control and produce music in a less gay sense (e.g. the earlier SE ringtone makers)

It's barely 2 more days.

And this is going to own bigtime.

Other OSC-based videos include:



And if I'm not mistaken, another view allows you to use Pianist Pro in a sense like a Continuum, not John Mayer's album, but the instrument that looks fully plastic on the keys, but still operates on MIDI, and you're able to twitch the pitch/frequency (like a modulation wheel on the keyboard) and give it very devestating results.

If Pianist Pro is able to produce results like what a Continuum can do, I'm definitely buying it at $12.99 because it's hell underpriced.