The One-Month iPad Challenge

I've always been an iPad skeptic. When my daughter first asked me about them back in January 2010, I wrote a snarky Facebook note that prompted a fiery exchange with my friend, Matt. My post went like this:

"Dunno... Neither here nor there, like that Air thing from a few years back but cheaper and cooler. Still not a real computer - and I am still a computer gal, I think. I want RAM and GIGs, and tons of utility applications, not futility applications (for me the fundamental difference between a phone and a computer). But at $500 bucks, not a horrible thought. Great. Just another device to carry around! Pretty soon, my purse will contain:
1 ipod (classic)
1 iphone
1 flipcam
4 flashdrives
2 chargers
2 iPod/iPhone cables
1 VGA/mini DVI adaptor
1 remote for my computer
1 computer charger
1 Kindle
1 iPad (sounds like a a super-duper feminine hygiene product for the digital age)
1 portable external hard drive
1 emergency network cable for wireless failure
1 ipod-to-speaker output cable
4 headphones, one with built in mic for phone
1 H2 Zoom microphone
1 MacSpeech headset
1 partridge in a pear tree

You think I'm kidding? Nope! Except for the partridge, the Kindle, and the iPad (only men could have come up with that name! They need more women in Dorkdom!), those ARE the contents of my purse.

Time to shop for a bigger purse."

My purse is a lot more streamlined these days, and yes, I did give in and buy an iPad last year. But I hardly ever use it. I still maintain that iPads are superfluous to those who already have iPhones and Apple laptops. But as more and more school districts (including New Canaan Public Schools) invest in iPads, I feel compelled to explore their potential as stand-alone computing tools.

Thus the January pledge:

For the month of January 2012, I will leave my laptop at home, and try (as often as possible) to use my iPad (or my phone) for all computing transactions while on campus during the school day. 

This means that when I am not using my iDevices, I will be relegated to using Windows machines, and...well... that's all I am going to say about that.

So this is my first post about this pledge. In order to minimize clutter on my own blog, all subsequesnt posts will follow below. 

WEEK 1
Day 1 - Data, Printers, Spreadsheets
Day 2 - Spreadsheets (part II), and Blogs
Day 3 - Browsers, Bookmarks, and Blogs
Day 4 - Audio, Formatting, and email