iPad musings

Okay, the sleeping-badly situation is getting out of hand. All the waking up again and again during the night has got to stop. Jared suggested I try taking melatonin, which can reset circadian rhythms, and at this point it can't hurt to give it a shot. And that is the last thing I'm going to say on my sleep issues for a good long while, as I'm sure you're sick of hearing about them.

Not that anybody asked me, nor should they given my complete dearth of expertise, but I'm going to tell you what I think of the iPad. I got to handle one at an Apple store recently, and well, I liked it as a thing on its own, but in the larger sense, I wasn't especially impressed.

Is there anything to it besides the fact that it's... a giant iPhone? That's cool, I guess-- God knows the annoyances I have regarding the limitations of the iPhone, and one with expanded capabilities would be much appreciated. As I mentioned, I use my iPhone as a makeshift laptop all the time. I only have a desktop right now, so if I ever want to bring a computer with me, the phone is as close as I'm going to be able to get. Something similar to the iPhone that is intended to function more like a laptop would suit my purposes nicely, wouldn't you think? But besides the larger screen, some of the more basic personal computer functions like word processing, and (I would hope) faster processor, I don't really see a huge leap forward. There's no camera, it doesn't support multi-tasking, there's no input besides the one for the typical Apple charger cable. It's basically a giant iPhone you can't make calls on. If I need a laptop, and I'm willing to spend money to acquire one, what reason do I have to not put the $499 price the iPad retails for right now toward an actual laptop that does more?

It's a cool thing. A very cool thing, in fact. If someone gave one to me, I'm sure I'd use it all the time. But is there enough utility in that coolness to make it necessary for people to pay all that money to own? I'm not sure. My question simply boils down to, unless you're buying simply for the coolness factor, which some techies certainly do, why would one prefer to spend that money on an iPad rather than a regular computer which would have more functionality?

The thing that annoys me about it is that the people whose purposes I would think they'd truly suit, the people that compute only on the most casual level, are probably never going to get them. The people who are going to buy iPads are techies, the hard-core Apple fans. They're going to think it's cool and living-in-the-future-feeling enough to shell out the money, despite the fact that they've probably already got machines at home that can do more and need way more computing power for their doings than an iPad can provide.

The iPad would be the ideal machine for someone like my mom, who uses computers to read, send e-mail, and surf the internet. A lightweight, easy-to-use device that allowed her to do all those things would be perfect. But she would never be inclined to spend so much on some gadget. She is, however, not totally unlikely to get ahold of one if bought for her by my much more technologically-inclined dad.

Am I missing something? I am not very technologically savvy. These are just my impressions from my very ignorant point of view. It's basically just a highly portable, not-very-powerful computer, right? Is anyone going to buy it instead of a computer? Is its utility really great enough for it to be bought as anything more than a cool novelty or convenience in addition to your more useful machines?

I now sit here and prepare to get schooled by people who understand the subject far better than me.

Muppet fan help?

I think there are enough Muppet fans on my friends list that this might be an effective venue to pose a Henson-related question.

So many years ago, when I was but a nipper, I saw a Muppet special on television that I absolutely loved. It was a behind-the-scenes documentary of sorts on all the processes behind the making of Muppet movies and shows. It was hosted by Jim Henson himself; given the timing, it probably would have had to have to been one of the last things he made before he died. The really awesome thing about it was that the Muppet characters were part of it, too-- though they acknowledged their existence as constructed things, they were still people participating in the presentation. A scene following the mention of having to periodically replace worn-out Muppet parts where Bunsen points out to Gonzo the cracks in the foam around his mouth to Gonzo's extreme discomfort particularly sticks out in my mind.

I loved it so much, and I've only seen it the one time all those years ago. I desperately want to see it again.

Now I have periodically tried to identify this fantastic special over the years and met with little success. I am beginning to wonder if I hallucinated it, as with my luck nothing of that level of sheer unadulterated awesome could actually exist in this life. But on the off-chance that the universe will throw me a bone, I was wondering if any of you were familiar with it and could, at the very least, tell me the NAME of the thing, if not point me to some obliging collection of videoes on Youtube with which I could view it again.

Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Or am I raving here? Help!