more pictures (link)
It's Saturday, April 3rd. I've been tracking my packages all week. I've been reading the news and the blogs to figure out just exactly what is going on iPad-wise. Walt Mossberg and David Carr were on Charlie Rose last might chatting about iPad. It's really just too much - and I can't get enough:
Location Date Local Time DescriptionWhat's This?
SAN PABLO, CA, US 04/03/2010 8:22 A.M. DESTINATION SCAN
OAKLAND, CA, US 04/03/2010 6:43 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE, KY, US 04/03/2010 4:55 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
04/03/2010 12:28 A.M. IMPORT SCAN
GUANGZHOU, CN 04/02/2010 4:10 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
GUANGZHOU, CN 03/31/2010 3:02 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
03/31/2010 3:00 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
SHENZHEN, CN 03/30/2010 3:52 A.M. ORIGIN SCAN
CN 04/02/2010 11:12 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED
It's so close now.
It's Good Friday. Final Four weekend. Major League Baseball opens this weekend, too (go Red Sox). US new jobs numbers turned positive with new reports released yesterday. The Large Hadron Collider is smashing atomic particles with forces of 7 TeV. And I'm waiting for a big brown van. This from CNN:
"I don't know what it is -- I just think it's going to be something that's really cool," said Mark Bowling outside an Apple store at Lenox Square mall in Atlanta, Georgia. "I can't figure out how to use it if I don't have one."
Of course, I realize this is a manufactured national event - but it is fun to be part of it. And there's still a part of me that still finds it amazing: that Apple can repeatedly re-create a Christmas-like shop-and-wait experience. There are a lot of wicked fun products out there, but no one can package a product launch as a "happening" like Apple.
Dang. Where's that van?
Almost lunch time. Still no iPad. What does "DESTINATION SCAN" mean anyway?
Destination Scan
The shipment has arrived at the local UPS facility responsible for final delivery.
Oh. Why did the package go from Oakland to San Pablo - it went right past me!
Ate a sandwich; had some tea. No change for my packages at UPS. Reading reviews and blogs, and came across this image on SFGate:
If you ever had any doubt that the touch interface was completely intuitive - well? The kid is just poking at the box, and the iPad is upside down, but the kid knows what to do.
Arrival - it's here (1:40pm). The UPS lady asked me if I was sure I wanted my boxes - I said she must be having quite a day. She looked pretty tired. It's just taking a long time to sync. A few of my iPhone apps got updated to with iPad versions, and I'm loading those along with a few movies, TV shows, music, and photos. It's taking a while.
Trying to sync about 25GB of stuff - it's taken about two hours now, and it's still not done. I fired up my other iPad and did not sync anything - so I got to try out the iBookstore and Maps, etc. Wow, the selection in the iBookstore is very thin. I had a few books I thought I might try at launch to test the reading; was especially disappointed not to see the new Michael Lewis book. But I'll get something to try (aside from the free Winnie the Pooh book). Maybe I'll download the Kindle app and see if the situation is any better in Amazon-land.
The last book I read on a computer screen was Jurassic Park on a PowerBook 170 (grey screen). It came on a floppy. Despite the fancy "active matrix" technology, I hated reading on that screen.
Okay, I've made the switch to the iPad, typing on it now. Trying very hard to type as fast as I can and this seems to work very well. Got the iPod going , but when it downloaded a few of the free news apps, the audio feed does not play in the background - no multi-tasking. I'm sitting by the window, on the couch in my office, and the screen looks great. I've got that new product high.
Read another's experience waiting for an iPad.
