Media hurdles on the iPad

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UK just lost to Connecticut in the Final Four so I’m cranky anyway, but one thing I’m really starting to find annoying is media limitations on my iPad. Grooveshark has a snazzy new HTML 5 interface, but they still require Flash for the music player. No Grooveshark app exists for either the iPhone or iPad in the App Store, so no Grooveshark for me on my iPad.

When I go to watch Hulu Plus on my iPad, several shows are marked as Web Only. When I saw this while watching on my PS3, I rationalized it’s because greedy companies want me buying cable to watch their shows on a big television screen–which ain’t gonna happen. But when I get the same Web Only bullshit on my <10 inch iPad screen, I have to wonder what the reasoning is. They let me watch Project Runway on my larger MacBook screen, but the smaller iPad isn’t allowed? Dumb and inconsistent.

I wanted to listen to Dance Yrself Clean by LCD Soundsystem while simultaneously surfing the ‘net, but I can’t let the YouTube video play in the background because it stops playback when I switch applications. Can’t play the song in Grooveshark because of the aforementioned lack of iOS support. Can’t play the video in Safari while doing something in another app because it either forces me into the YouTube app or the embedded video stops playing when I switch apps.

So I look into buying the song. The iTunes store has it, but I can only buy it by buying the whole album. So I figure I’ll check Amazon MP3. They definitely have it, but they don’t support MP3 downloads right on my iPad and there’s no Amazon MP3 app. So basically, I can’t buy a particular song I want right on my iPad, nor can I even listen to it if I want to, say, check my email while doing so.

These companies just shoot themselves in the foot by placing hurdles for me to jump through to buy their shit. I’m practically waving dollars at them, saying “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY”, but because the RIAA, Apple, Amazon, or all three are greedy and short-sighted, they lose a sale. I ain’t buying the whole album, I don’t want the whole album. Sell me a single song, on my device, for <$1, and you'll get that sale and many future ones from me.

Got my iPad 2

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I got my iPad 2 in! I’m using it now, to type this entry, and it’s going pretty well. I took notes in compilers this morning using Upad, which allows me to type as well as draw in the same document. It went pretty well, though I found a few annoyances that I’ll have to note in a review. We’ll see how it goes in models of computation, where I use a lot of mathematical symbols and figures; I bet the drawing capabilities will be very useful there. In compilers, I mostly found myself writing text.

I just got my iPad yesterday after having ordered it online the day they became available. I had a good time organizing everything just so last night, loading it with apps and music, because I’m nerdy like that. I’ll post in the coming weeks about what I most use it for, how I like it, which apps I like best, etc. I can’t wait to take it to my parents’ house and let them try it. My dad fell in love with World of Goo on my Wii, and I bought the game again for my iPad because it seemed like it would be an even better UI fit for the game. I played just a few minutes last night, but it felt awesome chucking around my little goo balls by hand instead of via a mouse or a Wiimote. I also got the free Angry Birds Rio because the original is the only game I’ve been able to get my mom into. I think she’ll enjoy the larger screen the iPad provides.

Getting used to the on-screen keyboard has taken some practice, but it’s going better now than I expected. My typing seems pretty fast, but I’m not as accurate. The autocorrect seems pretty intelligent, which is a big help. I’m really not interested in a Bluetooth keyboard because that honestly seems to defeat the point of having a tablet, which to me means simplicity and not having a lot of extra attachments. One accessory I might get though is a stylus, for faster writing and drawing. Writing by finger is okay in Penultimate and Upad, but it’s just more comfortable to write with a pen.

I charged it this morning and after about an hour and a half, I’m at 90% power. I’ve been running at a fairly low brightness and no sounds since I’ve been in class, but wifi is on. I played on it for several hours last night and had no problem with the battery.

The speaker placement confuses me somewhat. It’s on the bottom right corner and no matter if I’m in portrait or landscape mode, it’s at the bottom and against my leg. Seems like it would be better to have it up top, so the sound wouldn’t be as muffled.

My plans for the iPad are for it to be mostly an Internet-surfing toy, something more comfortable and lightweight than my MacBook. I wanted access to all the iOS apps, and I wanted a bigger screen than my iPhone’s.