Goes good with oatmeal

The iPad continues to grow on us. A new use popped up when we went to read the newspaper.

You set the iPad on the breakfast table, and you can both read the same article at the same time. Not possible with print, of course.

But the cool thing is as you read together, you discuss the story. Also not possible with print, unless one person is reading the story aloud to the other, which was our modus back in the day.

The New York Times looks pretty good on the iPad, and you can blow up or shrink down the page size using Apple’s touchscreen technology. Which means, in practice, you get the “browsable” benefits of a newspaper in digital form.

The iPhone is just too small for this kind of stuff.

Previously on BikeIntelligencer


First Post

MyPad is YourPad

The blogging cyclist’s dream machine

Meanwhile, EcoVelo mulls the iPad’s use as a mobile blogging device.

Cyclists win one for a change!

And lose some as per usual.

And here’s a new wrinkle on Rider Down. Say you’re just riding along and a car comes at you but somehow fails to hit you. You might think, hey, it’s my lucky day! But wait … there’s always the passenger-leaning-out-the-window-to-push-you-over maneuver to worry about.

Yet another update on mountain biking in Marin, this time focusing on the Novato mtboomlet…see comments for the predictable NorCal perspective.

Gratifying news on the mountain biking in national parks front. IMBA re-ups amid good vibes.

The Bike Library is back up and rolling!

On designing “bicycle cities” …

BikingBis: Bicycle Sundays return May 2 to Seattle’s Lake Washington Boulevard.

SF Streetsblog continues to document the SFPD’s brutal and insensitive treatment of cyclists.

SeattleLikesBikes: C’mon out to the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board meeting on Wednesday.

Of all the varied and clever April Fool’s Day cycling spoofs, Cascade Bicycle Club’s “Drive to Work Day” was our favorite.

The state of mountain biking in north central Washington. More on this later, but a good overview for starters.

IMBA’s cheap accident insurance to members seems like a good deal, but YMMV depending on what your plan comprises already. Check it out via Adventure Advocates.

Among all the many helpful responses in this Yahoo! forum regarding what to do about a cat peeing on your mountain biking shoes, not one of the many helpful respondents suggested the obvious: Trade in the cat for a dog.

I did an actual head count of 225 by 8:30, including a Poor Saps (who hoped to get an iPad without a reservation) Line of more than 100. Apple told me more than 700 Pads had been reserved at U Village, and by the time doors opened there were about half that waiting. The line didn’t quit once doors opened, and at 10 a.m. there were still more than 300 folks waiting.

When you got to the door an Applette took your name and checked your reservation, then handed you off to your personal Apple dude, who helpfully guided you to the accessories shelves, where I got a cover with flap that doubles as an upright iPad stand. Very nice, especially for typing. Then he took my cc number and we chatted a bit — no hurry which was great — and I was on my own. I hung around a bit shooting video and soaking up the vibe, then headed on my bike for Herkimer in the U District and a wi-fi connection.

Funny scene. Of course the minute I get the Pad box out I’ve got a crowd around me. “Ladies and gentlemen,” one guy announces, “there’s an iPad in the house!!!” So I have to hurry thru the reg procedure (done via iTunes) and then pass the thing around. “I could just run off with this thing,” one guy joked. “Yeah and you’d have 10 guys on your tail!” another said.

There was so much commotion the head waitress called out from behind the counter, “I’m sorry sir, you’re going to have to leave.” Everyone was getting into the spirit.

Then to my astonishment up walks Jeff Reifman, the guy who broke the Microsoft tax dodge story and continues great journalism on his blog in pursuit of the Redmond tax cheat. “Now I know why you didn’t answer my emails!” he jokes. Of course he wants to play with the thing too (Jeff’s a Mac ace who’s getting his Pad delivered later today). So we chat awhile, he shows me his newspaper app for Facebook which really rocks, and we agree to get together soon.

Then my iPhone rings and it’s my wife Cecile asking where I am. When I tell her she says “Can you PLEASE come home now? I want to see it!!!”

So my dreaded “spousal elective” scenario starts forming whereby Cecile loves the Pad so much she “appropriates” it. This is what happened with the iPhone. She liked it so much I had to get another one for myself.

Not to be scammed once again, my plan is simply to let her use it all she wants and then get the 3G for myself. At the end of the month when they become available. After standing in line another 2 hours. Aaaaaaarrrggghhhh!! I love it!!

UPDATE: After I arrived home I saw the UPS truck delivering iPads in the hood. “It’s fun,” the driver said, “I can hear people literally running to the door when I ring.”

He said UPS delivered crateloads of iPads to the U Village store earlier that morning. “The one you got was probably hot off the plane,” he said. I hope not. Even for a company as precise as Apple, that’s cutting things a bit close.

Bigger than it looks in photos. That’s actually good. I was worried it would be too small.

Grip surface is matte with fairly good purchase, better than naked iPhone anyway. One clever touch: The Apple logo on back is grippy. Makes a nice anchor for your hand holding onto the iPad. Whoever thought of this deserves a bonus!

Keypad is not quite touch-typeable right out of the box anyway. Maybe I’ll adapt once I’m more familiar with it but the touch keys added to the flatness of the screen make it a bit tricky. I’m moving along fairly well hunting pecking but would prefer touch type of course.

Comes 90 Percent charged out of box, that’s good.

Performance is fast so far but it’s early in the game and I haven’t tried YouTube yet.

The main keyboard lacks a colon. I’d rather have the colon than, say, the exclamation point, yes I would!!! Wait I take it back!

I’ve been writing about this device for years, particularly after net books began catching on. Finally something for folks like me who want the net book functionality but not the cheap junk that netbooks are. [Note in above link how Jobs used to say Apple couldn't build a netbook that wasn't "a piece of junk for under $500." The iPad's starting price: $499.]

I particularly think the iPad is well suited for mobile blogging. I’ve long wanted something I could slip in and out of my backpack and was light enough not to matter. So far this is the real deal! (There’s that exclamation point again!)

I was worried I’d be disappointed by something right away but no gotchas yet. More later!

In L.A., a booming promise that “The culture of the car ends now!” No throwing projectiles, no verbal abuse, no cutting within 3 feet … and yes! No strangulation! “(No) making physical contact with a bicyclist from a moving vehicle on the roadway either by physical person or use of an implement.” Yay!

I remember when I was this anal about my ride logs…but it was a long time ago.

Reminder that the Marin County Bicycle Coalition’s “Dirt Bowl” fundraiser is Sunday, Feb. 7.

(Two) wheels ‘n feet account for 9.6 percent of all trips, but just 1.2 percent of federal funding. Other goodies as well in the Alliance for Biking & Walking “Benchmarking” report.

Add mtbchick to the growing list of hosts for “Awesome Land: Women of Dirt” showings .

Alan at EcoVelo looks at the iPad’s potential for mobile blogging.

Nothing to do with cycling, other than Yokota’s involvement, but a wild story nonetheless. So wild that the Man Himself, Gary Fisher, retweeted it.

Have a great weekend! Winter’s on the decline, time to get out ‘n RIDE!