iBad or iGood

I have some issues with my mp3-player. I had considered getting an mp3 player for years but never really managed to buy one. I spend a lot of time walking around humming a song in my head and sometimes it's not even any song that I like so I might as well really listen to music. Well, recently an mp3 player was "left over" so it was given to me. It's so big it doesn't fit into a pocket, almost no computer recognizes it so songs can't be added, and it has a playlist function where songs can't be rearranged, deleted or added. If you didn't already guess, I'm talking about my iPod Touch.

It looks good, and it can be used as an instant Google device but it's without 3G so it only works in wireless Internet areas. The issues I have with iPod are so big that they almost make it worthy of a dumpster if it wasn't so expensive. First of all, what annoys me the most is that it has nearly zero connectivity to any other device. It has plenty of space on it but it can't be used as a memory stick because no computer recognizes it. Imagine an mp3 player which doesn't allow songs to be added... Okay, for the sake of fairness, it connects to Erkki's computer but even there it can take an hour or more to simply upload one song, and the procedure is so complicated that I've only managed to do it once (actually I watched and pointed at a folder and Erkki did all the impossible technical stuff). There's also Dropbox program but I'm still testing if it's useful to me. Theoretically iTunes is supposed to be used for adding songs to this impossibly annoying but pretty device but Apple is like a stupid American hippie, "Ummm... Estooonia... is that a country?" so iTunes doesn't work here.

Another problem are the playlists. With this much processing power, I'd expect iPod to have a really good program for listening to songs but it doesn't even come close to the ancient lightweight freeware Winamp. For one, iPod has nonfunctional playlists function, which is the only reason to make an mp3 player that big in the first place. I have very humble expectations for this level of technology - I would like to create new playlists, add songs, put songs in specific order, see information about the songs, remove songs or even delete completely, make another playlist, and perhaps I'd also like to easily make a third playlist that includes songs from the first two playlists. That's not much to ask for, is it? But noooooooo... The technological wonder allows me to make one on-the-go playlist and for that I have to add all songs manually while not being able to hear the songs I'm adding, then I get to delete the songs I don't like - one by one. I would MAYBE do it if I could have several playlists for different kinds of music, but currently I just listen to all my songs in random order and cringe and reach for iPod every time I get one of the children's songs I added for Siiri's sake. Theoretically I could "sync" it to Erkki's computer and then figure out how to make proper Apple playlists there but I'm really reluctant to make so much effort for something that ought to take a few minutes with working software. There must be an Application for this, why didn't I think of it sooner?

Anyway, I have a love-hate relationship with my iPod. I love it when I need to kill some time in a place with decent wireless network and I've realized I love listening to songs while I walk, but I have learned to hate some fundamental things about Apple's approach.

And that is why I have truly mixed feelings about the coolest popular gadget in human history - iPad. At last there is a simple device for reading electronic books, surfing the net, watching video clips, listening to music, playing games and it has a touch screen. How cool is that! It looks good, it works well and it's the best buy we've had in the last years. The last time any piece of technology changed our lives so much was when we upgraded from an old flickering CRT television to a 37' widescreen HD-ready LCD. I feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about the first couple of weeks. With iPad the change came more slowly - as we constantly find new uses for it, the demand for it increases. It rarely sits idly and even Siiri is very proficient at using it, especially for being an illiterate 1,5 year old. She can turn it on, open and close applications, put on music, select songs, change volume, finger paint, find images, scroll and zoom images and apparently delete Erkki's entire eBook collection. Fortunately Erkki had all the books backed up but it did take some time to restore them to iPad.

In the evenings me and Erkki read our seperate books. Erkki reads from iPad and I read whatever I can get my hands on, but sometimes I'd like to read a computer document and then we have too few iPads. It would also be very convenient to be able to claim a tablet computer as my very own and use it during lectures. I couldn't let other people casually play around with it if I have important files there so it would be best to claim it as a personal tool. It could also be useful for viewing my work-related Excel charts and showing them the my supervisor without printing anything out. Erkki himself has said that we need another iPad and he is right, but (and it's a HUGE "but") I'm not willing to give any more money to a company with such control issues. It's none of Apple's damn business which computer I connect MY gadget to. I won't buy a pretty toy which doesn't even have a file browser. Maybe I'm old-fashioned when it comes to file management but removing access to files in iPad and iPod has effectively reduced their usefulness by 50% in my opinion. I always thought Apple is user-friendly but after the first hour of getting used to the system, PC beats Apple gadgets in usability.

Now I'm eagerly looking for iPad alternatives and I've read several news articles of developments in that area. There is one that I'm really looking forward to: Notion Ink Adam Tablet PC. It's coming out in December and I'm so excited about it. Its screen is slightly bigger with better resolution compared to iPad, it is claimed to have BETTER battery life (up to 2x-3x longer), it's thinner, with touch screen and it has 3 USB ports!!! It even has a file manager... There must be some catch, aside from not running on Windows 7, and I want to know what it is. I won't buy it until I've read some decent user reviews how it performs in everyday use.

Anyone planning to buy an iPad - go ahead, it really is an extraordinary device.

Decision Made

Regarding my chance to go to Spain (see previous post), I've reached a decision. I'm not going. I kept making up new reasons why I should or should not go. I had several concerns. I was afraid I might pass up on a wonderful opportunity because of fear that I could end up homesick in a foreign country. I was afraid that Siiri will stop trusting me - currently she gladly waves goodbye when I leave home because she trusts that I will come back at the end of the day. If I go away for a month I could shatter that trust and not regain it for a long time, or never. I was afraid such travels will get increasingly difficult to organize if I have more children and then I'll regret it later. I felt guilty that so many people would have to make extra effort for my sake because I'm not around to decide Siiri's food, bathing, clothing, etc. Erkki wouldn't be able to have an active social life if he has to get someone to keep an eye on Siiri every time. Currently we mostly take turns for late night events.

I kept jumping for one reason to another while none of them were convincing enough to make a decision based on that. Then I thought, what if it was reversed? What if Erkki came home one day and said, "I have a job opportunity to spend a month in Spain. I would learn new things, but if I don't go, then I will be able to learn them later from whoever goes in stead. My career doesn't depend on it. It would make little difference on my CV. I don't have to go... but... It would be fun! Sure you'll have to take care of Siiri, and I'll THINK of you guys. But imagine, I could have my lunch under a palm tree, I could party with people I don't even know yet, I could spend time in Spain surrounded by warm and friendly people. I bet I would have a great time!". I thought about it and I was immediately convinced I would consider him selfish if he proposed something like this. I thought, what do you mean you want to spend a month apart? And I'd do all the hard work while you're enjoying yourself? I couldn't realistically imagine him asking something so selfish from me. I realized he would probably have said no without even considering it for more than a few minutes. He might have thought, "I can't do that to Kristiina. It's not fair.". And that's when I decided it would be fun to go, but it would be unfair to Erkki and Siiri and even to the nanny and Siiri's grandparents for expecting then to make extra effort while I'm in sunny Spain.

Actually if Erkki had a chance like this, I wouldn't tell him not to go because all of us have only one life and chances like this shouldn't be passed for little reason.

I'm sure I'll have many chances to regret it but there is one thing to remember: I travel a lot. While many people only go abroad a couple of times during their life, I've been to England, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Egypt and USA in the last few years and during my entire life, I've visited almost all European countries, plus USA and Egypt. There is no way that I will suddenly stop traveling and I shouldn't feel sad that I missed one trip. Perhaps I'll go to Spain in 10 years with Siiri and I'll even visit the countryside instead of living in a big city for a whole month without a car or a driver's licence.

Tough Decision

Today my boss came to my desk and asked enthusiastically, "Would you like to go to Spain?". My first thought - WOOOHOOOOOO!!!! WIN! It's a scientific project to study a method and to do experiments. Certainly no easy task and it can't really be done in a hurry. Now here's the catch: it would last a month.

What's a month, really? It's just 30 days of blogging daily and having as much fun as possible so that I have something to blog about. That really is a good way to make sure I spend every day to it's fullest. I learned that when I went to San Diego two years ago for 6 weeks just before Christmas ( my San Diego travelogue); I barely made it back for Christmas Eve. It was just so cool. It was the best trip I've ever had and it was an experience that I remember very fondly. San Diego is an amazing place and I've never seen another place like it. Most similar is Los Angeles which I also visited when I was staying in San Diego.

Erkki will be okay, I'm sure. He'd have both xBox and iPad all to himself. He'd miss me and I'd miss him but one month just comes and goes. I have his support, either I decide to go or not, even though I'm sure he's really hoping that I stay.

But it's Spain! S P A I N! It's not like my supervisor is trying to send me to Lapland in the middle of winter. I'd be going to a warm place with palm trees.

I got the suggestion today (Friday) and I have to decide by Monday. I was quite confused with all my options and pluses and minuses and then I arrived home after being away for 8 hours. As I unlocked the door with my keys, I already heard a gleeful shriek from the apartment. I opened the door and Siiri was running towards me, her smile as wide as her face. She had abandoned all her toys the moment she heard me unlocking the door. I greeted her with hugs and felt sorrow.

Now I just don't know. I have a couple more days to decide. I'm sure I could work out the technicalities so that someone takes care of Siiri. It actually made me feel good about my importance when I realized that it would require a lot of extra effort from 4 people if I decide to go. Sadly, none of those people will replace "mommy" for Siiri. One moment I'm thinking, "I shouldn't go! Think how sad Siiri would otherwise be!" and an hour later I think "Of course I should go! If I have more children, such travels will be even harder if I have more sad children at home waiting for me.". I'm just bouncing between my options.

Of course I would miss Siiri and Erkki both. I'd talk with them on web cam as if everything is peachy and then go to sleep feeling very lonely and sad. But I'd also see wonderful new things, I'd meet new people, I'd experience completely new things. It would be an experience that makes my life more real, and myself more alive in it. It's a chance that I shouldn't pass up. My head is about to explode. ...I'll let you know what I decide.

I tried to finish up some important things in the lab but everything got tangled again and it still needs more work. I've been feeling spectacularly demotivated by it. I even took a couple of days off to spend with Siiri and found that we're both happier if I also work. I don't think the positive effect would be greater if I stay away for a whole month in stead of 8 hours.