Apple's Innovations and Steve Jobs

ABC World News made Steve Jobs their person of the week this week.  Starting out of his garage in 1976, Steve Jobs has seen Apple grow and its innovations pervade the marketplace of ideas and technology.

My first PC was an Apple--shortly after it was invented.  In 1990 I wrote my dissertation on a Macintosh at the university computer lab and purchased my first Apple in 1991.  I have been using Apple and Macintosh computers for years--then had to convert to Windows-based computers for business and later for schools.  (I am still a Mac-fanatic at heart.)

I have fallen in love with my iPod Touch (32Gs) and use it in the wifi mode for everything from surfing the web to e-mail to listening to audio books and more.  The iPad (Apple Tablet by whatever name it may end up with) appears to be a larger version of the iPod Touch--just with updated software and some Macintosh capabilities built in.  (Of course I want an iPad and an iPhone.  I'd be an early adapter except for the new economy.)

A suggestion to Steve and Apple based on my research on improving reading and academic performance, get the iPad to synchronize unabridged eBooks and eAudioBooks so that students can read and listen at the same time.  I've done that with students, especially English language learners, with good results.  In practicing Spanish, I've also listened to a book in English and read the unabridged book in Spanish simultaneously.

I hope that the app process for the iPod Touch and the iPhone will work for the new iPad as well.

Mac vs PC--Marketing at the Apple Store

Mac vs PC takes on a new dimension at the Apple Store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  I went there with two friends today for a series of workshops on how to work with the Macintosh computers, the iPhone, and the iPod Touch.  While there I received free tech support at the iPod bar (across from the "Genius" bar) regarding using Netlibrary with iTunes.

The workshops, also free, provided a good introduction into how to work with the Macintosh and its integrated programs.  I first worked on an Apple computer in 1979 and have always been "addicted" to the Macintosh while working with multiple PCs.

The advent of the iPhone, the iPod Touch, and the latest generation of Macintosh computers and Snow Leopard are moving me to return to the Macintosh at last.  I have recommended the Mac to friends and family just getting started on computers and have consistently found that they enjoy their computer experience tremendously working on the Macintosh.

A few years ago I flew with an Apple executive from California to Chicago and almost switched then.  My problem at the time was that I had too much invested in software that only ran on a PC.

With the new Macintosh programs, those issues have largely faded into the woodwork.  I enjoy my iPod Touch (3Gs, 32GB) and look forward to getting an iPhone (3Gs, 32GB or 64GB) in the near future.  Shortly after that I expect to transition to a MacBook Pro laptop and, later, an iMac with a 27-inch flat screen display.