ipad newbie - some thoughts

[Billee]

The original post by Kurosawa79 was the most accurate and insightful review of the iPad I have ever read.

As with most systems (including governments), you can have freedom from problems and worries if you are willing to give up freedom of action.

 

[Kaykaykay]

The original post by Kurosawa79 was the most accurate and insightful review of the iPad I have ever read.

As with most systems (including governments), you can have freedom from problems and worries if you are willing to give up freedom of action.

You're conflating politics with tech. You surrender "liberty" in all sorts random things if you choose to look it that way. For instance, if you drive a car that requires gas, you're buying into geo-politics, so maybe you should build your own car, which doesn't require gas. Or if you buy food from supermarkets, you're buying into agribusiness, so maybe you should grow your own food. If you buy Android, you're still buying into Google and friends.

 

[Billee]

The original post by Kurosawa79 was the most accurate and insightful review of the iPad I have ever read.

As with most systems (including governments), you can have freedom from problems and worries if you are willing to give up freedom of action.

You're conflating politics with tech. You surrender "liberty" in all sorts random things if you choose to look it that way. For instance, if you drive a car that requires gas, you're buying into geo-politics, so maybe you should build your own car, which doesn't require gas. Or if you buy food from supermarkets, you're buying into agribusiness, so maybe you should grow your own food. If you buy Android, you're still buying into Google and friends.

I don't drive or eat. I just play Angry Birds on my iPad.

 

[Mountainbikermark]

I try to keep an open mind about things that are different. It's easy to compare to something we are use to using because we are familiar with it. It's hard to appreciate something we are not accustomed to using. That being said, it's a fool who fails to recognize how something could be improved. That is the mother of invention. I think these tablets will become very similar in the not to distant future. One must admit that Apple does have a tendency to shun there nose at the "normal" ways of doing some things. Perhaps they will see the benefit of making their OS do some of those things, perhaps not.

They see revenue.
I had to spend over $50 on apps to get my ipad relatively close to the ability of my phone out of the box performance. Good Reader, icab mobile, xsysinfo, Splashtop, etc are nice and all that but to have to buy an app to attach to email responses, buy an app to put email shortcuts on my home screen, buy an app to upload, buy another app to see my bank statement because it's a small bank and uses the F word, to buy another app to not have to spend 5 or more minutes closing all my apps, to buy another app for my daughter to manipulate the desktop so she can play the free games on Kid Mode because it uses the F word, to buy another app to do just about anything on device with my photos. This doesn't include the chain to my desktop because of itunes that ios turns into a wireless ankle bracelet.
I agree in the future similarity. Around the time ios5 hits the Apple devices Android will be doing the same thing with its os by releasing Ice Cream Sandwich, which will make all things Android run 1 os instead of the 15+ versions available now. That will be a win/win for everyone as both platforms take large leaps forward.

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[kurosawa79]

The original post by Kurosawa79 was the most accurate and insightful review of the iPad I have ever read.

As with most systems (including governments), you can have freedom from problems and worries if you are willing to give up freedom of action.

You're conflating politics with tech. You surrender "liberty" in all sorts random things if you choose to look it that way. For instance, if you drive a car that requires gas, you're buying into geo-politics, so maybe you should build your own car, which doesn't require gas. Or if you buy food from supermarkets, you're buying into agribusiness, so maybe you should grow your own food. If you buy Android, you're still buying into Google and friends.

Freedom vs security (stability)

It's a simple enough concept and has relevance in tech too. Google gives me more freedom, but also gives me less security. The opposite for Apple. It's a simple analogy so take it at face value.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying either apple or Google have the ability to alleviate poverty or create a disenfranchised underclass through their policies...

Or do they? Apple are now richer than the US govt I hear and Billy Gates is crusading around Africa.

Politics is everywhere where choice is understood.

 

[kurosawa79]

I try to keep an open mind about things that are different. It's easy to compare to something we are use to using because we are familiar with it. It's hard to appreciate something we are not accustomed to using. That being said, it's a fool who fails to recognize how something could be improved. That is the mother of invention. I think these tablets will become very similar in the not to distant future. One must admit that Apple does have a tendency to shun there nose at the "normal" ways of doing some things. Perhaps they will see the benefit of making their OS do some of those things, perhaps not.

They see revenue.
I had to spend over $50 on apps to get my ipad relatively close to the ability of my phone out of the box performance. Good Reader, icab mobile, xsysinfo, Splashtop, etc are nice and all that but to have to buy an app to attach to email responses, buy an app to put email shortcuts on my home screen, buy an app to upload, buy another app to see my bank statement because it's a small bank and uses the F word, to buy another app to not have to spend 5 or more minutes closing all my apps, to buy another app for my daughter to manipulate the desktop so she can play the free games on Kid Mode because it uses the F word, to buy another app to do just about anything on device with my photos. This doesn't include the chain to my desktop because of itunes that ios turns into a wireless ankle bracelet.
I agree in the future similarity. Around the time ios5 hits the Apple devices Android will be doing the same thing with its os by releasing Ice Cream Sandwich, which will make all things Android run 1 os instead of the 15+ versions available now. That will be a win/win for everyone as both platforms take large leaps forward.

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Like you I'm not sold about constantly keeping an open mind just because something is "new and different." When you have used a whole spectrum of differing OSes (mobile or otherwise) in your lifetime you can form some critique of what doesnt seem to be right. I'm all for new ways of doing things. It's called innovation. But when that "new" way seems to benefit end users less than it benefits the company, we have a problem. What's the point of reinventing the wheel when you end up with a square wheel? My biggest gripe is that file system management is abysmal on iOS. We've been through decades of refining OS file systems...i remember using things like XTree Pro in DOS. Even that was a better files system manager than what's available on iOS now.

I do feel I need to circle back to my original standpoint though, and that is iOS does enough things well (very well in some aspects) to not completely make me feel like I'm being taken for a ride.

Your bank uses the F word? I am completely confused? Is this some hip, renegade bank I've never heard of? Do you get bank statements that start with "This is your F'ing bank statement. Pay it soon or we will F you up." Haha seriously I'm interested!

 

[Czevski]

The F word for iPad is not the usual cuss word!

 

[Kaykaykay]

I try to keep an open mind about things that are different. It's easy to compare to something we are use to using because we are familiar with it. It's hard to appreciate something we are not accustomed to using. That being said, it's a fool who fails to recognize how something could be improved. That is the mother of invention. I think these tablets will become very similar in the not to distant future. One must admit that Apple does have a tendency to shun there nose at the "normal" ways of doing some things. Perhaps they will see the benefit of making their OS do some of those things, perhaps not.

They see revenue.
I had to spend over $50 on apps to get my ipad relatively close to the ability of my phone out of the box performance. Good Reader, icab mobile, xsysinfo, Splashtop, etc are nice and all that but to have to buy an app to attach to email responses, buy an app to put email shortcuts on my home screen, buy an app to upload, buy another app to see my bank statement because it's a small bank and uses the F word, to buy another app to not have to spend 5 or more minutes closing all my apps, to buy another app for my daughter to manipulate the desktop so she can play the free games on Kid Mode because it uses the F word, to buy another app to do just about anything on device with my photos. This doesn't include the chain to my desktop because of itunes that ios turns into a wireless ankle bracelet.
I agree in the future similarity. Around the time ios5 hits the Apple devices Android will be doing the same thing with its os by releasing Ice Cream Sandwich, which will make all things Android run 1 os instead of the 15+ versions available now. That will be a win/win for everyone as both platforms take large leaps forward.

Support Our Troops!!!
This post was Tapatalk approved
Sent from this Galaxy

Like you I'm not sold about constantly keeping an open mind just because something is "new and different." When you have used a whole spectrum of differing OSes (mobile or otherwise) in your lifetime you can form some critique of what doesnt seem to be right. I'm all for new ways of doing things. It's called innovation. But when that "new" way seems to benefit end users less than it benefits the company, we have a problem. What's the point of reinventing the wheel when you end up with a square wheel? My biggest gripe is file system management is abysmal on iOS. We've been through years of refining OS file systems...i remember using things like XTree Pro in DOS. Even that was a better files system manager than what's available on iOS now.

I do feel I need to circle back to my original standpoint though, and that is iOS does enough things well (very well in some aspects) to not completely make me feel like I'm being taken for a ride.

Your bank uses the F word? I am completely confused? Is this some hip, renegade bank I've never heard of? Do you get bank statements that start with "This is your F'ing bank statement. Pay it soon or we will F you up." Haha seriously I'm interested!

Lol. I'd join a bank that used the F word, too!

I figure tablets are still crude, and if you buy at this stage, you're going to have to have low expectations.

For a vanilla user like me, reliability and ease of use are much more important than customization. I've spent about 30 bucks on apps total, and I'm covered. I spent 20 of those bucks on two apps, which my husband and I share on three iPads.

What keeps me from buying Android is reading about PITA stuff. I was buying a TV this weekend, and I could've gotten a free Samsung tablet, but I opted for a free DVD player instead, and I don't even need another DVD player. The store also had a $99 HP tablet and I figured it would be $99 worth of trouble.

I hope hardware makers keep cranking out tablets, because I want to buy. I just don't want to buy trouble.

 

[leelai]

This has been very interesting reading, didn't understand everything entirely, but great posts, thank you both

 

[jsh1120]

I read and post to two iPad forums; this and another where the iPad forum is one of a number of Apple-related boards. I have to say that I really appreciate the relative lack of rancor and rampant "fanboy-ism" in this forum. To put it simply, this same discussion on the other board I frequent would have long since descended into name calling and content-free cheers for everything Apple along with similarly content-free condemnation of any alternative.

Thanks to the contributors. Makes reading this forum worthwhile.

 

[Kaykaykay]

I didn't take some kind of Apple blood oath, lol. When an Android (or other) device works better for me than iPad, I'll run, rather than walk, toward it.

I don't understand blind brand allegiances. I also don't think any brand or device can satisfy every consumer. What matters is finding what works for you.

 

[kurosawa79]

No one said you joined the cult! Haha. And definitely agree that any one gadget will not please everyone.

I think that what probably come across from my thoughts on Apple may seem like I dislike the company but in reality that's not true. I just think the way they market themselves makes me cringe sometimes but am in awe of the balls they have to do so.

So I like the iPad on the whole, but it certainly has some pretty big flaws. Ditto for Android. Unlike you I cant fully isolate myself in evaluating a product without evaluating the company that puts out said product. For me, Apple products embody everything the company is about. Ditto Android for Google.

Ive worked in marketing all my life, first for government, then for some of the biggest tech companies in the world, and now the dark and murky financial services sector For me, the way a company communicates is of vital importance in the way they are perceived. I hope that's a given in this day and age where transparency is key and shareholder value is paramount.

Apple is what I think is the exception to the rule when it comes to companies creating positive public image. It's suspect business practices are legion and it's arrogance in consistently calling a spade a self-powered pneumatic digging device, jarring. So when I evaluate the iPad I end up thinking about this and it ends up being integral to how I feel about the iPad. I also resent Google for constantly telling us Android is a brave new world of open source mobile OS. It's not. Many parts of it are closed source.

In the end I dont like companies that dont tell the truth. It either tells me they are hiding something awful or they have a disregard for the intelligence of their consumers. For me Apple does really think Im stupid when they bring in things like "an improved notifications system" in the upcoming iOS 5 and market it like it's revolutionary. Ditto for things like Facetime. Please Apple, just call it for what it is.

The glory should be for those companies that really innovate but dont get much in the way of praise or recognition. Let's face it, OSX is a Unix derivative and much of what we see as great functions on that platform are all innovations of Linux. It's just packaged differently.

Just because you take something and make it slightly easier to use doesnt make you an innovator. Rather, in my mind, Apple is huge marketing outfit and in some ways one of the greatest abusers of the art.

Sorry I've gone off on a tangent again

 

[Mountainbikermark]

I try to keep an open mind about things that are different. It's easy to compare to something we are use to using because we are familiar with it. It's hard to appreciate something we are not accustomed to using. That being said, it's a fool who fails to recognize how something could be improved. That is the mother of invention. I think these tablets will become very similar in the not to distant future. One must admit that Apple does have a tendency to shun there nose at the "normal" ways of doing some things. Perhaps they will see the benefit of making their OS do some of those things, perhaps not.

They see revenue.
I had to spend over $50 on apps to get my ipad relatively close to the ability of my phone out of the box performance. Good Reader, icab mobile, xsysinfo, Splashtop, etc are nice and all that but to have to buy an app to attach to email responses, buy an app to put email shortcuts on my home screen, buy an app to upload, buy another app to see my bank statement because it's a small bank and uses the F word, to buy another app to not have to spend 5 or more minutes closing all my apps, to buy another app for my daughter to manipulate the desktop so she can play the free games on Kid Mode because it uses the F word, to buy another app to do just about anything on device with my photos. This doesn't include the chain to my desktop because of itunes that ios turns into a wireless ankle bracelet.
I agree in the future similarity. Around the time ios5 hits the Apple devices Android will be doing the same thing with its os by releasing Ice Cream Sandwich, which will make all things Android run 1 os instead of the 15+ versions available now. That will be a win/win for everyone as both platforms take large leaps forward.

Support Our Troops!!!
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Your bank uses the F word? I am completely confused? Is this some hip, renegade bank I've never heard of? Do you get bank statements that start with "This is your F'ing bank statement. Pay it soon or we will F you up." Haha seriously I'm interested!

Flash.
Read one of the thousand threads on here and you'll see some do consider it a cuss word, especially the poor mods that have to clean up after the urinating contests

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[kurosawa79]

I just dont understand why Flash is so polarizing a topic. Apple bans it. Fine. But its a computing reality and many have to use it. It wont die anytime soon, probably to Apple's dismay.

As mobile hardware become more powerful and F more optimised, it'll work as smooth as it does on your desktop. I have no problems on my Android phone with flash on a single core 1Ghz processor. Really dont know what the fuss is about. It's just Apple doesnt want even the slightest chance of their system being unstable (read: official party line) but in actuality it's because Apple despises Adobe over their flash optimisation (or lack thereof) for the OSX platform years ago. I think there was some bad blood in terms of fixing CS suite problems on OSX too where Adobe prioritised Windows. Well it's not rocket science...more people use Windows than OSX so more resources will be dedicated to that platform. It's business.

In part, however, I understand why on a business level Apple shuns Adobe. They dont want to rely on another company to ensure that things work properly on their platform. But we live in a world where interdependence makes the world tick. Apple are just a little freaky with the idea of "total control".

But pure and simple, in the end it's a Steve Jobs vs Adobe vendetta from years back.

 

[Mountainbikermark]

Yup

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