OMG the iPad

[mark12b]

i think if it was a slow, low-res (1024x768), keyboardless mac, then it would be stupid. there would be nothing new, and using it would be cramped-feeling and no fun. as others have pointed out, if you want a real OS on a small light device, you can just buy a small light laptop, and you get way more storage, computing power, pixels, etc..

and of course if you're geeky enough to want to do real computing on the ipad, then (a) you also have a real computer of some sort, and (b) you are capable of setting up a vnc connection to it. that way you can run your windowed OS and all the applications you already own on the same powerful machine that you normally use -- just using the ipad as a terminal. obviously there would be limitations and the experience wouldn't be that great overall, but i'd wager that vnc performance is still better this way than trying to run os x on the kind of hardware that fits inside an ipad.

the fact that the ipad is a fast, high-res (1024x768), keyboard-capable ipod touch makes it interesting and to me kind of exciting. i can't wait to play with one, because it does stuff that hasn't been possible or realistic to attempt on the iphone OS before now.

this looks like the perfect "grandma" computer (or "e-mail machine" as a buddy's grandma used to call it) and for someone like that it could be all the computer they need.

for the rest of us though it is probably a third device, iow not meant to replace either a computer or a smartphone. and any discussion of multitasking should keep in mind that usually you'll usually one of those other devices nearby.

[chucka]

2) I could replace the Nook I just got and get a color screen, etc. - but I now have to shop on Apple's book site and the list of file support is even more limited than the Kindle - Strike 2

What's really sad to me is that all of those things could be done, but the choice has been to not do them.

2) there is a kindle app that you can download all your amazon books too, and it even syncs with they kindle to make sure your page is where you left it on the other device. If kindle has an app for the iphone, it should work for the Ipad. They will probably even make a more ipad friendly app like all the other app makers are going to do. You should not have to buy from the ibook store.

as far as not doing everything they could to this device goes. they have to leave room for improvement for the other generations to come out and have. make money on this one now, and then make more money on the next, and then the next. thats the way companies think to stay in business.

[SkaBob]

My point wasn't to try to sell you one of those, it was to show that someone's already made something that's fixed all of the issues people already have with the iPad and they did it cheaper. Apple's device that hasn't even come out yet is behind the curve.

Oh, I agree wholeheartedly, I was just musing because I had a spare minute and something funny to say...

What's really sad to me is that all of those things could be done, but the choice has been to not do them.

Pretty much my thoughts about every Apple product.

I mean c'mon, when are they gonna let people change the batteries in their phones and Ipoods? How lame is that? Sure, my mp3 player (sansa fuze) doesn't let me swap the battery out, but it has a> an SDHC slot to expand it's storage with and b> a price tag less than 1/10 some Ipoods.

[garublador]

Oh, I agree wholeheartedly, I was just musing because I had a spare minute and something funny to say...

It was a good setup for that joke. I definitely respect that.

My prediction is that this will make tablet PC's more popular and it will quickly become obvious that you can do better than the original iPad. Apple will put a more useful OS on it, add some other normal computery type stuff, claim they're geniuses for doing it and then they'll be worth considering buying. Fanboys will claim that peple like me who predicted that the device will be a flop were wrong even though the device changed fundamentally to something that already existed.

[Lithicon]

as far as not doing everything they could to this device goes. they have to leave room for improvement for the other generations to come out and have. make money on this one now, and then make more money on the next, and then the next. thats the way companies think to stay in business.

[quote="SkaBob" Apple's device that hasn't even come out yet is behind the curve.

They were behind the curve with the Iphone, why not the Ipad? Seriously though, I don't see how taking a step in the past, giving people something they already have, is good business sense. If they'd just give it the capabilities it deserves, THEN upgrade to the newer things. It make more sense. Technology changes a lot in a year, not leaps and bounds, but it changes more than you can imagine.

It's like A cpu manufacturer coming out with a new CPU, but companies decide it's more cost effective to keep pumping out the old Motherboards to support only the old ones till they drain every single cent they can out of the old CPU. Then a year later, when that CPU that was released a year ago. Bring it out as if it's something that's brand new. By that time another CPU is going to be coming out, and it just stays behind. It doesn't make sense to give people old stuff they already have, when there is better stuff out there....

[black udder]

2) I could replace the Nook I just got and get a color screen, etc. - but I now have to shop on Apple's book site and the list of file support is even more limited than the Kindle - Strike 2

What's really sad to me is that all of those things could be done, but the choice has been to not do them.

2) there is a kindle app that you can download all your amazon books too, and it even syncs with they kindle to make sure your page is where you left it on the other device. If kindle has an app for the iphone, it should work for the Ipad. They will probably even make a more ipad friendly app like all the other app makers are going to do. You should not have to buy from the ibook store.

as far as not doing everything they could to this device goes. they have to leave room for improvement for the other generations to come out and have. make money on this one now, and then make more money on the next, and then the next. thats the way companies think to stay in business.

I have a Nook, I don't have an itouch or iphone, so I'm not familiar with the apps. If there was an app to move all your nook books to the ipad, that would certainly be helpful.

Honestly, I got the nook because I had a similar gripe with the Kindle. No additional memory capacity.

It must be that I'm a niche audience - but the fact is when you talk to the visionaries you hear "there will be a day when you can carry all your stuff with you.." meaning, your entertainment (music, books, video, etc.). Heck, they've talked about recording your life on camera!

Point here is that we currently have the technology to add some of the things that I've mentioned and they're not even close to being cutting edge. GOOD products give you current technology included and attempt to leave room for the future. Who knows what we'll have by generation two of this thing. But Apple has seen it profitable to provide you with tech from two years ago, market it to you like it's tomorrow's tech, and then sell it to you like nobody else has done it or can do it.

While I can appreciate the device as a handheld video player, and a great touch pad, it's still nothing more than a toy. And a limited one at that. It doesn't have to be an uber PC to be productive - the mini pc's have shown that, but even they are now giving you the *option* of a hard drive.

[Lithicon]

Udder and I were on the same track there. That's how I feel about it. They really need to up the technology for it to be interesting.

The thing about the mini pc's is you have to know when and where they excel, they are perfect for fast paced society and school.
They do nearly everything you can ask of a "computing machine." When I look at the Ipad. I could honestly see myself using that because it doesn't have to be unfolded like a laptop..... It's more compact, and as I said before, being an AVID Iphone user, I really could enjoy the larger feel of it. I could use that every day and never get tired of it. If it offered the capabilities of something it's trying to compete against.

[some call me...tim?]

I have a Nook, I don't have an itouch or iphone, so I'm not familiar with the apps. If there was an app to move all your nook books to the ipad, that would certainly be helpful.

Honestly, I got the nook because I had a similar gripe with the Kindle. No additional memory capacity.

Slightly off topic, but BU, how are you liking your Nook? I was looking at those before they came out, and they looked to be better than the Kindle for what I was looking for (no proprietary DRM stuff mainly).

[Leopard]

sheit, look at all these readers ... didn't know i was in such classy company

[Jesse B 707]

gahbage

[JR]

I was gonna post this in the LOL thread but this thread needs a double post. And LOL thread needs it for balance because in the same vein I previously posted one in Finnish this one is in English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQnT0zp8 ... r_embedded

[black udder]

Geez..this is the 2nd joke off the ipad already...thought it was funny - mocking the very ad they used to introduce it:

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech ... r-explains

[black udder]

I have a Nook, I don't have an itouch or iphone, so I'm not familiar with the apps. If there was an app to move all your nook books to the ipad, that would certainly be helpful.

Honestly, I got the nook because I had a similar gripe with the Kindle. No additional memory capacity.

Slightly off topic, but BU, how are you liking your Nook? I was looking at those before they came out, and they looked to be better than the Kindle for what I was looking for (no proprietary DRM stuff mainly).

I've only had it a few days. Good news and bad.

Good news is as a reader, it's really nice. Simple to use - simple to get files from B&N and the prices are the same as Amazon. I don't see anything in it that would make me think a kindle is any better - look and seem to act about the same.

The difference for me was the ability to add a memory card and that it read more formats and here is where it gets a little squeaky.

The memory slot is inside the unit. You pull the back off and it's got a slot like a cell phone SIM or memory slot. It's not difficult, but I would have expected a slot in the side. But..whatever. Easy enough to get to and not like you'll be swapping it around all the time. Once you plug it into the PC you can see them.

Problem I had was with my memory. I got an SDHC class 6 card from transcend and while it does format, it refuses to format sometimes and when I plug it into a card reader and into the PC, it would say it's corrupt and ask to fix it. It's done this enough for me to believe that the card is bad. A shame. I've got another one on order.

Now, the bad (and this is really for me and not necessarily applicable to others). I had hoped I could throw some of the gazillion e-books, film scripts in .pdf and other documents on my pc into the Nook. It works and it doesn't.

The film scripts are so microscopic due to formatting, they're unreadable for me. For those with good eyesight, might not be an issue. You can adjust the font size (4 sizes), but when you do that, the formatting goes out the window and then it's difficult to follow.

Also, there doesn't appear to be a way to search for documents, so when you have 41 pages of documents, you have to flip through each page and look for what you want. Can't just jump to another page.

Also, I don't know how the Nook reads titles and authorship. I had a bunch of documents that had one filename but listed totally different on the nook.

My purpose for getting it was a) To reduce the number of books on my shelves. It does that great.

My other purpose was to be able to take a lot of my PC documents with me - that's going to take some tweaking. It's possible that if you set it up to look a certain way and title and author the piece appropriately, that it will be just fine, but that would mean manual intervention for just about anything that goes on it - which is not something I'm thrilled about since I have hundreds of scripts in .pdf or other formats.

So, for their market, I think it's a home run. For knuckleheads like me that want it all -- not so much