NO!!

Yes!!

Earlier this week editorial cartoonist Mark Fiore was honored with a Pulitzer prize for his work, which in an of itself is historic in that Mark’s work does not appear in print… it’s all on the web at SFGate.com, Slate.com, CBSNews.com, Motherjones.com and NPR’s web site.

He’s also making news this week for another reason… one that sounds all too familiar to me. He has submitted an app of his work to Apple for their App Store only to have it rejected for violation of the dreaded “Section 3.3.14″ of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which states:

Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.

Readers of The MAD Blog will recall a similar letter being sent to the developer of the app “Bobble Rep”, for which I had done over 500 caricatures of every member of the 111th U.S. Congress. That app was also rejected by Apple, who apparently found my caricatures “obscene, pornographic, or defamatory” and cited that it ridiculed public figures. Apple relented after only a few days after a fairly substantial firestorm of internet outrage and stories on major news outlets rattled their cage. In fact I have found the Bobble Rep debacle cited on several stories about Mark’s current difficulties, as well as Daryl Cagle‘s similar frustrations with Apple over his politcal cartoon app (which also eventually got approved).

Mark’s story is striking a bit more serious chord than Apple just being overly Draconian in their app approvals. With the introduction of the iPad, the focus of content for these devices moves out of the convenience of having a few apps in your pocket and into the promised land of a media delivery/consumption device that could revolutionize the way the world get’s its news, entertainment and information. Suddenly Apple’s control freak approach threatens the development of the very technology it is supposed to be innovating by placing restrictions and outright rejections upon the content that would be consumed via their devices. Apps for publications and newspaper content won’t be very useful if it only lets us see stuff that Apple and Steve Jobs thinks we should see, and rejects things they don’t like.

Even so, Apple does have the right to decide what it will or will not allow on it’s App Store and on it’s device. I am certainly not going to argue that point. Apple isn’t the publisher, so arguments that a newspaper gets to decide what it will publish and what it won’t are irrelevant. Apple is the delivery system. Apple is the newsstand/bookstore that makes you pay a fee (buy it’s device) to browse. Apple is the cable TV station that gets to decide what programming if offers even as it charges you to look at it’s listings. Bookstores can sell whatever book they want. TV stations only air shows they want. They don’t have to carry pornography or content it deems inappropriate even if it’s legal where they operate. They don’t have to sell books that they don’t like the subjects of or air TV shows that don’t support the ideology of their ownership.

That said, levying editorial content restrictions against app authors will lead to Apple’s eventual downfall. It’s one thing to limit useless and tasteless apps on an iPhone, but when they are crowing about the iPad being the future of media content consumption with one hand and pushing back the very content providers people want unless they tow the line to their satisfaction and limitation with respect to that content, consumers will quickly move on to other devices that do not tell them what they can or cannot see or consume. The dollars of the consumer will sort this out eventually.

The marketplace and competing iPad-like devices will win out. Apple is crazy if they think they can limit free speech and expression like this and still come out on top. Jobs apparently hasn’t learned his lesson from the 80′s, when Apple’s closed format and heavy handed approach to it’s operating system and hardware versus the open sourced and use-on-any-hardware approach of Bill Gate’s Windows resulted in the overwhelming dominance of Microsoft in the PC market… a dominance that continues to this day. It was big news the other day when Apple’s share of the PC market touched 8%. Other devices that don’t put these kinds of restrictions on it’s content and allow for the use of technologies like Flash, which Apple also stubbornly refuses to allow on its devices, should eventually squash the iPad if Apple doesn’t change it’s tune (or in Mark’s case… “toon”). What’s at stake is not just a couple of pocket apps on your iPhone, but the possible future of media content delivery.

UPDATE: Fortuitous timing on my part. Apparently Apple is asking Mark to resubmit his app likely with the intention of approving it ASAP. Mark commented via an interview:

“I feel kind of guilty,” he said. “I’m getting preferential treatment because I got the Pulitzer.”

Just go with it, Mark! Apple needs to be taken to task each and every time they pull this kind of thing until they understand even though it’s their sandbox if they want the world to pay to play in it they have to allow some kids who aren’t in their Super Secret MacHead Club.

Bobble Rep, the iPhone app conceived and produced by Ray Griggs and featuring my caricatures of all 540 members of the 111th U.S. Congress was APPROVED by Apple late last night and is now available on iTunes for the low, low price of 99 cents (cheap). This after my innocent little blog post of a few days ago caught fire and was picked up by major news outlets and high traffic tech blogs.

Apple came to its senses yesterday and approved the app. You have to wonder how much of the decision was based on the press covered and image hit Apple had taken, and how much of it was simply that some overworked approval person rubber stamped it as a reject. My less cynical side is hoping for the latter, but I am pretty sure any reconsideration at all was facilitated by the many responses and support of people on the internet who were dumbstruck that such an innocent and innocuous app would be determined “defamatory” to the members of congress we depicted.

Regardless, it’s now approved and you can check it out on iTunes. Thanks to everyone for the support, and thanks to Apple for taking the time to give it another look and see that their initial rejection was unwarranted!

Wow.

The power of the internet is an amazing thing.

Yesterday I posted a little rant here on The MAD Blog about Apple’s head-scratching rejection of Bobble Rep, an application conceived and developed by film director Ray Griggs for which I was commissioned to draw a caricature of each of all 540 members of the 111th United States congress. As usual I just wrote off the top of my head, grammar errors and somewhat acerbic tone included.

24 hours later my blog was twice crashed by overwhelming traffic coming from links on virtually every major independent Apple blog/website including TUAW, 9to5 Mac and Macworld, from Twitter links via the New York Times David Pogue, CNN/Fotune and many others.

Thanks for the suggestions and support. Ray and his programmer guru Stevo Brock are looking into other options including porting the app to other platforms. For those asking about seeing all 540 caricatures, I will make sure that they are published here on my website if the app never sees the light of day or other venues such as a flash-based website are not developed.

Thanks again for all the interest in this little tale. No word yet from Apple, but I can almost guarantee you that few people going to work in Cupertino today have not heard about this story thanks to all of you.

EDIT- Apple reconsidered its decision and approved the Bobble Rep app after a media storm of protest was set off by this innocent little rant on my insignificant little blog. Below is the original blog post:

Just yesterday I was complaining about how Apple sometimes treats its customers as if they were stupid.

I had no idea how right I was.

Back in the late summer movie director/entrepreneur Ray Griggs, for whom I did all that art for his movie “Super Capers“, approached me with an idea for an iPhone app. The concept was a database of all the members of the United States Congress which allowed the user to find the names and contact information of their senators and congressional representative either via zipcode or by using the iPhone’s GPS location services. He wanted the visuals to be more than just a bunch of pictures, and asked me to do caricatures for each senator and representative.

That’s 540 caricature if you are keeping count (including those non-voting members of the house from Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.). FIVE HUNDRED FORTY. Five-four-Oh. Whew.

The caricature “heads” would be placed on one of 12 different bodies I has also drawn to make a cartoon, virtual “bobblehead” for each member of congress’s page. You can make the heads bobble by shaking your phone or flicking the head with your finger. Of course that’s just a novelty, and the real purpose of the app is the database that allows you to find out who your representatives in Washington are and how to contact them.

I did all 540 caricatures. In fact I finished the last few dozen in my hotel room in Washington DC prior to my USO trip. Ray and his programmers wrapped up the programming and the app was sent to Apple for approval.

Here are some of the visuals that were sent to Apple:

Ray had showed a lot of people this app, and there was a fair amount of interest in it. In fact, he tells me that he is booked to appear on both the Glenn Beck John Stossel show and the Mike Huckabee show next week to talk about the app and his upcoming documentary. Both Beck Stossel and Huckabee loved the app and that’s what precipitated his appearance on their shows.

Looks like all Ray will have to talk about is how ridiculous Apple’s app approval folks are, since the app was REJECTED yesterday . Here is Apple’s official rejection letter and the “reason”:

Subject: Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition 1.0: Application Submission Feedback

Please include the line below in follow-up emails for this request.

Follow-up:  87280909

Dear Mr. Griggs,

Thank you for submitting Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition to the App Store. We’ve reviewed Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it contains content that ridicules public figures and is in violation of Section  3.3.14 from the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which states:

“Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.”

A screenshot of this issue has been attached for your reference.

If you believe that you can make the necessary changes so that Bobble Rep – 111th Congress Edition does not violate the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, we encourage you to do so and resubmit it for review.

Regards,
iPhone Developer Program
****************************

Wow. I’ve had rejections in theme parks before but never because my drawings were considered “obscene, pornographic, or defamatory”. I can see where they are coming from, though. Check out these “hard hitting” caricatures (said with tongue firmly in cheek):

CA- Harman

ND- Pomeroy

OH- Kucinich

Brutal, I know. I mean, if Dennis Kucinich ever saw that he’d doubtless curl up in the fetal position and cry for a week. What was I thinking, doing these over-the-top, cut-throat abominations of caricatures for a public iPhone app????

Wait… someone is at the door. MAYBE IT’S THE SECRET SERVICE!!!!!!

This is truly ridiculous. These caricatures aren’t mean or very exaggerated. They are simple, fun cartoon likenesses of the politicians and the purpose of the app is a informational database. There is no editorial commentary involved at all.

This is the very reason that Apple as a company should be taken to task over its ludicrous and inconsistent app approval policies. Clearly this app does not “ridicule public figures” and is violating nothing, but Apple has decided the world must be protected from the insidious subversiveness this would force upon the public and the brutal, heinous ridicule that my cruel, cruel caricatures would subject these politicians to.

Hard to believe that anybody could be this blind. Maybe they just have a monkey doing the approval of their apps, and he throws a dart at a dartboard with “approved” and “rejected” targets on it and whatever it hits is the fate of that app. That would explain how they could approve an app with a cartoon baby picture and when you shake the phone hard enough the baby dies. Yes, that one got through only to be yanked after some outraged people complained, but no way are a bunch of flame-throwing caricatures going to get through!!!

Unbelievable.

The really sad part is that here is an app that might get people interested in who represents them in Washington, especially kids and young adults, and connects people to their senators and representatives via fun and PARTISAN FREE way. Yet Apple has decided it’s not appropriate. There needs to be more of that in this world of right versus left, especially as that applies to young kids who are being raised to consider politics the public equivalent of professional wrestling. Ray’s documentary “I Want Your Money” is distinctly right wing (and my own political views are mostly left of center) but the app is totally partisan neutral.

Please spread the word how stupid this rejection is. Apple of course does not care what its customers think… apparently they consider us idiots at best anyway (appropriate on my part, as I am a member of MAD‘s “Usual Gang of Idiots”), but it’s worth a laugh and a shake of your head.

EDIT- Thanks for all the comments, support and suggestions from everyone. Ray and his programmer Stevo Brock are working on other options, including other platforms… but that’s all in their hands. I just draw funny pictures. I’m going to close down comments on this thread, but feel free to e-mail me with further comments or suggestions.

Also, for those who have written and asked about seeing all 540 of the congressional caricatures, one way or another I will make sure we publish those… either via the app on another platform or here on my website if nothing else.

I’m busy working on a few jobs right now, but here are some tidbits from the last week of interest around the interwebby:

Who Blotches the Watchmen Dept.

Fox, that’s who.

On Christmas Eve Judge Gary Allen Feess issued a ruling in favor of Fox in the rights dispute case over the new Watchmen movie that is supposed to premiere on March 3rd. Fox alleged that they owned the rights to produce and distribute a Watchmen movie, and that producer Larry Gordon was breaking a contract between himself and Fox guaranteeing those rights by producing the Zack Synder film and distributing it through Warner Bros. Fanboys the world over are scribbling in their secret journals and preparing to don trench coats, lift-shoes and ink blot masks seeking retribution (that’s a Watchmen reference, for you non-geeks).

According to this article on EW.com, Feess doesn’t seem to think much of Gordon’s honesty. Fox was apparently able to prove they did contact Warner Bros. prior to the film’s production in an effort to settle the matter, but were ignored. Gordon claimed he was “unable to remember” his agreement with Fox.

As bad as this might seem for fans of the graphic novel like myself who have been waiting for decades for a movie to be made, the article linked above is right when it points out this is actually a good thing overall. It means that the courts still protect the copyrights of studios and honor agreements properly. It benefits no one when these things are trampled underfoot. Do not fear, Watchmen rubes… the movie will come out. There is too much money to be made for WB not to settle with Fox and get Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach and co. on the silver screen this winter.

A Gang of Idiots Grows in Brooklyn

Actually they were from the Bronx, but who’s counting? Check out this awesome picture from the New York Times Magazine article “The Lives They Lived”:

Picture from the VandenBergh/Elder Family

That’s Al Jaffee and Will Elder having lunch in the cafeteria of their high school in 1939. The picture was part of an article remembering the lives of some notable folks who passed on in 2008 (Will’s gone but Al is still kickin’!). Did the other kids in that cafeteria have any idea that sitting among them were two of the most brilliant and innovative creative geniuses the world of cartooning and visual humor would ever see? No, they thought they were weirdos… that’s why they are all by themselves. If I had a time machine one of my stops would definitely be that cafeteria to have lunch with those guys. If you want to blow your mind even further, it is very likely the guy taking that picture was Harvey Kurtzman, another high school pal. That’s THREE of the most brilliant and innovative creative geniuses the world of cartooning and visual humor would ever see, in case you are counting.

The Apple Falls Far from the Tree Dept.

Last week Apple announced that next month’s Macworld Conference & Expo, happening Jan. 5th -9th in San Fransisco, CA, will be the last one they participate in and that CEO Steve Jobs will not be doing a keynote address there. The annual San Fransisco event has been considered THE major Mac tradeshow and has been going on since 1985. Apple cites “reduced need to appear at trade shows” as the reason for the decision. Apple Insider reports that “sources within Apple claim the move is strictly a matter of de-emphasizing the event and not the sign of any health problems that would keep Jobs from presenting a keynote.”

Personally I think that stinks of spin and a very bad business decision.

First off, the spin: regardless of their decision to not appear in future shows, there are only two reasons Steve Jobs won’t be delivering a keynote address THIS year:

1. He can’t
2. He won’t.

I don’t buy the latter. Why won’t he? He doesn’t have a few hours one afternoon to pimp his company’s newest products at a major trade show? It’s not the travel… he LIVES in San Fransisco! It’s not the preparation… he’s got thousands of employees who could prepare the entire address for him (somehow I don’t think Steve does his own multimedia presentation work). Nope, it’s because he can’t. His health has been a question mark for some time. I think it’s obvious it’s worse than Apple wants to admit and he couldn’t do the address without revealing that. Really that is neither here nor there anyway. Someday Apple will have to do business without Steve Jobs as their figurehead… they might as well get started. Let the man scale back and retire if he’s having health issues.

Second, the bad business decision. Maybe they feel they no longer need to do trade shows, with the proliferation of their Apple Stores and online presence, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. What has set Apple apart from Microsoft and hardware companies like Dell, etc. is their clinging to the image of the small market, personal chic brand. Even as they keep getting bigger and bigger market share, and as they dominate some markets like personal music players and smartphones, they have still insisted they are the laid back and cooler little brother who has the personal touch. Their entire ad campaigns are built around this notion. Removing themselves from personal interaction like trade shows will reinforce the growing perception that they are becoming another soulless corporate monstrosity. Considering the prices they expect people to pay for their products in order to keep their glossy white Apple Stores afloat, they shouldn’t have any qualms about spending a few bucks to keep the little personal interaction they still have with the masses and taking advantage of the publicity and buzz that surround the announcements they make at these large shows. Hundreds of live bloggers and maybe hundreds of thousands of consumers watching live? You can’t buy that kind of publicity.

If Apple keeps going down this path, they will become like Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory, with wonderful toys rolling out of the factory but out of touch with the consumer, or at least the consumer feeling out of touch with them. You have to wonder just how long the toys will stay wonderful if that happens.

Tuesday Apple introduced a refreshed line of notebook computers, with new versions of their 13 inch MacBook and 15 inch MacBook Pro. Alas, the 17 inch MacBook Pro only got a few tweaks and didn’t get the full overhaul it’s smaller counterparts did. Apparently the 17 inch version is coming but it had some final design problems and will not be available until early next year.

The new MacBooks incorporate some of the features of the MacBook Air and some of the look of the desktop iMacs. I like the new look and keyboard format, but it is some of the new features and technology that make these worthy of coveting:

• New glass trackpad- The trackpad below the keyboard is now larger, has a smooth glass surface and no “button” as in previous designs. It incorporates iPhone-like technology that allows the user to “click” the screen with just a tap once they move the cursor to the intended spot. It also recognized the two fingered “pinch and rotate” movements, three fingered “slide” for scrolling (you use two on the current MacBook trackpads) and four fingered Exposé and app switching response. Once you get used to using that I can see it being very efficient… I might even lose the bluetooth mouse I bring with me when I need to do any serious work on the road were I to get one.
• New backlit LED display- The screen looks very much like the latest iMacs, with a black border and a glass surface. According to the specs it’s 30% more energy efficient than the previous MacBook display technlogies, and has an “instant on” feature and brighter, more intense colors.
• Upgraded, more powerful graphics- Apple teamed up with NVIDIA to feature their new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processors in the MacBook. The 9400M is an advanced new 3D integrated graphics processor that features 16 parallel processing cores and delivers up to five times the 3D graphics performance as previous MacBooks. The Macbook Pro goes one step further. It has a completely new design in chips with an NVIDIA CPU-supporting chipset and graphics processor on one die… the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT. This groundbreaking new technology allows MacBook Pro users to switch between the 5 hour battery rated, 16 core 9400M integrated processor and the 4 hour rated, 32 core 9400M GT discrete processor for more graphics power and performance. Users can switch by logging out and then back in using the other processor. I’m not sure how much real world difference the different processors make but you can never be too rich, too thin or have too much computer processing power.

The new MacBooks are made with a new design incorporating a more rigid, unibody aluminum case that provides more stability and also has pleasing rounded corners and less screws holding it all together. There are other cool features like new mini-DVI ports, side mounted battery charge indicator, the new keyboard design, a magnetic latch instead of the hooks/button design, etc.

One bummer is no blu-ray drive. I guess that doesn’t surprise me, because no mainstream computers right now have blu-ray. I just thought since Apple is part of the group of companies on the Blu-Ray board, they might be the groundbreakers. Definitely not, according to Steve Jobs:

“Blu-ray is a bag of hurt. I don’t mean from the consumer point of view. It’s great to watch movies, but the licensing is so complex. We’re waiting until things settle down, and waiting until Blu-ray takes off before we burden our customers with the cost of licensing.”

Sigh. I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer until I can watch my blu-ray discs when I’m traveling on my laptop.

I’ll also have to wait a little longer before I trade up my 17″ MacBook Pro to one of these new ones. I like the big screen but honestly the size is a pain sometimes, especially when the &%$^& person in the seat in front of me leans all the way back after takeoff and stays that way the entire flight. Still, I’d rather keep with the larger screen, and the “refresh” of the 17″ model is little more than a mid-life revamp. Not enough new there to entice me to trade up until they come out with the fully redesigned 17″ model sometime next year.

The price tag gives me more than a little pause as well.

Overall a good direction and advancement for the MacBook line. I will be interested in seeing if I can test drive one and gauge it’s usability for PhotoShop work.

To upgrade or not to upgrade…actually there is no question at all. The easy answer, IMO anyway, is a big NO.

That’s saying a lot coming from me, a guy who is always itching to get the latest and greatest in cool gadgets. I bought the original iPhone on the day it was released. I will not be getting this upgrade, which is being released tomorrow… in case you haven’t heard.

Why not? The cost of the new iPhone is half what they were when it debuted last year in June, and they are offering to cancel the previous contract agreement for first gen iPhone users and give them the subsidized price with a new agreement. The new 3G technology in it boasts much faster web surfing/mail downloads and it now has a built in real GPS for real time navigation and map features. The new software will allow for 3rd party applications to be downloaded and to run on the iPhone… which promises a lot of useful programs and cool stuff that will make the iPhone more productive and fun. So what’s the problem?

In short, not worth it. Not enough new and in the long run it’s much more expensive in terms of your phone plan.

Yes, the 16GB 3G iPhone is only $299.00, but the data plan for the new phone rises from $20 a month for unlimited internet to $30 a month. That’s an extra $120 a year for the same service, albeit faster IF you are in a 3G area. However, AT&T also quietly eliminated the included 200 SMS text messages a month that was previously included in all the different iPhone plans. Getting that back will cost another $5 per month, for a whopping $180 a year increase in service costs, $360 more over the two year term. You will pay more than 100% of what the iPhone itself costs in extra charges over the two years of your commitment (if you use text messaging).

Couple that with the fact that there is very little in the way of functionality changes specific to the 3G, and that extra $$ is way too much to upgrade. Most of the new software, at least that which doesn’t need the true GPS to function, will also be available and usable on the first gen iPhone which receives the same updated OS and third party compatibility. The new 3G has the same awful 2 mega-pixel camera, the same sized screen, the same basic form and function. No addition of MMS image text messaging, cut and paste,  instant messaging or voice dialing… all glaring shortcomings of the iPhone. There is not a lot of new and shiny here. I just read one review of the 3G that claims the GPS antennae in the new iPhone is too small to give you true real time turn-by-turn map directions. That’s a key selling point gone for me.

In fact, the only other really substantial change outside of the 3G connection and the GPS? A non-recessed headphone jack so any headphones can be used without an adapter. BTW, I hope the moron at Apple who’s idea it was to recess that jack so non-apple headphones would need an adapter is bagging groceries for a living somewhere in out-state Nebraska right now.

Nope, this is one to skip. If Apple is smart they are already hard at work on iPhone 3.0, and it will be a more substantial advance in technology. Better camera, easier to access contact list, voice dialing, more memory capacity and horizontal-capable text and e-mail keyboards would be welcome. I’ll wait for that one. My iPhone 1.0 is still doing the job admirably.

One thing I never really thought much about as far as my computer equipment goes is my keyboard… and what would I? Keyboards are pretty much the same all over, and there’s been little innovation with them since computers became a big part of everyday life. What little innovation they’ve seen has been in the ergonomic department (remember those weird curved keyboards with the keys separated into two sections?) and in adding all sorts of remote function or macro buttons like “one touch” email, play controls for your DVD drive, etc. Despite the fact that keyboards are used everyday and for some all day every day, the basic QWERTY keyboard hasn’t changed much since day one.

One thing I got used to back when I had a PC was a wireless keyboard and mouse. They required a USB transmitter about the size of a playing card and then I could move my keyboard and mouse about with nothing getting tangled up or in my way. That seems simple but when you are trying to use a Wacom tablet or Cintiq and do illustration on the computer, and you have references and sketches all over the working surfaces of your desktop, the freedom from wires becomes well appreciated.

One of the first things I got when I switched to the Mac was a bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse. My Mac Pro had an added bluetooth module and using the keyboard and mouse with it was a snap. At that time the Mac keyboard was a clear and white plastic monstrosity and the wireless version much the same. Worked well.

Recently Apple redesigned their keyboards from the traditional spring key format to a slim, low profile design that was more like oversized buttons on a calculator than those of a keyboard. The new technology allowed Apple to make these ultra slim and narrow keyboard not just for their line of notebook computers, but also as the main keyboards for all their computers. They looked pretty odd and flimsy to me, and with my big, plastic wireless one working fine, I was in no hurry to replace it. Then The Lovely Anna got an iMac and she needed a wireless keyboard due to the drawer setup it resided in. She didn’t like the new type keyboard, so I gave her mine and I went out and got one of the new bluetooth ones from the Apple Store.

At first I didn’t like it much. I took it out of the box and was somewhat shocked by the size. It was tiny… I mean really small. Almost too flimsy and insubstantial. It was not just the thinness and low profile, but it seemed half the width of my old keyboard. The tactile response of the keys was much less than a normal keyboard. It had an odd feel… like I was trying to type on the surface of my desk. When I started testing it out, I realized why it seemed so weirdly narrow in width… it was missing a lot of keys. No number pad, no second “delete” key (the one that really deletes and is not the “backspace” key), no “Home”, “Page” or “End” keys.

I figured I must have gotten the wrong thing… this is some kind of portable keyboard to use with a laptop or for people who need something to travel with. After all the same style keyboard that you get with a cord has all those keys that this one is missing. There must be a full sized wireless version and I grabbed the wrong thing. I went back to the Apple Store and asked about it. Nope. This is it. Apparently Apple decided that if a customer wanted a wireless keyboard they for some reason wouldn’t need a full featured one, some they made a truncated version instead. I kept the keyboard but left shaking my head. For $79 (I’m pretty sure I paid $99 for it around the holidays) I would thing they could spring for a few more keys.

I’ve been using the new keyboard all winter, and can’t say I recommend it. I have gotten used to it, but still miss those AWOL keys… especially the “delete” button, which I used a lot doing spreadsheets and which the backspace key is no substitute. On the other hand, it is so small I can easily find room for it even when I’ve got a desktop full of reference pictures. One thing I did find somewhat useful was that it makes for a good remote control when I am at the drawing board and might be listening to iTunes on my Mac 10 feet away. It’s also smart enough to recognize when it’s not in use and goes into sleep mode to conserve battery life.

Apple is a company that puts a lot of time and thought into how their products look. All things Apple are pretty and most of the time they combine form and function well, but sometimes Apple puts aesthetics ahead of functionality, which is counterproductive. This keyboard is one of those misfires.

Last week in San Fransisco Apple held it’s annual übergeekfest, the Macworld Conference and Expo. Macheads slobber and salivate for months leading up to this show, speculating about what new geeky goodness Steve Jobs will announce is about to hit the market (and consumer wallets) that year. Third party vendors who make Mac compatible hardware and software products also show off their newest innovations at the expo. Usually there is a dearth of new toys and gadgets, many of which are super high on the “tech envy” meter.

That’s all fine and well, but how many of these new toys are ready for the real world… that being the one outside the techie, geek and ‘early adopter’ realm? After reading up on what was the hottest buzz in the show last week, here are some of the new toys either already here or coming soon that might or might not be on my shortlist… and why:

The Macbook Air

This super-light, super-slim notebook computer was the worst kept secret of the show. Everyone knew it was coming, but Apple still had some surprises despite the spoilers. It is unbelievably thin and light, comes with either a traditional hard drive or a flash-based drive, has a flip open port with USB and mini-DVI monitor connectors and a full iSight camera. No DVD drive, but Apple has a slim add on for $99, or you can use special software to commandeer the DVD drive of a willing computer nearby over a wifi network. Using this wifi drive sharing, you can load software onto the Macbook Air just like it was connected to the notebook albeit limited to the speed of the wifi connection.

I guess I can understand the appeal of having such a thin, light notebook if you are a traveling businessman needing to do writing, e-mail, spreadsheets, internet and other basic computer work when on the road. Personally a few extra pounds in my shoulder bag is worth having an uncompromised, full service notebook like a MacBook Pro on hand. This notebook offers nothing you cannot already get for less money via a standard Macbook… ifn fact other than the light weight and thin form factor, the Macbook Air offers less in terms of flexibility, hard drive size and computing power than a MacBook. If your shoulder can’t handle a bag with a 7 lb notebook in it, then get up off your ass from in front of your monitor and go to the gym once or twice a week.

The appeal here is simply the portability and nothing else. If I spent ages on airplanes flying coach and didn’t need desktop level computing power and features, I would consider one as it is a little tight with a regular notebook (especially my monster 17″ Macbook Pro) in those seats… particularly when the passenger in the seat in front of you jams his seat back as far as possible from takeoff to touchdown, which for me is every single *$#@& time. Weirdly, the Macbook Air does one major disservice to the very road warriors it is catering to… it does not have a user replaceable battery. You can get the battery replaced via an Apple service center, but that means you cannot bring a second battery along on the really long roadtrips where AC access is limited.

This definitely is not for me. (more…)