Our Top 5 Reasons to Buy/Not Buy the iPad

We have a number of Apple users here at Nerdbloggers, so we certainly aren't "haters" as Apple fans are calling the many naysayers.  We are pretty much in agreement that the iPad is gorgeous and will be great for a number of uses.  Still, there are lot of issues that might make us wait for the inevitable improvements coming in iPad 2.0.  Here is a short list of what we liked and what gave us pause in yesterday's roll out.

Top Five Reasons iPad is a Must Buy

1. Access to the best (and worst) apps and games on the App Store.  We admit to being App Store junkies.  It is simply too easy and too cheap to pick up a cool little gadget or game to pass the time.  Personally, I'm looking forward to playing Firemint's Flight Control on that big screen.

2. iBooks + Kindle. In case you haven't noticed, we are big readers here at Nerdbloggers. I use the Kindle app on my iPod Touch as my main e-reader. Having that app plus Apples own iBooks on a comparatively giant screen is very appealing to me. And the competition with Kindle for the book reading audience will likely mean cheaper and cheaper e-books, which is good for everyone.

3. It is damn sexy. Apple's main skill as a company (other than selling snake oil) is making sexy hardware. The iPad doesn't disappoint.

4. It's a big, beautiful World Wide Web. Hey, we spend a lot of time on the Net. I have no trouble using my iPod or netbook for the task, but the iPad, with its multi-touch screen and nearly instantaneous start up looks to be an upgrade over both of those options.

5. Iwork. If I'm going to replace my netbook with a tablet, I'm going to have to do some work on it. The fact that Apple is bringing its office suite to the device means I will be able to do just that.

 Top Five Reasons the iPad is a must Avoid

1. A closed development environment. The app store is great, but getting an app or game in there means getting Apple's approval and, Kindle app aside, they are resistant to apps that muscle in on their territory—like Google voice app. That's understandable, but the fact is a netbook can run any app anyone makes for it, and no one likes having less choices.

2. Reading on a backlit LCD screen causes eye strain in many users. The iPad is competing with various e-ink readers and e-ink is vastly better for reading anything for a long time.

3. That bezel is huge. I know you have to have someplace to hold to avoid the multi-touch screen, but that bezel makes the device look a lot like a digital photo frame. We depend on Apple to find sexy solutions to technical problems—that bezel isn't one.

4. No Flash support. That is nearly a deal-breaker all by itself. Surfing the web without Flash is annoying. I put up with it on the iPod, but I don't know if I will on a $500 full-sized tablet. And anyone who tells you the lack a Flash is because of battery life is an Apple zombie and an idiot. The device doesn't support Flash because Apple want to sell us apps/games and control the content available on the device. End of story.

5. On-screen keyboards suck. My 10-month old ripped the “k” key off my laptop this morning, making it very difficult to type a “k” in the flow of typing. I'd rather type on a real keyboard with half the keys missing than try to type an article using an on-screen keyboard. They are okay for shooting off a tweet or a quick e-mail, but they are a pain in the butt for real work.

There you have it. That is what is on our minds after a quick look at the device. Certainly more details will be released up until the launch and I'll make my decision then. Right now, I'm leaning toward not buying it upon release, but two other of the Nerds are leaning the other way. Time will tell.

The success of Avatar brings out familiar stereotypes

After Monday night's take, Avatar has officially passed The Titanic as the biggest money earner is history.  Ignore the talk of ticket price inflation and the benefits of 3-D showings.  The number that matters is two billion--which is the low-end of the estimates for how much the film is going to bring in during its run.  I have little to say on the quality of Avatar.  I enjoyed the film, but haven't felt compelled to write about it until now.  It certainly was a technological marvel, but the script, much like that of The Titanic, was on the cheesy side and the film wears its trite messages on pretty broad sleeves leaving the whole experience feeling a bit hokey.  Still, the film has some great moments and is highly entertaining.  And, it is a science fiction. We hear it called Dances with Aliens (or, my favorite, Dances With Thundercats) and see it compared to Pochahontas and The Last Samurai regularly because of the common themes, but it is still definitely science fiction and it contains many of the elements that science fiction fans want in the genre—advanced technology, existential philosophy, speculation about alien society and biology among them.

Given the film's enormous financial success, we were bound to see lots of backlash. For fans of the genre, the worst part is the backlash not against the film but against Science Fiction and its fans. As I read the anti-Avatar articles across the Internet, I'm struck by how many of them decide to take jabs at men and women who enjoy Sci-fi and perpetuate the stereotype that Science Fiction fans are anti-social hermits who are afraid of the opposite sex and live in a fantasy world.

The most egregious, or at least the most visible, example comes from Michael Atkinson. His article “Why I won't see Avatar” details why he has no interest in seeing the film. Despite the fact that needing to tell people why you aren't going to see a popular film seems trivial, I have no problem with his main thesis. While the film is amazingly successful as a money maker, I'm not sure it has the depth of theme to allow it to be a topic of discussion among film enthusiasts after its box office run. What I do have problems with is Atkison's characterization of fans of the film and the genre. Here is the section in question:

I’ve seen Avatar already, frankly, because I spent my youth looking at Roger Dean album covers and sci-fi/fantasy paperback covers and the art of Frank Frazetta, Chris Foss, the Brothers Hildebrandt, etc. — and that was a good 30 years ago. But since then, something happened: I grew short hairs and read Hemingway and had sex. There’s no going back.

Granted, Atkinson's point is that now that he is older, he is no longer fascinated with pretty pictures. The problem is the last sentence. It echoes the stereotypes that all Science-Fiction fans are familiar with. If Avatar wasn't a Science-Fiction film, would he have tacked on the “grew short hairs...and had sex” line? I seriously doubt it. What we have here is another critic that thinks disliking something that other people like makes him superior. That position isn't uncommon (nor is thinking that liking something that is unpopular with the masses makes one superior) and we all are likely guilty of it at some point. If Atkinson hadn't felt the need to take a jab at genre fans, his argument would have just been petty elitism. With that jab, it joins a slew of similar opinions that are at least partially responsible for holding the genre back.

The issue isn't that Atkinson's depiction of fans of Sci-Fi/Fantasy is offensive (though it is). The issue is that that depiction is so commonly held. Producers hear this. Studios hear this. If we allow critics to perpetuate the idea that Avatar's success is due to sexless fanboys who go to the theater to look at pretty colors and escape their lonely existence, we are going to get more and more films that cater to the stereotype and not to the elements that really appeal to fans of the genre.

In Defense of George R.R. Martin

I’ve read lots of stuff complaining and whining about George R.R. Martin’s delays with the next installment in A Song of Fire and Ice.  Some of it’s not very nice at all.  Some of it’s down right hateful and despicable. 

I’ll never forget the first time I discovered the series.  I couldn’t put A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords down.  I drove over three hours to pick up A Feast for Crows and meet Mr. Martin, but I swore not to read it until A Dance with Dragons was released because those two books were originally intended to be a single volume.  So I waited.  And I waited.  And I waited.  Then . . .  I waited some more.  I finally started checking Amazon's and Martin’s websites regularly for updates.  I think it was after the second year of waiting that I decided I would just pick it up when it was finished.  And no, I still haven’t read A Feast for Crows.

Am I frustrated?  Sure.  Am I impatient?  Sometimes – when I think about it too long.  Am I angry?  No.  Mr. Martin has stated that he doesn’t want to turn in anything that doesn’t live up to the project.  Would you, as a reader, want something he didn’t put his heart and soul into?  I can already hear someone saying, “He’s gonna die before he finishes the @#$%&* thing!”   I certainly hope not.  I couldn’t imagine anyone being about to finish the story in the manner Mr. Martin has.  But it’s always a possibility. 

Where will you be next week?  Are you sure?  What if you’re the victim of a fatal accident or a sudden terminal illness?  How do you plan for that?  We don’t.  We plan our lives based on what we expect or hope will happen.  I’m sure Mr. Martin is no different.  A Song of Fire and Ice will probably be his master work.  Why shouldn’t he have the time necessary to make it so?  I believe it was on his website where it was pointed out that J.R.R. Tolkien worked on The Lord of the Rings for decades.  All the time and effort was worth every word. 

Consider this.  You think we’ve had a long wait.  Ever read David Gerrold’s War Against the Chtorr?  It’s an amazing series.  One of the best alien invasion stories I’ve ever read.  The people in it are very real – too real sometimes, just like in Mr. Martin’s, as they are forced to do some extremely bad things sometimes.  Seven books are planned; four have been complete.  The last one, A Season for Slaughter, was published in 1992.  Eighteen years I’ve been waiting to see what happened next.  Eighteen.  Am I frustrated?  Sure.  Am I impatient?  Sometimes.  Am I angry?  No. 

Anyway . . . the next time you get fed up or you decide to create an I Hate George R.R. Martin fan group (I saw one online – honest – I really saw one), pause and think about this: we may be just as responsible for the delay as any other reason.  How would you feel to have thousands of people breathing down you neck, demanding something fantabulously great, right now.  That’s a big demand on anybody.  Fan demand can be just as harmful to an artist as it can be beneficial. 

In the mean time, I’m enjoying the first three books again as I prepare to watch the HBO series.  I will probably go ahead and read A Feast for Crows this time.  Then I will wait ever how long it takes.  Maybe the series will spur Mr. Martin onward, since they plan to do a season per book?  Who knows?  Let the artist create the art.  It’s his work, it’s his property.  He’s just sharing it with us.

Andrew Stanton has begun Shooting John Carter as of Friday!

Good news!  Good news!

Who would have believed it?  I mean, I know they cast roles, and they were doing writes and rewrites on the script . . . but it looks like its for real!  Motion/Captured reports that shooting began on Stanton's adaptation in London  on Friday (01/15/10).  You can read about casting in an earlier entry here at Nerdbloggers.  Final product still due in 2012. 

Now let's continue to hope that that pesky Mayan Prophecy doesn't get in our way!

Here's a link to the artilce at Motion/Captured: http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/john-carter-of-mars-is-shooting-and-all-is-right-with-the-world

In case you missed it, here and here are two Variety articles on the casting of the film.

Review of Zombieland at The Blackest Eyes

I'm doing some writing for a new horror review site, The Blackest Eyes.  Here is my review of Zombieland on the eve of its release on DVD.  Check out the review and then stick around to read some other articles.  It is a great collection of writers from all walks of life, and there are already some good posts about a number of genre films including District 9, Paranormal Activity and Drag Me to Hell.  If you like, you can also read my review of the cult classic Piranha.