How many times have you needed your USB portable flash drive and realized you had left it on your desk at the office?  How about being at a party where the host wants to give you the photos she took at your kid’s birthday party and your trusty flash drive is in your laptop bag at home?  Sound too familiar?   The problem with these ever more efficient mini-drives is not always speed or capacity; it is having one in hand when you need one.

To sit by and just watch one of the most important days in the history of technology pass me by without the least bit of action would be, in my opinion, a catastrophe! So this past Saturday, I set my alarm for 8 am, got a hot cup of Java for the road and headed over to my favorite Apple Store in Las Vegas at Town Square to get a feel for the iPad. Why am I aggrandizing the launch of the iPad? The answer is simple— it makes all of the devices that I’m using now, save for my iPhone, feel obsolete and that they will soon become just that. Soon, millions of people will realize that it is possible to interact with “technology” that gets out of your way so you can enjoy the experience and not be burdened with dusting off instruction manuals and brushing up on your computer science skills. Not to mention, realizing that you can do more things, more conveniently from almost anywhere with the iPad. Here are a few key points I gleaned from my short foray into the world of Apple’s iPad.

April 3rd is right around the corner for those intrepid early adopters to get their hands on a WiFi only Apple iPad. Being able to run the more than 170,000 apps from the App Store makes this one powerful and versatile device. A large number of developers will be developing iPad specific software, but many of the current iPhone and iPod touch apps should be able to run unmodified on the iPad. For my practice, I have five specific apps in mind that will be a shoe-in for my new iPad. Accessing them on the iPad’s gorgeous 9.7 inch touch screen, they will help me stay on top of my business needs.

The iPad brings with it the potential to reshape many other professions, industries and businesses including healthcare, print and video media, to the benefit of consumers in a profound and permanent way. As an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, I am usually busy with three types of activities in my practice: 1) seeing consults, 2) performing surgeries and 3) checking in with post-operative patients. Most of this is done in my office, however, sometimes these functions are performed in the hospital. The impact a tablet computer would have in my line of work, and in the healthcare field in general, with respect to patient safety and productivity, is significant. I’ll delineate a few thoughts on how this mobile computing platform can enhance our efficacy in patient care including in point-of-care and billing.

On Wednesday this past week, Apple unveiled their vision of the future: the iPad. A bold move to create a new category of product, somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop, as described by Steve Jobs at the announcement. Do we really need another device to complicate our lives further? Or part with more of our hard earned money for a better way to browse the web while our laptops and iPhones sit idle? Or perhaps this device will usher in a new era of how we interact with technology, consume media and open up entirely new opportunities and businesses that will drive the human race forward, if only to make it to Apple’s next big announcement when the fun starts all over again!

The last month has been very exciting and worrisome all at the same time. Why, you ask? Well, because Snow Leopard was released early, some companies that issue mission-critical business software were not prepared to deliver proper compatibility of their applications with the new operating system. Some companies didn’t even acknowledge their programs’ compatibility status with Snow Leopard (I’m looking at you, Intuit) with a timely announcement on their website or an e-mail to their registered users when 10.6 was released in late August! This was the worrisome part.  As far as the exciting part goes, I’m smiling ear to ear and enjoying every minute of my experience using Mac OS X 10.6!

The integrity of your data, especially your business information, is paramount to achieving success. If the information you rely on for your livelihood is compromised in any way, it could threaten your ability to generate revenue in the short term, at best, or cause you to shut down your operations, at worst. Either way, the ramifications could be devastating and negatively impact your overall future earning potential. Therefore, a number of backup solutions should be entertained to ensure your data is safely backed up and quickly accessible when the need arises. I own and operate a small business so the solution has to be effective and cost efficient. Here is how I handle this issue.

As expected, Apple shattered Wall Street’s expectations and reported stellar quarterly financials, again. So why the excitement and hype surrounding this expectation? Why in the midst of the greatest economic recession of our generation is this company flying high (financially speaking) and poised to fly higher? It’s a little something I like to call “Value.”

Apple announced yesterday that more than 1.5 billion apps have been downloaded with more than 65,000 apps now available at the App Store. This announcement comes after just one year of operation, reiterating Apple’s accelerated exponential growth.

It’s been a banner year for Apple, the Mac, iPod, iPhone and especially the App Store. With over 56,000 apps available today and well over one billion downloads before its first birthday, the App Store is fundamentally challenging our notions of what we can expect from our cell phones. There has never been a more exciting time to be a part of this revolution and witness firsthand how it will enhance our lives.

Labels and Addresses from BeLight Software is a superb application that is used daily in my office mainly to print addresses on envelopes and streamline mass mailings. However, it also can be used to print bar codes and price tags and it can allow you to design postcards and party invitations. In today’s difficult economic climate, multifunctional software applications that can help to make your business more efficient by streamlining your work flow, reducing inefficiency and maximizing your productivity should be utilized. Labels and Addresses does just that and it doesn’t disappoint.

So I understood that there was a pre-order option. I also heard that the iPhone OS 3.0 update was free and gave you most of the enhanced functionality of the new iPhone 3G S on the old iPhone 3G. Not to mention that more money would have to be spent in order to join the elite class of consumers who opted to get the upgraded hardware and accompanying perks of the iPhone 3G S, even if you were eligible for the “best price upgrade”. I’m painting a picture of what my mind, body and wallet were all going through on Friday, June 19th, the day that changed everything for the iPhone…again! So after deliberating long and hard (about 10 hours), I decided to go wait in line, again, at one of the local Apple stores and pick up the new iPhone 3G S in person. Here are my thoughts:

The Wall Street Journal reported late friday night that Steve Jobs had undergone liver transplant surgery two months ago in Tennessee. Jobs is reportedly recuperating well from the procedure. In addition, the CEO is expected to return to work at the end of this month as scheduled, albeit part-time for a month or two at the recommendation of his physicians.

WWDC 2009 keynote brought with it some incredible new announcements from Apple, Inc. From new notebook hardware updates to an update on the next major iteration of Mac OS X called Snow Leopard to an iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade and a brand new iPhone 3G (S) model! In addition, significant reductions in pricing were announced in respect of the MacBook line up and Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iPhone 3G. This last move shows that Apple has a keen understanding of the current market and they are positioning themselves to do well even in the harsh global economic climate. So why get all excited about this and how will this benefit you?

Recently, my iMac at home began experiencing graphic distortions that affected desktop icons and a myriad of different applications. Also, while editing and organizing my iPhoto library, kernel panics began to occur with increasing frequency whereas before there were none. So after performing an archive and install of OS X Leopard with no change in my iMac’s troubling behavior, I decided to take it to the Apple Store for a little Customer Care in person. Find out what my experience was like…... and why you might care.

Say you’re responsible for making money to pay the bills (i.e., the bread winner). Say you use technology to help you achieve your goals (see prior statement). What happens if the entrenched technology (Windows PC) you use doesn’t allow you to achieve the goals you’ve set because that technology has now become too limiting, inefficient and obsolete? Do you (A) continue business as usual hoping people decide to pay you a premium for you just being “you”, (B) take the proverbial “leap of faith” and trash your current software/platform for the latest and greatest out there and in the same breath lose all the information, data, contacts, etc. that you spent years cultivating, hoping that it all will work out in the end or (C) take my approach by leveraging the very best software and services out there to give you back the ability to control your business—to not be at the mercy of bloated “do nothing for me anymore but extort my monthly subscription support fees” and keep all your important information while giving you an advanced and efficient system that works for you? As electronic medical and dental records becomes more prevalent and eventually will become mandatory, these issues are vitally important to you today.