Sunday Morning Coffee #15

Another great coffee illustration by Trina Clark. The  95¢ Sale at

DigiScraps

has been extended to March 14.

So . . . What About this New iPad?

Wow – it’s fabulous. Awesome icing on an incredible cake.

However, I want to share a few thoughts on the subject.

I have spent most of my life as an early adaptor. And an upgrade junkie.

No, I will not camp out overnight to get the first gadget available – because I am also a camping wuss. But, within reason, I am usually on the first train to newness.

I had the first Mac, and am now on my 20th. I had the first iPod, the second iPhone, the first iPad (albeit a bit later than most other early iPad adaptors). I had the first Photoshop and have spent an extra $2000 in upgrades to get all the way to my current CS5 copy.

I am on my 8th digital camera since 1999. I bought the first model from Olympus, which was the first company to do it right. Interestingly, it had the same megapixel count as the iPad2 camera!

So, my early adaptor credentials are pretty much  in order.

However, there is something that is fundamentally true: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and if you don’t need better than you got, don’t upgrade.

Adobe has miffed off everybody on the planet with their new idea of only allowing upgrades from the most recent version. The tech world is a-buzz with the crumminess of that idea.

But, that crummy idea has made a lot of people think in a new direction.

Maybe, before running out and grabbing the next best thing, we should stop and think about whether we need it. Or not!

What a strange idea.

The truth is, the new iPad IS just frosting. It is thick delicious frosting to be sure, but the real magic is in the cake underneath.

And the iPad #1 is a great cake.

The iPad #2 is a great cake – with a thinner icing of a low res camera and a little more speed.

The iPad #3 is a great cake. And the frosting is an amazingly beautiful retina display, enhanced speed, a 5 megapixel camera instead of 1.4, and a few tricks, like dictation. It also has a new iPhoto but the iPad2 will run that as well. So will the iPhone.

But you have to ask yourself, do you NEED the frosting?  If so, do you NEED it $500 worth?

Are you unhappy with the speed of your current iPad? Anything wrong with how your screen looks? Do you already have a digital camera that sports at least 5 megapixels? (You probably have 8-12 mp or more if you bought your camera in the last 4 years). Are you really going to use the sketchbook shaped iPad as a camera? Can you hold it still enough? Are there a bunch of apps that will do better photo editing than iPhoto, and will run fine on your current iPad? (Yes)

Believe it or not, these questions stopped this early adaptor from hitting the preorder button last Wednesday night.

That being said, after a careful analysis of the questions above, I found I actually do need and will buy the new iPad. But here’s why . . .

I am out of room. Because of the very elaborate iPad Studio Workshop I am offering, I have used up the 16 gigs on my iPad 1 and need to move to 32 gigs of storage.

Because I am writing workbooks on the iPad, I could really use the ability to scan my paper sketches directly into the iPad, which you can do with a scanning app if the iPad has a camera. Right now, I use my iPhone and transfer the pictures. Saving a step when you are as pressed for time as I am, is not a small deal. And finally, also because I am writing books on the iPad, I would really save time with the Dictation feature, which will turn my spoken words to type.

So, I need some of that frosting for those reasons, but if my iPad use were a little more “normal”, I would not. And, maybe you don’t have to feel the upgrade pressure either. Maybe your current iPad or iPhone is just fine. (I am not mentioning other tablets here because, truthfully, the “cake” itself is extremely different.)

My Advice:

If you do not have an iPad, want one, and you are not pinching pennies, run, don’t walk, and get the new iPad.

If money is an issue, get whatever model fits your needs. All three models are sweet magic for an artist, and there are good deals to be had in refurbished and gently used models. A dear friend has spoken for my iPad 1 – which helps me upgrade!

If you have an iPad or iPhone, and you ran through the questions above without any severe pangs of longing, or any common sense reasons to get the new and shiny, don’t upgrade. Be happy with what you’ve got. Upgrading is always out there as an option, when you feel the real need. And it will be easier. There won’t be any lines!

By the Way . . .

Someone asked in Comments whether my iPad Studio Workshop would be appropriate to the new iPad 3. The answer is yes, of course.

Just like Photoshop versions, each upgrade is not a change in the basics at all. Just frosting. My workshop deals with learning to eat the cake and is open and appropriate to all models of iPad, and the iPhone3S and 4. You can sign up any time and catch up. We are coming up on our second Workbook in the series of eleven.

Because I was so long  winded so far, I will move briefly through my other treats for you this week.

More Free Fonts

There’s a Blog I love and want to share with you. It’s called

Going Home to Roost

and you will even see by the blog header why I would love it (birds, flowers, gardening, DIY crafts, etc.)

This is an appropriate share for the beginning of National Craft Week!

The blogger is bonnie (can’t find her last name, but she is from California, and doesn’t capitalize her first name either – kindred spirit!)

The whole blog will entertain your home-loving soul for hours (and then visit her Pinterest boards!). You will probably emerge by Tuesday or so.

And, it just so happens that bonnie has posted several Free Font sources – which I know you all love. The following link goes to the blog search results which brought them all up in one place.

Free Fonts

Artist of the Week

Matt Schlian

I do love paper! Matt’s work is paper folding – incredible paper folding. He is a scientist as well as an artist, and the process and theories behind this work boggle the mind (my mind, anyway). He has been a featured TED speaker and few people get that honor.

This piece (We Are Building this Ship as We Sail It) is from the 2010 Sculpture Gallery on his site, and it is one of the simplest visually – but can you even imagine creating smooth, rounded folds like the? Yikes.

Wet Towel (different than a wet blanket) . . .

Here’s my “Save the Moment” iPad art for this week.

I dropped my towel in the shower, and dealing with that problem took a lot of my moments! Deserved to become an iPad sketch, right?

Next time, I will have another privacy warning for you – this time, it’s Facebook.

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