iPad Day is Today!!!

It's not very often that I don't at least head to my local Apple store on the day of a new product release, even if I am not purchasing...just to take in the festive atmosphere of the long line outside the store.

But, today, given the rain and the fact that I was not getting a new iPad, I did not check out my Apple store.

That is not to say that there was not a new iPad coming to my house.

I had preordered for Jim his very first iPad.

I've spent the week hovering over the FedEx tracking web site wondering why it was sitting in Ontario, California all week long. But finally, on Wednesday night, it was on the move. And shortly after noon today, the FedEx truck was in front of our house with Jim's new iPad. The FedEx delivery person told us that his truck was filled with iPads...I'm sure he's had a great work day delivering them to their eager and happy recipients.

As is the case with Apple products, within minutes, Jim was up and running...he didn't even have to get out of the chair where he had been reading a real book...you know, the kind that is made of paper?




At any rate, Jim is off to new adventures with his iPad and immediately was showing off images in the new retina display...of course my photography and our computer screens do not do these images justice...you have to see the real thing!!!

Have fun Jim!!!

Merry Day After Christmas

It's been a busy December, leaving me with little time to blog...but now I'm in catch up mode, So keep checking in and I'll update you soon on my travels, dining, and entertaining these past several weeks.

Today, the day after Christmas, I was out shopping before 7 a.m.

Early in the day, there were crowds, but all was manageable.

At my local downtown, there were a few lines outside popular places like Crate & Barrel, Macy's, and H&M before they opened.

But only at the Apple Store was there a line outside long after the store had opened. And, Apple was marking nothing down!!!. There were no line outside the Gap on one side of Apple, where they were practically giving the merchandise away, nor was there a line at Tiffany's on the other side (no sales here either, for that matter).

But the Apple mystique continues with people patiently waiting to be allowed to enter the store to buy, exchange, return, or just look around.

Enjoy the last week of 2011!

THE LIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT: REMEMBERING STEVE JOBS

The world became a little different yesterday when Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple died at age 56 of pancreatic cancer.

And, the lights went out, literally! For the first time in the history of Apple Retail stores, the big Apple logo that identifies each and every store and that is illuminated 24/7 has gone dark. It's hard to see in daylight but will be an eerie reminder into the evening...Apple Retail's version of a flag flying at half mast.

Steve Jobs showed us how to "Think Different." And in the last 30 or so years, we have done just that, no matter what the level of our technical expertise. He made tech stuff understandable to just about everyone. Apple products are loved throughout the world from seniors who use their iPads to email and keep in touch with their families to film producers who create blockbuster movies on their Apple desktop computers.

In fact, the way I learned of Jobs' death was through a text alert from a local radio/TV station that I received on my iPhone at 4:40 p.m PST yesterday...Just the way Steve wanted it to be.

In my household, we've had a least one of every Apple product that has been introduced since my very first Apple IIsi in the 1980s.

Apple products are beautiful, intuitive, functional, easy to use, fun to use.

I am such an Apple fan that I belong to Apple clubs, go to Apple conferences, wear Apple-logo clothing that I buy at the company store on headquarters campus in Cupertino, and even worked at an Apple retail store in my home town for several years.




Around the world, the Apple curious and faithful are paying tribute to Steve Jobs at Apple stores.

I visited mine this morning and the memorials to him were starting to be placed outside the store...flowers, post-it messages on the windows...Inside, I hugged and talked to several of my former colleagues...we are family and it felt good to grieve together.

Thank you, Steve for enriching my life.

APPLE ANNUAL STOCKHOLDER MEETING TODAY

I left the house before the sun came up, just to make sure I was one of those who got into the main auditorium for today's Apple Stockholder Meeting at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino.

Traffic moved along and I was there an hour before the doors of Building 4 opened. Already, there were people lined up in front.


Fortunately, it was a clear sunny day today, so we were not standing out there in the cold.

I got talking to two interesting men from Sebastapol who even made room for me to sit on their bench with them. Being of about the same "vintage," and with our love of all things Apple and a some tech backgrounds, we had a lot to talk about and the hour passed quickly. A woman standing next to us had flown up from Los Angeles this morning, taking a day off of work just for the meeting; she was heading back home in the afternoon. I also met local folk, a man from Delaware, another from Minnesota, all of whom planned today around attending the meeting. Everyone I talked with had a story about why they were here and how many Annual Meetings they had attended. It certainly was a meeting of the Clan of Apple.

At 9 a.m., the door were opened. We checked in, showing IDs and proof of stock ownership. Then we went through security.

Next it was coffee/tea muffins and bagels and another wait for the auditorium doors to be opened at 9:30 a.m. Those who arrived too late to have seating in the auditorium, got to watch a live screening in another part of the building.

The entire Board of Directors, minus Steve Jobs, was present...I was seated three rows behind them, so got to see Al Gore, among other Board members close up.

Tim Cook, COO, welcomed us and then turned the formal part of the meeting over to Bruce Sewell, Senior VP, General Counsel, and Secretary. Those of us who had not already voted on the matters presented for vote, got to do so; there was limited discussion before the vote was taken.

Then it was on to Q & A, with Tim Cook, Phil Schiller (Sr. VP, Worldwide Product Marketing) and Peter Oppenheimer (Sr.VP, CFO) on stage.

The Q & A period lasted about 45 minutes, with those asking questions given two minutes to speak. A few items of interest to me included a response to the question about Apple doing a 70/30% split with their Apps sellers while some other companies are doing a 90/10% split with their App sellers. Phil Schiller clarified this by stating that the only 90/10% split that the competitors are claiming has to do with website-use subscriptions. An example of this is that if you are already a subscriber to a magazine in print version and you decide that you also want to get it online, then, this is not an App, but a subscription and it would come directly from that publication's web site and Apple or Google or Amazon or whomever would have nothing to do with selling it directly to you; it would be the publication. Another interesting discussion had to do with work conditions at supplier facilities. Tim Cook stated that Apple, in the past five years, has done extensive investigation of work conditions at facilities in other countries and has taken significant remedial action and has been more transparent than any other company in reporting conditions and actions taken. He referred us to Apple's web site (see Investor relations section) to read reports from the last several years.

The meeting ended about 11:30.

I did a little shopping at the Company Store, which sells not only the merchandise that is sold in our local Apple retail stores but a lot of Apple logo clothing for men, women, and kids (even babies), and other miscellaneous Apple logo items.

This SMART car photo is an on-campus car, of which there must be several as there were several parking spots for them. Guess, they are for employees to travel from building to building on campus.



Of course, there were more news trucks just off the main campus than one could imagine. Apple events are always EVENTS.

And, the "One More Thing" that Steve Jobs often ends his public conferences with is that on March 2 (next week) there is a big media event at which there are sure to be some intriguing product announcements...stay tuned; perhaps a new iPad?

This Girl can Dream...

THE AGONY & THE ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS: SEE IT!!!

"The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" is a one-person, two-hour monologue performance created and performed by Mike Daisey.



Through the end of February it is being performed at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. If you haven't seen it yet, you have two more weeks before it closes.

As a longtime MacManiac, longtime Apple computer and all things Apple fan, as well as a former Apple employee, there was no way I was going to miss a play with Steve Jobs' name in its title.

Jim was a bit tentative about a two-hour monologue but agreed to go with me today. Throughout Daisey's engaging performance, neither of us even considered taking our eyes and ears away from the performance. It is totally captivating and also sobering.

Daisey tells parallel tales of the rise of Apple as a technology company under the leadership of Steve Jobs. He winds this part of his story around his own love of all things Apple.

The other side of his story is about Foxconn, the Chinese company where many Apple products, including the iPhone, and just about all the electronics manufactured by other companies are manufactured. Much of the assembly work is done by Chinese employees, some of them as young at 11 or 12 years old. The work conditions are the equivalent to that of indentured slavery or serfdom. Daisey tells his story of his visit to Foxconn and the people he met.

By the end of the play, I felt somewhat ambivalent about all things Apple as well as my light bulbs, TVs, and every other item that I consider essential to my daily life.

Even if you are an HP, Dell, Nokia, Sony or any other brand user, this is a not-to-miss play.

Daisey is entertaining, engaging, and he has a message to share.

See "The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs."

MacWorld 2011 is now in San Francisco

Today was the first day exhibits at Macworld 2011 in San Francisco.

Of course I was there...this year with Joanne and Linelle.

The crowds gathered outside the exhibit hall in Moscone West waiting for the 10 a.m. opening.

Some did a bit of shopping at the MacWorld boutique.



The show is quite small this year and what we saw most of was cases and other accessories for the iPhone and iPad.

The only really big company exhibiting was HP with some interesting wide format printers and some intriguing digital cameras. I'm going to further investigate the model with the touch screen.

There also were a lot of companies selling photo software and apps. Linelle purchased a suite of programs that simplify the tedious editing steps that Photoshop can do.

And there were some amusing products such as a truck that runs around a Vinyl record and plays its music! At almost $100, it was too expensive for Linelle to buy for her dad, a vinyl collector.



We were amused by works of art created with the backs of iPhones and iPads.




Software for the iPad to record you while you are sleeping, presumably to determine if you snore or not and to signal you or your partner to tell you to stop also intrigued us.

My favorite iPad case was by Lostdog from BlueTrek. When I get an iPad, it will be on my list for accessory purchases.

A highlight of the show for me was the iPhone Life Magazine booth. Last year, I took home a complimentary copy of the magazine and became a subscriber. They were at the show again this year and I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with one of my favorites of the magazine's writers, Todd Bernhard. If you haven't read iPhone Life, be sure to pick up a copy at the show.

All told, we spent a bit over three hours and did the entire show. I wouldn't have missed it, but there were few new discoveries. The show is smaller than it was last year. I still miss the days when Apple participated in MacWorld and when I could spend several days there and still not attend all the presentations that interested me.

For lunch, we left the exhibit hall and walked a few blocks to 'Wichcraft for some delicious made-to-order sandwiches.



'Wichcraft has other locations in New York City and Las Vegas. It was started by celebrity chef and head judge on Top Chef, Tom Colicchio. They also serve salads and soup; a good choice and a good value for an informal, high quality breakfast or lunch when attending an event at Moscone Center or when shopping in the San Francisco Centre.

iPhone 4: I'm in Love...Again

The day dawned cool and a bit foggy. I'd set the alarm for 5 a.m. My goal was to leave the house by 6 a.m. to get in line for new Apple iPhone 4 which went on sale today.

I got to the Apple Store in Walnut Creek at about 6:15 a.m. The line went almost around the entire block.





I debated since I had not pre-ordered and had no idea what kind of inventory the store would have. I quickly checked at the AT&T store nearby where there was no line...NO LINE? Then I got closer and the sad truth was revealed on a sign on the door: despite what they had told me several times in the past week, there were no iPhones for sale today for those who had not pre-ordered. AT&T will not have any to sell until June 29...next Tuesday.

I debated a few minutes more and decided to give the Apple line a shot.

I was in line before 6:30 a.m.

Within a few minutes, after a run by of Apple Store employees with lots of high fives and thank yous to us, the big long line was split between the pre-orders and the rest of us.

At 7 a.m., the lines started moving. Apple employees worked the line and always gave words of encouragement, but never gave information about wait times and inventory.



Word spread that for every 4 pre-orders, one of the rest of us would get in the store.

We were moving very very slowly. And the batteries on our older iPhones and iPads were starting to run low.






After awhile, I started calling those in the pre-order line, "The Chosen Ones." And, that they were, as evidenced by a cheerful Man of the Cloth in their line...he was smiling even more when he paraded past us with his new iPhone 4 in hand.



After a few hours, Apple people came through the line with bottles of water.

Also, being good citizens to their fellow retail neighbors, the store employees picked up the garbage that those who spent the night out on the street in line left behind.



The Apple folk also made sure that we did not block entrances to any of the businesses where we were in line.

Barnes & Noble set up a coffee cart by their front door, before they opened for business at 9 a.m. A bit later in the day, they wheeled a cart of soft drinks through our line, for sale, but welcomed by many.

We made runs to Starbucks, to move our cars from limited time parking spots, to make restroom runs, to buy food.

Then, about noon, an SUV pulled up and unloaded cartons of KFC to-go boxes. We thought this was food for the Apple Store employees, but no, it was box lunches for US...Fried Boneless Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Mac & Cheese, and a Biscuit. Not my usual fare, but, let me tell you, it was delicious...and a bit of carbo loading was just what we all needed.



This fortified us for a few more hours.

Security people walked the line, kept doorways clear, and strategized about keeping things calm...it worked; there were no problems that I saw.



Finally, at 2 p.m., I was allowed into the store and I made my purchase...and not a minute too late!!

This is what the store activity looked like.



As I was leaving the store at about 2:15 p.m., those still in line were told that there were just 5 16 GB iPhone 4's left.



Was it worth nearly 8 hours in line? Of course!!!

It was an adventure. It was fun! And I enjoyed the company of my "Apple Family for a Day."



Thanks guys for the company.

Thanks Apple for the food and encouragement and for creating amazing products that keep me falling in love over and over again.

I'm in love...AGAIN!

Well, this morning dawned a bit overcast and cool. But that did not stop me from my mission: It was off to my local Apple Store for its 9 a.m. special opening for the first day of the iPad.

While I had not pre-ordered an iPad, nor was I planning to purchase one today, those crazies of us with Apple in our blood, attend these events, whether we are buying or not. So there I was, camera in hand, greeting some of my former colleagues from the store.

The line was not as long as I expected...actually, there were two lines, one for people who had pre-ordered and one for people who wanted to buy today.





At about 8:55, the store staff walked the line, high-fiving those in line, some of whom had been there all night. Even with a reserved iPad, there is that weird desire to be the first to get one.




Unfortunately, even though all I wanted to do was look at and touch the iPad, I was not allowed in the store until its usual 10 a.m. opening time and even then, I had to beg to get in...the plan was to keep the store traffic under control and to have staff dedicate itself to selling and setting up iPads.

With about an hour to spare, I went down the block to Barnes & Noble to have a cup of tea in their café. While sipping my tea and checking my email on my iPhone, I noticed a young man working on his Apple MacBook computer. After a bit, another customer came over to him and, as their enthusiastic conversation got louder and louder, I realized that they were talking about this guy's new iPad that he had just picked up!!!

So, I gathered up my stuff and went over to talk to them. This photo shows the iPad next to an iPhone.



This is the first iPad I've ever touched.

After the three of us chatted, as only Apple nuts do, for about half an hour, I headed over to the Apple store.

One of my reasons for not wanting to buy an iPad right now is/was that I am looking for something lighter than my laptop in weight, but with most of its capabilities. I didn't think the iPad was "there" yet. A big deal for me when I am traveling is to be about to download photographs from my camera to the laptop. I knew that the iPad does not have a USB port, but what I did not know is that there is an accessory, the iPad Camera Connection Kit (available late April) which provides two ways to import photos and video from a digital camera: each of the two connectors in the Kit plugs into the dock connector on the iPad; one can connect to your camera's USB cable and the other holds the SD card from your camera. Wow! And, only $29 for the Kit.

My first impressions: The iPad feels far lighter to me than the first Kindle I ever held. Images on the screen are crisp and vivid. Scrolling though the one book that comes loaded free on all iPads, is amazing; it is just like paging through a book in hand. Typing on the keyboard is very close to real typing on a real keyboard. Oh, and the screen size is not that much smaller than the screen on a 13" MacBook.

Will I buy one? Very possibly...I still have a few more questions to get answered, but one thing I know for sure, Spring is here and I'm in love AGAIN.

Macworld 2010 is in San Francisco

It's a new new Macworld this year since Apple decided to no longer participate and several other big companies that make products for or in support of Apple products also withdrew.

But, this did not keep me, Joanne and most Apple faithful away from the show.

it's a much smaller show, occupying only Moscone North. About half the number of exhibitors as last year are present this year.




All the same, we had a great day and, in a way, enjoyed the show a lot more. For me it had some of the spirit of the Home Brew Computer shows in the later 1960s and 1970s...an intimate gathering of folks who loved the tech world.

And we got to spend more time with smaller vendors and actually found useful products to buy. On my recommendation, Joanne bought a Mophie Juice Pack, a battery backup and case for all models of iPhone that just about doubles the play time of the iPhone. The new version is lighter and comes in wonderful metallic colors, a nice improvement over my somewhat heavier one from about a year ago. Also, the prices of the Mophie have come down about 20% since I got mine and there is a big show discount too.

Several companies have begun producing accessories for the iPad. From the mockups of the iPad, I am surprised at how small it actually is. Here is a photo of a case from Targus in front of an iPad mockup.



I vote this booth the most striking. It looks like something that should be in the Museum of Modern Art.



The meeting space was crowded and it was standing room only for the ongoing presentations on the center stage in the middle of the North hall. Also, in another large room was an ongoing assortment of speakers and entertainment. We missed David Pogue first thing in the morning, but ended our day with Leo Laporte's chat with entertainers Heather Gold, Roger McGuinn, Adam Savage, and Warp 11. Some of them gave performances and all talked about their use of Apple Computers, many from way back when.

Geeky Comedian Heather Gold was very wry and funny. Roger McGuinn, folk singer and founder of the Byrds sang and told us that he has lots of free mp3s for download on his web site.

Adam Savage gave his insights into Ghostbusters.



Warp 11 really rocked the house.





Macworld ends tomorrow, February 13.

It will be back in San Francisco in 2011 January 25 -29. Can't wait!!

HISTORY FOR IBM; SOMETHING NEW FOR MICROSOFT

What many people do not know about me is that I had a computer life long before I became an Apple Computer person. While my passion for all things Apple has been going on for at least 25 years, mainly because I think Apple is the most creative and innovative computer and computer-related things company that currently exists.

But this does not mean that my heart cannot go pitter-pat for other computers and technology...and so it did this week when I attended an event at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View to honor the 50th anniversary of the IBM 1401. The 1401 was announced in 1959, a few years before I went to work for IBM as a Systems Engineer. The 1401 was my first computer and it has always held a special place in my heart.

The 1401 was one of IBM's earliest transistorized computers and by the mid 1960s, when I was supporting its users and programming it in machine language and Assembly language, half of all the computers in use by businesses and institutions around the world were 1401s or members of its family.

The Computer History Museum now has two operational 1401 systems that have been restored to working order by a team of loyal volunteers who also are passionate about the 1401.



This week's event featured a panel of IBMers who developed the 1401 between 1957 and 1960. The auditorium at the museum was packed to overflowing with an impressive mix of we "old timers" and a lot of younger Silicon Valley techies for whom the 1401 is only a legend. I have been on Cloud Nine over this evening ever since.


********************************************************************

Fast forwarding to computing today, a few weeks ago, when I was in Scottsdale, Arizona, I visited the first-ever Microsoft retail store in the Fashion Square shopping center. A week later, Microsoft opened its second store in Mission Viejo, California in The Shops at Mission Viejo shopping center.




The Microsoft store looks very very much like an Apple retail store, right down to it's version of Apple's Genius Bar, the Answer Bar, its tee-shirt clad staff, and the company logo over the entrance.

What I find interesting about the Microsoft store is that, while Microsoft does not manufacture computers, the store displays an extensive variety of computers that use the Windows operating system. These computers are for sale at the store and, presumably, it is the Answer Bar where Windows users will go to get their Windows technical questions/problems solved.

This is a picture of the Answer Bar:



My friend Lois, who uses Windows computers, liked that the store gave her a chance to see many Windows computers all in one place. The netbooks were all together, as were the laptops and desktops. The store offers a venue in which to try and compare a wide selection of computers, something that can't be done conveniently, if at all, by running around to Best Buy and other big box stores that sell Windows computers.



I enjoyed playing with the Microsoft Touch Screen-Table. We even sat down and played a game of checkers on it. (I won, only because Lois got tired of playing!)