And so last night after unsuccessfully scoring a decent iPad case/stand combo I perched the thing on a laptop angled stand and attempted a blog entry. Now on my laptop I have the option of using a stand alone weblog editor or blogger's online tool. On the iPad I had no such choice (though I suppose I could have used the notepad). Therefore I loaded up the blogger editor in Safari and went to work. Part way through the blog post I needed to cut and paste text from another website so I went and called up the website which refreshed. That can be bad but it wasn't. This time. I copied the text and went back to the blogger page to find that Safari had to reload the page. It "reloaded" a brand new blank blog post page. That was not cool at all. Fortunately blogger auto-saves your work so I was able to get back to it from the saved draft. God forbid someone is writing in an online tool that does not auto-save, they are one "let me check that last tab" click away from a world of hurt.
Then I needed to style the text I use custom CSS for blockquotes and bold items so I always add them in manually. DO you know how many keystrokes it takes to get a bracket? What is worse is that Safari believes that < blockquote > should be < block quote > and will GLADLY auto-correct for you.
So I will definitely be in need of a stand alone blogging tool for the iPad. Typing on it with a prop is not that bad at all (noted quibbles aside). Multi-tasking cannot come soon enough for this purpose. It is sad that my ancient N800, 3 years old @ 400 Mhz and 128MB RAM can out-blog this new kit.
If anyone knows a decent iPad weblog app drop me a note.
[update]
Some people may ask why I don't get the iPad dock and a wireless keyboard. Let me answer that right quick.
The iPad dock allows for portrait only orientation. As much as I can appreciate the throwback to manual typewriters I'd prefer landscape for that. Secondly I don't believe that the iPad ought to need a physical keyboard to write at length. As I indicated, once I got the iPad on a stand I was satisfied with the speed at which I could type on the onscreen keyboard in landscape mode.
I currently have an Addesso flexible USB keyboard for use with my N800. I don't like BT keyboards because that is yet another set of batteries I have to think about. If there was a iPad connector that would allow a keyboad to be connected to the iPad sans dock I would purchase it without delay. Still though I would prefer for the iPad to be fully functional without such attachments.
[Update 2]
Seems that the BlogPress app may fill my wants here. Too bad I can't try before I buy.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
More iPad woes
I just tweeted about the inanity that is attempting to place the cursor somewhere in a word and the apparent inability to copy just the text of a link rather than the whole URL. But the following is an example of just how bad some things on the iPad is. As any iPad owner knows, there is no viewable filesystem or a means of filesharing. Yes there's a SMB client, but it does not allow two way sharing. anyway here's another example of the truely sorry state of file access on the iPad:
Just wow.
it gets worse. There is no way to share the same document with more than one iPad app. For example, a Word document imported to Pages cannot be accessed by any other iPad app, even other apps that can open Word documents. The only work-around is to import the document twice, once for each app. Further, if you ever delete an app from your iPad, any documents stored with that app are deleted as well. Thus, to make sure your documents are preserved, copy them to your Mac before deleting the relevant iPad app. Shared files are included in a Sync backup of your iPad (at least that what this Apple support article claims), but they are not accessible for a restore of specific files.
Just wow.
Friday, April 9, 2010
iPad
having my iPad for a week now (and accidentally leaving it at home attached to the charger) there are few thoughts I want to share about it.
As others have pointed out the iPad is really a gateway. It is whatever app you're running on it. It gets out the way and really going from it to my desktop or laptop is pretty jarring. the "Oh I have to grab this thing over here to point and click on something over there" paradigm really looks old.
I can really see getting work done on it. The key being to stop thinking that it should work like your desktop. But as it stands there are definitely some things that need addressing.
I did not get the stand. Big mistake. I will be rectifying that mistake this weekend. You simply cannot type at any length without a stand. Some people are using bluetooth keyboards with it. I'm not quite ready to go there yet. But I am a semi-touch typist, so I expect some kind of slowdown. Once I have the stand though I'm going to attempt to go the week without the laptop.
Multi-tasking. Yeah this needs to happen. Particularly for things like Twitter and IM. I wanted to download an IM program but I was not going to pay to have an IM program that can't be run in the background. No, I will not. My Nokia Internet Tablet N800 with less available RAM and a 400 MHz old school armel processor can multi-task. The A4 should as well. Yes I know OS 4.x will address that on the iPad "later" but really, this needs to ship sooner rather than later.
File access: It is clear that the original idea for this thing is to consume media not create or share it. That view is Myopic. I have already created documents on this thing that I needed to send to another computer. Lack of networking reared it's head in the most unholy way. Of course if I had multi-tasking I could have done what I wanted on the 'Pad without involving my laptop but well, that's point number two.
Worse though is that I cannot access my NAS. Well I could if I install an app that would access it via SMB. But then, as far as I've read I would have no means of saving it back to the NAS. That's just nasty. This lack of AFP access to volumes is a huge deal. the iPad is certainly capable of more than what it has by default. It is certainly more capable of being a media consumption device. I certainly can see doing a LOT on it that previously was done on my laptop.
Bluetooth: What is with this bluetooth module? I tried to connect my Nokia to it to act as an input device and it failed because it didn't recognize it as a keyboard. It simply ignored my bluetooth GPS module. Why? I can't tether it to my cell phone to get internet access. Why? Oh that's that ATT thing right? I don't want to go the Jailbreak route but it's pretty inexcusable to not be able to pair with a bluetooth GPS on something that has maps. It's not cool to not be able to tether either. I MIGHT get one of those MIFI devices but I shouldn't have to.
That's it for now.
As others have pointed out the iPad is really a gateway. It is whatever app you're running on it. It gets out the way and really going from it to my desktop or laptop is pretty jarring. the "Oh I have to grab this thing over here to point and click on something over there" paradigm really looks old.
I can really see getting work done on it. The key being to stop thinking that it should work like your desktop. But as it stands there are definitely some things that need addressing.
I did not get the stand. Big mistake. I will be rectifying that mistake this weekend. You simply cannot type at any length without a stand. Some people are using bluetooth keyboards with it. I'm not quite ready to go there yet. But I am a semi-touch typist, so I expect some kind of slowdown. Once I have the stand though I'm going to attempt to go the week without the laptop.
Multi-tasking. Yeah this needs to happen. Particularly for things like Twitter and IM. I wanted to download an IM program but I was not going to pay to have an IM program that can't be run in the background. No, I will not. My Nokia Internet Tablet N800 with less available RAM and a 400 MHz old school armel processor can multi-task. The A4 should as well. Yes I know OS 4.x will address that on the iPad "later" but really, this needs to ship sooner rather than later.
File access: It is clear that the original idea for this thing is to consume media not create or share it. That view is Myopic. I have already created documents on this thing that I needed to send to another computer. Lack of networking reared it's head in the most unholy way. Of course if I had multi-tasking I could have done what I wanted on the 'Pad without involving my laptop but well, that's point number two.
Worse though is that I cannot access my NAS. Well I could if I install an app that would access it via SMB. But then, as far as I've read I would have no means of saving it back to the NAS. That's just nasty. This lack of AFP access to volumes is a huge deal. the iPad is certainly capable of more than what it has by default. It is certainly more capable of being a media consumption device. I certainly can see doing a LOT on it that previously was done on my laptop.
Bluetooth: What is with this bluetooth module? I tried to connect my Nokia to it to act as an input device and it failed because it didn't recognize it as a keyboard. It simply ignored my bluetooth GPS module. Why? I can't tether it to my cell phone to get internet access. Why? Oh that's that ATT thing right? I don't want to go the Jailbreak route but it's pretty inexcusable to not be able to pair with a bluetooth GPS on something that has maps. It's not cool to not be able to tether either. I MIGHT get one of those MIFI devices but I shouldn't have to.
That's it for now.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
About that Cali Prius
I don't know what to think about this. On the one hand it entirely possible that an electronic fault occurred in such a manner that this fellow could go 30 miles without being able to stop his car. It's possible. A computer can have a process go haywire while the rest of the system keeps going fine.
I don't know enough about the systems on the Prius but I have a few questions:
1) What were the conditions of this fellow's brakes prior to this incident? I work on cars as a hobby and have many discussions with my mechanic about how people run their brakes down to the back plate and do irrepairable damage to their rotors. And front brakes, which the reports say were the most worn, are the first to go due to weight shifts to the front of the vehicle upon braking.
2)Was the brake regenerative system working? My understanding is that when the brakes are applied, there are magnets at the wheels that take the rotational energy of the wheels and converts that to electrical energy to charge the batteries. I understand that the Tesla roadster's system is so aggressive that merely taking one's foot off the gas causes that system to kick in to the extent that Tesla has the brake lights come on anytime the accelerator is depressed. So does the Prius operate this way and if so, is there any record of that system being active? If so I would think that 30 miles of brake riding would have given the battery a nice charge.
3) How did the officer at the scene know that the driver was 'standing on the brakes"? I don't know about you but I cannot see the feet of the driver in the car next to me. We only have the man's word that he was in fact ONLY pressing the brakes. I have driven behind people who have locked their brakes, it is not a pleasant smell and being a convertible owner I can tell you that I can smell brake lock at least a half mile away from the vehicle that is experiencing it. Speaking of brake lock even if the front brakes failed, the rear brakes are supposed to be able to stop a vehicle as per federal regulations. Yes it will take longer, but they are supposed to do so as per fed reg. So that leads to my next question.
4) What's up with the hydraulics? My understanding of all these computerized cars is that even if an electronic part fails, the hydraulic system is supposed to work as a fail safe. Is braking on these vehicles at a point now where braking is no longer done by the driver? Why not? It is one thing for a computer to be able to actuate the brakes in case of emergencies such as loss of traction or the like, but complete decoupling of brakes from the foot sounds like a serious liability issue to me. Think about it. If you are not physically responsible for actuating the brakes, then brake failure can be attributed to the vehicle with no liability on the owner. This case underscores it. Can Toyota prove that it's system worked at the time of the incident beyond reasonable doubt? Absolutely not. In a foot activated hydraulic system it can be demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that a driver used or did not use the brake. It can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the hydraulics were to spec or not.
5) About those electric motors. If I read the schematics correctly, the Prius has electric motors that drive the wheels directly. Is it entirely possible that the engine itself was deactivated but the electric motors, which are designed to run even if the IC engine is not, kept running? My understanding is that the electric motors on these things produce 268ft/lbs maximum torque at low rpm ( for comparison my 1997 Z3 with a 2.8 liter engine has 190 hp/ 206 lb/ft torque. My 318i with a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder has 138 hp and 129 lb/ft torque.)
So combined the electric motor and the IC on a Prius could top 350 lb/ft which is sports car territory and shoddy brakes could possibly be overcome by a runaway drive train though for 30 miles at 90 mph? I doubt it.
In this case all the driver has to do is point to the Toyota recalls and stand his ground. At this point I see nothing that can be proven in court that points to his negligence or fraud because no one can prove that his computer wasn't working at THAT moment in time.
I don't know enough about the systems on the Prius but I have a few questions:
1) What were the conditions of this fellow's brakes prior to this incident? I work on cars as a hobby and have many discussions with my mechanic about how people run their brakes down to the back plate and do irrepairable damage to their rotors. And front brakes, which the reports say were the most worn, are the first to go due to weight shifts to the front of the vehicle upon braking.
2)Was the brake regenerative system working? My understanding is that when the brakes are applied, there are magnets at the wheels that take the rotational energy of the wheels and converts that to electrical energy to charge the batteries. I understand that the Tesla roadster's system is so aggressive that merely taking one's foot off the gas causes that system to kick in to the extent that Tesla has the brake lights come on anytime the accelerator is depressed. So does the Prius operate this way and if so, is there any record of that system being active? If so I would think that 30 miles of brake riding would have given the battery a nice charge.
3) How did the officer at the scene know that the driver was 'standing on the brakes"? I don't know about you but I cannot see the feet of the driver in the car next to me. We only have the man's word that he was in fact ONLY pressing the brakes. I have driven behind people who have locked their brakes, it is not a pleasant smell and being a convertible owner I can tell you that I can smell brake lock at least a half mile away from the vehicle that is experiencing it. Speaking of brake lock even if the front brakes failed, the rear brakes are supposed to be able to stop a vehicle as per federal regulations. Yes it will take longer, but they are supposed to do so as per fed reg. So that leads to my next question.
4) What's up with the hydraulics? My understanding of all these computerized cars is that even if an electronic part fails, the hydraulic system is supposed to work as a fail safe. Is braking on these vehicles at a point now where braking is no longer done by the driver? Why not? It is one thing for a computer to be able to actuate the brakes in case of emergencies such as loss of traction or the like, but complete decoupling of brakes from the foot sounds like a serious liability issue to me. Think about it. If you are not physically responsible for actuating the brakes, then brake failure can be attributed to the vehicle with no liability on the owner. This case underscores it. Can Toyota prove that it's system worked at the time of the incident beyond reasonable doubt? Absolutely not. In a foot activated hydraulic system it can be demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that a driver used or did not use the brake. It can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the hydraulics were to spec or not.
5) About those electric motors. If I read the schematics correctly, the Prius has electric motors that drive the wheels directly. Is it entirely possible that the engine itself was deactivated but the electric motors, which are designed to run even if the IC engine is not, kept running? My understanding is that the electric motors on these things produce 268ft/lbs maximum torque at low rpm ( for comparison my 1997 Z3 with a 2.8 liter engine has 190 hp/ 206 lb/ft torque. My 318i with a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder has 138 hp and 129 lb/ft torque.)
So combined the electric motor and the IC on a Prius could top 350 lb/ft which is sports car territory and shoddy brakes could possibly be overcome by a runaway drive train though for 30 miles at 90 mph? I doubt it.
In this case all the driver has to do is point to the Toyota recalls and stand his ground. At this point I see nothing that can be proven in court that points to his negligence or fraud because no one can prove that his computer wasn't working at THAT moment in time.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Adobe isn't in the Flash business
From John Nack.
Reminds me of a conversation I had with my mother on Sunday in regards to the company she works for. I've been telling her that she should be telling them to stop thinking of themselves as a "magazine producer" and think of themselves as information peddlers. They used to use magazines as means of peddling information but that mode of delivery is clearly on the wane. I was saying that they need to get on the iPad wagon but quick.
I was also referencing Honda. I recalled a video I saw where Honda was discussing it's newest human "enhancement" of legs that attach to your legs. Why would Honda be doing that? They are a transportation company. Not a car company. Not a bike company. A transportation company.
The iPad is going to make people re-evaluate WHAT they are doing and realize that the "how" they were doing it was merely incidental.
Reminds me of a conversation I had with my mother on Sunday in regards to the company she works for. I've been telling her that she should be telling them to stop thinking of themselves as a "magazine producer" and think of themselves as information peddlers. They used to use magazines as means of peddling information but that mode of delivery is clearly on the wane. I was saying that they need to get on the iPad wagon but quick.
I was also referencing Honda. I recalled a video I saw where Honda was discussing it's newest human "enhancement" of legs that attach to your legs. Why would Honda be doing that? They are a transportation company. Not a car company. Not a bike company. A transportation company.
The iPad is going to make people re-evaluate WHAT they are doing and realize that the "how" they were doing it was merely incidental.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Ignore the Naysaying "Nerds"
I want people to remember a few things. When the Mac came out with it's GUI it was dismissed as a toy. Later the entire publishing industry was changed. Music production changed. and PC's went from DOS to windows.
The Wii was derided as being underpowered. No way could it compete with the XBox and Playstation 3 that had all the technological bells and whistles. Ahem. How many Wii's have been sold to date? How many homes is the Wii in. And most importantly how many homes is a Wii in that previously never had or even considered a game console?
When the iPod came out. Oh it's too expensive. Oh no one is going to pay for all that when they can get a (insert now bankrupt or dead last place company name here). Yeah OK.
When the iPhone came out. How many people dismissed it? Oh it can't do this. it can't do that. It doesn't have this. It doesn't have that. And how many iPhones have been sold. And how many businesses write special apps for it? And....
I look at some of these "intelligent" critics and think of the housing market bubble. Most of the experts didn't see it coming. Oh there were a few of us who sounded the alarm. Who refused to put our money into what we knew were inflated homes. Yeah. experts who get paid way more than I to make predictions on simple shit like should home prices be going up 50% every two years missed the boat.
They are missing the boat here. Like I said in my previous post, this device and the multiple others that will come along is going to challenge people to reconsider how they compute. Do they use a laptop because it is in fact the best device for the job at hand, or because it's simply the only device available or used to. Change is coming folks the iPad is the first (to market) device to spark the change. Catch the wave. This is change you can believe in.
The Wii was derided as being underpowered. No way could it compete with the XBox and Playstation 3 that had all the technological bells and whistles. Ahem. How many Wii's have been sold to date? How many homes is the Wii in. And most importantly how many homes is a Wii in that previously never had or even considered a game console?
When the iPod came out. Oh it's too expensive. Oh no one is going to pay for all that when they can get a (insert now bankrupt or dead last place company name here). Yeah OK.
When the iPhone came out. How many people dismissed it? Oh it can't do this. it can't do that. It doesn't have this. It doesn't have that. And how many iPhones have been sold. And how many businesses write special apps for it? And....
I look at some of these "intelligent" critics and think of the housing market bubble. Most of the experts didn't see it coming. Oh there were a few of us who sounded the alarm. Who refused to put our money into what we knew were inflated homes. Yeah. experts who get paid way more than I to make predictions on simple shit like should home prices be going up 50% every two years missed the boat.
They are missing the boat here. Like I said in my previous post, this device and the multiple others that will come along is going to challenge people to reconsider how they compute. Do they use a laptop because it is in fact the best device for the job at hand, or because it's simply the only device available or used to. Change is coming folks the iPad is the first (to market) device to spark the change. Catch the wave. This is change you can believe in.
Friday, January 29, 2010
iPad
I am excited about the iPad. I am excited about the iPad in a way I was not excited by the iPod Touch or iPhone. I'm a long time Mac user that uses a Nokia Internet Tablet (N800) and while many of my peers in the Internet Tablet scene are skewering the iPad, I am very excited about this product. Let me explain why.
When I was a kid, I used to come home from school and watch Inspector Gadget. I was supposed to be doing homework but, there I was. And while Mr. Gadget was amusing with his umbrellas and long arms and feet. I wanted Penny's Computer Book.
I wanted it bad.
I wanted it so badly that I set out to make my own. I was an inventive kid. I made a computer book from a cassette tape case, a solar powered calculator and a set of headphone speakers. Since I didn't want to see wires all over, I used aluminum foil to trace leads along the cassette case. I was proud of my work. I also got odd looks from people when I whipped it out in public.
Going further I took a quiz-wiz and made a larger model of my Computer Book with a better calculator and better speakers.
Then I discovered Star Trek the next Generation. I wanted one of those pads. I wanted to touch a screen and make shit happen. I didn't want to flip open something. I didn't want to type at a keyboard. I didn't want a little scroll ball. I didn't to find somewhere to perch a mouse. I wanted to tap a screen and have shit happen. The iPad is my Star Trek pad.
It is the future of casual computing and all the people moaning about what it doesn't have and can't do are missing the point entirely. This is not about having a terminal (though I'm sure there will be an app for that). It is not about what low level file IO you can do. It's not about installing every codec known to exist.
This is about doing away with what we commonly think of as The GUI Experience. It is the removal of unnecessary tool bars and mice pointers. It's about making your program act intuitively so that menus, when needed only show up for the task at hand. It is about the OS getting out the way so you can do stuff. Think about it. It is a computer where you never have to say to yourself: Where's the mouse pointer?
So do I need to flip out a laptop to check the news websites? Do I need to log into a computer and load up a desktop to check Facebook? When I'm on my couch do I really want to flop open, and make space for my laptop being careful to not block the vents? No.
You know what blew me away? When I saw the presentation on Google Maps and they jumped to street view. That blew me away. It was my Penny's computer book experience. Yes, I can access street view on my Nokia N800. Painfully. It's probably faster on the N900. But it's nowhere near as polished.
Nowhere as polished.
The other things that got my attention was the Brushes application. Again I have an app on my Nokia that does the same thing. But to have that on a 9.7 inch screen? All touch? Again this is the WACOM tablet a lot of artists have been waiting on.
I foresee drum machines and the like. All touch interfaced and polished.
And that is the point. This is not a point and click, use the stylus, crammed down desktop OS. I did that when I installed KDE on my N800. You know what? I got really tired of trying to hit miniature menus and menu-items. I got tired of menus and preference panes that literally fell off the screen. I'm sure some people like it. And they can feel free to not buy an iPad.
Are there problems with the iPad. Certainly. I noticed that the special event presentation excluded any mention of iChat. Makes sense since the iPad is not a primarily typing device but we all know that iChat can do video. So the lack of a front facing camera is a problem. It should be there and in my opinion should have been there from launch.
Another thing is that I'd take GPS built in. If I'm traveling I'd love to have the tablet show me where I am. I use my N800 as my Travel GPS device.
I don't want another data plan to pay for. I have a phone that can tether. I want tethering on the device. I know Apple is playing nice with ATT (for what good reason I don't know) but iPad owners ought to be able to tether with any phone capable of doing so and reach the internet. I do this with my 2007 Internet Tablet. It's 2010, enough with the "do not tether" and the extra tethering fees.
Really.
I'm going to get the 16GB WIFI version not just because I'm cheap but because I don't intend to move all my music to it. I'll keep using my 20GB iPod for that (yes I still have and use it regularly). I don't intend to do much video or gaming on it (prefer my DS and consoles for that). I do intend for it to do the things I generally lug my laptop around for: calendar, e-mail, books and internet reference material all the things Steve Jobs mentioned at the beginning of the presentation. At the cost of the 16GB model (roughly the same as a Mini) That is a bargain. I'll do my video editing and other development stuff on my larger and more appropriate machines just like they do in Star Trek.
I'm very excited about this product. I think there are a lot of people who simply do not get it. Many of these individuals are very bright but are too wedded to the current relatively complex means of computing. There will be laptops and desktops for them. And they can sit and bask about what new trick they did on their device while at their day jobs. The rest of us will be using the new paradigm and making paid applications to run on it and content to show on it and the ones that will surely come after.
Ultimately you'll know if an iPad is the device for you when you evaluate what you do with your current computer that absolutely needs a KB and mouse.
Then you'll look at what absolutely needs a KB and consider the accessory KB.
Then you will understand.
When I was a kid, I used to come home from school and watch Inspector Gadget. I was supposed to be doing homework but, there I was. And while Mr. Gadget was amusing with his umbrellas and long arms and feet. I wanted Penny's Computer Book.
I wanted it bad.
I wanted it so badly that I set out to make my own. I was an inventive kid. I made a computer book from a cassette tape case, a solar powered calculator and a set of headphone speakers. Since I didn't want to see wires all over, I used aluminum foil to trace leads along the cassette case. I was proud of my work. I also got odd looks from people when I whipped it out in public.
Going further I took a quiz-wiz and made a larger model of my Computer Book with a better calculator and better speakers.
Then I discovered Star Trek the next Generation. I wanted one of those pads. I wanted to touch a screen and make shit happen. I didn't want to flip open something. I didn't want to type at a keyboard. I didn't want a little scroll ball. I didn't to find somewhere to perch a mouse. I wanted to tap a screen and have shit happen. The iPad is my Star Trek pad.
It is the future of casual computing and all the people moaning about what it doesn't have and can't do are missing the point entirely. This is not about having a terminal (though I'm sure there will be an app for that). It is not about what low level file IO you can do. It's not about installing every codec known to exist.
This is about doing away with what we commonly think of as The GUI Experience. It is the removal of unnecessary tool bars and mice pointers. It's about making your program act intuitively so that menus, when needed only show up for the task at hand. It is about the OS getting out the way so you can do stuff. Think about it. It is a computer where you never have to say to yourself: Where's the mouse pointer?
So do I need to flip out a laptop to check the news websites? Do I need to log into a computer and load up a desktop to check Facebook? When I'm on my couch do I really want to flop open, and make space for my laptop being careful to not block the vents? No.
You know what blew me away? When I saw the presentation on Google Maps and they jumped to street view. That blew me away. It was my Penny's computer book experience. Yes, I can access street view on my Nokia N800. Painfully. It's probably faster on the N900. But it's nowhere near as polished.
Nowhere as polished.
The other things that got my attention was the Brushes application. Again I have an app on my Nokia that does the same thing. But to have that on a 9.7 inch screen? All touch? Again this is the WACOM tablet a lot of artists have been waiting on.
I foresee drum machines and the like. All touch interfaced and polished.
And that is the point. This is not a point and click, use the stylus, crammed down desktop OS. I did that when I installed KDE on my N800. You know what? I got really tired of trying to hit miniature menus and menu-items. I got tired of menus and preference panes that literally fell off the screen. I'm sure some people like it. And they can feel free to not buy an iPad.
Are there problems with the iPad. Certainly. I noticed that the special event presentation excluded any mention of iChat. Makes sense since the iPad is not a primarily typing device but we all know that iChat can do video. So the lack of a front facing camera is a problem. It should be there and in my opinion should have been there from launch.
Another thing is that I'd take GPS built in. If I'm traveling I'd love to have the tablet show me where I am. I use my N800 as my Travel GPS device.
I don't want another data plan to pay for. I have a phone that can tether. I want tethering on the device. I know Apple is playing nice with ATT (for what good reason I don't know) but iPad owners ought to be able to tether with any phone capable of doing so and reach the internet. I do this with my 2007 Internet Tablet. It's 2010, enough with the "do not tether" and the extra tethering fees.
Really.
I'm going to get the 16GB WIFI version not just because I'm cheap but because I don't intend to move all my music to it. I'll keep using my 20GB iPod for that (yes I still have and use it regularly). I don't intend to do much video or gaming on it (prefer my DS and consoles for that). I do intend for it to do the things I generally lug my laptop around for: calendar, e-mail, books and internet reference material all the things Steve Jobs mentioned at the beginning of the presentation. At the cost of the 16GB model (roughly the same as a Mini) That is a bargain. I'll do my video editing and other development stuff on my larger and more appropriate machines just like they do in Star Trek.
I'm very excited about this product. I think there are a lot of people who simply do not get it. Many of these individuals are very bright but are too wedded to the current relatively complex means of computing. There will be laptops and desktops for them. And they can sit and bask about what new trick they did on their device while at their day jobs. The rest of us will be using the new paradigm and making paid applications to run on it and content to show on it and the ones that will surely come after.
Ultimately you'll know if an iPad is the device for you when you evaluate what you do with your current computer that absolutely needs a KB and mouse.
Then you'll look at what absolutely needs a KB and consider the accessory KB.
Then you will understand.
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