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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The iPad -- Not a Bakken Story

I'm still in bed, blogging and reading e-mail for the past two hours on my iPad. I got so absorbed in those two tasks, I forgot all about the scores of apps, plus all the books that are free for downloading.

It truly is incredible. I do not own any shares in AAPL but I love their products.

I may just stay in bed all day; it continues to rain in sunny southern California.

More on my thoughts on the iPad and urban living at this site.

It appears to me that more and more YouTube videos now play on the iPad. That did not seem to be the case earlier.

7 comments:

  1. Wouldn't it be incredible to do this on a cheaper device? Something that you could tether to a cell phone data plan without an additional cost?

    Maybe use all flash sites, multi-task....

    Signed,
    Zune owner!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You get what you pay for.

    I cannot recommend the iPad to anyone; everyone's needs are different.

    For me, it is incredibly inexpensive. It amounted to less than two car payments (I paid for it in one month or two months, I forget). The monthly charge for 3G is $15 for more 3G than I will ever need (with some exceptions when I'm on the road), and I get unlimited free wi-fi almost everywhere. As mentioned before, my favorite wi-fi spot is McDonald's.

    A smart phone, which all have less capability than a tablet, come with data plans that are much more expensive than $15/month. I have not been able to find a dataplan for the MacBook Air that would cost less than $15/month.

    For value, I cannot find a better priced tablet (it does not replace a computer, and I try not to call it a computer).

    In addition to its extremely low price (two car payments; it will last about two years before I would even think of upgrading), the aesthetics are phenomenal. I place it in a black leather case and it is stunning.

    The value it provides in starting conversations with attractive women is worth the price alone, if some folks continue to see it as expensive. I spend much of my time on the road, and it's been my experience that smart phones don't lead to interesting conversations; reading a book or surfing the iPad had resulted in lots of interesting conversations with attractive women. See my posting at one of my other blog sites.

    You are correct. I would like to see someone develop an app for locating wells in the Bakken. Truck drivers (fracking; oil takeaway; drilling; etc.) would love to have an app on their tablets connected to their GPS. It's not easy finding those wells in remote North Dakota.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have to chuckle. Just after getting that note about the Zune, the AP prints a story about Microsoft's 1.5 million stockpile of Microsoft phones sitting in warehouses, not being sold.

    So, yes, Zune owners are correct: the Zune is very, very inexpensive. Microsoft, I assume, will soon be giving them away. Google gives away a free Android with every purchase.

    So, some things in life are free. iPads cost about two car payments and last a lifetime in "technology years."

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bruce,

    In regards to Ipad and well locations:
    Do you know a way to convert well locations to lat/long?

    Ie. SENW 32-142N-100W in Billings County

    If it can be converted a GPS map of well locations could be made.

    Zune Owner

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, under my "Data Links" tab is a method to convert section-township-range to latitude / longitude.

    For some reason I can't get the "link" to paste in the comment section here, but if you go to the top of my blog, third tab over is the "Data Links" tab. After reaching the "Data Links" page, scroll down, almost all the way to the bottom and you will find the link for converting section-township-range to long / lat. Interestingly enough, that information is already available in the NDIC reports and so one doesn't even have to do that.

    So, yes, an individual who knows how to write an "app" for a smart phone can easily insert this conversion method.

    I have never pursued learning how to write "apps" but perhaps I should. Ten years ago, I would have done that (I taught myself HTML and how to establish a webpage before "blogger" made it a no-brainer, for example) but now my energy and time go to taking care of my two granddaughters (maybe they will teach me how to write an "app" someday) and reading literature (which, I write about on another one of my blogs, albeit much less often).

    It's amazing how one's sense of mortality focuses one's mind. I used to be a real newsaholic and highly politicized; no longer. Now, I care less about how government regulates something and worry more how to use that information to my advantage to be a better investor.

    But I am rambling. Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the links section. Using Earthpoint I was able to create the following google map off the current drilling well list on DMR in seconds.

    http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=47.519328,-102.273958&spn=5.238744,9.876709&z=7&msid=217766746226342201499.00049802564b43631922f

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for your kind comments. The best part about this blog is all the information folks alert me to.

    I have enjoyed Earthpoint, locating wells, etc., but because I do not own any mineral rights, I find it more of a novelty than a tool. But a lot of folks would can benefit from Google / Earthpoint.

    ReplyDelete

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