New iPad Setup Plans

I think I have settled on a setup plan for the new iPad when it arrives next week.  Instead of doing a straight up restore from a previously saved backup like I have done in the past I think I will try doing things a bit differently.

I have to admit that over the past five or six months I have gotten very lazy with app upkeep on my iPad.  At one time I took care to ensure that each app was in a specific folder of similar apps.  This helps to keep track of apps and make it much easier to find a specific one when needed.  After my last restore, with the release version of iOS 5 this past fall, a lot of apps "fell" out of their folders and I never bothered getting around to fixing this.  I've also managed to accumulate quite a few apps I hardly, if ever, use.  There are a few I had forgotten I had downloaded in the first place back with the original first generation iPad that made it over through restores from backups!

Rather than trying to fix this SNAFU I think I'll start out with the new iPad as a brand new unit and add only the things I REALLY use.  I'll take a page from how I have my iPhone set up and keep the most used apps individually on the main screen and use the other screen/screens for app storage in various type folders.  This set up has worked really well for fast access to those most used apps while on the odd occasions I find myself needing an app not used every day it's easy to select the category folder it is in.

I am also going to start using the new iPad to show off my photography more.  With the added storage size I'm getting (64GB) along with the incredibly high resolution display I can afford to load up full sized copies of my pictures and have them handy.  I have to admit I'm really looking forward to this as everything I've read from the hands on time the media got at the product announcement says that this display is the BEST out in the market today.  Now that Apple has released an iOS version of iPhoto and Adobe has launched it's Photoshop Touch app I have downloaded both and am going to try those out as well.  My only hang up is that the iOS version of iPhoto does not support the RAW image format, only JPEG.  I shoot everything with my DSLR in RAW as it provides the least compression and preserves the most information.  It's what I edit photos from and I always create backups of the RAW photos seperate from what I import into Aperture 3 on my Macs.  With the iPad Camera Connection Kit I can import RAW photos to view via the included Photo app so I'll have to see if it will support that and then allow me to import them into iPhoto to edit as JPEGs.

I'll also be trying something else out, at least initially.  Instead of doing the first sync via my iMac I'm going to try going iCloud only for everything, just to see how that works out.  Thanks to iCloud all my contact information, bookmarks, appointments, and other such things will already be there waiting.  With iTunes Match all my music will be there if I need it, although I do tend to use my iPhone more for music listening than the iPad.  With previously purchased TV shows and now movies available for redownload at any time on any of my devices I'll just load them up when needed via my home Wi-Fi network.  It will be an interesting experiment for me and it probably shows that I really need to get out more instead of pondering this sort of crap.

After almost two years of using the first two generations of iPads a certain way I'm going to try mixing things up a bit and see what I can accomplish.  Stay tuned for more as it unfolds!

iPad 3 And Me

As I covered in my last post the iPad 3 is set to be announced next week and if last year was any indication it should go on sale at the end of the following week (which is how I'm planning).

Both of the iPads I've owned (iPad 1 and iPad 2) were both 32GB Wi-Fi models.  At the time I figured that would be the most I would need but as often happens experience teaches another thing.  About six months ago I hit the point where I had to start minding how much stuff I had on my iPad and iPhone.  Apps alone eat up almost half the storage space on my iPad 2 at any given time with photos and videos coming a close second and third.  I never bothered with getting a 3g enabled version and instead either relied on various public Wi-Fi networks or by turning my iPhone into a mobile hotspot for my internet connectivity.

My plans for getting an iPad 3 are very different this time around.

First off, I'm going to get at least a 64GB version.  If they offer a 128GB version I'll grab that instead.

Second, if the iPad 3 is offered with LTE 4g connectivity options I'll snag that as well and pay the extra.  If it's stuck at 3g for cellular connectivity then I'll have to do some hard thinking on that one and look at what data plans are offered by Verizon for it and decide then.

Every month for the last six months I've stashed back a little bit of cash so that when this day arrived I would be all set.

Tech Plans For 2012

If the Myans are to be believed this is the last year I'll have to worry about making any sort of technology plans for a year.  Personally I think the world will still be here and as screwed up as it has been the past couple of decades so no worries on my part.

So, what are my long range tech plans for the rest of 2012?  Well, they are not as ambitious as in years past due to the fact that I have a bunch of shiney new car payments to be making for the next few years to Rick Hendrick.  Due to the now limited budgeting I've adjusted my plans accordingly.

iMac

I had originally planned to have 2012 be the year I upgraded to a new iMac when the latest models are released sometime around mid-year.  It looks like the latest refresh of the iMac line might happen a little later as Apple will proably wait for the lastest CPUs and chipsets from Intel.  Then again, maybe not.  Either way upgrading the iMac is an iffy proposition at this point.  My current iMac is still performing like a champ and I have no complaints about it for what I use it for on a daily basis.  If I DID upgrade the iMac it would be to a dual drive set up with a SSD and regular hard drive.  I'm going to wait and see what Apple releases.  If they release an iMac with Siri built in then I would be very likely to upgrade.  Ditto on if they go with an even larger screen size such as a 30 inch model or a retina class display.

iPhone

This one is such a no-brainer it's not even funny.  I'm due an upgrade discount from Verizon come October and if the rumors about the iPhone 5 pan out and it has a revised form factor, larger screen, and built in LTE then I'm on board!  I've also got that Best Buy buy back thingy on my current iPhone so there's another discount right there!  The only questions would be storage capacity and color (prefer 64GB and White).

iPad

This one is a much harder one to call.

I've had the first generation iPad and iPad 2 so I don't know if I should really jump on the iPad 3 bandwagon just yet.  On the upside I've got multiple people lined up to buy my iPad 2 should I choose to upgrade so that will be a discount of sorts (first with the money in my hand would get the iPad 2 if I sold it).

If the iPad 3 has a retina class display then that would be a HUGE inducement to upgrade.  Built in LTE would be yet another as I've decided that my next iPad will have built in wireless data and probably more than 32GB of storage.  

One wild card in the iPad 3 debate would be if some credible rumors are true and Apple planned to release a smaller version with a 7 or 8 inch screen.  I'd be very interested in that as I've always felt that something around seven inches is my sweet spot for a tablet device and what I use it for.

Cameras and Lenses

Right now I'm happy with my Nikon D3000 and Tamron 18-270mm lens combination.  I would like something a bit more advanced like the D5100 but I can't justify upgrading my camera just yet.  It does what I want it to and does it very well.  I might add a prime lens to my kit as well as a couple of new filters.  Oh, and look for a car charger for the battery in the D3000.

As for video shooting I'm still quite happy with the video produced by the iPhone 4S and see no need for a dedicated camcorder at this time.

Odds and Ends

There really aren't any other tech gadgets that I think I'll need as the year goes along.  I recently picked up a used 15 inch MacBook Pro and it's fine for what I wanted a protable computer for.  I've upgraded the RAM to 8GB and at some point this summer I plan to purchase a conversion kit from Other World Computing to swap out the optical drive for a second internal hard drive (1TB) and remove the current hard drive and replace it with a SSD drive (probably between 128 and 256 GB).  With that set up it should do me for a few years at least.

Summary

Right now 2012 looks to be an okay year so far.  

As for my tech arsenal, it is fairly well rounded out to the way I always wanted it to be with pretty much the quality of gear I want.  It's certainly a nice change from just a few years ago when I could barely afford to build a low end PC for myself and had to settle for just lusting after the things I wanted from afar.  A very close and dear friend pointed out a little over a month ago that it's nice to reach a point where you can comfortably contemplate getting nice things for yourself and she is very right.

 I still have to pinch myself sometimes to realize how far I've come in my personal journey.

Orphaned Androids And You

This morning I came across this blog post describing the state of affairs for owners of Android devices and the updates to their operating system.  Or lack of updates.

The post is an informative read and one that I will be recommending to anyone who asks me about whether they should buy an Android phone or not.  As someone who has owned two seperate Android devices, along with a whole slew of other smart phone devices, I can say that it's a real eye opener.

Now before someone starts getting on my case for being an Apple fan boy let me say up front that while I love my iPhone I'm not married to the thing.  There are a lot of things about Android that I liked, and miss.  There are some things about my iPhone I don't like.  In fact, except for my one brief two month stint as a BlackBerry user there are things I like and miss about all the smart phones I've used.  As for BlackBerry the only thing I miss is nothing.

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What Size Do You Need?

Lately I have had more than a few people come up and ask me what device and sized device they should purchase.  The release of the iPhone 4S and the newish 8GB iPhone 4 along with the holiday shopping season probably has a lot to do with the questions.  Who wouldn't like to find a shiny new iPad under their Christmas tree?  Or maybe a new iPhone?  Heck, there is nothing wrong with buying yourself a new toy every so often and I should know that!

I decided to write up some ideas and suggestions on the matter.  Keep on reading.

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