'Sigh' My rant.

[Hasty]

Contrary opinion, usage of fire far more important. Greater variety of foodstuffs greater environmental range etc.. Second the ice cream though.
Ah to hell with other peoples opinions, there are too damn many of them

Can't understand the obsession with file access and regard it more as a hangover from older computers and their insidious conditioning.
I don't care where my pdfs and photos live as long as the apps that use them see them. Why create a new OS and then jump through hoops to make it perform like previous OS's.

Really want to see computing go the way of appliances; on/off, just does it job with minmal user input. The computer is my slave I don't want to be it's.

That said iTunes is a dinosaur and slated for extinction.

Ooh ranting is such fun........must run defrag the hard drive, run the virus checker, back up and tidy up those naughty files..........

 

[MachThree]

I'll say it before - beautiful hardware, nice OS but crippled by Apple. Its fun to read some of the Apple apologists in this thread try to rationalize Apple's consumer-unfriendly behavior.

 

[MattIM]

I Agree:

...Can't understand the obsession with file access and regard it more as a hangover from older computers and their insidious conditioning.

I don't care where my pdfs and photos live as long as the apps that use them see them. Why create a new OS and then jump through hoops to make it perform like previous OS's.

Really want to see computing go the way of appliances; on/off, just does it job with minmal user input. The computer is my slave I don't want to be it's.

When I am on my PC, I'm always trying to find files. For me that is a legacy behavior from wence I was a programmer on a mainframe. I recall using a file manager applet that helped me keep track of all the files I was working on and their version. Ahh the good old days!

The simplicity of the iPad is breathtaking compared to where I came from. With folders, I just now have to remember what folder I put the app. Before 4.2.1, I had to scroll up to eight home screens.

 

[MattIM]

No Apologies Required MachThree!

I'll say it before - beautiful hardware, nice OS but crippled by Apple. Its fun to read some of the Apple apologists in this thread try to rationalize Apple's consumer-unfriendly behavior.

But thanks for your apology anyway. It is fun to watch all those fanboys get hooked and come to the aide of the second largest most valued (by equity valuation) company in the world! You want to bet Apple isn't laughing all the way to the bank?

 

[Wreybies]

Contrary opinion, usage of fire far more important. Greater variety of foodstuffs greater environmental range etc.. Second the ice cream though.
Ah to hell with other peoples opinions, there are too damn many of them

Can't understand the obsession with file access and regard it more as a hangover from older computers and their insidious conditioning.
I don't care where my pdfs and photos live as long as the apps that use them see them. Why create a new OS and then jump through hoops to make it perform like previous OS's.

Really want to see computing go the way of appliances; on/off, just does it job with minmal user input. The computer is my slave I don't want to be it's.

That said iTunes is a dinosaur and slated for extinction.

Ooh ranting is such fun........must run defrag the hard drive, run the virus checker, back up and tidy up those naughty files..........

I must agree with above sentiment.

We are conditioned. I was conditioned by my PC to accept the internet as a dirty, virus strewn, petri dish of techno-Ebola forcing me to wrap my internet access in a triple layer of heavy duty digital condoms. I was conditioned (also by my PC) to need access to all the little privy bits of the OS because in ten minutes time the thing was going to crash and I would have to hit the red button and calll for a crash cart, stick my fingers into the faintly beating insides and scream, "CLEAR!!" to any bystanders.

Then I bought a Mac.

It took time to let go of the fears and neuroses I had developed at the hands of Bill Gates. Time and a goodly amount of Xanax. I learned that unless I was a programmer, tinkerer, fiddler - and I am none of these - that there really is no need to stick my hands into the faintly beating innards. As an end user, I shouldn't have to. It should work smoothly, cleanly, and all of time, without need of my utterly inexpert intervention.

The iPad is just another extension of this dynamic. It works without need of taking classes at the local community center or community college. And, with some judicious research and purchases of a few apps, none of which cost me more than ten bucks American, it is now an integrated part of my writing process.

I'm not a rich man. I'm an interpreter by trade and a right tight fisted bastard by nature, so believe me that I thought long and hard about the purchase of the iPad. I already had an iPod Touch, which in truth almost killed the idea of buying the iPad. I don't really care about the whole "it's a big iPod Touch" contraversy/touchiness/indignation.

So what if it is?

Seriously? SO. WHAT. IF. IT. IS?

So far as I am concerned the iPad is what the iPod Touch should have been, had the designers had human sized hands and eyes that were on the wrong side of 40 years of age.

And again, the device does what a completely non-tech-oriented person prays for. It works. It works cleanly, smoothly, and intuitively.

 

[Gunny008]

iPad is definitely a game changer, I only wish I didn't end up loving it this much as my laptop never gets used now!

 

[ochie927]

Calling the iPad an iPhone that can't call or receive calls, disgusts me, it is an absolute disgraceful statement, a 'low blow' if you will. yes the iPhone may be able to call someone, however my four year old samsung D900 serves the same purpose.

Actually, I use the Ipad to make and receive calls all the time when I'm at home and my phone isn't anywhere near me and my Ipad is (which is almost all the time ). Just download the app Whistle Phone in the App Store. It's free and you can make and receive calls anywhere there is wifi. You also get your own personal phone number. So the gap or difference between an Iphone and an Ipad is getting smaller and smaller. I use my Ipad to text a lot as well. There are a lot of apps out there that makes you do that...I have just started testing out Heywire recently and so far so good.

Merry Christmas!!

 

[3rdfoundation]

We are conditioned. I was conditioned by my PC to accept the internet as a dirty, virus strewn, petri dish of techno-Ebola forcing me to wrap my internet access in a triple layer of heavy duty digital condoms. I was conditioned (also by my PC) to need access to all the little privy bits of the OS because in ten minutes time the thing was going to crash and I would have to hit the red button and calll for a crash cart, stick my fingers into the faintly beating insides and scream, "CLEAR!!" to any bystanders.

The Internet is what it is and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I find it interesting that people think the ipad is some magical evolutionary jump in hardware. It is simply a restricted hardware platform with a sexy interface. Apple is the first company to recognize that computers are not just geek toys but can be consumer products if presented properly. I think of them as the BMW of computer makers.

I primarily use linux and the only avenue for viruses is a compromised web browser. Virus makers will always target the easy prey. For now this is windows due to its large volume of users and the fact that you don't run as an administrator. This allows anything to install if it can squeeze through a bug in the browser.

Windows has always been at a disadvantage to Apple in one respect: They don't control their hardware. This has limited them to what they are capable of in terms of features and security. It has given them the advantage of greater sales though...

In my mind the ipad is similar to a game console (ex: xbox 360). Game consoles do not get viruses either even though they can connect to the web. This is because the software that can run on it is strictly controlled by the hardware maker. This provides safety in exchange for flexibility.

 

[Gunny008]

Calling the iPad an iPhone that can't call or receive calls, disgusts me, it is an absolute disgraceful statement, a 'low blow' if you will. yes the iPhone may be able to call someone, however my four year old samsung D900 serves the same purpose.

Actually, I use the Ipad to make and receive calls all the time when I'm at home and my phone isn't anywhere near me and my Ipad is (which is almost all the time ). Just download the app Whistle Phone in the App Store. It's free and you can make and receive calls anywhere there is wifi. You also get your own personal phone number. So the gap or difference between an Iphone and an Ipad is getting smaller and smaller. I use my Ipad to text a lot as well. There are a lot of apps out there that makes you do that...I have just started testing out Heywire recently and so far so good.

Merry Christmas!!

I'm going to look into this

 

[J.D]

Love the iPad, I have had mine since Black Friday 2010 and I use mine every day

 

[zorah]

I agree there are some tradeoffs, but people also try to make iPad something it's not. I find that it does everything and more than I expected. Every day I find more that I like about it and more it can do, all with super sweet battery life and a sleek design. It's not a desktop OS, so there are some apps that don't exist for a minute function I might want, but I'm not going to condemn the whole iPad for not being a laptop replacement in its entirety. It's not meant to be, although depending on individual needs, for many people it seems to be able to. One thing though, people complaining, even on an iPad specific forum, are still having their interest held by the iPad or they wouldn't be taking the time to post/complain, etc.

 

[Superbike81]

I am going to illustrate two VERY VERY SIMPLE internet tasks that cannot be performed by the iPad, yet I'm doing them on my Android phone (which means it will be done even easier on the new Android tablets).

1) Downloading a file from any website I want. (check the attached screenshot at the bottom, I downloaded that file directly from the website through the web browser, easy right??)
2) Attaching a screenshot that I took without having to go to a separate app or photobucket or anything like that.

Seems like such a revolutionary internet tablet would be able to accomplish these two simple internet tasks. See attached:

 

[Superbike81]

Now with that said, do I still find the iPad useful? Of course, it's a decent little device, but how locked down everything is absolutely ridiculous. Why can't I download a file from a website? Why can't I use the "attachments" feature used on forums to attach something simple like a photo from my gallery folder?

It's so simple, yet the iPad makes it so difficult or even impossible. It's got soooooooo much potential, all to be foiled by requiring the most simple tasks to require a separate app or a workaround or a 5-step process when it could easily be simplified to a single step by just letting the chains loosen a tiny bit.

The iPad is such a potentially great device. I wouldn't be so disappointed with it if the limitations were physical limitations. The iPad can't run a game like Crysis because of limitations of the processor/graphics chip, fine. It can't display 1080p video because of the screen resolution. But many of the limitations in place are artificially set. What I mean by that, is that there is absolutely no reason why the iPad can't download a file except for the fact that they placed a software limitation on it. The iPad can't display simple Flash videos because of a limitation they placed, not because the hardware is too weak. Can't display many Java based sites for the same reason, an artificial restriction. If Apple would just stop restricting and instead allow growth and freedom, it would have sold probably 20 million by now instead of 10 million.