Magical and Revolutionary (NSFW)

While looking for information on the iPad I came across late model prototypes for other Magical and Revolutionary devices that Apple will be deploying.

iRemote

iHouse

iHannah

iCalamari

iBoobs

iWang

From what I can tell Magical and Revolutionary just means bigger.

Time to shit on Apple.. again

The iPad will make billions.  This is not going to be Apple TV or the Newton.

It is not a bad device,  it is just that they are marketing it as something revolutionary and it is not.  It is a bigger iPhone or Touch, with no camera.   There appears to be some sort of GPS but it is not clear to me if it is fully featured.  Sure you can Skype on the thing (with a Wifi Connection) or make a call using Googlevoice Mobile Web (something that is fairly revolutionary),  but you cannot attend a web meeting with full video.  Oh you want to Surf the web AND have last FM playing in the background.. that might not happen.  Oh you want to play a Flash Game?

no Flash?

This device will be for the E-Reader Crowd and the Apple Cult. I cannot make myself think about buying an Ereading device.  $200 plus dollars for the device plus $10 a book?  Quick math tells me that with coupons (thanks Borders), Ebay and Edward McKay used books I spend under $3.00 on average for books.  EBooks do not make much sense to me.  Maybe if I read more Public Domain Books, but I can read those on my iPhone Apps, which I have done many times when stuck someplace and I get bored.’

I would just like to put a few links up and show you devices you can get for the same price or less than the $500 (err $499) iPad.

Mirus Tablet

Asus T91

Always Innovating Touchpad

Note, these contain the accessories of the iPad (Cradle and Keyboard)

Avatar did not suck BUT

Avatar was not a bad movie.  If I had paid full price I would not have been angry.   The CGI is beyond anything done before.  I think it was one of the first movies where I did not think “They could have done that better” in one or two scenes.  If I had to nitpick it would be with the exoskeleton armor shots.  Sometimes they did not mend the CGI and live actors well enough,  I think it was the lighting.  It is also one of the first movies where I was in awe of the CGI.  The scene where Sully jumps in the water and then emerges was beyond excellent.

The “but”" in the movie is that it was nothing new.  The ideas in the movie have been done before.  Cameron says he wrote and shelved the idea a long time ago, waiting for the technology to make the film to mature.  Elements of the movie directly remind me of some of his own films as well as a lot of other movies and books.  If you want to get down to it, the movie is a re-imagining of Star Wars.  Two central themes of both movies are the force that connects us all and industry/technology vs nature/The Force.

I present to you, the movies that Avatar ripped off (if you want to remain spoiler free, stop reading).  This is just what I remember and I am including Cameron’s own movies, which he did not rip off, but used ideas he has done before.  I am also including a book or two.

Star Wars:  Endor, the forest moon.  The Force.  Grand battle between nature/local inhabitants and technology.

Aliens:  Evil Corporate People concern only for money.  Battle Armor.  Vehicle Design.  (Granted he uses a unified vehicle design for Aliens, Terminator and this film.

The Abyss:  Nature vs Technology.  Use of black light type lighting.

Fern Gully/MacGyver/Al Gore/Medicine Man/Etc..:  Corporate world destroying the forest.

Dances with Wolves:  Soldier becomes part of the tribe, accepted by the tribe he fights for them.

Pern books:  The whole dragon riding thing.  You could also include Lord of the Rings thing in here.

Matrix Films:  The battle armor,  which based in Mecha design,  so I guess we could list a bunch of Anime here.

Lion King: Circle of Life.  Tree of Life.