Apple Unveils the iPad Discussion

[brickman65]

It's a classic Anti vs Zealot camp. Welcome to online forums -- you'll find similar battles on every online forum. It's the nature of the beast.

True but over the years we have all come to expect more out of BH. That is why we come here. Usually we are able to discuss and debate with out all of the other junk.

Maybe it is just me but it seems that the iPad has caused more than just debate. In fact, IMO, the discussion has almost gotten "Crackberry" forum like. It has been suggested, insinuated, and down-right stated in more than one thread and/or post that if you use Apple products you must Technologically Challenge, A Computer Retard, or just down right Stupid.

I for one have been a little disappointed.

[Gerard]

Seems you're perhaps forgetting, or maybe weren't around for the various flame wars on BH back in the early to mid 00's. There were plenty, most memorably those initiated by one who shall remain nameless, but who most devilishly managed to anger dozens upon dozens of us with his seemingly bottomless supply of nonsense, revolving mostly around how the PDA was essentially dead and just didn't know it yet. Guy wanted a PDA which would open his house and car doors too. Well, they've certainly managed to cram more and more features into smaller and smaller PDAs, including cellular radios in most cases... but every single function of the Pocket PCs I used back then is still alive and kicking in the phone I use today. Didn't matter though that he was full of beans. Wanted a fight, and found one on Brighthand. I'm not proud of having participated... I was at the time mostly confused that a seemingly intelligent person could be so blatantly un-intelligent in his perspectives on the subject and hoped to find the root causes. But there's no profit in that tack, apparently. Better just to let it lie when someone goes all nutzo about one side or the other. It's not like we're discussing religion here or something. Now if Ballmer were to show up on BH and go on a rant about the iPad, that I could understand!

[palmgeek5394]

I don't see much of a market for this apart from ebook/etextbook reading and basically anyone who wants a really big iPod Touch. Gaming would be awkward on such a large device, and in comparison to anything running a desktop OS (or Android, to some extent), it's a bit limited. If the iPad's battery life isn't too bad in comparison to an eink ebook reader and it isn't much more expensive, I'd go for an iPad that does a ton of stuff versus a single-purpose device with a black and white screen. Some people might still pick a Kindle or something over this, but apart from various, not-so-common uses, random web browsing/media, or etext reading, I don't see much the iPad can really replace. Whether this fails miserably or not will probably depend on how they market it and what they market it as, as well as how big the target audience is...

[tmedvick]

True but over the years we have all come to expect more out of BH. That is why we come here. Usually we are able to discuss and debate with out all of the other junk.

Maybe it is just me but it seems that the iPad has caused more than just debate. In fact, IMO, the discussion has almost gotten "Crackberry" forum like. It has been suggested, insinuated, and down-right stated in more than one thread and/or post that if you use Apple products you must Technologically Challenge, A Computer Retard, or just down right Stupid.

I for one have been a little disappointed.

Compared with the rest of the net, I have found the debate here a lot more civil. Maybe rough for for BH, but still mostly focused on ideas and products and not insults.

[r0k]

@tmedvick: If 7 had been available a couple of years ago, it might have saved us from flushing all our windows boxes out the door and getting Mac. I must repeat might. Upgrading from one version of OS X to another is a process that mostly runs unattended and once complete everything is right where I left it. You mentioned several boxes were wiped but some weren't. I remember hearing that upgrading to 7 was a painful process involving a wipe of anything other than Vista. I have more to say on this but it will have to wait. Must run out the door. Back later...

[Antoine Wright]

And for all the hassle that it is updating desktop OSes, Apple's use of the iPhone OS on the iPad means that there's less a hassle for them in updating, less for users in going from a mobile (small) to a mobile (large) paradigm of use - and if done right, does exactly what MS has been saying with "pocket PC" all along.

Yes, its not as innovative to us who've been doing it, but that's just the point. You don't make money marketing to the same people over and over - at some point, you need to smooth out the potholes and shake things up a bit. For Apple's audience, this is what's happening. The fun part is that its just far enough of an audience that it will effect the rest of the players in the tablet/netbook/notebook space that everyone can benefit. The only real question is what exactly they will do to offer value where Apple has now totally taken some of the legs out of a niche.

Ironically enough, from the mobile (small) side, Nokia, RIM, and even Palm are well positioned here. The only question with the latter two makers is how they will not so much respond, but carve out innovative use in an increasingly blended space.

For users such as many here, we are ahead of the curve in how we use this stuff; and we are behind it in terms of how much friction we will endure. When the market(s) move towards areas where we had specialized skills, its time for us to sharpen our knives or develop a new toolkit. This is the one constant in terms of innovation - you either innovate continually, or you become mainstream (read: accepted by the majority) and lose those characteristics which made you unique.

For the mobilists here, I would hope that innovation continues (despite financial, social, or environmental pressures). Because arguing about your relevance when the seasons have changed is a losing game never worth spending energy towards.

[ward.smith]

Nicely put Super Moderator.

I suggest if you do not have anything new to add that you do not add to this thread. I am really tired of hearing that the iPad is a big iTouch. That and many other things have been said over and over. How about some new thoughts and observations?

[tmedvick]

@tmedvick: If 7 had been available a couple of years ago, it might have saved us from flushing all our windows boxes out the door and getting Mac. I must repeat might. Upgrading from one version of OS X to another is a process that mostly runs unattended and once complete everything is right where I left it. You mentioned several boxes were wiped but some weren't. I remember hearing that upgrading to 7 was a painful process involving a wipe of anything other than Vista. I have more to say on this but it will have to wait. Must run out the door. Back later...

I did find the process from xp to 7 unfriendly unless installing clean. The xp box kept in place sadly went xp -> Vista -> 7 that wasn't particularly painful, just long. Vista to 7 was incredibly pleasant. I liked Vista when it ran, but it was a poster child for Microsoft's troubles: vendors' drivers were never properly updated and MS did a terrible job of certifying them.

I house a Mac user, I feed and clothe him, we get along. I have no prejudices against Mac users. Some of my best friends are Mac users. It just isn't for me. I don't care for Mac, My son has had one and I have used it, I even once tried to switch to Mac as my PC for 2 months. I simply never found it intuitive or pleasant. I felt like I was playing in someone else's house.

All of that being said: if the iPad was a Mac I'd be sorely tempted. Instead it is an iPod. It is limited in ways that make me know it is not (currently) for me, it is good enough that I believe it will have an audience, but that the audience will be limited.

[tmedvick]

Nicely put Super Moderator.

I suggest if you do not have anything new to add that you do not add to this thread. I am really tired of hearing that the iPad is a big iTouch. That and many other things have been said over and over. How about some new thoughts and observations?

Could MS ever support the iPad directly - not a compatible product, not Dataviz?
Could there be an Office for iPad?
Would the App store approve it?



When I wander the halls of my work, iPhones are used by incredibly powerful executives, executives who forced AT&T repeaters throughout 7 different buildings to accommodate their iPhones. Very few of these people will be interested in something that doesn't work directly with MS. There is no way the office will switch from MS and there is no way that these people will do carry a second item with them. Especially one that may be looked at with derision.by important people.

[Antoine Wright]

@tmedvick - the iPhone already views MS Office documents just fine. There are a few editors as well. I would assume the same for the iPad since "its just a bigger iPhone."

Here's something to think about: MS is moving Office online, starting with the hybrid Office 2010 package. The following version of Office for the enterprise will work with SharePoint as simply as some work with chat and email in Google. The entire suite will be web-based within 2-5 years time. What's a dedicated editor or viewer needed for again when the entire suite will rely on the idea of "3 screens and a cloud"? That is, Office is moving completely to the cloud, meaning browser-tech based (for the most part). What IT group won't mind that kind of granular control over app access? And better yet, what user will complain about "favorites" being the application links - which open immediately - over dedicated apps and the support alongside them.