boreders

Using QTC (quantum tunnelling composite) in the buttons for lifts and pedestrian crossings could finally lead to rewards for those insistent individuals who push again and again in the hope that the lights might change faster or the lift might arrive quicker.

Oh, like I’m going to be able myself. I mean, I don’t have the money – but I can dream right. In the UK, I suspect we won’t see these in the shops for a few months yet, but I can desire, right? I can envy those who have touched this device of apparent beauty. I trust Stephen Fry when he says that seeing it online cannot prepare you for what it’s really like to touch and use. I cannot ignore the fact that when I saw a picture of it for the first time, a few hours ago, I had a feeling like a giddy schoolboy. Like one of Charlie Higson’s characters from The Fast Show, I had to apologize because I just came.

Yes, iPad doesn’t sound quite as impressive as the iSlate (the pre-launch guess at a name); but, iSlate sounds heavy, and Apple clearly have this aimed at a ‘lighter’ market, a casual device that provides the gliding, easy functionality of the iPhone with the size and convenience of a small laptop. Really, it looks like the base of a MacBook with the monitor embedded where the keyboard should be. I love the prospect of a ’slide-out’ keyboard, as featured on the iPhone. A keyboard can be so damned redundant, at times you only need to shift the cursor or slide the page… so, why not have the option to make the keys vanish.

I enjoy reading on a laptop, a page rotated sideways on the screen and zoomed to the max so I can sit it on my lap, or lie back, bend my knees and lean it against my legs. I perceive no barrier in possessing books purely in digital form, as my wife would certainly appreciate the opportunity to reclaim some of the space in the house currently occupied by bookshelves.

So, well done to Apple. Congratulations, Steve, on presenting such a thing of beauty to the world. Please bring it to the UK as soon as possible, so that I might venture forth to the Apple Store and stroke it in silent, awe-struck wonder. I promise I will save my pennies – and one day I might own it myself. Pretty thing. Pretty shiny-shiny iPad.

In an ideal world, I think technology should be as flexible as possible, meeting myriad needs of the average user in a single compact package. For example, since I got a new computer a while back I have been searching for something that will allow me to blog without having to visit my blogs. I tried MarEdit and WordPress on the iPhone, and now I’m trying Flock, which is not only letting me post to my blogs, but keep an eye on Facebook, Twitter and the World Wide Web. I like that.

I have been plagued with a similar frustration for features around Twitter clients on the iPhone. Ultimately, if the app lets you tweet that should be enough, right? Nah. I’ve tried Twitfire, Tweetie, Echofan, NatsuLion, Tweetdeck, Twitterific, and Tweetie 2 – which is my current primary client. They all have something to offer, but Tweetie 2 has delivered landscape typing, which I’ve been hankering after for an age.

Now, it might not seem to fit into the bracket of technology, but I have been struggling to find a ‘pad’ for work. If I just wanted something with lined paper, I’d be fine, but that isn’t enough. I could pick up a pad from stationery if I wanted something so simplistic. I have seen Oxford notebooks that have hard covers, spiral binding, nooks for keeping loose papers in, and lined pages marked with points to allow you to draw vertical lines for improvised graphpaper, but… I’m at a loss to define exactly what it is that I’m after. I know I need something more, but I’m not entirely sure what that is. Perhaps, I’d like paper that was lined on the front and graphed on the back, with enough weight in the paper to mean I can use a marker on either side without suffering seepage. I undoubtedly would like tabbed page dividers to keep my notes in order, but I’d also quite like some kind of integrated indexing tab dispenser with those narrow colourful tabs that Post-It do. And maybe the card cover of the pad could double up as an impromptu wipeboard… Too far?

So, I find myself plagued by a need for features – might explain the number of hardly used apps on my iPhone. I hunger for functionality… and yet, I wonder whether having found my Holy Grail I won’t be left wanting for just a little bit more.

I use a fair few apps, but generally I don’t post reviews. I thought I’d start. Downloaded Red Laser – www.redlaser.com – by Ocipital, purely on a whim and because it was in the Top Apps. Yes, I’d normally be cautious of that, but it turned out well…

Basically, when you start the app, you hit a lightning button and then hold the camera over the barcode. An onscreen guide assists in getting the right spot – and when steady the app auto-scans. Once done, Red Laser searches your local Amazon and Google for the best deals.

Firstly, no gushing here. I noticed that a couple of reviewers have said they have been unsuccessful scanning anything; but, my experience has been about 85% success, about 10% scans that identify the item or manufacturer but no detail, and 5% are just wrong. It might prove less than that, as I’ve only scanned a few dozen items and suffered just one truly bad result. So, no it isn’t perfect.

I have found books, DVDs, CDs and games work best – so, I’m not sure what the negative reviewers have been trying to scan. If it’s on your localised Amazon site – you should have no problem.

However, in addition, I’ve had good results with niche food items. It would be good to have a way to search in tandem with a supermarket site; but, despite no such link, I have managed a successful scan of Kraft Vegemite, Anchor Chicken Salt (knew what it was, but no current seller), Skippy Peanut Butter, and even Free & Easy Dairy Free Cheese Flavour Sauce Mix. Yes, the app thought a Tesco’s own brand Tomato Puree was some kind of inflatable ring – but that was the only complete fail. Even where no offer existed, it got the manufacturer of other product right.

Scanning is pretty simple and I’ve had results from barcodes that looked positively unreadable. With the assistance of my Griffin Clarify case, the scanning becomes even easier on the 3G. It isn’t always instant, but more often than not that’s because my hand isn’t steady or the light is poor.

I shop a lot and comparing prices against Amazon means typing the ISBN in again and again. With this, life should be a lot easier.

I hope to see some extension of function to include other search sources; and, I’ve raised a query about Amazon outward links with the developer. Otherwise, I thoroughly recommend this app and look forward to future developments. For £1.19, I don’t feel cheated. This app will get used many times over and it’ll save my poor fingers from all those ISBNs.

I’m in the mood for t-shirts… so, I’ve taken the plunge and opened my own Cafepress store, with fine apparel and the odd mug here and there. After recreating my Doctor Who ‘Blink‘ tribute, I’ve now added a nod to the discerning ornithologist who does like the gannet, the nut hatch, or the robin.

Now that I have taken the leap into the 21st Century, I have the chance to flood my page with content from other sites as well as my own. So, not only do you have the chance to read my drivel here, you can read it from my other blogs – like Renegade Time Lord – and see the sort of things that keep me entertained – like Digg and Penny Arcade. I think you should appreciate that sort of generosity, especially considering you didn’t even ask for it.

I visited Waitrose today. What a fascinating store. Of all the stores I can easily visit, Waitrose ranks amongst the higher class supermarket brands. I mean, any place that stocks quote so many Duchy Original products has to be catering towards a different class of customer. My wife positively groaned at the prospect of my spending so much above the odds for some of their lemon curd… Even though it’s just another supermarket, the place just seems to ooze class, from the engaging product packaging to the crisply attired staff with polite and gracious personalities. Marvelous.