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New Year Resolutions for 2012

January 1, 2012 By 1 Comment
New Year Resolutions for 2012

Last year was a wild ride. My mom was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (with 18-24 months to live if she doesn’t get a lung transplant), our youngest needed major surgery (he’s healing up just fine), work was crazy, life was crazy, and I felt bleh for most of the year. Sometime in August or September I was fed up feeling frustrated about things I couldn’t change, I decided to make positive changes in my own life, and so far I’ve been pretty happy with the results.

So, for the first time in I don’t even know how long, I’ve decided to start 2012 off with a set of New Year resolutions for myself. I’m not generally one to do these since most people don’t follow through, but I’m pretty committed to make more positive changes in my life. Here, in no particular order, are my New Year Resolutions for 2012:

  • Write more (blogging, fiction, etc.)

    I keep saying this in my head, but I should really do it, and for many reasons. I don’t just mean here, either. I’ll be looking for guest blogging opportunities across the web on topics such as app development and marketing, SEO issues for small businesses, PPC strategy and tactics, and topics related to fatherhood. I’d love to get enough ideas to actually pitch for a speaking at SMX or another conference.

  • Continue to get healthy

    Not that I’m terribly unhealthy, but in 2011 I actually started working on losing weight, eating better, and getting my body under control in earnest. So far I’ve lose close to 18 pounds, and I’d like to lost another 18-ish before my birthday before March.

  • Spend more time with my family

    I’ve got so much going on that I forget to take the time to stop and spend real quality time with the whole family. Our kids are growing so fast, and I don’t want to be one of those guys who regrets not spending as much time as possible with any of them.

  • Build a business

    I’ve got so many ideas in my head, but in December of 2011 I really gravitated toward something that could be done on weekends that will help bring in some extra cash as well as satisfy my desire to be entrepreneurial. I’ve also got some projects that friends and I have talked about that are really interesting and I need to find the time to flesh those out with them. I’m happy to say I know a lot of smart, motivated people who not only like me, but see my dev & marketing experience as an asset.

  • Get two more programming languages under my belt

    I’m not looking for guru-like status here in 2012, but I need to honestly spend more time with a few language that have piqued my interest for a while: Python and Objective-C. The former I’ll dive into with backend work for some projects I have in mind, and the latter will be toward my ultimate goal of doing mobile app development.

Lofty goals, all, but I’ve been pretty motivated the last few months, and I’m going to ride this feeling out. Here’s hoping that 2012 is a lot better for our clan than 2011 was!

Image courtesy of shandilee
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Is the Apple iPad a Game Changer?

January 27, 2010 By 6 Comments
Is the Apple iPad a Game Changer?

I’ve got a new post on my Posterous site regarding the newly-announced Apple iPad with the initial details of the Apple iPad and some quick thoughts on it. The short version: The Apple iPad is everything I thought it would be and more. And at a lower price, too! I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting one since they look so damned useful.

The new iPad looks like the perfect mix of netbook size and laptop capability, and IMHO it’s got the potential to be a real game changer in several areas.

  • Netbooks:

    I’ve predicted the demise of netbooks before, and even if Apple haters completely ignore the iPad, I’m still convinced that the future of netbooks is coming. Soon.

  • Kindle:

    Is it even a question that Apple is positioning the iPad to be a Kindle killer? With the iBook app and current (or future) deals with publishers of books (and textbooks?), newspapers, and magazines, the iPad has much more to offer the digital bibliophile than the Kindle.

I wonder what the future of the Mac Air and the iPod Touch are, considering how the iPad sits between the two. Is there still room for either when the iPad is essentially Mac Air-Lite or an iPod Touch++? The Air and the Touch both have features the iPad doesn’t, but who knows what people will flock to? Time will tell.

Future enhancements like a camera, Flash capability, multi-tasking, phone capability, and maybe even a radio tuner would be great, but even as it is now this looks like a really smart jump in the right direction for ultra-portable computing. Apple has really knocked it out of the park with the launch of the iPad. I have to admit that I’m saddened that there’s no multi-tasking out the door and the display is only 4:3 instead of 16:9, but it’s only version 1.0 and I can live with that for now. And if the rumors of multi-tasking being in the iPhone 4 OS are true then hey… no worries.

Oh, and once they do get a camera on the iPad I can start padcasting. :)

I’ll be using the iPad as my home blogging tool and general Internet goofing around machine. I can write, update my blog, and whatnot on one small machine and that’s all I need it for. Personally I’m leaning toward the 64GB WiFi model, which is a steal at $699USD. Before the announcement today I didn’t think a 3G model would be available, but I figured the 32GB Apple iPad would be around $899, so I’m very pleasantly surprised by the price. (I can use the $200 I’ll be saving on the extra 32GB of storage and accessories like the cover and keyboard stand.) The least expensive model is the 16GB WiFi for only $499. Apple has really aggressively priced this to gain users. More info on iPad tech specs at the Apple site.

Image courtesy of the Apple iPad image gallery.
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