iPad

Originally Posted by dusty

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God that was a cringe.
Yep, seems like everyone is getting on the bandwagon and ******** on this device. Usually an Apple launch gets a few haters, few flamboyant lovers (no mater what it is, like that newest mouse) but the iPad has hit an all time low for Apple as in disapproval of a product that hasnt even launched yet.

They were also quite vocal when their then outdated phones dropped in price.

Originally Posted by ratboycom

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the iPad has hit an all time low for Apple as in disapproval of a product that hasnt even launched yet.

And you are clearly enjoying the hell out of it, for some reason.

Originally Posted by dusty

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And you are clearly enjoying the hell out of it, for some reason.
probably because they've been selling overpriced electronics for a while now but fanboys gobble them up regardless. it's nice to see all you apple guys exude some level of common sense.

Originally Posted by jrmy0641

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it's nice to see all you apple guys exude some level of common sense.
+!ELEVEN!!!

I think it is time for Ellen to chime in on the iPad subject...

I found this quite interesting. Nick Carr's take at The New Republic.

Originally Posted by Jekyll

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Looks 'tarded.
[Posted from my MBP]

Agreed. So it's basically a touch screen netbook, except crappier?

Originally Posted by audiophilia

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I found this quite interesting. Nick Carr's take at The New Republic.

Interesting article. I think if you set aside the Apple/Steve Jobs impresario subject, it's fairly elementary to note that the traditional PC has been losing ground for years to other devices. By and large people do not need real computers at home. Most people don't need a computer to write letters, make spreadsheets, handle their finances or do other more specialized tasks. Particularly since every white collar worker in America has a work computer that they can use for those items. Other than families with kids who need real computers for school work, a large proportion of our country can get by with just an internet device.

I'm not sure that the iPad is completely responsive to that however. I hear all of this talk about how it's going to finally get computer-illiterate geriatrics to catch the computing wave, but it's not a stand-alone product, it needs to be tethered to a PC. Now maybe in a few generations it will be what everyone expected it to be, but right now it's not that thing. Contrast that with the iPhone and iPod which came out of the box strong as a replacement for devices that people were already using. iPads will start out as people's third internet device (after their computers and phones).

Frankly, I see the iPad as a response to the fact that the market is evolving, not a force of change itself, and that everyone is figuring out that it's moving away from heavy clients. That's not news to anyone, just like the move to digital music wasn't a surprise. The reason people are questioning the iPad is because it doesn't appear to them to be the bridge to the future.

For those of you actually interested in more "big picture" analysis of the iPad, here are some articles with a variety of different viewpoints. I don't (and obviously can't) agree with all of them, but I found them all insightful in some way. In descending order of polarization: - Negative: Why the iPad Is Crap Futurism - Positive: Future Shock - Positive: iPad: an Apple for Mom - Negative: On the iPad - Neutral: Is the iPad the harbinger of doom for personal computing?

[q] it's not a stand-alone product, it needs to be tethered to a PC.[/q]

Does it really? Assuming we're talking geriatric/minimal use demo here, they don't need a PC for e-mail, web browsing, contacts, watching video, etc.. Why would the iPad absolutely need to be tethered. (I don't even sync my iPhone, FWIW)

They need a wi-fi hookup. Which will itself be irrelevant if 4G owns the world in a couple of years.

This is straight marsupialed, worst part bolded: http://kotaku.com/5458822/why-the-ipad-is-crap-futurism

Reinventing The Television Apple is marketing the iPad as a computer, when really it's nothing more than a media-consumption device - a convergence television, if you will. Think of it this way: One of the fundamental attributes of computers is that they are interactive and reconfigurable. You can change the way a computer behaves at a very deep level. Interactivity on the iPad consists of touching icons on the screen to change which application you're using. Hardly more interactive than changing channels on a TV. Sure, you can compose a short email or text message; you can use the Brushes app to draw a sketch. But those activities are not the same thing as programming the device to do something new. Unlike a computer, the iPad is simply not reconfigurable."

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Yeah, using a computer without delving into its bowels is just like watching TV. What percentage of computer users radically reconfigure their PCs? Even heavy computer users (particularly in Apple's "creative professional" desired demo) don't do that very often. The nerds who build their own PCs aren't going to want an iPad, but they weren't going to want one if it cost twice as much and ran OS X, either. We aren't living in the days when everyone who worked with a computer needed a working knowledge of DOS commands. 99% of Apple users and buyers have never opened Terminal to execute a UNIX command.

Just my two pence. The iPhone was of no interest when it first came out; a smartphone lacking HSDPA and MMS was of no use to me. I had to wait for the 3GS to come out before it became a viable proposition and after having tried pretty much every other smartphone on the market, I decided the iPhone was the best option for me. The single most important reason was the responsiveness of the iPhone OS. I see the same story happening again with the iPad - underwhelming hardware until a couple of years later.

As fas as I'm concerned, the iPad is a nice-to-have gadget but I can see where I could potentially use it, and strangely enough it is not while on the go but at home. Mostly doing things I already do with my iPhone but would like a bigger screen when at home.

Regarding the lack of Flash, am I the only one who is almost glad about it? Yes, a lot of internet content is unavailable on the iPhone OS but I'm in favour of any effort that will result in web and browser developers moving to HTML5 sooner rather than later to deliver multimedia content.

Originally Posted by emakris

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The single most important reason was the responsiveness of the iPhone OS. I see the same story happening again with the iPad - underwhelming hardware until a couple of years later.
Have you read any reviews from those who handled them after the event? Almost every one of them has mentioned that perhaps the most impressive thing about it was its sheer speed and interface responsiveness. Example: http://daringfireball.net/2010/01/ipad_big_picture

Originally Posted by emakris

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Regarding the lack of Flash, am I the only one who is almost glad about it? Yes, a lot of internet content is unavailable on the iPhone OS but I'm in favour of any effort that will result in web and browser developers moving to HTML5 sooner rather than later to deliver multimedia content.
As both a web developer and end user, I wholeheartedly agree.

And right on cue, John Gruber on Flash: http://daringfireball.net/2010/01/blue_boxes