cool new tech toys I hope to have someday soon

The Apple iPad 3 is already on sale—in Sydney, AU. It will be available here in the US on Friday morning. I am not an Apple fanbois due to my inherent resistance to being locked into a proprietary platform. I do have great admiration for the perfectionism of Steve Jobs in his pursuit of design excellence. He was one of the greatest entrepreneur's of the last 50 years. The Apple II, the Mac,iPod, iPhone, and iPad were all products he brought to market that were both revolutionary and light-years ahead of the competition. He made our world a better place for all of us.

I have non-techie friends that want the whole iWorld of iPhone, iPad and MacBook. It is one of the greatest product placement and marketing schemes of all time. Buy into the Apple ecosystem and everything is a (relatively) seamless transition from one device to another. If my time was more valuable, that would be important to me.

As it is, I have lots of time with less money. There is a good deal of hobbying enjoyment to be had in playing with the guts of my PCs.

I have been too budget-minded to pay the 3-figure monthly fees for a Smartphone call/data plan. The 4G plans are dropping rates like a rock. Sometime soon, I will get an Android tablet. My "best using" excuse is to serve as a map/GPS device while driving (in asynchronous mode). Since I have an excellent sense of direction and rarely get lost, this is really all about getting a new toy.

I could use a tablet as an e-reader, but doubt that it would be any improvement on my Kindle. I guess I am going to have to buy a tablet, find my favorite uses for it and then retroactively justify the purchase to myself—that or just say I want a new toy!

I am grateful for the low-cost fantastic technology that is a fundamental part of our modern world. These devices are such advanced science they seem to be far closer to a magic that all of us can use and afford.