Apple, the Lion and the MacBook Air - Inspector Gadget

Science is vastly more stimulating to the imagination than are the classics

J. B. S. Haldane, Daedalus

“Go, go Gadget computer”. I love humming the tune of probably my favorite Walt Disney  cartoon character, Inspector Gadget (1999), which, ironically, was my call sign while I worked at C&W (2001 to 2004) as a Network Maintenance Technician. I was so called, as I was always the call-to person as I relates to anything to do with electronics devices, being as I am so widely read, back then an avid follower of the CNET Blog Network.

That was in the days before the Buzz Report (2005) with then Editor Molly Wood and Buzz Out Loud (2005), my podcast of despair, as I would call it, while I was at the University of the West Indies (2004 to 2009), as it was my means of staying afloat on days when the UWI Campus appears as if it were a broiling Sahara Desert, and walking those distances across the Campus akin to the Great Trek the Afrikaans undertook to South Africa. Science is imagination, embodied and emboldened by research.

It was this love of gadgets and Consumer Electronics that led me to design and giving away ideas via email lasts back in the early Y2K days now culminating in my following the CNET peeps, my heroes, in doing my own blog. This blog of mine, which I called My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica, is based on a long held Theory I had while being called Inspector Gadget (1999) while at C&W: The average time between when something appears in the United States of America to when it becomes a popular thing to have in Jamaica is approximately two (2) years.

Yes, my theory plays it safe, mainly due to Jamaicans and their pragmatism when it comes to adopting anything the Americans like, initially not seeing the point, until Entertainers such as “Vybz Kartel featuring Russian ‘Jeans and Fitted’” anthem, Media Personalities such Carlette Deleon aka the Pet Tales Chick aka “Dilly” of Smile Jamaica fame on Television Jamaica as well as the affable Telecom Provider Digicel start pushing the gadget. After that, everyone wants to get their gadget fix and by then two (2) years has passed.

I am now a guest blogger for another up and coming Blog, Geezam, Administrator Kirk (no relation to Star Trek, I’m afraid!), whose blog is based on a more advanced version of my original theory, that of course being that this transition time to Jamaica is accelerating, as multinational Silicon Valley companies are now trying to be in both American and International Markets from Day One of product launch, as a more educated (really?) and gadget savvy (seriously?) Working Class desires their gadget fix of the latest and greatest as it debut in the United States of America.

Nice theory, a bit hopeful, but I like his optimism. Guess it makes sense to hitch my wagon to Kirk’s star, as blogging among a small cadre of inspired wanna-be writers on an official bona fide WordPress hosted blog, dreaming of the Big Times, not forums like TechJamaica for hardcore techies discussing how to hack proprietary modems of Telecom Providers, is how you build a Gadget culture and a Culture of Tech in Jamaica, pro bono.

That is how CNET did it, a twin sister of ZDNet, both descendants of ZDTV back in the 90’s, during the heyday of the Tech Bubble in the United States of America. Only true worshippers at the altar of Tech would understand why I track innovation or even give away ideas in email blasts, sowing seeds of ideas in people’s minds, as I have done over the years by simply giving my ideas away. Cast your bread upon the many waters [peoples, tongues, nations], my Seventh Day Adventist cutie pie Audia Granston used to say – before she hit me with her frying pan. Ouch, that smarts!

So when Apple CEO Steve Jobs had his “one more thing” event and unveiled the iOS enabled OS 10.7 Lion as stated in the article “Mac OS X Lion first take: Apple's next big Cat”, published October 20, 2010 11:59 AM PDT by Topher Kessler, CNET News – CNET Reviews, unless you are a real Apple fanboy, you would not be “wowed” by the new big cat, as per the invitations which were shaped like an 3D Apple Logo being cut out of paper, an image of a Lion in the background.

Bigger surprise: the Apple MacBook Air as stated in the article “Apple refocuses on Mac with lighter MacBook Air, Lion Software”, published October 20, 2010, 5:33 PM EDT by Adam Satariano and Peter Burrows, Businessweek, already Ginsu knife sharp, is now thinner and lighter and get this; it is now a full solid state hard drive and features Instant-On, with a battery life of five (5) hours after playing 1080p video and a stunning thirty (30) days of battery life on standby. Wow!

Specs tell the tale of the tape as stated in the article “Apple - MacBook Air - Technical specifications of the 11-inch”, viewed on Wednesday October 27 2010, Apple. US$999 is too cheap for such a beauty CEO Steve Jobs! Crank dat’ SoulJa Boy up to US$1500 and it’ll still sell like hot Johnny Cakes. Did I really, really forget to mention that it comes in its usually slick aluminum casing in the regular 13”screen along with an 11.6” screen (don’t you dare call it a Netbook, people!)?

People, the drool is running down my cheeks, my tongue hanging out, as I definitely would want this 11.6” wonder for my Christmas laptop. This is more evidence that the Apple iPad Effect is spreading, especially in terms of computer and laptop design, as well as heralding the coming of SSD (Solid States Drives) as a more common feature of Netbooks and Laptops, already a feature in smart phones and the up and coming tablets as stated in the article “Smartphones moving to fancier flash drives”, published August 19, 2009 3:15 PM PDT by Brooke Crothers, CNET News - Nanotech - The Circuits Blog.

Thus, one hopes the other computer makers will follow this trend using SSD’s such as Sandisk’s as stated in the article “SanDisk offers super-tiny flash drives”, published August 18, 2010 2:03 PM PDT by Stephen Shankland, CNET News - Deep Tech, both in Laptops, Notebooks and Tablets, as this would make them competitive with tablets such as the Apple iPad as well as their own tablet offerings as stated in the article “Will HP, Dell, sony answer 11-inch MacBook Air?”, published October 30, 2010 2:04 PM PDT by Brooke Crothers, CNET News Nanotech - The Circuits Blog. 

Desktop Computers can get the Hybrid Hard Drive treatment as stated in the article “Hybrid hard-disk market set to take off”, published October 25, 2010 7:41 PM PDT by Brooke Crothers, CNET News Nanotech - The Circuits Blog.

This may be the logic of CEO Steve Jobs, who is extra careful, almost stepping on eggshells, not to call the 11.6” version of the mint fresh Apple MacBook Air a NetBook, as he cannot allow his own Apple iPad to cannibalize his other equally stellar product line, hence the migration to SSD’s, the iOS feel of OS 10.7 Lion, the phenomenal longer battery life and the Instant-On feature, all of which are characteristics of the million selling Apple iPad.

All that is needed is for Tech Tutorial on Smile Jamaica fame on Television Jamaica to bless the device and Jamaica may get Apple Fever – for once as far as I know, before the two (2) year period is up.

Go, go Gadget Apple MacBook Air! Excuse me, but I must batten down, as Hurricane Tomas is a comin’ by Wednesday November 3^rd 2010, two (2) day ahead of schedule.