The iPad is a new handheld, touchscreen product that seems very much to have evolved from the iPhone, with a similar multi-touch interface and applications that are downloaded from a proprietary online store. On the face of it, the iPad looks like a touchscreen portable computer, and, technically, that’s true. However, there seems to be a lot that the iPad can’t do that a typical laptop can. While it does have Wi-Fi connectivity as standard, and 3G as an option, it isn’t a phone, either. The iPad has already received a good chunk of criticism and a chorus of “Meh”s for its ‘missing’ features.

However, what the iPad doesn’t do isn’t important. It’s what it does do. Apple have a knack of taking existing products and streamlining the feature set to improve the user experience. Just look at the iPod for a good example of that.

I don’t believe that the iPad should be compared to a PC, or a smartphone for that matter. It seems to me to be more of an everyday consumer device, just like an iPod or ebook reader: something that has a limited set of features that it does very well.

These features are, by today’s standards, pretty basic things that your average computer user wants to do, such as browsing the web or playing media like videos and music. These don’t require stacks of computing power or a complicated interface.

Instead, the iPad has some advantages over a conventional laptop computer. The most obvious is the touchscreen interface that has proved such a success on the iPhone. Less immediately obvious is that the device is designed to be powered on all the time, just like a phone, with Apple claiming a whole month of standby time. Having to boot a computer to quickly check something online can be a pain (for the impatient like me, at least).

The form factor also lends itself well to casual use: easy to keep on the coffee table or by the side of the bed for some late night Twitter action. I can imagine myself using it for a spot of catch-up TV on iPlayer or 4od in the evening (but not ITVplayer — all their programmes are crap!) or at last, ploughing through some of the many ebooks I’ve acquired on the bus.

The iPad is also able to run a variant of Apple’s iWork suit of applications, games and any applications from the iPhone app store. It will also be interesting to see how developers exploit the features of the iPad once they get their hands on it.

The price, while not cheap, is also much lower than that of one of Apple’s line of portable computers: $499 for the cheapest model, which I expect will convert up to £399 for the UK. More expensive models add more storage or 3G capability, so it really depends what you want to do with it how much you might want to invest.

I truly believe that Apple have hit an untapped niche with the iPad. More user-friendly, convenient and cheaper than a laptop or netbook, but more versatile and better suited to general use than a smartphone. It’s neither, but something that takes some of the most loved pieces of each and comes up with something new. Whether the marketplace agress with me, we’ll have to see.

However, I was always strongly under the impression that the inclusion of DRM was at the insistance of the record labels, which this request would seem to indicate. Without the DRM, they simply would not licence their music to Apple, so they have no choice but to include the ‘anti-piracy’ measures.

As well as limiting iTunes Music Store purchases to Apple software and hardware, the ‘Fairplay’ DRM restricts the number of computers a song can be played on, and also restricts things like how many times you can burn your legitimately-purchased music on to CD. Removing the DRM would mean that the files could be played on any software or hardware that supports the AAC format used by the iTunes Music Store, and copied, moved and, most importantly, played as the purchaser wishes.

Ideally, there would be no DRM in digitally distributed media, but if used it should be completely transparent to the user, and wouldn’t pose any restrictions to legitimate use. In reality, it does things like stop people watching high-definition versions of their legally-purchased Blu-ray discs on their legally-purchased players through their legally-purchased HD TVs, because one of the devices, even an AV cable, doesn’t support the required DRM.

I’ve personally had to register for licenses for content that I’ve created, heard pops in legally purchased, ‘copy-protected’ CDs that I’ve transferred to my iPod, and for some reason, my iTunes music library has four of the maximum five computers registered to it, even though we only have two. This hasn’t caused any problems yet, but could the next time I reinstall my OS or add a user to either computer.

Hopefully this is a significant step towards a DRM-free future.

Apple seeks online music shake-up [bbc.co.uk]

Update: A more detailed look at Jobs’ open letter, and further insight in to the Apple/DRM situation — Apple would “switch to selling only DRM-free music” if labels agree [arstechnica.com]

Boot Camp is a beta of technology that is expected to feature in Apple’s forthcoming OS X ‘Leopard’.

There’s been a lot of talk about this already, some positive and some negative. I see this as nothing but a positive thing, since Apple are merely adding extra functionality to Macs. What’s wrong with that, eh? Apple are not ditching OS X, like some people seem to suggest.

On a personal level, this is great news. I can have my Apple and eat it. Or something like that. My situation is this:

• I like using Macs.
• I need to use Windows.

But now I can satisfy my own preferences and practical needs with one machine. Top notch!

My self-built WinBox has had two versions of Windows and at least three versions of Linux installed on it over its 5 years, and is well overdue for an upgrade. Realistically, that’s not going to happen too soon, certainly not before Windows Vista is released, but now I think a Mac Mini might be the logical upgrade if it can run both OS X and Vista in one tiny package.

Mac Mini inside a NES

Some of Nintendo’s more recent designs (such as the upcoming ‘Revolution’ and DS lite) have been compared to Apple’s products. I’m not sure the NES is one of them, though.

I’ve just seen the article Ten Things I Hate About Mac OS X on the Peachpit website. I read the article with interest, as I thought it might have a few frustrations that I could steer clear of. What I noticed, however, was that all ten points are really petty (e.g. “Pinwheel Pauses” – the equivalent of the Windows egg-timer)! That’s not to say that they aren’t valid annoyances, but it’s reassuring to see that someone who uses OS X all day can’t find any serious problems with it.

For a long time I felt like Macs were the enemy – at University they were responsible for much lost work and wasted hours due to crashes – but they really have moved on in leaps and bounds since Mac OS X was released back in 2001. In the last year or so, I’ve become more and more intrigued by Apple’s machines, both for their stunning designs, stable operating system, and their heavy use in both the music and web development communities.

I hid my guilty secret for some time, until, back in July, I bought my first ever Apple product – a blue iPod mini. I was impressed by its ease of use, its simple but unique design, and its top build quality, and that’s when I decided – I wanted a Mac.

The Powerbook is probably the last in the line of PowerPC-based Powerbooks, before Apple begin selling Intel processor-based models. For this reason, a lot of potential new buyers are shying away from a purchase at the moment. However, I’m more than happy, because I know it’s still the most powerful notebook that Apple have ever produced, and it’s way faster than my Windows PC!

An Apple computer is a double-act between hardware and operating system that can’t be matched in the PC world simply because they are never created by the same company. The real defining feature of the Powerbook (or any Apple product, for that matter) is the sheer quality. Every little feature, from the rounded corners at the top of the menu bar in Mac OS, to the light on the power-supply plug that tells you when your battery is charged, reminds you of that.

In use the Powerbook is a dream. At the risk of sounding like a Mac zealot, it’s everything that Windows isn’t. It boots quickly, the user interface is beautiful, there’s no waiting at the desktop for all the various processes to load. To use a slightly clichéd phrase often used to describe a Mac, “it just works”. Want to install an application? Just drag the single file to your ‘Applications’ folder. There’s no registry to clog up, so uninstalling an app is often as simple as deleting it from the folder.

The Powerbook has a bright, sharp screen, and comes with ‘Airport Extreme’ (or IEEE 802.11g) wireless networking, which is easy to set up if you have a router or hotspot available. It also has Bluetooth as standard for wirelessly hooking up peripherals and mobile phones. Battery life is good – quoted at 5.5 hours, it should provide at least 3 hours of general use between charges. Also in the box are a host of accessories (matching, naturally) for connecting the machine to a monitor, TV and phone-line and a power supply with extension cord. Also provided are backup CDs for re-installing the OS and apps if necessary.

And what about the supplied software? The iLife application suite, which comes with all new Macs, features software for organising and manipulating your photos, creating movies and DVDs, and – my favourite – Garageband, which is a multitrack audio and MIDI sequencer. Just perfect! These apps are all easy to use, but perform well never-the-less. Obviously they’re not going to be replacements for, say, Photoshop or Logic, but they’re a very good starting point for hobbyists or those who want to begin creating on their Mac.

I have been completely won over by my new Mac, and I’d choose it over a Windows (or GNU/Linux) PC any day of the week. The real test, however, will be once I begin using the Powerbook for recording Left Hand Red‘s next demo. It may be that Garageband is enough to put together a good quality demo, or their’s always my old favourite, Tracktion, to fall back on should it prove limiting. Either way, I’m sure the Powerbook will prove an invaluable tool.

A direct replacement would’ve been a Hi-MD recorder (which can take a new type of 1GB MiniDisc), but I’d started to take an interest in solid-state and hard disk audio players. I’ve long been cynical about the usefulness of MP3 players, particularly since when I started using MiniDisc, the average storage space on an MP3 player was about 32MB – not even enough for an album at a listenable level of compression. Since then, storage space has shot up, and compression techniques have improved.

I’ve been using MiniDisc since 1999, and I’m a big fan of the format, but since I usually carry no more than four discs with me, I tended to listen to the same stuff over and over again. I gradually came over to the idea that maybe an MP3 player (or ‘portable audio file player’ to be more accurate) might be the way to go, since this would let me carry loads more music with me, and would function in a similar manner to the way I’d been using the NetMD function of my MD player, importing CDs and transferring them via USB.

So, I decided to purchase an iPod.

Podding

A drastic measure, I know. I’d been very interested in the iPod Shuffle, because it’s small, simple, and (relatively) cheap. It also has a very respectible amount of storage space. 1GB on the ‘upper’ model holds ’240 songs’ at the default bitrate, which equates to 16 hours of audio. But then the efficient, cost-effective part of my brain kicked in – for £50 more I could get four times the space and a screen. Hmmm… I opted for a shiny blue iPod Mini.

The unit is a ‘second-generation’ iPod Mini, which, aside from some minor cosmetic differences, has a vastly improved battery life. This has gone from 8 hours to 18 hours, so it has the longest battery life on any iPod at the moment. The battery life of the original iPod Mini seems to be the biggest bugbear with people who had one, so it’s a wise move by Apple.

Another change is the lack of a power adapter, which means that you either have to charge the iPod from your computer via USB or purchase the adaptor separately. Personally, I don’t find this too much of a problem, and I guess it’s compensated by the greatly improved battery life as you’re less likely to run out of juice while on the move. The FireWire cable has also become an optional extra.

Also in the (beautifully designed!) box, are the iconic (but slightly crap) Apple ‘earbud’ headphones, USB connecting cable, belt clip and a software CD which includes iTunes and the latest software/firmware/somethingware for the iPod.

The iPod itself is such a good looking gadget. Most people who see it also comment that it’s smaller than they imagined, which is exactly what I thought when I took it out of the box. The design is simple but attractive and it feels very well put together. It has a large monochrome screen, which is clear and backlit.

In Use

The real genius of the design is the clickwheel. This is a white, circular, pressure-sensitive control that, with the exception of the ‘hold’ switch, is the only control on the unit. To scroll though menus, adjust volume and scrub through a track, just run your thumb over the wheel. In the centre of the clickwheel is a button used for selection and playback. It’s so easy and intuitive to use, there’s no possibility of getting lost.

I’ve been using my iPod for a fortnight now, and I must say I’m extremely impressed. iTunes isn’t too difficult to get to grips with, and with the new addition of direct Podcasting support, transferring your audio from iTunes to the unit is literally as easy as plugging it in to the USB (2) port of your computer.

To get music in to iTunes, simply pop in a CD, hit ‘Import’, and away it goes, encoding the audio from the disc in to your chosen format (by default AAC at 128Kbps). Of course you can purchase music directly from the iTunes Music Store, audiobooks from Audible, or subscribe to podcasts and have the latest casts downloaded automatically in to iTunes, as well as importing audio files from elsewhere. You can arrange your tracks in to playlists which will be copied to your iPod when you next connect it to your computer.

Sound

As for playback, I thought that the sound was a little dull and lacking in top end and depth. I tried out some of the preset EQ settings, but although these shaped the sound a little, they generally just introduced distortion. At first I thought that the dull sound might be due to the 128Kbps AAC compression, as data compression can often involve a degree of dynamic (audio) compression.

It occurred to me that the data rate of the files was around the same as the ATRAC files used on my NetMD, so I tried out the iPod with some decent Audio-Technica cans that I use for monitoring whilst recording. The music sounded clear and exciting on these, so the supplied headphones are the limiting factor as far as the quality is concerned. Replacement is imminent!

So far, I’ve transferred around 25 albums, along with some podcasts and an audiobook, and it’s only used about one third of the capacity. That’s a lot of MiniDiscs! I’ve not used some of the iPod mini’s other features, such as the calendar or address book, but putting these in to use is just a case of dragging files to the iPod in your file manager, or syncing with the relevant app if you’re a Mac user.

Conclusion

So, in summary, the iPod Mini is an excellent purchase. It’s incredibly easy to use, well designed, sounds great (just ditch the headphones!) and looks beautiful!