This is my last article for the Occidental Weekly, so it’s only fitting that it’s a Tyler the Tech Guy column. I discuss the forthcoming iPhone model, including the upcoming software (OS 4.0) and the leaked phone prototype.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

I wrote the following article for the April Fool’s edition of the Occidental Weekly, which, unfortunately, isn’t available online. However, if you are around Occidental be sure to pick up a copy — the entire thing is hilarious.

The Apple iPad comes out this Saturday, April 3, and I am bringing you the world’s first review of the device. No, I haven’t used it yet – nobody has. It doesn’t matter, you should go and buy one right now (or go start forming the line down at the Apple store).

It’s a magical device! Apple says so. There aren’t any other gadgets out there that let you perform actual supernatural feats.

Any old PC can let you read your email, but only the iPad lets you read your friends’ internal monologues (in 3D). And while I can create a classic lolcats image using Photoshop on any desktop, the iPad can summon a real, talking lolcat (or laser cat) that keeps getting itself into adorable situations.

Those are just examples. The iPad still does all the things that the iPhone can do, like find your precise location in Google Maps (as long as you’re not in China… then Google has NO IDEA where you are), or watch a cat play the keyboard on YouTube.

And, as always, “there’s an app for that”. The iPad has access to thousands of applications. This includes apps that can make it look like you’re drinking a keg of beer, send you back in time to 1986, tap for mana of any color, and let you pass through the barrier onto Platform 9 and ¾.

Now, the iPad isn’t perfect. Sometimes, seemingly at random, it will crash and give you an error message, stating, “You have displeased the iPad.” Currently, the only fix is to coddle the device for a while, whispering lullabies to it.

Also, the iPad has a tendency to disappear in a puff of red smoke with Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ laughter audible in the background. It will usually reappear hours later in a completely different location. When asked for a solution to this problem, Apples’ Geniuses shrugged, stating that the device wouldn’t be magical if they or we knew how it worked. However, they did say that this behavior is “definitely not covered by the warranty.”

These minor flaws are no reason to not run out and pick up an iPad right now. What are you waiting for? Go. It’s not too late to for you to be that one guy who camps outside the store overnight for no discernable reason.

Related Posts:

• The Apple iPad: Impressions and Analysis
• Apple’s Long Term Strategy for the Ipad
• The iPhone 3GS: My Impressions

Are students soon going to be carrying around all their textbooks on devices like the Kindle? In an article I wrote this week for the Occidental Weekly, I discuss the implications of textbooks as ebooks, and why I think e-textbooks aren’t yet ready for prime time.

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Also check out what I’ve written about the pros and cons of electronic textbooks, and how publishers can make electronic textbooks successful.

A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

In an article for the Occidental Weekly, I look at Microsoft’s recently announced Windows Phone 7 Series, which does something unique — integrates Xbox Live into the cell phone. Here’s the article lead:

As a generation, we are fixated on “converged devices” such as iPhones and Blackberries that not only function as cell phones but as mp3 players, internet browsers and GPSs. In order to really succeed in the market, companies are constantly competing to create the phone with the most useful apps and most advanced features. In 2010, Microsoft is set to take phone utility and innovation to a whole new level. Last week in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, the largest international trade show for cellular phones, Microsoft unveiled its plans for an unprecedented combination: a cell phone with Xbox gaming capabilities.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

Is the Apple iPad a game changer… or will it ruin Apple’s hot streak? In an article for the Occidental Weekly, I give my impressions of Apple’s latest “magical” device. Here’s the article lead:

Last Wednesday, Apple unveiled the iPad, a top-secret product that they have been working on for years. Tech-lovers across the globe eagerly awaited this unveiling only to be disappointed: Apple’s latest innovation is… a giant iPhone.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

The rumors of a Bing-News Corporation exclusivity deal seem to have died down recently (with the holidays and then CES occupying everybody’s time), but now that I’m back I still want to post an article I wrote for the Occidental Weekly last month about the deal, and its ramifications (good and bad) for everybody who uses the internet. Here’s the article lead:

Many of us rely on Google for all of our Web search needs. But what if Google no longer had all of the answers? Recent negotiations between Microsoft and News Corp. may threaten Google’s perceived control of the Internet.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

I cover the FCC’s net neutrality proposal in this week’s Occidental Weekly. Read on for a description of what net neutrality is, how it can affect you, and what it means for everyone using the internet. Here’s the article lead:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally proposed rules mandating net neutrality on Oct. 22. Net neutrality, in general terms, is the theory that everyone should have equal and open access to the Internet. If the rules go into effect, things are likely to remain relatively the same as they currently stand—however, if the rules are stopped in Congress, it could affect the Internet experience of everyone, including users of Occidental’s network.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

My Tyler the Tech Guy column in this week’s Occidental Weekly is a variation of my post about what Google’s new free GPS software will mean for the GPS market, but with a key difference — I focus on what Google’s offering will mean for consumers (aka us).

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

Windows 7 has generated more buzz and hype than anything Microsoft has released in a long time. People are crazy excited about it, but does the product live up to the buzz? I give my impressions on Microsoft’s new OS in an article I wrote in this week’s Occidental Weekly. Here’s the article lead:

Yesterday, Windows 7 finally came out. With all the lead-up, television ads, and hype, it feels like this launch has been coming forever. Luckily, it seems that all of this hype has been justified.

Since Vista came out, people have been waiting for a successor that addressed the flaws people saw in the operating system. Vista had performance issues, overzealous security measures, and could take minutes to boot on some computers. By all accounts, Windows 7 has significantly better performance than Vista. Plus, Windows 7 smartly keeps the elements where Vista was a step forward, including the user-interface improvements and eye-candy that it brought to the table.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

In an article published in this week’s Occidental Weekly, I look at Apple’s new iPod lineup. Apple added very little to their devices… but they can now compete in some crazy new areas. Here’s the article lead:

Apparently, your iPod can do anything. At least that is what Apple is saying about their new iPod lineup, which they announced Wednesday, Sept. 9. What’s interesting about Apple’s keynote–besides the fact that Steve Jobs is back with a brand new kidney and still looks too thin–is that despite giving all the iPods boring, incremental updates, iPods are now starting to compete in several new markets.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.