Why new IPad is a FLOP

By reading the title of this blog, I think you already know which side I choose. Yes, I choose a side that criticize Apple of its latest move releasing IPad. But before criticizing it, I would like to compliment Apple hardware house which release a new processor called Apple A4. Apple is the only company out there where you can innovate in such hardware and software level. Hey, even Microsoft doesn't make their own processor, not even Google. The performance of this processor is comparable to the "Moorestown" atom processor which is used in the Google Nexus One phone. It is considered as the fastest mobile processor out there.

Other compliment goes to the Apple ability to expand its revenue stream by making book store app inside its device. Apple cuts deal with a big publisher in New York in order to fill its virtual shelf with books. And this deal actually can be good for Apple, because publishers now have the chance to get out from the clutch of Amazon's Kindle. This can be good for publishers because with competitor for Kindle, they can bargain over the price.
























Now let me explain why it will be a FLOP. Let me start first with the presentation of IPad's spiritual father, Steve Jobs. If we compare the presentation between IPhone and IPad, the presentation of IPad just missed flares and optimism from Steve Jobs. It might just be my feeling, but for people who knows Steve Jobs, you should also look at his presentation when he is unveiling the first Apple computer in 1984. It is just not electrifying enough. And God knows what Steve, if you make such device that just simply an oversized IPhone, I don't think that you will be happy with your achievement. Hey, where is your famous "BOOM" word when you presenting IPad!

Second, I have problem with the price. The cheapest variant is 16 GB, sell with the price tag of 500$. 16 GB is not enough if you plan to put music, HD movie, and pictures there. I even choke with a 100 GB harddisk. So let us buy the 64GB variant, and it has price tag of 700$. If you have a data plan attached, then the price will be 829$. Compared to the price of Amazon's Kindle which is 260$, this device from Apple is still expensive. Compared to the price of netbooks in the market, they are all priced in the price tag around 250$ - 300$. But of course Kindle can not do web surfing as good as IPad!! but then let us look at netbooks. Netbooks can surf the web, and you can also read books with Netbooks. So IPad has to compete with netbooks in terms of functionalities.

Third, the operating system used is the same OS as the IPhone one. Only Apple made some built in app in order to make this device appealing. Also, all games that are made for IPhone can be played in IPad. And the backdraw of this OS is that there is no MULTITASKING!! Yes, it is not possible to chat with AIM while you read a book you bought in Apple Book Store. I chat occasionally, and I think it would be nice if I can chat while browsing through my favorite website.

Fourth, is the design of IPad. IPad use on-screen keyboard, which will be shown when you are typing mail, or having need to input something. If you know the shape of IPad, it is just like a flat slate, and imagine the position you have to take to type on that thing. You must put that thing on your lap, and by then you can type comfortably. Having to type on your lap for a long time is actually not good for your arm. As your arm is straining, it can cause some pain if the duration are long. Perhaps in the future, Apple will release a docking station and keyboard for its IPad. But if that happens, then its just Apple admitting the mistake of its INTUITIVE DESIGN. I better of with a tablet from HP where it has multi touch screen, and it has normal keyboard.


So All in all, this product is so NOT STEVE JOBS. I can say Mr.Jobs is proud of his multi touch, app store, itunes, book store concept. But for the device itself, probably he just feel so-so. If Mr.Jobs reads this blog, he can send me a personal mail to say if I am correct or not. No need for NDA because I will not tell anyone :)

Using Gmail as your mail server

Few weeks back, I face a problem when I am trying to setup a mail server for my website, SeleraKita.com. I found out that exim, the default mail server from my VPS is not working properly!! After looking the problem with a support technician from a web company, Pondok Media, it is actually broken because our previous sysadmin upgrade the Apache and PHP module manually through UNIX command, while he supposed to do it through WHM..... The moral of the story here is to always use your built in management control panel for your VPS. If you can't do it yourself, always contact the administrator of the VPS first, instead going on your own saga to do something that you will regret later :( :(

The solution of using Gmail as mail server was actually proposed by the web company I am working with. Kudos to the owner, William Sutanto who proposed this. So, instead of re-installing a new mail server, I can just outsource my mail server entirely to GMail. This is considered better solution than reinstalling the mail server, because a new mail server means that you must administrate it yourself. Using Gmail, it is administrated by google. Using Gmail as mail server falls under the feature of Google apps. There are already worldwide companies using this approach, such as Genentech, Salesforce.com, and Motorola. In this case, we are using only the gmail feature, but we can use many of the Google features such as Google calendar, groups, Docs, sites, and Video. all can be configured specific for your own company, and zero maintenance cost of course ;)


To use gmail as your mail server is actually very simple. You have a selection to use either Premier edition or standard edition. For cheap asses, use standard edition, its free!! You can see the comparison between standard and premier edition in the picture below



















SeleraKita only using standard edition because only gmail is used, and other enterprise functionalities are not yet needed. The steps to configure your VPS will be explained once you register to Google Apps. The nice about this is that you can use a mail address under your domain name, while the mail will be routed to Gmail server. For example, If I send an email to support@selerakita.com, then this mail will be sent to a gmail account that I made using Google Apps Control Panel. If you are enterprise company, you might be interested to use more advanced feature such as push mail, and this is also available. Even Single Sign On is supported by Google Apps.



















To cut the long story short, what you need to do is only modifying your DNS record. To verify that a certain domain is indeed yours, you have to add a CNAME record. In the configuration process of Google apps, you will be presented with a unique apps code. This code will have to be added as CNAME. Actually this step can be skipped entirely, and go straight to MX ( Mail Exchange ) record configuration. This is the entry that indicates that an email should be routed to Gmail server. You can see the example here below: