Ideas from Mark Stout

Three weeks ago, a Dropbox employee stated on their forum they hoped to have the actual iPad Dropbox app out in "3 to 4 weeks".  Let's hope it is imminent.  I know too well though how development deadlines can slip, sometimes badly. The iPad is a new platform and while similar to the iPhone platform, it has its own pitfalls and traps.   What Dropbox does is the very antithesis of the iPad philosophy, making files visible. The iPhone version works on the iPad for now.  Some report issues on the forum, but I have not seen any.  But the best solution is to use GoodReader to access your Dropbox files.

A couple weeks ago, in a post about Dropbox & iPad ,  I asked folks if they were going to sign-up for Dropbox (and everyone should) to use my referral code.   Several have, so I want to thank Jim, Lou, Eli, and Jason for doing so.  I appreciate the free extra bit of space each referral adds to my Dropbox, and I hope each of them like Dropbox as much as I do. Be sure to see a post on Dropbox and a PDF Reader for the iPad.  The GoodReader App is wonderful with Dropbox. And rumor is that Dropbox will soon have a native iPad app. If you want to sign-up for Dropbox, and bump up my space by 256 meg, use this link .

My former colleague @ tcarothers  was seduced into an iPad. And he puts me in great company in his initial blog entry on his new iPad..  

I just realized when you click in the Safari for the iPad URL box, the bookmark bar appears.  I want that same behavior in Google Chrome. The sole design flaw I've found with Job's latest baby, is that when I go to plug in the power cable to the iPad at night, in the dark, there is no tactile indicator on the connector as to which side is up.  The logo on the connector is perfectly smooth.  My bedside table has become the family charging station, and the iPad cable is the only one that has to have a light on to plug it in.  Ironically, my $1.58 6 foot cable from MonoPrice.com (before shipping) does have the tactile clue, so that minor Apple design flaw is dealt with. Isn't it nice that the only design flaw I can find so far is so trivial? Of course, I'm not considering iTunes--what a disaster.

This week's Family Tech talks about the advantages of Voice Over IP for the family.  Call anywhere, if not for free, then for a very small amount.

On a recent " This Week in Tech " from Leo Laporte's TWIT network Veronica Belmont almost offhandedly mentioned Monoprice.com .  I'd never heard of this shopping site but took a look. I have wanted a longer recharging cable for my iPad, so I ordered that and one other cable.  With First Class postage, the two cables came to $5.64.  You read that right, five dollars and change. I ordered it Sunday night.  I received e-mails from them acknowledging the order, and another telling me it had shipped Monday.  That e-mail included a First Class tracking number.  I didn't know that even existed.  I was able to track to the order at the USPS.com site. The cables arrived Wednesday. Monoprice carries an assortment of cables, adaptors, power supplies and other accessories.  I'll definitely use them again.

If you never read this, you will enjoy it.  From a magazine that does not exist anymore PC World,  Scott Adams ( Dilbert ), wrote back in 1995 : " Men Who Use Computers Are The New Sex Symbols Of The 90s "