I’m going to give the Cons first:

• There is no USB port installed! You need a little dongle that plugs into the iPad to get a USB attachment. Going to lose that in the couch with the Apple remote…
• There is no way to change the battery yourself. This is the a full-body aluminum casing and there is no way to get to the battery but to take it apart.
• There is no way to change the hard drive with out taking apart the iPad.
• It only comes with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of solid state hard drive space.
• Programs can’t run in the background, so multi-tasking is out of the equation.
• It cost $130.oo more for a 3G data card installed… not only are you paying 200x the normal price for this adapter but you have to pay the $30/month for unlimited 3G access (or $15/month for 250MB/month… oh what a deal…) to AT&T.
• It doesn’t come with headphones.
• There’s no mic.
• There’s no camera.
• No Adobe Flash integrated on the browser yet… wtf.
• Low power processor that is only 1 Ghz.

The Pros:

• It’s light at 1.5-1.6 pounds
• It can run iPhone apps that you purchased already.
• Simple interface design… same as the iPhone
• Up to 10 hours of battery life.
• High Resolution screen
• The developer community is excellent and there should be some interesting apps coming to iPad only.
• Play movies that are purchased through the iTunes store.

As you can see, I don’t think the $499 (minimum) price tag is worth it. This thing needs a lot of improvements before I consider purchasing one. Since the unibody design has been released on most Apple products, I refuse to purchase any of them. They may have great hardware and software, but if I can’t upgrade things myself I don’t want it. I’m a tech at heart and I’ve built my own computers, so I know how to save money in upgrades and not waste it on over priced memory or hard drives.

I’ve read a few reviews and I understand that this is not suppose to be a full-powered PC but a simple task-oriented PC, but if I’m paying up-the-wazoo for this computer, I should have the ability to enhance the performance to my needs. Maybe I want to edit movies, built websites, and play WoW with out the computer lagging or taking 5 years to encode a media piece. I can only imagine if WoW was released on a multi-touch tablet PC…OMG!!

Let me know what you think about the iPad. I’m up for suggestions… maybe it will convince me to purchase one.

**All images on this post belong to Apple Inc.

Here are a few tips to people who want/need a website, web design, or type of web presence:

1) In your first meeting with a web design company please be prepared to express what you need in great detail for your small company, a personal site, or a new company. The web designers will need know your company in detail, your goals, your target market (and “EVERYONE!” is not a target market), budget, your current situation, and what you are expecting.

2) Trust the web design company  because they need to know the information. They will not (and shouldn’t) judge you in your lack of knowledge in the web and you are there to get a good understanding of what is possible and what isn’t possible.

3) Bring material to the meeting. This material should be information you might want to display on the site or what you want to express on the site. Also, logos and print material with design and color will give the web designer a better understanding on what you want in a site design.

4) The web design company should ask a lot of questions about your company and what you need; and if they don’t, this should be a red flag about the company. It is in your best interest to get a great website developed to work best with your vision and your market. If they don’t know what you need or want, then they are just giving you a site based on assumptions and that is bad.

5) Finally, don’t be afraid to call or email any and all questions. After the quote and proposal is presented ask more questions to make sure you are getting what you are buying because you might give the designers information that they did not know.

HINT: When it comes to web design, you are getting what you pay for, so cheaper is not better.

The plan for your web design should include a SEO and Social Media plan. This will give you a great start in building your brand because websites are a huge in the current economy.

If you have any questions please send them via email or comments.

It was a great turnout for the Bloomington Tweetup (#Bloomingtontweetup) at Stone Cutters Coffee! For all of you that don’t know what I mean by “tweetup”, it’s a term used to describe a meet-up of your Twitter friends. This give you a chance to put the actual person with the twitter name. It was excellent seeing Adam P. Schweigert (@aschweig), Kevin Makice (@kmakice), Colin Clark (@colinaclark), Phil Skaggs (@bastoid1), and Megan Meyers (@megameyer) come out for the first Bloomington Tweetup.

Please visit http://bloomingtontweetup.com/ if you want more information on the Bloomington Tweetup schedule. Also, the sponsorship on the site is $50 and all proceeds go towards  Jill’s House, a local non-profit that provides a comfortable, affordable home-like residence for cancer patients undergoing treatment at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute.

Here is some video from the event:

Also, I checked-in with FourSquare at the Stone Cutter Coffee. Let’s play!!

Please let us know when a better time to schedule a Tweet-up.

Social Media is not just a way to advertise but it’s a way to connect with your core market! This connection will build the brand to new heights by giving the core audience a feeling of trust and understanding about you and the company.

Let’s take Twitter as an example: Twitter is a way to quickly post a comment, suggestion, or idea to all your followers. This post is then read by the followers and this may initiate a conversation between a customer and the business. This conversation (if public) can be seen by all of their followers and the reach of your brand can be endless. This will build value into the company without spending a dime!

So, my message to all small businesses is that you should start using these networks to maximize your brand and build trust! Marketing with Social Media plus a great website will give you more recognition and hopefully get more customers.

Here are some high points of the year:

1. Acquiring a company and then growing to a level of getting calls weekly for work.
2. Growing partnerships to start looking for office space together.
3. Meeting new people and brainstorming everyday about something new and fun. It’s like startup weekend everyday.
4. And of course, having a great family and friends. (This is always #1)

Let me know what your high points were for the year! I would love to hear what you’re thinking.