Does posting three blog entries today make up for the past few months where I've maybe averaged three posts a month? No? Oh well, it was worth a try.

Today was pretty momentous for me. I put my money where my mouth is and registered for the 2010 Chicago Marathon. The race will have 45,000 runners, and over 9,200 of us signed up today, the first day of registration.

It's kind of frightening, to be honest. 26.2 miles is a long way, and even 13.1 was a pretty large challenge for me last year. At the same time, though, I feel really good; my training schedule has felt pretty easy for the past few weeks, even though I've increased my speed. I really believe I'll be able to complete the training and successfully run the race. I am getting sick of the treadmill, though - I ran outside today (30°F) and it wasn't too cold after the first mile. So long as the roads stay clear of snow and ice, I might start doing more of my runs outside just to get away from staring at the same wall of the gym every day.

I just watched the Apple special event where they introduced the iPad. I basically agree with what everybody else says - it's a big iPod Touch. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing; I love my Touch, it's probably my most-used device. I can see plenty of situations just in my own life where the iPad really would be a great tool. For instance: on tour looking at a week of 6 or 8 hour bus rides. Or taking a document (presentation, spreadsheet, etc) from home and using it on campus. What it's not good at is document creation. Yes, they came up with a new interface for all the iWork apps so that you theoretically can create some kinds of documents. But, the ability to edit a spreadsheet does not count as document creation if you can't remaster an audio file or record video. The iPad's primary function is consuming content.

That's one thing Apple has been very particular about throughout the years: distinguishing between content producers and content consumers. Admittedly, everyone does a little of both. But, Apple tries very hard to put people in one box or another, and so far they've been very successful at it. Historically, Apple has catered to the content producers. At home and in business, everything was always IBM and Microsoft. Until you walked into the graphic design office, and every desk had a Mac on it. And, quite honestly, I don't see that association with content producers changing any time soon. They sell Final Cut Pro, 30 inch cinema displays and 8-core towers, and their close working relationship with Pixar and other multimedia companies spurs the development of those kinds of products. Content producers still can find the tools they need at Apple.

Apple's current branding, however, ignores the content producers entirely. When was the last time Steve Jobs stood on stage and talked about the XServe? When was the last time anybody made an announcement about the latest innovations in the Pro line of applications? With iTunes, and iPhoto, and iDVD, etc, Apple is marketing itself to the content consumers. Just go to the iTunes store, purchase whatever content you want to enjoy, and Apple will give you a great viewing experience without having to worry about where the content comes from or how it got onto your machine. GarageBand and iMovie and iWeb are also part of that marketing message, and they do facilitate some content creation. But, they're little more than toys, available for consumers who want to play around with content creation without taking it too seriously. And that's the marketing message: "You can record your own music with our tool, just like the real musicians!" While Apple does make tools for the "real musicians," those tools are not GarageBand and the microphone built into the Macbook. In short, Apple has created specialized products for various groups of people.

This specialization brings me to a reflection that I think is applicable to the iPad. I remember ten or so years ago when people were starting to talk about computers as specialized appliances, just like your dishwasher or alarm clock. I fought the concept; I argued that you'd never have separate devices for your word processor and your spreadsheet. I said that the computer was an inherently general-purpose tool and would therefore never become an appliance like that. I, quite clearly, was wrong. Many households now have a specialized computer (DVR/Tivo/etc) for playing media through the TV. Many people have a specialized computer (smartphone) for correspondence, including email, telephone, twitter, facebook, and other channels. And, there's the specialized content creation computer sitting on the desk in the office, which takes care of word processing and spreadsheets.

Where does the iPad fit into this view of specialized computers? So far, there hasn't been a very good solution for mobile content consumption. The iPod and other MP3 players have done pretty well for audio content, but that's fairly limiting in a predominantly visual culture. The iPhone and other smartphones have made some progress at making more content portable, but the experience is pretty kludgy for almost all media types. The iPad is the first serious attempt at making consumption of most media portable.

Other tablet computers, which have not done well in the market, were intended to be general-purpose machines - just like an office computer - in a smaller form factor. They failed because the smaller form factor limits the UI in many of the functions for which one would use a larger computer. But, Apple is going about it a different way. This is not a general-purpose computer; it is a very different product than a netbook or the Macbook Air. Its closest cousin is Amazon's Kindle, but Amazon stopped far short of Apple's vision. The iPad is a mobile multi-media content viewing appliance.

Last night, Katy and I went to Wild Goose Creative for Lisa Dillman's Restaurant Widow potluck. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it was really pretty awesome. Wine and beer had been donated for the event by local producers, so there was plenty to go around, even though the place was packed. Sadly, I didn't have enough room in my stomach to try everything that people brought, but I got pretty close. We didn't really know anybody else there, but we met some very cool people and had an enjoyable evening.

So, what's been going on in the Coy family life since the last time I wrote? Katy's been hard at work for the symphony. Last weekend they brought in Andre Watts to play Beethoven's Emperor concerto and concluded the concert with Brahms 2. All I can say is that it was really a very good performance. Watts's performance of the Beethoven was simply exhilarating, and the the Brahms had a lot of passion and fire in it. I was very happy to be there.

I've been teaching, of course; it's entering recital season at school, so I'm getting some requests from the upperclassmen for extra lessons. I'm honestly really excited about some of the performances that are upcoming. I think the trombone studio will have a pretty solid representation this year.

We're still in training for our spring races. Neither of us is running very far yet; we've got plenty of time, and it's much better to be conservative than to be injured. Plus, it's been very cold, and we don't own cold-weather running gear. So, we've been stuck indoors on the treadmill almost exclusively. I did run outside once, on a day when it warmed up a little. That was great, but it didn't last. Hopefully soon we'll be able to move outdoors. The tedium of the treadmill will make 10-mile runs really painful if we have to do them indoors!

Tonight, we signed up for a CSA share with Wayward Seed Farm, a local organic-process farm that specializes in heirloom varieties. We actually went to a wine tasting tonight where the farmers were present and got to meet them - they're a couple about our age; he and a friend work the fields, while she runs the office. This is their fifth year in business, and they have some pretty big long-range plans. We're very happy to be involved.