Ray's Rants

So, with all the hype surrounding the release of the ‘New iPad’ (no new name apparently), you may be wondering if you should take the plunge or stick with your old iPad 2. Here’s my view:

First off, if you don’t own an iPad, or have the original version, I’d go for it. It’s certainly a fine piece of technology and a vast upgrade over the iPad 1.

On the other hand, I don’t see the new unit being worth purchasing if you’ve already invested in an iPad 2 — unless you require it for testing purposes as we who develop for the iOS platform do. The improvements to the screen are very nice; but most people won’t really miss them should they just retain their iPad 2.

Camera improvements? Who really uses the camera on the iPad anyway? The only time I do is for video conferencing; and I am not as concerned about resolution as I am in performance, which would be decreased should hi-rez be utilized in FaceTime. The front-facing camera hasn’t been improved anyway; so that’s a non-issue.

The faster chip is nice… but most people wouldn’t miss it unless they had the units side-by-side to compare. For the majority of applications people use, the impact is going to be next to diddly-squat.

LTE? Well that’s great in theory; however, wireless network speeds in Canada at least are poor and inconsistent. Beyond that, associated data plans are ridiculously expensive; and most people use their iPads on Wifi as a result. So, again, not a big deal.

I really feel that subsequent to Steve Jobs’ death, Apple has delivered two lacklustre products in a row with the iPhone 4s and the ‘New iPad’. Siri? Really? That was available on the app store before Apple acquired the company that designed it. Sure they improved the product; but does an app justify a purchase decision for a new phone?

The improved camera on the iPhone 4s is certainly a better fit, given the number of people who use it on that platform… but is it enough to warrant an upgrade? If you had to expend $800 for a new phone (as I do, given my refusal to be locked into contracts thanks very much) would you consider that a worthwhile investment, given the minor improvements the 4s represents? I don’t, and will be waiting for the iPhone 5, which will hopefully bring a lot more in terms of innovation to the table.

I don’t expect incremental improvement from you Apple; that’s not what I pay a premium price for. I want revolutionary, not evolutionary. It’s what people expect of you… please deliver.

So today I pushed a button out of habit (Sirius has changed all their channel numbers from those I had programmed in on my car sat radio) trying to tune in CBC on Sirius. I landed on a channel where three women were engaged in a live discussion about sticking a variety of objects up their butts… WHILE they were occupied in this activity. They even had a segment where they tried to guess what had just been inserted in their posterior.

If this is what passes for entertainment now, I seriously want to fill out whatever application needs to be filed to apply for membership in another species.

“Pastor” Mike Stahl recently posted on his (now ‘by invitation only’) blog that he was thinking about creating a national atheist registry in order, I suppose, that folks would be able to protect themselves from Satan’s evil minions on earth by being aware of their neighbour’s near-criminal lack of belief in god.

Says Mr. Stahl (verbatim):

Now, many (especially the atheists), may ask “Why do this, what’s the purpose?”Duhhh, Mr. Atheist for the same purpose many States put the names and photos of convicted sex offenders and other ex-felons on the I-Net – to INFORM the public! I mean, in the City of Miramar, Florida, where I live, the population is approx. 109,000. My family and I would sure like to know how many of those 109,000 areADMITTED atheists! Perhaps we may actually know some. In which case we could begin to witness to them and warn them of the dangers of atheism. Or perhaps they are radical atheists, whose hearts are as hard as Pharaoh’s, in that case, if they are business owners, we would encourage all our Christian friends, as well as the various churches and their congregations NOT to patronize them as we would only be “feeding” Satan.

Frankly, I don’t see why anyone would oppose this idea – including the atheists themselves (unless of course, they’re actually ashamed of their atheist religion, and would prefer to stay in the ‘closet.’).

So, apparently atheists are pretty much the same as sex offenders, criminals, and devil worshipers — and need to be kept track of to limit their exposure to decent folk. Well, sign me up Mike! I am quite happy to be put on a list that demonstrates clear opposition to such a twisted world view as you seem to possess, by way of my inclusion.

I’d really love to understand how the simple non-belief in a supreme being merits such suspicion and disdain. Would pastor Mike also care to put me on a list stating I didn’t believe (despite the movie providing obvious evidence to the contrary) in Thor? I mean, come on — he’s got that funky hat and cool hammer after all… How can you not sign up to worship someone who controls the elements and once lived in city only reached by crossing a rainbow bridge? You’d think at least the gay community would be following him in droves — oh but they’re evil too… I forgot.

Frankly I don’t much care about what people use to help them get through the day and deny their own mortality. And hey, if you want to whisper to imaginary beings in hopes of gaining favour in the imaginary afterlife, fill your boots. However, I do care when I see crackpots such as pastor Mike are becoming more representative of the normal spectrum of voters particular to the United States. Any country that has a presidential debate solely on the issue of Christianity, and where the greatest smear campaign against the front-runner was to suggest he was a ‘secret muslim’, has a serious credibility deficit among the thoughtful of other nations in terms of that country’s espoused belief in freedom of religion — guaranteed by a constitution additionally seen as holy writ by its purported adherents.

Freedom of religion is fine… freedom from religion is the loftier goal, and one well worthy of pursuing.

Well, I deleted all my previous postings and decided to start fresh here in Nanaimo. British Columbia is beautiful — the people are warm and friendly, and hopefully I’ll have less cause for complaint as a result.