[NTLK] ipad

[Joel M. Sciamma]

Remember that here on this list, where most of us are already fairly  
well tech’d-up, the iPad is inevitably going to have significant  
overlap with stuff we already have, so it’s USP is pretty much lost on  
us.

Not only that but devices at this price point have to demand for us to  
use them by offering a really convincing reason to spend the cash on  
them, learn them, update them, charge, sync and back them up as well  
as manage the cost of the inevitable accessories and software plus the  
certain debugging woes etc. etc. that always come as part and parcel  
of any platform. All that tending gets to be pain when you add it to  
all the other gear that is whining and yapping for attention.

The question for people like us is, will an iPad really make much  
difference to ones life or is it really just technophilia? I guess  
it’s mostly the latter with a bit of curiosity thrown in.

For those with a laptop already, the iPad looks like a bit of luxury  
with no solid need backing it up.

Now think about it from the POV of someone for whom this may their  
_only_ computer. Then it makes a lot of sense because it will offer  
them a way to be part of the online and digital life without having to  
navigate the quagmire of a creaky old OS like the Mac or Windows,  
which many find intimidating.

I’d much rather give my 85-year-old mum an iPad than the MacBook she  
currently has and frankly finds a bit of a pain.

I, on the other hand, find that the serious amount of computing power  
at my disposal does not even begin to do what I want in the way that I  
want to do it, despite my 200+ apps, QuicKeys and Applescript  
automation. I see the Mac as still being a primitive, clumsy,  
obstructive old relic, which because I develop software, I have the  
misfortune to have to stare at all day.

So for me, the iPad does so little of interest at the moment and would  
steal even more time and effort from me, that it’s just irrelevant.  
Looking at a computer all day means that I don’t want them to infect  
my leisure time as well.

For the right audience, the iPad deserves to be a success. It has the  
looks, performance and functionality to serve them pretty well and  
will be fun to use. For us there is no need to consume just for the  
sake of it.

One last scurrilous point. For at least 13 years we, as Newton owners,  
have had to put up with jibes about how big and bulky it is and why  
anyone would be so nuts as to carry such a brick around. I look  
forward with interest to see who will lug an iPad around after the  
novelty has worn off...

Joel.