Hi everyone. I have been terribly remiss in blogging. For this, I apologize. I also apologize that there hasn’t been a new Weekly Podcast Show in like two months. We’ve been busy.
Did you know that next friday, June 25th, is the 1600th Freaks N Squeeks? Cool, huh? I think I’m going to take the week after that off from the strip. I’ve got some other things cooking at the moment. If you are dying to do a guest strip, email marv (at) freaksnsqueeks (dot) com.
I hope everyone is having a good summer! I know I am!
Posted by marvelous patric on June 18, 2010 and filed under: comic, random post! : No Comments
Here it is! My iPad review. I have now spent two whole weeks with it. The short is I love it. The long is the rest of this entry. For a more condensed review, check out the Weekly Podcast Show #12.
The OS
So let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. Yes, it runs the iPhone OS. But, I would wager it does it better. Multi-touch on an area large enough for actual multiple points of touching is awesome. The OS impressed me after I got to thinking about it a bit more. This OS is snappy and efficient. The iPad runs a chip at one gigahertz with 256 mb of RAM. These are specs for a computer from a decade ago, yet the iPad is fast. Very fast. I don’t wait for anything. I think this harkens back to Woz’s original Apple ][e in that it’s about using resources the most efficiently. I actually worry about the multi-tasking in the upcoming 4.0 release of the iPhone OS because I wonder if we’re going to sacrifice some of that speed for a feature I’m not sure I need.
Usage
A lot of people aren’t really sure what the iPad is for. The iPad is for those users who have one computer and need to take something else with them to use briefly. It is an extension of your normal computer rather than a second computer. In the two weeks I’ve had it, I find myself using it for a lot of the tasks I was using my laptop for before and enjoying those tasks a lot more. Wake up and check my email while lounging in bed? iPad. Need to quickly look something up? iPad. Have a few minutes to kill before moving on to a new task? iPad. Basically the only thing my iPad doesn’t do that I use my laptop for is grading papers, and that’s simply because Pages doesn’t offer the commenting feature MS Word does.
For those complaining there aren’t any ports on it, USB or otherwise, save for the dock connector, they clearly don’t get the iPad. What do I need to hook up to this??? If the whole point is a lightweight device that extends your computer experience by syncing materials, why would I want to lug around additional hardware? I have nearly every computer peripheral ever made and I can’t think of one I wish I could hook up directly to my iPad. The point of the iPad is the tiny thing to take with you to fill in. It is not content creation – save for minor word processing documents or email – it is content consumption. And it is that idea which leads us to the apps.
Apps
Let’s face it, no hardware is worth anything without programs to run on it. Yes, nearly all your iPhone apps will work on the iPad and they work really well. But, it’s the native apps we care about. I downloaded a bunch, but not a lot. Here’s what I use and why I use them.
Kindle Yes, Apple has its iBooks for your reading pleasure. And it is pretty nice. But, who are we kidding, Amazon’s Kindle is _the_ ebook reader. With Amazon’s native iPad Kindle app, the iPad is a Kindle. It is now a giant, full-color Kindle. And it costs $100 more than a Kindle. And it does internet. And email. And other apps. My predictions is within 3 years the Kindle device is gone and Amazon and Apple turn iBooks into the Kindle in a mega-partnership.
As for the Kindle app itself, reading is awesome on it. I honestly get no eye strain (iStrain?) from the screen and I’ve had to do a lot of reading on it lately for a Shakespeare class I’m in. E-Ink may be cool, but it’s not ready for primetime.
Comixology / Marvel Comics As long as I’m reading stuff, let’s face it, I’m reading comics on the iPad. Marvel’s App is essentially a special Marvel version of Comixology. I love reading comics on the iPad. It feels so natural. The images are bright and sharp. The text is easy to read. Oh, and a lot of comics are really cheap on the iPad – far cheaper than the dead tree version. Currently, I’m reading Matt Wagner’s Mage series – all of it on Comixology with 180+ pages for 2 bucks. That’s the great thing about Comixology, there aren’t just single issues, but collected volumes as well and usually those are far cheaper than the singles. I find myself finally getting to read a lot of comics I’ve always meant to but haven’t been able to pull the trigger on. All purchases for Comixology / Marvel go through your iTunes account, a feature I wish the Kindle app had.
(I also tried iVerse’s app, but I found it lacking, both in content and interface compared to Comixology.)
Pages I could be using the iPad to write stuff. This is a huge deal. The Pages word processor, while feature slim, is only ten bucks and highly useable. I don’t mind the built in multi-touch keyboard for writing. I’ve been working on some stuff on it, side projects, simply because it’s convenient on the iPad. I did find it amusing that Pages was actually more compatible with MS Word than other versions of Pages. Pages on iPad will only open Pages documents from the latest version of the Mac OS version, but will open nearly any .doc file from MS Word. I found this out when I tried to send a Pages file to my iPad from iWork 08 and it just didn’t open. I’m not really sure what Apple is thinking here. Pages ability to both open and save MS Word documents for only 10 bucks makes it an awesome tool. I do think that if I were typing a longer document I would want to use the bluetooth keyboard option for the iPad simply so I can use the full screen for my document.
The End
All in all, I love my iPad. It does fill a niche I was trying to fill poorly with my iPhone. It is a great device for simple tasks. I haven’t watched much video on it or gamed much on it yet, but that’s simply because those aren’t tasks I usually do on a portable device. The internet use and email functions are perfect. I know the 3G enabled version is coming, but I didn’t see myself needing a third internet bill for the few occasions I needed internet somewhere there wasn’t WiFi and my iPhone wasn’t enough. I imagine if this was your only device, the 3G would be nice, but honestly, I need 3G in my iPad as much as I need it in my laptop. And that’s really the point, I’m not sure I need my laptop anymore. The iPad very well could become portable computing. Anyone that dismisses the iPad is incredibly short-sighted. This is the future. Within 5 years, iPad-like devices will be everywhere and everyone will use them to consume their media.
Posted by marvelous patric on April 17, 2010 and filed under: random post! : No Comments
Can you believe it’s already the second week of the new year? Only like 50 left! Where does the time go? By now, you’ve likely noticed that FNS is back in its 5 a week schedule. Fun Factory will return next week over at GraphicSmash. And school starts tomorrow (for me). I hope everyone else is having an awesome new year so far. 2010 is filled with potential and apprehension for me, but such is life. The exciting new thing for me is that I am in Great Theater’s production of The Producers this winter as Roger Du Bris, better known as “Gay Hitler.” This show is one of my favorites and I’m very excited to be a part of it. I’ll keep y’all posted on when the performances are and hopefully some of you in the St. Cloud MN area can get over to see it!
Also, don’t forget to give a listen to The Weekly Podcast Show! We just did a big salute to the decade that was and this week we’re peering into the future!
Posted by marvelous patric on January 11, 2010 and filed under: comic, podcast, random post! : No Comments
I have come here not to praise Halfpixel and Webcomics.com, but to bury them. For the past couple of years, the Halfpixel crew, Scott Kurtz, Kris Straub, Dave Kellet, and Brad Guigar, have taken this approach to evangelizing not only webcomics, but a business model of free content that makes a profit. Evangelizing doesn’t even say it right; they wrote a book, did podcasts, and answered a lot of questions from other cartoonists about how to be successful. And a lot of advice they gave, in the beginning, was really good. They had lots of ideas about how to use social media, website design, and basic comic making skills that were fantastic.
Then, things got a little weird. Their podcast, “Webcomics Weekly” was anything but weekly. Their popular forum and site, halfpixel.com was dismantled as they purchased webcomics.com . Dave Kellet has all but completely vanished save his comic, and Kris Straub merely shows us as a disembodied voice in a ustream every now and again with Kurtz. Webcomics.com quickly turned into “Braid Guigar tells you what to do and how to do it,” rather than a Halfpixel forum. Articles were now submitted by readers, and there were some good ones. But, it wasn’t Halfpixel giving advice anymore, it was advice sponsored by Halfpixel. Almost all of the actual advice from Halfpixel became, “Make a good comic, then buy our book, then you’ll be fine if you make a good comic.”
The podcast is long gone and now, on January 3rd, 2010, webcomics.com, for all intents and purposes, is dead. Or, far worse, behind a subscription wall. Yes, the same people who for years belittled anyone who put content behind a subscription wall have done just that. Webcomics.com will now cost you 30 bucks a year to access. This includes the same content that was just free less than a week ago.
Guigar claims it’s worth it. But, what person charging for something doesn’t?
Frankly, this feels to me akin to saying, “Yes, there is a fabulous secret to making a living doing comics, and we will share it only with those wise enough to pay us.” And, from what I’ve seen on the site in the past, this is not a true claim and certainly not worth 30 bucks. And really, we’re just paying Brad Guigar thirty bucks a month to blog. (He’s even admitted he does the bulk of the work on the site.)
Halfpixel is dead. It is now the Brad Guigar show with occasional appearances by Scott Kurtz. As much as I like their comics, I wouldn’t pay for them daily. And I sure won’t pay to read their blogs.
Posted by marvelous patric on January 4, 2010 and filed under: comic, random post! : No Comments
Last night, the fiance’ and I went to see They Might Be Giants at First Avenue in Minneapolis. This is the third year in a row I’ve seen TMBG at 1st Ave. Each show has been radically different. This year, TMBG did a “Flood” show where they played all the songs from the 1990 album mixed with a few others, including songs from their new “Here Comes Science.”
As always, it was a great show. And, as always, I want more from them! Come back soon, Johns!
Posted by marvelous patric on November 4, 2009 and filed under: random post! : No Comments
So I’m all back n’ stuff from Chicago. It was a lot of fun. I got to see some good friends, like Dirk and Spike and http://www.twilighttangents.com/, as well as made some new friends like Jennie and Phil and Paul and Tim.
So now I’m back in Minnesota and I have three days left before i begin my teaching assistant orientation. Woot!
I’ve also updated the store to reflect that Sad Little Life is available to purchase in book form.
Posted by marvelous patric on August 12, 2009 and filed under: comic, random post! : No Comments
This is just sucky. Steve Cannon died. If you grew up in Minnesota (or ever a good chunk of the midwest) during the 70s or 80s (or early 90s), you knew The Good Neighbor, Double-You C-C-Oh. And, you knew Steve Cannon. You knew the Cannon Mess.
Steve Cannon and all the little Cannons, Morgan Mundane, Ma Linger, and Backlash Larue. Steve-O’s mellow baritone and sarcastic manner helped you finnish your day. The man was a legend from the golden age of radio.
If you watch the Ustream or listen to my podcast, you know that I always start it off with the theme from the Cannon Mess. The barking dogs. It’s all I can do to help keep that memory alive.
Posted by marvelous patric on April 7, 2009 and filed under: random post! : No Comments
For those of you who have been missing the weekly ustream and want to know what happened without having to watch on a computer, guess what? There is now a podcast of the audio from the event! It should (eventually) be available from iTunes, but here’s the direct link. It’s the edited version, without a lot of the “ums” “ahhs” and full minutes of pauses that make a lot more sense if you’re watching me draw.
Posted by marvelous patric on April 6, 2009 and filed under: comic, random post! : No Comments
I can’t tell if today’s joke is hilarious or stupid. Obviously, there’s a fine line to dance around there, and I can’t tell if I succeeded.
Other things I’m not sure about: Lily Allen. Is it cool to like her or not? Like, I think I might enjoy her music, but I’ve only heard “Smile” and “The Fear”. She seems like she could be a trainwreck at some point.
I’m also unsure about what to do for a thesis project for my masters degree. Do I write a novel, as I had been planning, or do I write a play, as I have newly discovered I enjoy?
I am unsure about so many things.
Posted by marvelous patric on March 31, 2009 and filed under: comic, random post! : 1 Comment
Is it wrong that today’s FNS cracked me up? You know since I introduced JC, this gag has always been waiting in the wings.
I broadcasted the drawing of today’s strip on Ustream. There are a bunch of recorded streams of mine there. I usually save them if they’re at least mildly entertaining, so even if you missed watching live, go on back and check ‘em out. It’s like a podcast with drawing!
Posted by marvelous patric on March 27, 2009 and filed under: random post! : No Comments