I can do everything better than you...except print.

http://www.courant.com/business/technology/ct-tribu-tech-questions-ipad-cant-print-20120225,0,4783878.story

As an iPad owner, I share the confusion of my befuddled peers who cannot understand why the Apple tablet, which boasts miraculous capabilities, cannot perform a function that my 1995 Compaq somehow managed.  The iPad cannot print.

Apparently, “The iPad doesn't have built-in software to talk to printers.  But it does have software that lets it talk to a Mac laptop.  So to print from an iPad, it first has to (wirelessly) ask the Mac, “Would you mind telling the printer to print this document for me?”  If the Mac has been set up properly to hear the iPad, it will print out the document, because the Mac does have built-in software to talk to printers.”

Though Apple could have equipped the iPad with this competency, “that would have taken up a lot of room on the iPad's flash drive, room that's probably better spent holding apps, music, video and other more interesting stuff.”

While I prefer that the iPad preserve its capacity to accommodate my applications, notes, and music, I do wish the sucker could print.  The device walks, talks, and squawks like a computer, so why not perform all the same functions?

However, as one article reminds me, “the iPad is not designed to replace a PC, much like a microwave oven can never replace a conventional oven.  But it's quite a neat device, although, yeah, printing is one thing it cannot do by itself.”

Last week, I posted about the brydge keypad that transforms an iPad into a laptop.  As a highly functional yet simple device, I would consider condensing my personal technologies (and freeing some space in my charger drawer) by retiring all devices other than my iPad.  However, it is these limitations that remind me of the iPad’s impracticality.  Though the compact, suave, and futuristic qualities of the tablet make it endlessly…cool…it is not a sensible everyday gadget.

Thus, I must retain my laptop and my overcrowded charger drawer.

Brydging the Gap Between Tablet and Laptop

http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/reviews/6-ways-to-turn-your-ipad-into-a-laptop/232901114

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/552506690/brydge-ipad-do-more

http://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/brydge-ipad-keyboard-4.jpg

Generally, I roll my eyes when the first thing people do after purchasing a new technology is accessorize it.  My friends and family browse Amazon for cases, car cords, keypad covers, decals, and the like whenever they grab a new gadget.  That being said, I cannot help but covet the following iPad accoutrement:

Called the Brydge, this thing is simply…cool.

As their website notes, “Brydge is an elegant solution to the lack of quality iPad keyboards and accessories currently on the market.  Brydge connects to your iPad using a patent-pending hinge which allows for close to 180 degrees of iPad positioning and holds your iPad secure.

“Brydge’s hinge combines the forces of friction and magnetism to hold strongly onto the iPad.  There is no need to enclose your iPad in any sort of case, instead, your iPad snaps in and is ready to go.  If you need your iPad free from Brydge, simple hold down on the Brydge and pull your iPad free.” 

In addition to boasting the Apple aesthetics, this device, which features speakers, offers impressive functionality.  Indeed, if you own an iPad and one of these nifty keyboards, do you really need a laptop?

As a minimalist, I maintain the conviction that, if ever my iPad (which was a gift) breaks, I will not replace it and will simply continue with my good-for-all-purposes laptop.  Now, I wonder if I should amend that strategy.  Perhaps, if my Asus breaks, I’ll instead equip my iPad with the accessories that transform it into a laptop?

The In-Between iPad

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/10/03/ipad-mini-competitors/

Though an absurd quantity of Americans possess at least one and possibly twenty Apple products, the company has elected to expand its market by introducing a 7.85 inch tablet.  Surprise, surprise.

With this smaller product, Apple will compete with similarly mini tablets including the seven inch Kindle fire, the seven and nine inch Nook tablets, the seven inch Google tablet, and the seven inch Samsung Galaxy tablet.  These devices range in price from $159 to $500.

My first reaction pertains to the usefulness of this product.  The 7.85 inch size is a compromise between the 4.87 inch iPhone and the 9.5 inch iPad.  The new tablet will be too large for pocket transportation but, arguably, too small for legitimate, daily convenience.  An appealing price point, however, will likely override any customer misgivings.

 Though I question the practicality of this device, I do not underestimate the enormous sales Apple will enjoy with its release.  My current theory is that consumers purchase such tablets as the Nook and Kindle Fire to avoid the high prices of Apple products.  If Apple releases this new iPad at a price that competes with popular small-size tablets, buyers will likely opt for the tested Apple technology.

Moreover, Apple loyalists will purchase this mini iPad within months of its release, even if they already own a normal-size iPad.  How do I know this?  Somehow, Apple lovers always manage to justify/ find a use for each new Apple product.  They simply worship Apple and employ no restraint when the company’s latest sleek creations reach markets.  Cost and utility are immaterial to the allegiance of Apple fanatics.

Overall, Apple’s new tablet will be big…even though it’s small.

More White Squares, Fewer Green Rectangles

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/can-square-remain-hip/?ref=technology

This article discusses Square, a payments company that permits all businesses, regardless of size or savvy, to accept credit cards by attaching a card reader to their Android, iPhone, or iPad.  Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, leads this company.

As the article notes, “Square charges merchants 2.75 percent of the amount transacted when a card is swiped, or $275 a month.  That’s at the low end of the fee scale.  But it may also be too low for Square to profit on payments below $10, which are a big part of Square’s business.”  Evidently, some speculate that Square’s profit margin is unsustainable, given the fees charged by credit card companies.  However, partnerships with such retailers as Starbucks offer hope to Square as it attempts to expand the popularity of its tiny, white payment device.

My two reactions to this article are seemingly contradictory.  Predictably, I am disappointed by the nearly universal rejection of traditional forms of paper currency.  Little by little, money is becoming more of an idea and less of a germy, clanking, graffitied, yet still satisfyingly tangible object.

Conversely, I do promote those technologies and devices that assist small businesses.  Because it is exceptionally difficult to compete with the power sellers that manipulate and define this global economy, I am pleased to read of a tool that specifically targets the world’s smaller scale companies.  From farmers to in-home manufacturers, Square will aid such overlooked businesses as they complete daily transactions.  For this reason, I view Square as a less superfluous technology than most others.

And thus, the double-edged sword stabs us once more.