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iPad vs. Netbook

Posted on Jul 15, 2010 by Dennis Driscoll in IT, News

I will preempt this post with a small explanation as to the purpose of this comparison and how it evolved.  Our office has clear divisions, PC people and Mac people.  As with all offices that have this, the comments go back and forth quite often and can become entertaining at times.  The iPad, yet another grand edition to Mac’s repertoire, has become a talking point around the office.  So it has become my job to lay down a simple non-bias comparison of the iPad and the Asus 1005 Netbook (oh and I am the PC guy).

Look.

Well iPad wins.  I could stop there but I really must explain a few things and add my two cents to bring this thing down from its legendary status.  First and foremost it is sleek, thin and monotone.  This makes it easy on the eyes and welcoming.  With no need to open it up like the standard Netbook, it also provides the wow that people are not used to.  Now for the negatives…  Fingerprints on the iPad are a drawback, and with no options it can quickly become an issue.  The Netbook on the other hand can be customized with a matte surface, the screen is never touched, and the keyboard is standard.  Furthermore, the Netbook can be customized with colors, where the iPad cannot.

Functionality.

This is the true bone of contention!  I am here  to say there really shouldn’t be a comparison.  Now I know all the die hard fans out there are saying boo right now, but let me explain.  These two devices have different jobs in most cases.
The iPad with all of its apps and functionality doesn’t have the computing power or operating system abilities found on a standard Netbook.  The Netbook in turn, doesn’t have access to all the apps the the iPad has.  I found very quickly while using the Netbook that its computing power was outstanding, quickly opening large applications and processing requests just as if I was sitting at a normal PC.  The  issues I found were the tiny screen, the added weight(compared to the iPad), and unneeded pre-installed software. The bonus was my ability to load anything I want on this machine and it will run it.
The iPad’s limitations are  directly linked to its operating system.  Standard programs will not run on the iPad, but with its long list of usable apps that require far less processing power, it flourishes.  The quick response time with these apps is almost mind boggling, the email functionality and media access is without equal and the ease of use is absolutely awesome.

Conclusion.

I can see the use for both machines.  I actually would like to have the iPad for organizational purposes,presentations, and quick access.  But the reality is, I cant stray from my PC ways.  The Netbook allows me to run all of my programs while being light in weight, small and easy to use on the fly.  I will still have all the traditional slow ways of accessing social networks, email, media and specific sites I may use often, but the pros outweigh the cons for my purposes.

Facebook now serves Starbucks coffee

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Dennis Driscoll in News

For all of you who must feed their Starbucks addiction and use your gold card to do it, Starbucks added a very cool new feature to their Starbucks Gold Card program. Now you can manage your Gold Card account with a Facebook app.  You no longer need to go to the Starbucks website to check your rewards, you can see whats happening directly from your Facebook page.

Welcome to our blog

Posted on Mar 22, 2010 by Dennis Driscoll in News

Welcome to DIF Design’s official blog. The blog went live today, March 22, 2010, but we have been trying to create some useful content to post for last few weeks.

Our blog is going to be a place where you can come to and see what’s been going on with us. Once is a while we will also post useful (hopefully!) information about social media, internet all together, marketing and other interesting subjects.

So, periodically check-in to see the new posts or you can subscribe to the blog to get updates automatically.

Internet Explorer 9

Posted on Mar 22, 2010 by Dennis Driscoll in IT, News

As we all know, Microsoft released their “new” operating system in November 2009, called Windows 7. Well, Microsoft has also been working very hard on trying to enrich not only the desktop experience, but also the online experience of their users. Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) browser took the back burner spot with the release of Windows 7, but it has been hitting some amazing mile stones lately.

It has been successful enough in testing mode for Microsoft to make the results public.

Internet Explorer 9 will be fully compatible with HTML5 and CSS3, which makes for a faster browsing experience for an end-user, plus makes the developer’s job much easier (I’m a bit selfish). It also has a new JavaScript engine allowing for browsing speeds faster then Firefox 3.6.

To find out more information or to view the test-drive demos of IE9 platform, click here.

Twitter releases location tracking

Posted on Mar 10, 2010 by Dennis Driscoll in Social Media

Twitter releases their location tracking capability. Now, you can turn the “location” on and your followers will be able to see your location.

With little bit of work with Twitter API and Google Maps API you can visually represent your Twitter location on Google Maps. Pretty awesome functionality, not so sure about people’s privacy though.