Introducing the iPad

Well Apple has been promising (threatening) to introduce a tablet computer and some have been speculating that it will be the "Kindle Killer".

The prospect of an e-reader that would be able to do all the things that the Kindle can do plus more (animated content? Annotations? Full colour magazines!) had me getting fairly excited. Maybe the era of the e-reader as a real replacement for the printed book has actually arrived.


Well, the day came today and Apple's iPad is... not so much.


For one thing, the sucker is huge! Look at it in Steve Jobs' hands.

Unless he is freakishly small this thing is not going to replace a discrete paperback anytime soon.


Here's what the Globe and Mail had to say:

Partnering with a number of big-name publishers, iBooks represents Apple's attempt to position the iPad as a superior product to the traditional e-reader -- of which Amazon's Kindle is perhaps the most popular. Indeed, the iPad is about the same size as Amazon's larger, more expensive model, the Kindle DX. However even if Apple's estimate of 10 hours battery life is correct, e-readers still beat the device on battery life.

But ultimately, what separates the iPad from its iPredecessors is its more powerful computing ability, something that plays out in the realm of high-definition content. Mr. Jobs was quick to showcase the tablet's ability to play high-definition video from sites such as YouTube. The iPad is configured to run all the existing iPhone applications. But product demonstrations focused on applications that use more processing power, such as graphics-intensive games.

So an e-reader it is among other things. A "Kindle Killer" it is not.


And certainly no replacement to the paper bound book. Books are still the most perfect technology for the delivery of the written word.


Thank you Herr Gutenberg.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?

http://mdjackson.deviantart.com

http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SCOTTISH SF & FANTASY

In honour of Robbie Burns Day I present a list of Scottish science fiction and fantasy writers.

(Undoubtedly incomplete as the list is culled from Wickipedia, so take it with a grain of salt.)

• Iain Banks
• J. M. Barrie
• Chris Boyce
• Michael Cobley
• Arthur Conan Doyle
• Hal Duncan
• Matthew Fitt
• Gary Gibson
• Richard Gordon (Scottish author)
• Gavin Grant
• Alasdair Gray
• Nicholas Stuart Gray
• Robert J. Harris (writer)
• Alan W. Lear
• David Lindsay (novelist)
• Duncan Lunan
• J. T. McIntosh
• F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
• George MacDonald
• Ken MacLeod
• Angus MacVicar
• Donald Malcolm
• David I. Masson
• Steven Moffat
• Dan Morgan (writer)
• Ricardo Pinto
• Michael Scott Rohan
• Brian Ruckley
• Margaret Ryan
• Charles Stross
• Emma Maree Urquhart
• Jack Whyte

Now I plan to go home and dig out a dust covered bottle of scotch that I have in the back of a cupboard. I will drink a toast to each and every writer on this list.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

MEET HOLLYWOOD'S NEW CONAN

No, I'm not talking about the red-haired late-night talk show host.

Robert E. Howard's immortal creation Conan the Barbarian, has been adapted by Marvel Comics among others, and in the early 80's had two movies made about him starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar (yes, there were two, although I can understand completely if you've forgotten the second. I try to). He has also been played on television by Schwarzeneggar wannabe Rolf Mueller. (Actually that's unfair. Mueller was a good actor in his own right. Didn't you see him in GLADIATOR?). Now he will be played on screen again in Marcus Nispei's (PATHFINDER) new film version by Hawaiian born actor Jason Momoa.

Momoa will be familiar to Stargate fans as Ronan Dax from Stargate Atlantis.

Allready comments on various blogs have been turning towards the negative, but I am pleased for once. I enjoyed Stargate Atlantis and particularly appreciated Momoa's presence in the show. Over the course of four seasons Momoa was able to display a depth that I think will surprise people.

If Nispei is trying to bring the character of Conan back to his roots, as he says that he is, then Momoa is entirely appropriate for that role. Conan is not the oafish, teutonic bodybuilder that the Arnold version would have you believe. That Conan was Howard filtered through Lin Carter and L. Sprague DeCamp, filtered through Roy Thomas and Marvel Comics, then filtered again through the film's director John Boorman Milius.

And Frazetta. As much as I loved Frazetta's depiction of Conan (and who doesn't) it is not truly Howard's character.

I am usually very sceptical of movie adaptations and I have been disappointed enough to justify that scepticism. I'm still not convinced that this movie will be completely faithful to Howard, nor would Momoa be my first choice (mine would have been English actor Ray Stephenson). Nevertheless I am pleased that Momoa has been tapped for the part and will go and see the movie with just a little bit less trepidation now.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT

Tomorrow is my birthday and it looks like my people are on their way to take me home, according to the Associated Preess:



Mystery object to whizz close by Earth on Wednesday

Tue Jan 12, 3:22 PM
By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A mystery object from space is about to whizz close by Earth on Wednesday. It will not hit the planet, but scientists are stumped by what exactly it is.
Astronomers say it may be space junk or it could be a tiny asteroid, too small to cause damage even if it hit. It is 33 to 50 feet (10 to 15 metres) wide at most.
NASA says that on Wednesday at 7:47 a.m. EST, (1247 GMT) it will streak by, missing Earth by about 80,000 miles (128,750 kilometres).


So it looks like this might be my last blog post. Gotta pack before the Mothership gets here!

Bye all! It's been fun!

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

I'm Still Here

No I was not assassinated by gunmen hired by Al Gore or David Suzuki. And look! It's the new year, we signed a pretty much toothless Copenhagen accord and our country is still free!

I just took a break for Christmas and Family. Now, of course, there's lots of work to do both designing and doing artwork.

I will post something more relevant (and more SF/Fantasy/Pulp oriented, rather than politically contrarian) in the very near future.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio