IPad2

This December, I want to gift myself with a very expensive and useful one - IPad2. I love its features and I know for certain that the price of Apple will marked down to its original price so I am looking forward to it..

Review: The iPad 2

by Jason Snell, Macworld.com 

The new iPad 2.

A year ago, nobody had an iPad. Then Apple sold 15 million of them in just nine months, creating a whole new category of technology product. The iPad may have become, in the words of Steve Jobs, “the most successful consumer product ever launched.”
It turns out that a lot of people saw the iPad’s appeal: it’s a supremely portable device that’s well suited for checking your e-mail, surfing the Web, playing games, reading books and other stuff you get off the Internet, and even for getting work done. Kids and the elderly have embraced it.
It’s awfully hard to follow such a massive success, but that’s the task set out for Apple’s new iPad 2, which goes on sale Friday. At least the iPad 2 has this going for it: the original model caught the technology industry so flat-footed that only now are true competitors beginning to appear.
Those competitors will now face a new iteration of the iPad, one that’s faster, smaller, and lighter than the model introduced a year ago—all while retaining the $499 entry price that has proven all but impossible for Apple’s competitors to match. It’s almost unfair.

A game of inches (and ounces)

Call it Jobs’s Law if you like: The latest version of any Apple product is likely to be thinner and lighter than its predecessor. And so it is with the iPad 2. The size difference between the original iPad and the iPad 2 may seem slight, but that’s only because we’re dealing with such small products to begin with. But for products this small, every ounce and fraction of an inch counts.
The iPad 2 measures 7.31 by 9.5 by 0.34 inches, and weighs in at 1.33 pounds (in the case of the Wi-Fi-only version, that is—the AT&T and Verizon 3G versions are .01 and .02 pound heavier). That means Apple shaved .17 pound off the Wi-Fi version and .26 to .27 pound off the 3G version. The iPad 2 is also .16 inch narrower, .06 inch shorter, and .16 inch thinner than the original iPad.
A matter of small degrees, to be sure, until you consider the percentage change: the iPad 2 is roughly two-thirds the thickness of the original iPad, and 88 percent of its weight (83 percent when comparing 3G models). Pick up an iPad 2 after handling an original iPad, and you’ll notice the difference right away. This is a lighter, thinner device.

The iPad 2's back is a single curved surface. The sleep/wake button (left) is perched on the curve. Also pictured here: the rear-facing camera and the orientation/mute switch.

In order to shave off that .16 inch of thickness, Apple has transformed the anodized aluminum back panel of the iPad. The original model’s back panel was a frame with four flat edges and a gently curved back surface. The iPad 2 eschews the frame, opting for a single surface that much more rapidly transitions from curve to flat. (This has the effect of making the iPad 2 much less wobbly than the original when laid on a flat surface.)
Without those edges, the iPad 2’s ports and buttons are now positioned on a curving portion of the back panel, rather than on its side. The feel is quite different, a bit like reverting the flat surfaces of the iPhone 4 to the curved back of an iPhone 3G. A few times I found myself struggling to insert cables into the iPad 2’s dock connector at the proper angle because I was confused by the curve of the back panel.
The end result of all this slimming down is that the iPad 2 is easier to handle than the original model. In my review of the original iPad, I said it was “heavy enough and slippery enough that I found it difficult to hold in one hand.” In fact, the original iPad turned out to be a product that really demanded a case of some sort, just to make it easier to handle.
The iPad 2 is easier to carry with one hand, and the decreased weight makes it easier to hold for longer periods of time. But if you’re planning on using the iPad 2 to read a lot, you’ll still find yourself propping it against your chest or setting it on a table—the tablet is still not light enough to hold in one hand for extended periods of time. (For that, you’ll need something more on the scale of the Amazon Kindle 3, which is less than half the weight of the iPad 2.)

I hope by next year, I already have this gadget!

Leadership

"The leader is best,

When people are hardly aware of his existence,

Not so good when people praise his government,

Less good when people stand in fear,

Worst, when people are contemptuous.

Fail to honor people, and they will fail to honor you.

But of a good leader, who speaks little,

When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,

The people say, 'We did it ourselves.'"

~ Lao Tzu

100th Birthday Celebration of our National Hero

As we commemorate the birth of our National Hero, let us not forget the adversity our heroes had done for us just to save our independence from invaders.

One hundred years has passed but the memories of Dr. Jose Rizal and our heroes are still alive up to this century. We can see a lot of inside stories from books, historical things, to school, television, newspapers, magazines and even internet and blogs about our National Hero and heroes but just a shout out to all citizens – let’s try to bring into action all the qualities he reminded us of and the importance of being a Filipino. By blood, we are one of the generations he hopes to continue what he started and to helped this country for. He is like a father, he has some wishes for us and knocked on wood to come true. Blood is thicker than water as they may say.

These days, we are in a difficult situation. Heinous crimes and corruption are rampant. Negative news and articles are seen on the side of the street. Families broken and relationships are blotted out. People are taking advantage of the kindness others are giving. They don’t mind if they stepped on other’s life as long as they are guaranteed by their own welfare. People in the government are aware but tend to be deaf and blind.

What’s going on now?

Are they aware?

Of course, they see what’s going on in our country but because they don’t have any idea of our whereabouts and cries so they won’t really understand and won’t feel anything. Some are helping but pretending to be good to the eyes of the commoners, hiding their faces with masks which falsify their own identities and motives. They travel to different places in the Philippines to proclaim their intentions but did all of their promises happen? Neither one of which they say can’t be seen to this day. Promises of false hopes and dreams have been said but didn’t come into reality.

As a Filipino, we need to loosen our grip from being ignorant of what is happening around us and focus on something that will be beneficial to people. Let us help one another to make this country progressive. Let’s follow the footsteps of Dr. Jose Rizal to nourish the good things and improve our lives.

Probably, if he could come down, for sure he would nag us out of our system and punish us because we are not doing right. Same with our Lord. If only I could see him, one thing I’m going to ask:

How could you be so perfect to fight what is right that all people listen and respect you and when we do just petty things for the country, why would they won’t care and listen?

May we reflect on this as we walk through our journey in this chaotic home we live in.

He is our hero. happy Father's Day.

Taking Chances

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

~ Mark Twain