It's rare for me to experience gadget lust. Normally all the sex appeal has gone flat for the boring ol' gadget by the time this late adopter gets one. But recently I've gone crazy reading about Tablets; not the iShackle line of products made by Apple, of course. Their gadgets are for aspirational consumers, whereas I am a maximum bang-for-the-buck, no-nonsense type of customer.
This is about the Toshiba Thrive tablet, 10 inches, with the Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) operating system. The Thrive is distinguished from all the other Android tablets by its user-removable battery and its ports: it has a full-sized USB port, a slot for a full-sized SD card, and a full-sized HDMI port. Thus, the Toshiba Thrive tablet is the one most suitable for functioning as a substitute for a mini-notebook computer.
So you can see why I got excited. Then I searched for Android versions of the programs that I use now on my Paleozoic laptop: Firefox with AdBlock, Picasa on disk (not in the cloud) for editing photos, and a word-processor for text files. But when somebody mentioned that Adblock can't block the ads in apps, my bubble burst. So that's what this bandwagon of mobile gadgets and apps is all about!
I absolutely insist on blocking ads from my internet experience, not because I'm an NPR/PBS stereotype, and not because I can't see value in ads -- respectable, non-flashing, non-dancing-bimbo ads, that is. I just don't want the internet experience to fall into the same sewer as the boob toob.
I've just begun to read about Firefox and AdBlock for Android, so forgive me if my fears are exaggerated, but it appears that Firefox-with-Adblock hasn't gotten too far on (Honeycomb) Android systems. I wonder if they're even trying that hard. Perhaps they've already surrendered to the eventuality of Google's hegemony over tablets and smartphones through its Chrome and Android browsers and operating systems. Obviously Google is not in favor of ad-blocking features in browsers.
Once again I'm just guessing here, but is it possible that all this hoopla and hype about the latest mobile wunder-gadget really isn't about technology per se. It's about pushing the suckers towards apps just so the industry and its advertisers -- and not the ad-blocking browser -- control what's on the screen. It has been difficult for companies to monetize their websites, since readers expect everything for free on the internet. So the internet world needs to turn the readers of freebie websites into the viewers of apps, which either cost money to buy, or bombard you with noisy, filthy ads. Eventually they'll do both, just like the boob toob.
Advertisers must also be excited about every driver in America paying more attention to their smartphone or tablet than the road. Think how easy it will be to see some provocative ad on their gadget, and then surrender to their most juvenile desires for instant gratification by pulling over to a store or drive-through in the next couple minutes.
Thoreau would be impressed with the great progress we are making. The same ad, aimed at a couch-potato in his easy chair, can't produce any sales until the guy finds his car keys, his shoes and coat, etc. It could easily be 20 minutes between an ad and a purchase at a store, provoked by that ad. A modern economy can't work in slow motion like that!
This is about the Toshiba Thrive tablet, 10 inches, with the Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) operating system. The Thrive is distinguished from all the other Android tablets by its user-removable battery and its ports: it has a full-sized USB port, a slot for a full-sized SD card, and a full-sized HDMI port. Thus, the Toshiba Thrive tablet is the one most suitable for functioning as a substitute for a mini-notebook computer.
So you can see why I got excited. Then I searched for Android versions of the programs that I use now on my Paleozoic laptop: Firefox with AdBlock, Picasa on disk (not in the cloud) for editing photos, and a word-processor for text files. But when somebody mentioned that Adblock can't block the ads in apps, my bubble burst. So that's what this bandwagon of mobile gadgets and apps is all about!
I absolutely insist on blocking ads from my internet experience, not because I'm an NPR/PBS stereotype, and not because I can't see value in ads -- respectable, non-flashing, non-dancing-bimbo ads, that is. I just don't want the internet experience to fall into the same sewer as the boob toob.
I've just begun to read about Firefox and AdBlock for Android, so forgive me if my fears are exaggerated, but it appears that Firefox-with-Adblock hasn't gotten too far on (Honeycomb) Android systems. I wonder if they're even trying that hard. Perhaps they've already surrendered to the eventuality of Google's hegemony over tablets and smartphones through its Chrome and Android browsers and operating systems. Obviously Google is not in favor of ad-blocking features in browsers.
Once again I'm just guessing here, but is it possible that all this hoopla and hype about the latest mobile wunder-gadget really isn't about technology per se. It's about pushing the suckers towards apps just so the industry and its advertisers -- and not the ad-blocking browser -- control what's on the screen. It has been difficult for companies to monetize their websites, since readers expect everything for free on the internet. So the internet world needs to turn the readers of freebie websites into the viewers of apps, which either cost money to buy, or bombard you with noisy, filthy ads. Eventually they'll do both, just like the boob toob.
Advertisers must also be excited about every driver in America paying more attention to their smartphone or tablet than the road. Think how easy it will be to see some provocative ad on their gadget, and then surrender to their most juvenile desires for instant gratification by pulling over to a store or drive-through in the next couple minutes.
Thoreau would be impressed with the great progress we are making. The same ad, aimed at a couch-potato in his easy chair, can't produce any sales until the guy finds his car keys, his shoes and coat, etc. It could easily be 20 minutes between an ad and a purchase at a store, provoked by that ad. A modern economy can't work in slow motion like that!
Comments
Hey, doesn't consumerism fuel the economy? Some of my investments could benefit from this.
Tom in Orlando
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/technology/amazon-unveils-tablet-that-undercuts-ipads-price.html?_r=1&hpw
Bob
A 7 inch screen wouldn't be good for looking at websites; I think the netbook industry showed that 10" was the minimum. Of course, as my post argues, the industry doesn't want you looking at FULL websites since it is too easy for your browser to block the ads.
Since I am only interested in a tablet as a small-notebook-replacement for web surfing, word processing, and photo editing, the Amazon tablet wouldn't help me much.
Also I dislike them altering the front end of the Android browser and operating system. They are trying to build their version of the iShackle Syndrome: they want their "razor" to force you to buy "blades" only from THEM.
http://cdespinosa.posterous.com/fire
It still might be a good Ereader, though.
Bob
Probably not, but nonetheless I use Chrome on a laptop, and Adblock works fine there.
Bob
But would it still be true if Google managed to establish a hegemony in the laptop browser world the way that the Android operating system/browser (probably) will in the tablet world?
Mostly I use Firefox. However, perhaps my brain is so well trained to tune out the ads on search pages, that I don't even see them. Same thing goes for the annoying popups: close the popup or go to a site that doesn't annoy me.