Macbook Air and Writing (Part 1)

I've started a dual review process. we'll see just how well the 11.6" Macbook Air works as a writing machine with some simple Web work and some image process. At the same time, I'll learning and review from scratch three top novel writing apps for the OS X.

The goal is to see how one of Apple's most affordable Macbook handles the daily needs of a wannabe writer/blogger.

And tonight, I took it out for a test run at Starbucks. And I took some notes. Of particular interest is how well the battery life works through the night. Apple rated the battery life to be 5 hours. Well, given the needs of most writers, not necessarily bloggers, I assume that we just type most of the time without the need for Internet connectivity.

All in all, I think the battery life held up pretty well. The night started at 7 PM and it's now 10:40 PM and I've still got 1:54 hours left.

Here are tonight's notes:

This is just a blog to document the use of Macbook Air and my experience writing a few novels for only consumptions. The goal tonight is to set up the files for writing these novels.

It’s 7:22PM PST. I started working around 7PM. The battery life at the time on the Macbook Air is 5:02 hours. I had logged onto the free Starbucks Wi-Fi but I now turned it off because I really don’t have a need to work online for the duration of the night as my all the notes for my research are offline.

7:34 There is a bit of a learning curve. However, I think once I get the hang of the three apps, I should be able to move along quite nicely.

7:45 Just finished reading the information on the novel template of Scrivener. Battery life is at 4:38. Wi-Fi not turned on.

8:35 Finished with adding characters to Scrivener and started reading up on Storymill. Battery life at 4:18. Wi-FI not turned on. So far, the scenes for Storymill is very much the same as how scenes work in Scrivener. Scenes are parts of a chapter. And they can be moved around and rearranged as needed.

9:32 Explored Storymill and will further work on Scrivener to get some diversion. The battery life is now 2:09 hours after turning on the WiFi. After a bit, it jumped back up to 2:48. And

10:00 Too a little break. WiFi is still on. 2:14 left on the battery life. Will work on Storyist for a bit before moving on.

10:02 After going through Storyist just now. I am beginning to form an opinion about the three main apps for writing novels. And I want to put my thoughts down a bit here just so that I can see if my conclusions are the same at the end of the month of writing. (1:50 hours left). I had the mail app on so that I can mailed myself the PDF files for these writing apps.

10:08 After cleaning up and getting ready to go. The battery is now back up to 2:30 hours left with the WiFi turned off. It’s back to writing and reading.

Now, some notes about the three writing apps:

I've barely scratched the surface and I am in a hurry to understand the ins-and-outs of these apps. In a previous post, I hope to use next month's Script Frenzy as an inspiration to write three novels - not necessarily complete them within a month.

I especially like the cordboard idea. As a matter of fact, I've started doing that with note cards. Real note cards. I am not the most organized person and Scrivener and Storyist has given me hope.

Scrivener does a lot. But Storymill does one thing. It's for writing novels. And it's a simple and easy to get started. You can really get lost in Scrivener's more well rounded set of tools. With Storymill, from the moment you create a new file to writing your first word, there isn't much else for you to do but to continue writing.

Storymill has a timeline that I suppose one can use as a cork board like device. I'll have to spend more time with it before I can see how useful it is.

And I'll come back to Storyist tomorrow with more observations.

Tablets To Replace 50% of laptop market?

Best Buy reportedly said that stores with iPads for sale has managed to cannibalized up to 50% of notebook sales and even managed to impact tv sales as well.

The iPad is pretty awesome as a device regardless which mobile platform you prefer and, soon enough, WebOs, Android, and even Windows 7 tablets will flood the market in 2011.

I think with all these tablets to choose from, I think I can boldly predict tablets will take about 50% of all notebook sales in 2011 and much after that.

But there will always be a market for laptops just as there will always be users who only need a regular cell phone without all the bells and whistles of an iPhone or Blackberry.

Plus, laptops are more functional than tablets and will remain so for a long time.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

MegaPower: Is US-Sino Merger Inevitable Like The Alliance In Firefly?

For those who are fans of Firefly, you'll notice that some of the characters mumble through their lines, making it hard to understand what they are saying. No, it's not that they're bad actors. I think the crew of Firefly offered a great group dynamics.

No mumbling by the cast of Firefly. They're speaking Chinese. Why? Well, a true Firefly fan would know that. For the rest of the world, I'll tell you why.

In the future, according to Joss Wheaton's version anyway, The world is dominated by the two remaining superpowers left, US and China. Together, they created the Alliance. Oh, hey, kinda like now, right? Well, except for the Alliance part. That's not going to happen. Right? Right?

Well..maybe it might. The underlings of Washington and eunuch-wannabes of Beijing would have us think that the might of the US will come to blows with the awakened Chinese dragon. After all, there are periodic snipping and words from hardliners from both side.

War, as they say, is bad for business. Perhaps, the best way to best the other guy is to cooperate with him. Create a partnership or co-dependence so that any kind of conflict would not be acceptable.

Well, isn't that already happen? US owes China a couple of trillions while US provides a global political and economic stability that China needs to operate in.

President Obama, in a speech today, urge the US and China to work together to promote free trade. To be sure, there are issues that needs to be worked out. Yuan valuation. Trade barriers. Economic and political skirmishes being fought through proxy nations and corporations.

But once the US and China work their ways through this tough period, they will realize, more than ever, that they need each. Together, they are stronger.

Let me provide you with another reason. The United States and China are more alike in this aspect than not. Americans don't like others telling us what to do. Folks barely tolerate Washington and globalization will bring in political and economic pressures that we aren't going to like too much.

The Chinese people likely feel the same but for different reasons. Capitulating to a foreign power just isn't in the cards these day. Nationalism, for better or worse, is strong in China.

However, the Chinese people will tolerate partnerships and cooperations. As will Americans.

Does this necessarily mean a mega-merger of US and China like the Alliance in the Firefly universe is bound to happen? Not necessarily.

I'm sure European, Russian, and various regional powers will have a lot to say about this. But for "don't tread on me" America and "never again" China, working together to dominate global politics and economy is a better alternative than any visions of a new world order or a structure where they are just one of many.

I'm not advocating anything here. I was watching a news clip of President Obama's speech about cooperation with the Chinese and converting my Firefly DVDs into digital copies. So I put the two together and came up with this fun post.

If you think you can find a similar plausible Alliance with other global powers, I love to read or hear about it. But please, nothing about vampires or werewolves. Or Orcs. This is strictly a human-versus-human affair.


-- Post From My iPad

Google Offers 1GB of Online Storage for Docs Users

Google is adding a new feature to Docs by allowing users to upload more files and bigger sizes. Up until the last year, we're all limited to what we can upload.

Soon, Docs users can store up to 1GB of data for free. Google's hope is that this will facilitate file sharing and collaboration. I imagine Google will allow users to increase the size of the storage through added paid service or Google will simple allow uesrs to use up their e-mail allotted storage space.

After all, 1GB is hardly enough. I get 2GB with Dropbox. Google also imposes 250MB limit per file upload.

This is a part of Google's vast cloud computing strategy as well as what they've got planned for the Chrome and Android OS. Safe bet is that Android and Chrome OS will eventually merge into a singular OS for mobile devices like phones, slates, and netbooks.

Alternatively, there are other online storages that are available. I'll get into that at a later time but Dropbox quickly comes to mind as I've been using it for a better part of a year now.

Also, if you're a MobileMe user, you already know you get quite a bit of space with iDisk from Apple.

And if you're a Windows user, give Microsoft's SkyDrive a try if you like 25GB of free storage.

• Dropbox
• MobileMe
• SkyDrive

Though not available yet, Google will roll out the new service in the coming weeks.

More at Arstechnica.

More Mean Ads From VW, Moto, And Google

You know those ads from Verizon Wireless?  They've been hitting ATT and Apple's iPhone pretty hard and it just got harder.

But you know what?  I absolutely love it!  It's like the PC-Mac ads Apple put out but without the humor.

I think this will get Apple, Steve Jobs in particular, pretty pissed off.  And you don't want Jobs pissed off.  I think the gloves are off as far as Apple and Google are concerned.

Why is this good?  Let's be frank.  The iPhone has not had real competition for years now.  Plural.  I'm not sure that Droid is the iPhone killer.  Certainly, no one is saying that it is.  That boat sailed a long time ago.  Now, it's about coming as close to the iPhone as possible and giving Apple a good scare.

And with the strong marketing, Droid might just be the device.  So how will Apple respond if at all?

• Accelerated product roadmap.  Tablets, next generation of iPhones, new iPod Touches.
• The iPHone running on t-Mobile.  And if Sprint and Clearwire does their job, even a Wimax version of the iPhone?
• Look for Apple to hit Google where it hurts.  Search, ads, and maps.  Before Google bought mobile ad company, Admob, it was rumored that Apple demonstrated some interest.  Google wants to sell ads.  It hasn't been successful at other ventures so far.  Even if Android takes a sizable share of the mobile market, it's about ads for Google.  Look for Microsoft to employ a similar strategy and hit Google where its bottom-line is. Microsoft and Apple just wants to make sure Google doesn't continue to have billions of cash added each quarter that can come back to hurt them.  
• People buy Apple products for the whole ackage.  Not hardware alone.  Not software alone.  Apple can continue to leverage this like no one else can.  
• Beefed up MobileMe.  Free to all iPhone and iPod Touch users. Or reduce the cost of subscriptions.  Even provide a small business version of the Me service.  Hit back at Google and Microsoft at the same time.

As you can see, there are plenty of options for Apple to strike back.  It's about timing and no one is better at this game than Jobs and Co.  I imagine that Apple will have a lot to say about its mobile and cloud plans in 2010.  As a fan, you gotta love what Google's doing.

Meanwhile enjoy this new Droid ad and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Note:  Microsoft is bring Bing over to the iPhone.  Gotta love that too.

Reading On A Smartphone Is Good Enough?

The first thing I did this morning after I woke up was to reach for my G1 and see what e-mails I got while I was in a happy place with three beautiful...ah, too much details.  So I reached for my G1 to catch up on e-mails and scanned the headlines.  Then I took my toast, coffee, and  G1 out to the backyard to enjoy the day before I go to work.

But this act of taking out your mobile device to catch up on news, reading the latest Tweets or Facebook updates, or ereading is taking place all over the world that many mobile warriors do many times through out the day.  In lecture halls, taxi rides, waiting in line for a Starbucks latte, and many countless instances.

And that’s exactly the point that this NY Times article is talking about.  We can do so much on our Blackberries, G1s, and iPhones, having a secondary device dedicated to a specific function, in this instance, a Kindle, is not necessarily for a lot of mobile users.

So the question NYT asked, a valid one, is if the future of reading lies with Kindle-like devices, including the forthcoming Nook from Barnes and Noble, or a mobile multi-purpose device like the iPhone with its 3” screen?

More importantly, I think it’s accessing the information that is the main issue here.  How easily accessible to books and news can an iPhone be and how it is presented to readers.

Let’s examine the issue and focus on just what we can do today.  Also, let’s just narrow that down a bit more and focus on our behaviors.  When I woke up and started having breakfast, it’s my G1 I reached for.  When I get my Nook in a month or so, I might reach for it when I want to read a book.  Makes sense right?  Bigger screen, save battery life on my G1.

When I leave for work or to run an errand, I will take my iPhone but I might take my Nook as well.  If I’m waiting in line at the post office or the supermarket, it’s more convenient to use my iPhone to do any reading.  If I was to go a coffee house where I might sit down for any length of time, I might use the Nook.

But I certainly won’t cry over it if I had to read on my iPhone instead.  I reckon that this is probably what a lot of people would do anyway, forgoing a dedicated ebook reader completely.

Now, while we were just talking about our behaviors, technology can change that. So, what will technical advances will alter how we read and what we use to read books?

That’s the key question that has many baffled.  It is whatever technology that can best duplicate the experience of reading a real newspaper or book.  It must also make it easy for people to work beyond just reading.

One area where the NY Times post doesn’t address is the education sector.  Kindle had trial runs at some universities and failed miserably.  Why is that?  Simple.  It’s just a device that fits textbooks inside.  Some simple notes can be taken with it but not much more.  For the ereader to succeed in the educational environment, it has to augment and facilitate the learning process.  Oh, let’s not forget that the Kindle’s e-ink display isn’t in color.

Here’s how I think the future will unfold.

• Books aren’t going anyway.  There’s too much of us traditional literalists for that to happen.
• Newspaper and magazines outfits will continue to evolve.  Print will shrink and turn up on devices like Apple’s forthcoming iTablet or mobile devices.  
• People will rediscover reading on their mobile phones.  Whether it’s on a 2” or 3” screen, enough young people growing up with smartphones will create a market force demanding more literary materials to be used on their devices.
• eReaders like the Nook will continue to have its audience and will be able to do more than reading in order to survive.  The Nook already runs on Android.  It’ll be a shame if it doesn’t access Google apps.

At the end of the day, it’s about convenience.  It’s convenient to use the multi-purpose device in your pocket.  And when it’s convenient to do so, people will read a real book or on their dedicated ereader.

More at NY Times.

Mobile Devices Without Phone Contracts Is The Future

I don't dare envisioning the days of the Jetsons.  I doubt we'll see flying cars in cities that float on anti-grav, you know, stuff.  However, I do see robots doing chores around the house and I certainly hope Roomba or somebody else is working on that.

But closer to the present day, I do envision a day when white spaces, a true open 700Mhz network (hear that, Verizon?), or a national wireless network that allows us to be freed of the shackles the wireless providers, self-appointed gatekeepers, placed on us.

Right now, there are a lot of limitations with respects to the wireless networks, what you can do on those networks, and how much of it you can use.  Earlier this week, I blasted ATT once again for trying to tell iPhone users what they can or cannot do.  The same situation goes for Verizon only that the increasing number of app stores, changes in the mobile habits of their subscribers, and presence of new technologies and players like Apple has forced our wireless jailers begrudgingly adopt some changes to their business models.

However, you might say that well, you have the option to not get wireless services and stick with landline Internet or cable access.  While that may be true, it is an option that I cannot afford.  Certainly not in the monetary sense but as society becomes increasingly mobile, certainly, a professional these days cannot afford not to be tethered to the Internet for too long a period in a given work day.  Hence, the term "crackberry" if you recall.

So many issues comes to mind.  How fast is society change with respects to mobile computing and wireless Internet uses?  Is is society that is pushing wireless innovations or are these innovations changing how we do things and freeing us from offices and offices and allowing us to enjoy the freedom of working and playing wherever we want?

Another issue that comes to mind is the hardware.  You've heard of smartphones.  Devices like the ubiquitous Blackberry.  That's what I consider to be a smartphone.  But then there are also devices like the iPhone that I hesitate to call a "smartphone" but rather think of it as a mobile computing device that fits in the palm of your hand that happens to make phone calls.  Going back, the Treo is closer to the iPhone than the Blackberry as the Palm OS first existed as a computing platform before telephony functions were added.

However, this smartphone or mobile device debate will not matter too much soon as more true mobile platforms emerge.  You've likely heard of Google's Android that has so far existed on the G1.  Let's not forget the Windows Mobile platform.  Like Palm, it was a mobile computing platform that had telephony services added.

And that is where Blackberry OS and Symbian will be headed.  Soon, every mobile hardware company out there will have true mobile platforms that serve as the backbones of mobile devices that happens to make calls.

Let's assume you agree with me.  Where does this stand with the not-so-benevolent gatekeepers?  Certainly, losing that $65 and above a month portion of their cell phone portion of the bill wouldn't sit well with their shareholders.

And that is just one of the fears they have as a number of mobile users begin to evolve their mobile behaviors and use less of the telephone function.  It's why texting is a $6 billion a year business in the US that the wireless providers will fight tooth and nail to protect.  It's why ATT has restricted Skype app on the iPhone to Wi-Fi use only and not over their 3G network.  ATT would sooner admit to their 3G network deficiency as the reason for the restriction than admitting that they've got no answer to VOIP.

So sitting in an area of a mall with Wi-Fi access, I longed to be able to not have to consider if there is Wi-Fi access wherever I want to go to relax and do some a little work.  I'm good at Starbucks because off ATT's hotspots but no go at Borders where they only have T-Mobile's hotspots.  I'm good at some malls but the open network does prevent me from doing my bills online or checking my e-mails.

One day, those worries will be gone.  Wether it'll be the Zune phone, iPhones, iPod Touches, tablets based on WM or WebOS, mobile users will be able to use their devices to connect wirelessly to the Internet and make VOIP calls and gatekeepers will not be able to do anything about it.

The key question is how we get there.  Honestly, I have no answer.  We had not been going through a global recession, wars, fixing a failing healthcare system in the United States, I think the Obama administration might be able to turn their attentions to issues such as this one.  Nevertheless, I remain hopeful.

It's my belief that the wireless providers will face stiff competition.  The competition between WiMax, LTE, and 3G networks will go on for many years as the wireless providers battle one another for shrinking pool of available users.  New wireless technologies will also emerge to empower users.

In fact, I'm happy to say that Dell, Google, and Microsoft are moving forward in the white spaces area and hope to have a database framework for consumer devices in months - a database that will allay fears of interference.