Ruthless Idealism (Home)

Over the years I’ve tried a few iPad keyboard add-ons. I like bringing my iPad along in places where I might have used a laptop in the past. It’s small, light, has built in LTE and a great touch UI. That said, doing any significant text entry can be annoying because I can think far faster than I can type on the glass screen.

Recently, Logitech has released a new keyboard case called the ‘FabricSkin’ (built using a similar process as Microsoft’s ‘Surface’ tablet keyboard) and mine arrived a few days ago and I’ve been trying it out.

Overall, the FabricSkin is very nicely built which is a nice contrast to the previous best-in-class keyboard cover, the ‘UltraSlim’. That unit is plastic-y and feels cheap while the FabricSkin is clearly more premium. The keyboard automatically pairs with the iPad via Bluetooth via a set of magnets that engage when the keyboard is in position. This means no disabling Bluetooth just to bring back the on-screen keyboard if you need it for some reason.

The action on the keys took a little getting used to but now I’m able to navigate quite quickly. Like many keyboard cases there are extra buttons for adjusting the volume, switching apps, etc…

There is one downside to the FabricSkin and that’s the weight. The iPad is significantly heavier with this thing wrapped around it and for that reason, I wouldn’t consider using it all the time, around the house… but as a case to use when taking the iPad to a meeting or out to a coffee shop to do some writing, it’s a nice match.

A few days ago I posted a tweet about how much I enjoy and use my SodaStream, a product designed to allow you to carbonate water and other beverages at home. We use it all the time.

A friend John responded with a quip about the suffering of Palestinian children (SodaStream is an Israeli company). John is a clever social sniper (one of the reasons we love him) but whether he meant it as a serious political statement or not, it was a reminder that the products and services that we buy can have real social consequences.

Casino magnates Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn donated heavily to defeat President Obama in 2012. Did you avoid staying in their hotels as a form of protest? I’m sure that some did. I didn’t stay in a Wynn hotel in 2012 but this wasn’t the reason, it just worked out that way.

Chick-Fil-A brass have famously funded anti-gay marriage causes and that’s been enough to keep me away from their newly opened Santa Barbara store.

Products from Apple and most other consumer electronics are made in Chinese factories where the standard of living is far far lower than anything we would consider acceptable, yet I spend thousands of dollars a year with the fruit company.

There are a myriad more examples and the continued liberalization of campaign finance laws will no doubt cause it to snowball.

How do we pick and choose which economic activities to engage in or boycott when their principals fund causes that we do or do not believe in? I can’t say I have a great answer when it comes to myself but John’s tweet definitely made me think about it.