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& a photo by Troáns on Flickr.

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Apple iPad is a hit, or is it a miss?

The long awaited launch of Apple's newest piece of portable technology has arrived. A step up from the iPod Touch and iPhone and a notch down from a Macbook, the iPad lies somewhere in between. Expected to be a hit, skeptics wondered how much the iPad would live up to expectations of being a extremely portable and suave computing device. According to an article by USA Today, the iPad is a raging success, although staunch "technological types" are sticking to their skepticism for the time being.

While the iPad offers a smooth and lustrous eye-popping facade, it is still in the first generation of it's model. Looking at what it has to offer, it merely presents itself as an unconventional, ideological device that has yet to have the kinks worked out. That is not to say it is a horrible buy, but more or less to suggest that as with Apple's line of iPod's it holds great promise for future models.

Gripes most have with the 1st gen model of the iPad are it's lack of Flash support and lack of keyboard (which is a separate buy needing a dock). The variations in models at this point are basically in size and whether or not you want 3G functionality, which hasn't hit the markets yet in the initial release of the iPad.

According to the table in a sub-article of USA Today's story, the cons of functionality weigh in against the Pro's of it's sleek style. If you're in the market for a sexy and bold version of the iPod Touch/ iPhone with web surfing and ebook functionality, all while having some extra pocket cash the iPad is probably a great buy for you. On the other hand, if you want more computing ability you should stick with a computer for the time being.

Slate/ Tablet PC's are catching on fast in the market, with competitors offering similar products with more functionality. It's only a matter of when, not if, Apple will come out with a better next-gen model of the iPad, hopefully including usb ports, Flash capability, and the ability to multitask with programs. While the release of the iPad has been quite successful, there is room for improvement and hopefully in the near future 2nd and 3rd gen iPad's will be hitting the market that will replace the need for laptop computing for the general to sub-advanced levels of users.

Misleading Information About American's Favorite Animal

How do you feel about pets? When asked this question most would think there would be more than two categories of animals to choose from. But, not the case for this USA Today graph. This graph was creatively prepared but the content it delivers and the title chosen don’t work to make it very newsworthy.

This graph provides only four options for pollers’ to choose from when asked “How we feel about Pets?” I think the question is a little misleading according to the information provided. The Graph only contains Like Both, Like only dogs, Like only cats or Dislike both. These categories don’t leave much room for any other animal to be considered when trying to find out American’s favorite pets. Also, next to the graph a generalization is concluded from the information provided saying, “Most American’s like both dogs and cats.” I don’t think this is a very fair conclusion to make when no other animals were included in this survey.

It is obvious that this graph’s wording and categories could use some revising, but besides that there are some positive qualities we can focus on. The illustration of a dog giving a cat bunny ears is attention grabbing to viewers flipping through the site. Also, using a house to display the graphs bars is another creative way to present these findings. The graph is also very easy to read and the information is well organized on the page. But other than that, I don’t see this graph providing any newsworthy information.

All in all, I don’t think I would say this is a very useful or reliable graph to consider. The title may lure viewers in, but I don’t think the content provided relays any important information to readers. So, other than this graph including a well thought out illustration, I don’t think it carries much credibility or purpose.

Annoying Additional Airline Baggage Charges

In the past few years many airlines have established an additional baggage charge. This charge generally ranges from $8-$24 depending on the airline and their policies. This charge does not come without complaint from many consumers who have become fed up with charge after charge added onto their already pricey airline ticket. Savvy Sugar has posted this chart to show consumers what airlines let you check bags for free and how many and how much additional bags cost http://www.savvysugar.com/Airlines-Increase-Fees-Additional-Baggage-1124326.

This chart makes an easy visual for consumers to analyze in order to understand who charges more for a fee that is already frowned upon. the consumer is able to see how much they will have to pay if they need to check three bags or if their bag exceeds 55 pounds. It is also easy for the consumer to compare airlines in one simple chart according to baggage charges.

On the other hand, this chart does not come without flaw. This chart is only able to show the consumer how much they will have to pay if they exceed 55 pounds or need to check 3 bags. The chart shows the variation in free bags checked throughout the different airlines. Some let you check zero bags for free and others accomodate and enable you to check one to two bags for free. The chart becomes confusing when it jumps from zero bags checked for free to showing you how much three bags would cost you. what if you only wanted to check one bag? How much would that cost? In order to be more effective this chart needs to show the consumers how much each additional bag costs instead of jumping to how much three bags cost.

In addition to this chart, I think, and many consumers would most likely agree with me, that these baggage charges are ridiculous. Not only does it make the consumer angry when they get to check in and realize that these charges have been added on or increased, but it also makes the job harder for the airline attendants who check you in. I cant imagine a job where you can expect half of the customers in a day to yell at you about something that you have no control over. I think that airlines should just add the baggage charge into the initial cost of the ticket to reduce confusion as to why the customer is paying for something that was once a standard idea that if you bought a plane ticket your bag would also end up in that destination without any extra fees.

Airlines are businesses just like any other. I dont understand why there are so many complications within their systems. I think that there must be a way to reduce confusion for not only the customer but also their employees. I think these additional fees only increase the confusion for all involved. I feel like the idea of traveling with any airline is one of the most stressful experiences. I dont think i have ever traveled through an airport to find everyone happy with no disgruntled customers.

NatGeo shows us how precious our water is.

even though there are 366 million trillion gallons of water on planet earth, humans are, surprisingly enough, still managing to take this precious resource for granted.

National Geographic released a special issue of their magazine this month entitled "water: our thirsty world" to showcase this growing problem. this issue details the ways that people use water, where country's water supplies come from, how we are using our water sources inefficiently, and how we are changing the ways to use and preserve this life-giving natural resource.

along with the special release of their magazine this month, they are also using the National Geographic website to inform the public about our earthly drought. one link in particular, really caught my attention. titled the hidden water we use, this graphic illustrates the magnitude of water consumption that is necessary to sustain living beings. honestly, it was pretty eye opening.

the graphic is a slide reel that shows us how much water certain animals, crops, gases, and even power sources need to be sustained.

a few of these products, in particular, caught my attention. rice, for instance, was a real shocker. rice production around the world, uses 1,350 trillion cubic feet of water annually; this accounts for 21% of our global crop production. and while this is only 21% of our global crop production and not water supply or freshwater supply, 1,350 trillion cubic feet of water is still pretty big number to wrap your head around. it is also an important percentage when considering that 70% of the world's freshwater is used to make crops.

two other products that made me think twice about where our water is going were the cow and the pig. 1 pound of beef requires nearly 1,800 gallons of water. that is not 1,800 gallons of water per cow, that is per pound. pigs too, surprised me. they need 576 pounds of water for every pound.

now this isn't saying that we should stop feeding our cows and pigs. don't get me wrong, i'm trying to eat me some steak and bacon for breakfast. it just gives people an idea of how much water is used.

water is obviously a precious commodity. there is no doubt that it keeps us alive, along with many other living organisms as well. we will always need to use this resource to grow crops and to sustain animals. what this graphic is trying to do and what it does successfully is show us why we need to take water conservation seriously. there will always be a need for water. just turn off the faucet when you're brushing your teeth, fix the leaking bathtub, and find ways to conserve water. National Geographic is merely showing the importance to not be wasteful of water and to understand how necessary it is for us and the world.

Graphic on Incarceration Rates

http://www.usatoday.com/news/snapshot.htm?section=M&label=2010-03-16-clunkers

There is a graphic pertaining to the incarceration rates in prisons under the news tab of USA Today's snapshots section (graphic 18/20).

The graphic relates directly to what the article is talking about. It is a picture of a simple prison and portrays the two lowest and highest states per 100, 000 residents. I don't think that this graphic is all that effective. It basically reminds you of what a prison would look like and many of us already know or have some kind of an idea of what one would entail. The way the statistics are placed on the graphic are very vague and vulerable. Looking at the graphic almost makes me think it is pointless they could just state that Maine has the lowest and Louisiana the highest. The graphic is also uneffective because it shows almost a cute version of a prison. There is nothing shocking or eye catching about the portrayal of the prison one could almost think that it is a brick house with a huge chimney. When presenting such high incarceration rates the graphic should reflect the negative aspect of such rates not that Lousisiana has the most people living in cute little prisons. This graphic sugar coats the fact that there are such high incarceration rates in the U.S., therefore not effectively delivering the shocking rates to the viewers.

And the biggest beer selling holiday is..

If you had to guess which holiday is the biggest beer selling holiday, what would you say? Or would you even care? Well on this chart found on the USA Today website, you can find the chart that will give you all of your answers, or will it? This graphic proposes that most perhaps would think that the Super Bowl could be the largest selling beer "holiday."

The word "holiday," brings up the first problem with this graphic. I don't really think that it is fair to be comparing actual holidays like the 4th of July and Christmas, with the Super Bowl. To myself and most others I would not identify the Super Bowl as a holiday. All of the other top 9 seem to be actual holidays until it gets to the Super Bowl as 10th on the list. Also, it seems odd to me because it only shows the number of cases of beer sold. You have to keep in mind for Super Bowls many people go to bars to celebrate, so judging on cases bought doesn't seem to be all that accurate. Also, for many of the other holidays that were on the top they are more grill out type holidays where it would make sense to buy cases of beer. So in that case I think that it's odd that they make it seem like a big shock that the Super Bowl is number 10 on the list.

OK so now that we have the negative out of the way, there are a few things that this chart did positively. I can say that I liked how they laid out the information. It is organized in a nice way that is easy to read. It also only displays the information that is the most important and doesn't contain a bunch of extra clutter. Also, aside from the guy in the background holding a beer with a cheesy smile, the bright color is nice to attract attention.

All in all the quality of this graphic is just OK. I think it would be much better if it didn't include the Super Bowl as a "holiday," but that's just from my perspective. It is kind of an interesting thing to know but I wouldn't say it is one of most newsworthy things.