Month: April 2010

I am a writer, I am also an voracious reader, I love to read. Year ago a discover eBooks and love to read them. I had read on eReader, Kindle, and now the iPad, actually if you book is not on Electronic, I will not read it.
The problem is I am not the only one, most people if the book is not available, they will search for a copy on the Internet. Paulo Coelho, and Cory Doctorow put their copy of the book easy to find, you want the part of your audience than can’t or will not pay for your work to read your actual work, not something that someone put on the web, that can be real or not, at the end of the day is your reputation as a Writer.
I have make exceptions to my rule of no Paper Books, 2 in 2008 and 2 in 2009 0 so far in 2010. I must clarify that I have read over 100 books since 2008, so in general, if your book is not available in electronic version, thanks but I am not interested.
I can’t understand authors that don’t bring their books on Electronic Version, is ironic, that many of this authors that are against have their books on electronic version are also the most pirated ones.
Take J.K. Rolling as an example. You will not doubt her success with the Harry Potter series, and her books are not electronic, interestingly the collection is the one of the most pirated ones in 2009. I believe if you as an author decide to limit the eBooks, people will simply not read your book, or find a copy somewhere.
We authors, can’t stop piracy, but I am a firm believer that more people will happily pay to own an illegal copy, but be careful, this legal copy is on the format they need it, not the format you want it, that last part is what make iTunes an empire, people was willing to pay $0.99 per song, even many people stop using Kazaa and Napstper and begin paying for their songs, but the only reason that happen was because apple put them on the format that people want it, people didn’t want a CD or Tape anymore, they were looking for electronic versions. Books are going trough the same path, yes people will buy books, but more people will buy an read an electronic version than a paper one, so no eBook, No Sale!

No, this is not another apple rumor, this is more about my current computer situation and a review of my experience with the iPad for the last week or so. I must begin saying that I am a heavy user of the iPhone, or should say, was, since for the last week or so, I have been using the iPad so much, that the battery of my iPhone last me all day, I should clarify, that I use to charge my iPhone at least every night  and at least one more time during the day, often twice in one day.
I currently have a Macbook white, with a 2.2 Ghz, 786Gb HD and 4Gb of RAM, in other words more machine that what I really need. I am a writer, a sales manager and a reader, or as Pat Moorhead said, a knowledge worker (I will also ask to keep the jokes for yourself). Basically, I spend my day on the web, on a word processor, spreadsheet and the email.
The problem, is that my MacBook is the closest thing to a desktop, is great to work in it, but it is heavy and I carry a lot of junk with me all the time to enhance the experience, also I am aware, that I can do with less power, and for that reason I have been thinking on getting a MacBook Air for the longest time, not really because I need it, but because I want a lighter machine for when I am traveling, or the weekend, my meetings or my writing adventures. The fact is I never got myself motivated enough to make the change, since I always convince myself that it was not going to really offer any advantage over my MacBook, so I always put the purchase on hold, and yes I try Tablets, Laptops, desktops, and netbooks, before I got my Mac on early 2009, In a moment I had 4PCs at the same time and was a pain. For that reason I never jump into the MacBook Air, was enough power for me, but not enough to have only one machine, or different enough to have more than one and I had already learn in a painful (and expensive) way that more PCs for different purposes doesn’t accomplish anything.
There comes the iPad. The iPad isn’t in any way a replacement for a Laptop, you can’t print. or share documents using the USB, or do many things that you will be able to do on a Laptop, but is different enough to be considered and evaluated, and honestly, so far has prove to be great for me. I am not looking to replace my laptop or iPhone, the iPad play in the middle, (as Steve Jobs sold us before)bringing something that I did not expect, a lighter machine for when I am traveling, or the weekend, my meetings or my writing adventures. The iPad is a light machine for all those moments that the laptop is too much and the iPhone not enough.
I am carrying my iPad to meetings, with the spreadsheets in numbers, taking notes in Notes, responding emails, writings on evernote or pages, showing the catalog of products on keynote, surfing the web, and reading web pages with Instapaper or PDFs with GoodReader. I am using this toy a lot, the screen is incredible, the typing is adequate (and if I need a better typing experience I can always go to the laptop).
I see myself, carrying this device daily, actually for the last week, the laptop has stay in the car, and I only get the iPad and iPhone at home, and I move around the office with the iPad with me, all the time. I am actually looking for a small bag, that will carry the iPad and maybe a couple of things more, to use more instead of the big and heavy backpack that I carry. Before you put in the comments to just empty the backpack, sadly I have learn to fill the space, the more I have the more I will carry, for that reason I will look for another bag.
I said before that I am knowledge worker, a writer, a sales manager and a reader.  Honestly the iPad will help me most of the time, and I see myself leaving the laptop behind a lot, not only when I travel, but even on my day to day activities. Visit a costumer, go to write in the Cafe, travel, meetings, and more, I see beginning to treat the laptop as a desktop and the iPad playing the the iPhone more as the tool for day activities.

Dedicated to a dear friend. Yes its a Cow what you have on your hands, relax, you know how to handle cows.

I took this picture in Mexico City many years ago, It’s NOT a horse, It’s a Cow!
This picture reminds me of the how we can perceive things in our brains, and how this things can generate a paralysis on our action, in this case I am sure you are smiling, but in many cases there is no laughing matter.
When you get paralyzed, because you are going to do something great, but create in your brain an image that you don’t know if will be real, when you get paralyzed when you need to deliver hard news, and create in your mind the answer this person will give you, when you imagine that taking a risk, will not only fail, but make you a looser or will make you die from starvation without ever be able to fix it, you are seeing the horse. On all those situations and many others you are seeing a Horse, and we know, you don’t know how to ride the horse.
What will happen if you sit for a moment, calm down, and observe the horse, yes, you will discover is a Cow, and also you will remember that you know how to handle cows.
Before you stop, and freak out, and stress out because you don’t know how to handle a Horse, because you only know about Cows, contemplate the image in front of you, if you discover you are seeing a Horse when is really a Cow, tell yourself, ‘thanks for sharing’ and pay attention to the Cow.
If you need any help, look for a real horse, or deal with the also real cow you have on hands.