micahsaul

Man, that thing to the right should be awesome. See, Axiotron’s Modbook is a modded Macbook with GPS functionality and a Wacom digitizer. It’s a slate style tablet PC built from Apple hardware. What’s not to love, right? Unfortunately, the answer is quite a lot. Let’s start by looking at potential users:

1) Graphic designers, cartoonists, etc: At first, this seems like an obvious choice for visual artists, especially those that use Photoshop often, which has all sorts of beautiful support for pen-based systems. The sample systems at Macworld were running Photoshop, and it was very nice — much more intuitive than a normal Wacom tablet. I drag my pen across the screen and a line appears. There’s a problem, though. Photoshop is packed with features, and many of them require a keyboard to access quickly. Hotkeys are the name of the game when it comes to hardcore PS use, and Captain Modbook here doesn’t have a keyboard. Sure, you could pack along a wireless keyboard, but that adds bulk and sort of defeats to purpose of a slate style tablet.

2) Doctors: Apparently doctors like tablet PCs. They’re small, portable, and you can quickly jot down notes while talking to patients. Microsoft has made their tablet initiative a priority over the past few years, and have the software to prove it. Apple… well, not so much. In the few mintues I played with the Modbook, which uses Apple’s Ink handwriting recognition algorithms, I averaged about 30% accuracy. Granted, my handwriting is not the best, but doctors are not know for being incredibly legible themselves. I’d hate to get a prescription for 900 mgs. of Vicodin when it should have been 400 (this is a lie, I would gladly accept said prescription).

The same argument can be made for anyone else for whom the appeal of a tablet lies in the handwriting recognition.

The problem is not insurmountable. I have little doubt that within the next few years, we are going to see some amazing tablet initiatives from Apple. However, the Modbook is not quite there. And this makes me sad.

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Oh, another thing about the Modbook before we move on to the creepiest thing Macworld brought us: For $2279 we get the base version of the Macbook with a pen digitizer. For those keeping track, that’s $2279 for a $1099 computer plus a Wacom tablet. Granted, the build quality is superb, and there were no doubt some intense engineering issues in getting the thing to fit together so seamlessly. But my suggestion? Buy the Macbook by itself, and drop an extra $999 on the Wacom Cintiq 12WX. That comes to $2098 for the same computer with an extra screen that is also a digitizer… plus you get to keep the trackpad and keyboard. Seems the better deal to me.

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That unholy pod thing pictured to the right is the Metronap Energypod. There’s no way I can come close to doing this justice, so let me give you some quotes from their webpage:

The MetroNaps EnergyPod solves a contemporary problem: most work spaces do not offer their employees a place to rejuvenate. The result is that people seek rest in places not intended for it: at their desk, in a conference room, a parked car or even the bathroom.
(I’ll comment in italics after these quotes. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly fallen asleep at work before. But seriously? YOU’RE AT WORK! You know, the place where you… do work. Not sleep.)

Practice Makes Perfect: With some practice and preparation, anyone can powernap. If you are not normally a napper, try the techniques below at the same time each day for three days. You will quickly develop the skill. (Anyone can nap… that is perhaps the most brilliant statement I have ever read. Cause, you know, I wasn’t sure if I could nap. I mean, it’s not like I’ve been doing it since THE DAY I WAS BORN!!!)

Napping improves alertness, productivity and mood. Researchers recently discovered a nap a day can also decrease chances of dying from heart disease by 37%. (Imagine I am Jon Stewart. Now I imagine there is a slide behind me that has the preceding text on it. Now imagine I am reading the text out loud, and now I am staring at the camera with my (that is, Jon Stewart’s) patented “Whu…?” face.)

Maybe I’m being overly critical. Maybe I shouldn’t be as indignant as I am… but see, here’s the thing. Humans actually need very few things to survive. Food, Water, Sleep. That’s about all that’s needed at the basest level, but let’s expand our list a little more to the things that aren’t Necessary, but are certainly necessary (see the distinction?): Food, Water, Sleep, Physical Contact, Social Interaction. All of these, but one, have been productized. We buy food and bottled water. The oldest profession on the planet has been selling physical contact for somewhere around forever. We spend money to go out, we spend money for school, we spend money on all sorts of forms of social interaction. But we’ve never really had to spend money on sleep. Sure, we buy fancy mattresses and sheets and hotel rooms and the like. But we don’t need those things to sleep. I can get a perfectly restful sleep under my desk, in the back of a car, on the floor, under a treet. And I don’t need someone to tell me that I need to sleep. I know. And I certainly don’t need someone to sell me a bad science fiction movie prop in which to do it.

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