LOL! In two days, I haven't turned on the TV or desktop computer. This thing has kept me busy preparing reports for end of month, web surfing, reading books and interactive National Geographic magazines, watching feature films & YouTube and emailing people. I'll download Skype for iPad when it available in a few days to hopefully receive and make calls as I'm using it. Can't wait to take it on the road.
Chris, this all very nice you are talking about and I can certainly feel your excitement emanating from every word you wrote... but I am not sharing it and I do not like to be too dependent on any big guys.. being them Apple or MS or whatever.
This thing will not go into my house... unless I am forced to let it in by having no other choice.
To me, it simply stinks like a big monopoly....
In my mind, the iPad is a hybrid system that will eventually see the convergence of mobile phones and personal computers.
I think so too. I really believe Apple is onto something with their products lately and by the look of the success the iPhone/iPod touch had there's no point arguing it - the proof is in the pudding. They understood that user interface is king. iPads are not laptops - they're something else. I reckon they'll catch on fast and the formula will work.
I am not sharing it and I do not like to be too dependent on any big guys.. being them Apple or MS or whatever.
This thing will not go into my house... unless I am forced to let it in by having no other choice.
To me, it simply stinks like a big monopoly....
Huh? So, if a company becomes successful because it happens to design and produce equipment over time that is popular, you'd shun them. That doesn't make sense to me I'm afraid. It's the big companies that usually get to design and manufacture the best stuff because they have the resources to do so. I'm not certain, but I dont think that they're here to suck our brains out and steal our children.
Big guys are successful not because the product is necessarily good or harmless.. but because the users are dumb (and want to have gadgets, no matter what).
Apart from honourable exceptions... majority like this because it does many things.. in easy way.. so what ?
And do not get me wrong, I am not paranoid person and I have nothing against this product per se... for others..
My problem is it will eventually lessen MY choices.. by pushing other products out of market.
So, it will become the antithesis of what we in the western world want : freedom of choice (like MS managed to do, almost, and still trying)
Is there any astro apps for them like starry nights or similar yet?
Oh yes.. and good ones. StarMapPro isn't yet available for use on iPad (behind the times there! LOL!), but CarinaSoft's Voyager, SkyORB (a French offering from Realtech VR), Moon Atlas and several others are. My favourite is Voyager, as it talks via a dedicated WiFi network generated by a SkyFi unit to my Argo Navis.
Big guys are successful not because the product is necessarily good or harmless.. but because the users are dumb (and want to have gadgets, no matter what).
Apart from honourable exceptions... majority like this because it does many things.. in easy way.. so what ?
And do not get me wrong, I am not paranoid person and I have nothing against this product per se... for others..
My problem is it will eventually lessen MY choices.. by pushing other products out of market.
So, it will become the antithesis of what we in the western world want : freedom of choice (like MS managed to do, almost, and still trying)
Ah, the globalisation debate. Well, this will likely go on for decades or even centuries. It's the way our world works these days I'm afraid. Resource clustering to make things affordable in manufacturing terms. Profit lines to match. Yup. The times we live in. I also believe that the introduction of this device by Apple will do the opposite to reducing choice - it will spawn a veritable onslaught of similar devices from all manner of other developers. This can only be good for everyone concerned.
I'm not sure that people who like gadgets are "dumb". How does that work? I think that people like devices like these because of the content they serve. Not everyone is a rocket scientist, and those will appreciate the device for different reasons. After all, the "gadget" itself is just a closed device, and is flat, small and otherwise benign. Nothing much to fiddle with there... even for "smart" people.
The problem is gadgets create "needs" that otherwise would not exist, being they really needed and useful or not. So those new needs are artificial.. self mushrooming.. (Facebook is another example of this - instead of really socialising, (some) people are sitting by computers in their rooms, in their virtual world. Is this good? Maybe.. but not for me.).
From the "positive" side this can be described as " creating new opportunities" as you mentioned (in different words).
Someone earlier said " I want it but I do not need it" and to me this tells all about this and similar gadgets and services.
As I said earlier, if I need something like this, I would rather go for a tablet PC (BTW, I have one, 15 years old Fujitsu Stylistic 2000, W'95, it even has hand writing recognition software , running in parallel with on-screen keypad). It is very slow of course.. because it has only 100MHz pentium inside.. but I can control it the way I know how.. I can even write my own applications of course (and you can't do it on iPad.. nobody except Apple can.. ).. So iPad is actually nothing new... apart from proprietary software. And lack of user ability to do anything with it without explicit Steve Jobs's permission.. if and when he is in good mood.
No thanks.
...I can even write my own applications of course (and you can't do it on iPad.. nobody except Apple can.. ).. So iPad is actually nothing new... apart from proprietary software....
Actually you can write your own software for it - it is just difficult to sell it via any means other than the App Store.
Actually you can write your own software for it - it is just difficult to sell it via any means other than the App Store.
And it is under Apple's control right?
This is even worse than Microsoft.
Actually, Apple was always trying things like this, even back in Apple ][ days.. not to mention Mackintosh
I can even write my own applications of course (and you can't do it on iPad.. nobody except Apple can.. ).. So iPad is actually nothing new... apart from proprietary software. And lack of user ability to do anything with it without explicit Steve Jobs's permission.. if and when he is in good mood.
No thanks.
Well, as iPhone application developers, my company had better call him (if he's in a good mood) to see if it's OK to develop applications this week.
You have a old Stylistic? I have two of them - Fujitsu ST-5032's a couple of years old. They're both sitting on my bottom shelf, relegated to the trash. They're bricks. One has lost its stylus, so it's useless LOL! A stylus? Come on... we've got fingers these days!
Anyone can write iPad applications once they download the development kit. It isn't difficult. To upload applications to the store for sale, you have to prove that the code is stable and works the way it should so that its a good "citizen" on people's devices. I don't see that as obtrusive - I see it as essential. I wouldn't download or run your unproven home-grown code on my device in a fit, unless you prove to me that it's wise to do so. It's Apple's way of protecting the "dumb", as you say, user base of tens of millions of iPhone/iPod/iPad owners. Every one of them must be stupid for there to be so many, no? If you choose to find that obtrusive and sinister then we're probably not on the same planet. It's hard to talk to people with anti-anything agendas.
And it is under Apple's control right?
This is even worse than Microsoft.
Actually, Apple was always trying things like this, even back in Apple ][ days.. not to mention Mackintosh
I like Apple stuff because it works.
I used to fiddle with PCs when I was at high school & uni, but now I don't want to fiddle anymore.
That would be the only thing I dislike about Apple. Just the way they do things. You can't fiddle with the gear really. Meaning that if it breaks or doesn't work then you're stuck. It's back to Apple store or bust. Spare parts are scarce (iPod bits) and there are internal differences in units sold in different regions/countires. Like mirrored connections or other subtle difference that make it real hard for the end user to replace components.
This is a free county. So, I have every right to say what I think, right? Just like you do.
I even have a right to use stylus instead of my fingers.. a matter of manners by the table, I would say ..
This is a free county. So, I have every right to say what I think, right? Just like you do.
I even have a right to use stylus instead of my fingers.. a matter of manners, I would say..
BTW, do you work for Apple, by any chance?
LOL!! It's ok to use your fingers in some cultures... no one is debating your right to your own opinion - we're just having a discussion.
No, I don't work for Apple. I used to work for IBM as a systems engineer back in the early 80's, but would never work for a multinational again. You're a number. I work for a relatively small advertising/development company designing workflow software for the print publishing industry.
Coming from the world of MS bloatware as I do I gotta wonder is 64Gb enough? After all hands up what self respecting geek doesn't have at least 1T of storage somewhere
Actually as I rarely play games anymore the iPad looks like it could cover most of the apps I use by laptop for anyway. And I would love to get out of the cycle of patch and rebuild and having to run AV software to slow things down.
It's the big companies that usually get to design and manufacture the best stuff because they have the resources to do so. I'm not certain, but I dont think that they're here to suck our brains out and steal our children. 
I also believe that the introduction of this device by Apple will do the opposite to reducing choice - it will spawn a veritable onslaught of similar devices from all manner of other developers. This can only be good for everyone concerned.
I think that people like devices like these because of the content they serve. Not everyone is a rocket scientist, and those will appreciate the device for different reasons. After all, the "gadget" itself is just a closed device, and is flat, small and otherwise benign. Nothing much to fiddle with there... even for "smart" people.
Well, as iPhone application developers, my company had better call him (if he's in a good mood) to see if it's OK to develop applications this week. 
LOL! A stylus? Come on... we've got fingers these days!
I wouldn't download or run your unproven home-grown code on my device in a fit, unless you prove to me that it's wise to do so. It's Apple's way of protecting the "dumb", as you say, user base of tens of millions of iPhone/iPod/iPad owners. Every one of them must be stupid for there to be so many, no? 
