Archive for January, 2010

The Apple iPad

First off, let’s clear the air. The name “iPad” is terrible. Really, really bad. I’m looking at you, Steve, and I’m disappointed.

That said, the iPad is a pretty neat device. It didn’t fulfill the pie-in-the-sky fantasies of the Mac fanboys (but nothing ever does) but I think it’s more useful than we realize. It may take a year to fully hit its stride (as did the iPhone) but it definitely represents a step in the evolution of computing devices.

The real value of the iPad rests on the application developers. It’s a beautiful platform to start with–large, sharp display, multi touch interface, 10 hrs battery life–but we don’t yet know where it leads. The few teaser applications they showed us were just that. Software always lags behind hardware as computers evolve, so we don’t yet know what the iPad will become.

Here’s a few of my ideas:

Doctors & Nurses – This seems like the perfect computer to view and manage electronic medical records. I would be shocked if we don’t see some aggressive iPad development from EMR software vendors.
Warehouse Managers – With the infinitely configurable interface (via custom application development) each company can give their warehouse managers the ideal device to carry. Throw in a RFID/Barcode reader and you’ve got it made.
Performers – I could imagine some very cool applications to mix and control an audio/visual show using the touch interface. For $1000 you could lay down two of the 10″ screens, network them via bluetooth, and go nuts.
Military – I’m sure they would require some extra beefy cases, but I could see this as an ideal information tablet for soldiers in the field. Pilots could strap one to their leg and have dynamic maps and status feed. Drones could send a video feed back to ground units. With the accelerometers, you could even fly the drone remotely.

The key point here is that the iPad is still a blank slate. As application developers start to dream and experiment, we’re going to see some really neat apps coming our way.

Probably.

Filed under technology : Comments (1) : Jan 28th, 2010

DDT then, BPA now

Back in the 1940s, DDT was a miracle of modern science. It quickly and conveniently killed bugs without disturbing larger animals (or so we thought). It was so safe, in fact, that we produced DDT-laced wallpaper for your children’s bedroom.

Today, we know about the dangers of DDT to all living things and we wouldn’t dream of exposing our children to the chemical.

But have we really learned? Now we use BPA in food packaging and containers (like baby bottles). BPA is a hormone disrupter and is not safe for human exposure (especially in babies and growing children). Yet,

A study by the Environmental Working Group tested commonly eaten canned foods from grocery stores in three US cities, including Oakland. Out of 97 cans, 57 percent contained detectable and often high levels of BPA. Pastas, soups, and infant formula accounted for some of the highest levels. The group estimates that BPA exposure is unsafe in 10 percent of all canned food and a staggering one-third of infant formula.
[Source]

In another 10 years will we look back on BPA the same way we think about DDT now? What have we learned?

Filed under Healthcare, culture, environment : Comments (0) : Jan 25th, 2010

Clever Chipotle Line Hack

This is smart. When there’s a long line at Chipotle, she takes your order and does the credit card transaction. Then you take the receipt, get your burrito, and you’re done. Nice time saving hack.

Filed under Washington DC, hack : Comments (0) : Jan 22nd, 2010

Tadfad Top Five

I’ve been doing this blog-o-blog gig for awhile. (5 years and change to be exact). I’ve been using Google Analytics for most of those years so I have some interesting data on what my readers like to read. Here are the top five posts from 2006 to present:

1. McCain vs McCain