Case in point, what I’m typing right now.  Bluetooth keyboard.  No thumb-typing.  If the iPhone had allowed me to do this from the start, it may have kept me from pulling the trigger on buying the iPad.

DocsToGo, iPhone, Bluetooth keyboard … we’re talking an uber portable writing machine, harkening back to the days when I used to write on my Palm Pilot.

One minor disappointment:  I had this wild thought that maybe with the new OS, I’d be able to plug my iPad camera connecting kit to the iPhone and go to town just like I can with the iPad.  Nope.  No can do.

Ah, who cares?  I’ve already used the folder feature to shrink my ten pages of apps down to four, sent tweets and Facebook updates, and all the while listened non-stop to Pandora in the background.

It’s like having a whole new phone.

Actually I have another app that does better than this (BlogPress), at least with photos, but I still can’t emphasize anything. Which is why anything I write on either one turns out in complete deadpan.

I guess there’s a lot to be said for deadpan writing. And if you’d like to be the one to say it, please feel free to do so in the comments … because I can’t think of a single thing.

The rumors are true. Even though it gives you a message saying “This USB Device is Not Supported,” a regular old USB keyboard works just fine with the iPad when you plug it in via the Apple Camera Connection Kit’s USB adapter.

What do you bet, though, that this will not work once iOS 4 is up and running on the iPad?

Oh, and for anyone who’s curious: Yes! The numeric keypad works perfectly.

This is a cheap old HP USB keyboard from my closet. This post was written on it via BlogPress for the iPad, and I imported the photo from my Nikon D5000 via the Camera Connection Kit’s SD card adapter.

While looking for a new keyboard for my desktop computer, I ended up choosing the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 — simply because it I liked the feel of the keys so much. I do have to admit it occurred to me it might work with the iPad, but I doubted it.

Still, after getting it home, the first thing I tried to do is pair it up with the iPad. It took 20 seconds, and I was up and running. It works perfectly.

It doesn’t cost any less than the Apple Bluetooth, but I’m one of those weirdos who got used to the ergonomic “bent” keyboards and so this one suits me perfectly.

I ended up getting the Apple Bluetooth keyboard for use with the iPad, simply because it’s smaller and more portable — and to my surprise, I actually ended up liking it.  I use this Microsoft keyboard for my desktop computer.

A touch here, a touch there, and you’ll find out everything you want to know about a certain style of beer.

I absolutely love it, and for those of you with an iPhone/iPod Touch, the same program works on those as well – you don’t have to buy another copy.

More info:  Beer Judge Certification Program website and BJCP Styles on Apples App Store.

One of the apps that I’ve come to enjoy using on a daily basis is Today In History by Down-Shift Interactive. The History Channel is what originally made me a fan of history, but since I’ve stopped watching TV this is one of the things I’ve missed. Now, right here on my iPad, I have all of history in concise Twitter-sized spoonfuls. I actually look forward to my new daily ritual of sitting in my big comfy chair, cracking open the iPad like I would a book, and touching the icon for this program.

Up pops the historic events that happened on this day. Not just a few, and not just recent ones, but notable events in all of history are at your fingertips. Also are lists of who was born today, who died, and what significant calendar events — including holidays — are happening around the globe.

You don’t have to be online to enjoy it, as all the data is cached locally, but if you do happen to be online — and an item of interest compels you to share — you can, directly from the app, via email, Facebook, or Twitter. That in itself is pretty cool, but add to that, this app has it’s own built in social network where you can actually comment on each historic event and read what others have commented. You can friend these other commenters and have entire discussions with them.

All right there in the app. Seriously, this is something I never would have thought of, and never would have thought I’d enjoy — but I do. I mean, really, talk about “history coming alive…”

– Post From My iPad

I have both, now. I can compare them side to side. I’ve used the iPad to do some serious reading, and as slick and sexy as it is, my iPad is not as good a ebook reader as my Kindle.

Two main reasons:

1. Despite all its deficiencies, the Kindle’s screen is far easier on the eyes. The iPad’s screen, through a combination of being backlit and glare from the glossy surface, is harder to read — not at first blush, but after a few hours, yes. I noticed a big difference.
      
2. The iPad is much heavier. This makes a difference especially if you’re the type, like me, who prefers to hold the book instead of resting it. It’s like the difference between holding a paperback versus holding a big hardbound book.

Setting both these things aside, the iPad may still be the better choice for you if you are dead set against owning a device that has a single purpose. You can’t really think of the Kindle as a computer — it’s a book. Period. Now some detractors may say that an iPad isn’t a computer, either, but I’m sorry — it is. It’s a decent little word processor (I’m writing this on it) and it’s a communication device (Skype works great on it, by the way) and it’s a game machine, and it’s a great little music and video player.

It is also a pretty good ebook reader. Oddly enough so is the iPhone — truth be told I actually find the tiny iPhone screen easier on the eyes for reading than the iPad’s.

But which one would I pick up and take with me to the park so I can sit under a tree and get lost in a good novel?

My Kindle.

This is the first new interface technology to actually fire my imagination in a long, long time.

That’s PETAbytes, which translates to 150,994,944 gigabytes.

Unfortunately the new Compact Flash specification only allows transfer speeds up to 32 megabytes per second, which means a full 144PB card would take about 153 years to transfer.

(from Michael Zhang at PetaPixel)

Heheh. Indeed. (Via EncyclopediaDramatica.com)