I just got the word BibleXpress 1.6.1 was approved.  It fixes lots of bugs, especially for ensuring iPhone/iPad cross compatibility, and a search engine bug that turned out to be a compiler error!

I’ve been testing out the user experience on my iPad, and I’ve got to say, this thing is sweet! We haven’t yet seen what all developers are going to be able to do with this revolutionary interface, but I’ve found some really fun games and drawing apps so far.  I think the professional apps will be the best on iPad, but it’s going to take months or even a year or two until we see the real potential.  For now, I can use it to take notes in meetings, and finally stop lugging my entire backpack around with me full of my computer, charger, papers, pens, etc...  It’s amazing the difference the iPad makes by removing the coordination of moving a mouse!  I’m making some other mock-up apps to learn about the user experience for various tasks, and planning new features for BibleXpress to take full advantage of the large screen.

Here’s my short impromptu personal review of the iPad:

Remember Penny’s “computer book” from the cartoon Inspector Gadget?  This is it, but waaaaay better.  Remember “PADD’s” from Star Trek?  This is it, but waaaaaaay better.  Remember the Kindle?  This is it, but waaaaaaay better!  So here’s the short list:  1) get a case.  I would say get Apple’s case, which is nice because it feels like a notebook in your hand, but their case & docks are incompatible, and putting the iPad in the case takes enough time that you won’t want to swap it.  2) upgrade your USB ports to handle the massive power requirements.  Newer Macs can handle it, PC’s generally can’t.  3) It’s heavier than you think, so holding it for long periods of time (in one hand) is obnoxious, you’re going to use it on a desk or our lap most of the time.  (Two hands is ok.)  4) In landscape orientation, the keyboard is the same size as a physical keyboard, so typing is way easy.  5) The available e-readers are still awful, but iBooks is just ‘ok’ IF you have .epub files.  I want to page through a .pdf like I would a book, and I’ve tried readMe, MyPDFs and iPDF and nothing’s there yet...  If you’ve got a reccommendation on an .pdf e-reader, let me know.  6) Moving files back & forth is easy now with “document sharing” through iTunes.  I’m looking into ways to use this for several apps.  7) Keynote for iPad does not do “actions” only “builds”!  So if you have really awesome Keynote presentations, don’t expect them to work fully, or even show all your images. 

BTW, in my personal life, I got a real shock Monday afternoon.

I was doing my dishes leaning over to put a plate in the dishwasher and BLAM! I was on the floor.  Turns out I hit my forehead on the cabinet door, and wow did it hurt!  I realized the pain, and reached up and felt my forehead, it was a gash, about an inch long, which, btw did not bleed as much as I thought it would.  Everyone is asking if I needed stitches or had a concussion, and my guess is “probably” but I have a hard head, and I put plenty of Neosporin on it so I won’t get a scar.  But I’ve been kinda woozy yesterday, and I had a real hard time focussing on my work.

“what work?” you ask.  I’m finishing the last edits on my dissertation before my defense.  My goal is to have my dissertation edits done by the end of the week, and then my committee will declare a defense date, which is a presentation oral-final-exam concerning my doctoral research.  Right now we’re targeting Friday, April 23rd.  If all goes well, I’ll be a free man on April 24th.  Instead of having an expensive dinner, I’m going to invite friends to go to Rudy’s BBQ here in (I’m not paying for guests, just eating) and I’ve asked my parents to bring some real BBQ sauce, not this spicy Texas stuff.  My senior year at Auburn, I lived next door to The Barbecue House.  (See that photo?  That’s my apartment building in the background!)  They have (literally) the best BBQ in the world, so I’m asking my parents to bring a bottle or two of that sweet Alabama BBQ sauce since they don’t sell it here in TX.

Oh, did you see Apple’s announcing iPhone OS 4 tomorrow morning?  I knew something smelled fishy about iPhone OS 3.2, but I didn’t know what...