Why I won't be buying an iPad...now or, likely, ever

[thatcrazycajun]

Understand this, children: I have been a fan of Apple Inc.'s products for over two decades now, at least since I bought my first Macintosh Plus (what they used to call the "toaster Mac" for its squat, boxy, compact all-in-one design). Farther back than that, if you count getting to play with an Apple IIe in the School of Architecture library at my college in the mid-1980s. Not just a user or an owner, but a fan. I haven't always been a fan of the company itself, its leadership or its policies (and I've been far from the only Mac-head who felt this way; the saying in the userpic above is an old, old one in our tribe). But no one, be they friend of the House The Two Steves Built (Jobs and Wozniak) or foe, could deny the quality, the attractiveness, the usability, the elegance or the sheer coolness of its hardware and software output.

Even the much-ballyhooed iPhone, which carries the same flaws as most Apple gear (no user tinkering with the hardware allowed, only one OS allowed [at least until Boot Camp came along]) plus another couple (only one voice/data phone service provider allowed, and $40 a month or more to use same), does seem like it might be a nifty thing to have at times when I see the incredibly useful and/or cool applications created for it. However, I can no longer avoid the sad truth now confronting me. For the first time since airing those famous "1984" TV ads, Apple has finally managed to create a product for which I have absolutely no desire at all, nor any ability to in good conscience recommend it to others: the iPad. (And before you ask, yes, I have tried an iPad in one of Apple's local stores.)

Why do I hate the iPad? Let me count the ways: aside from the problems mentioned above, its screen is smaller than even the average sub-notebook carries. It has a paucity of ports for transferring any data in or out without a wireless network nearby or cellular account. And because of Steverino's now-well-publicized antipathy toward Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash technology, which—like it or not (and I often don't; see my filksong "I Hate Flash")—powers an overwhelming majority of content on the commercial Internet to one degree or another, half the websites out there can't be used properly, or at all, on it.

In short, I find the iPad sorely lacking even compared to the lowest-end Windows-based netbooks on offer from other companies, much less to Apple's own notebook/laptop offerings. And given El Jobso's notorious tendency toward muleheadedness and the culture he has built and nurtured at his company, I don't see any of these problems being eliminated or alleviated anytime soon even if he were to keel over dead tomorrow (may St. Isidore, Catholic patron saint of technology, keep any such fate far from him!).

So I won't be drinking the Cupertino Kool-Aid this time, alas...nor at any time in the foreseeable future. If I'm going to use any sort of computer on the go, I want a real, full-fledged computer worthy of the name, not a half-assed excuse for one—a descriptive I deplore to find myself using about anything from Apple. If you have thoughts on the matter, concurring or opposing, feel free to post in reply.

Comments

Does it Have th Wi-Fies?

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

Re: Does it Have th Wi-Fies?

[mshollie.livejournal.com]

My recently acquired netbook, Little_PinkBook, is an ASUS Eee PC, and I just love it! It has Win7 Home Premium, and has a 10" screen.

Only problem with it is that the "x" ("b" if you're typing QWERTY) key is stuck. I'm having that looked at.

Yes, it has wi-fi.

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

Hey Matt...

What this simply means is that you are not a part of the target audience. :)

To be clear- an iPad is *not* a netbook. It's not a full-featured computer- it's running a *mobile phone* OS. :) Remember, your average netbook *always* comes with a 3G connection- you have to pump out an additional $150 to get that capability.

Which simply means it's not meant to fill the same niche as a netbook/laptop/computer. It's really meant as a consumer device that can get email, do some web browsing, read books, watch movies while travelling, game, etc. It's operationally lightweight deliberately. (Gwen was showing it to a filker who is having eye trouble; it does things with text size and page flow that the Kindle can only *dream* of. Yeah, the filker is gonna buy one. And no, she's not online; this would be her first net-enabled device).

In other words, it's *brilliantly* designed for those who are not computer savvy.

So, if you don't have a hole in a specific part of your life (electronic book reader, game console, presentation platform, etc); *shrug*- you don't need one. No problem. :)

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

Based on what I'm hearing:

1. I don't need an iPhone (I'm quite happy with my $8.33/month Motorola W490);
2. I definitely don't want an iPad (it's just an oversized iPod Touch).

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

It's definitely more than an oversized iTouch; but I completely agree that you shouldn't buy one unless you have a need for it.

(Mind you, I'm a certified kool-aid drinker; and I definitely have a use for one... though $500 is a bit difficult to justify for that one use. Hence, I as yet, do not own one...)

[lemmozine.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't disagree on any of your points, but I can tell you some of the things I like about it. It's a great photo viewer because of the gravitational feature that automatically flips horizontal and vertical, and also because of a feature where you can touch the screen with 2 fingers to zoom in on a photo. I haven't used the feature yet, but one of the reasons I bought it is there's an app available to make it into a Swindle - ah, er I mean Kindle - reader. I like something about the size and shape of a book page when I'm reading a book, and something I can read in bed. Among things I don't like about it, in addition to ALL the things you said, in the store it didn't have this problem, but in my house it is constantly losing its wifi connection. The keyboard is so annoying it's pitiful - not quite as bad as trying to type on my Blackberry, but WHY did they leave off the tab key and the arrows? It's very hard to move around in forms and text. Having to flip back and forth for numbers and punctuation is really a drag. Actually, the size of the screen is not so bothersome once you get used to the touch-screen zoom feature, which also works on web pages. Scrolling is actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

So, it's good for a few things. Depends on what you want it for. And hey, if my "friends" on facebook are to be believed, they're giving away free ipads all over the place. (Could you see my sardonic smirk as I was typing the previous sentence?)

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Oddly, I thought you might like it, though more as a sketchpad/artpad and book reader than as a Web browser. Those are the things I hope and expect to do when I buy a tablet (though never the iPad; you know my feelings about the dictatorial regime in Cupertino). I certainly agree with you about ports and Flash (in all directions for the latter); having seen my Apple cultist co-worker's iPad, the screen size, however is adequate for movie watching (if you can get the flick onto the machine)(and even if Apple's screen is inferior to the one I expect to see, from Pixel Qi).

BTW, forget St. Isidore. If you want anything done, pray to St. Vidicon.

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

If you want anything done, pray to St. Vidicon.

The Doctor notes a possible etymological relationship between the good father's given name from the English personal and place name "Widdicombe". (See inter alia "Widdicombe Fair".)

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

With respect, the Doctor may be correct, but is invited to read the original story of the saint (in Christopher Stasheff) and to look at the wiki that includes "vidicon". Considering that his origin story has to do with a televised appearance of the (fictional) Pope, rescued by the saint using his body to complete the circuit, I'd be leery of assigning "Widdicombe" as a likely primary source.

[mdlbear]

Only usable as a sketchpad if you sketch with fingerpaint -- it's a capacitive display, and doesn't use a stylus.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Is "fingerpaint" a specific app, or the style you're referring to?

I know that there are no styli out there for the iPad, although I've seen several attempts at using conductive foam on a stick to build one. To date, the foam deforms too quickly to be usable for any length of time. I don't doubt that the problem will be solved soon. (Probably by a company which doesn't want to have to have Apple's approval to sell its product; it will be interesting to see if Apple then tries to block it somehow. It would be typical of the company's approach, and sad for the consumer.)

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

Actually, check with Debbie Ohi. She has a stylus (Pogo, about $15); and says it works great.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Hm. I hadn't seen anything about it on the major gadget blogs (Engadget, Gizmodo, Techcrunch) though I could easily have missed it. All the reports I'd seen were about homemade styli that just didn't have the required endurance.

Mostly it's an intellectual curiosity, because, until and unless their corporate culture of controlling their consumers ends, I will never buy a product from Apple. Nevertheless, I both enjoy keeping abreast of the field, and am hoping to see a product released that competes with the iPad (specifically, the Notion Ink Adam, though I now that Innoversal is about to release a tablet in September -- apparently Windows- or Linux-based, with Chrome OS coming -- with the screen I've heard such good things about).

Either way, tablets do strike me as potentially terrific artist's tools (I've lusted after the high-end Wacom tablets for years, but several thousand dollars is too high, especially when it still needs a computer to work with).

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

One of the things that has always mystified me has been the amount of vitriol poured over Apple's business model. It's only a model. Either buy their product or don't. The amount of emotional energy that gets wasted on this is truly staggering.

The masses don't reverse engineer ketchup. Before 1981 computers didn't really exist from off-the-shelf components. Microsoft is just as much a 'closed shop' as Apple is- they are merely playing on a hardware platform invented by IBM. If you don't like a book you are free to throw it across a room or destroy it; but the content is protected by copyright. Few people overclock their toasters.

*shrug* When you buy an Apple product, it's generally meant to be a closed box of consumer electronics. They pay their own price for this system. But generally (and the market tends to agree) it works.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

The specific aspect of the business model that bothers me is the attempt to dictate to the consumer what they can and cannot do with their product post-purchase. Fortunately, here in the US, jailbreaking has just been redefined as the privilege of the consumer and NOT a violation of copyright law, thus enabling the owners of iPhones and iPads to load whatever compatible software they wish on their devices, rather than being constrained to only those approved by Apple.

To use your metaphor, it's not so much a question of content being constrained by copyright, as being told that certain types of material are inappropriate to use to draw or write in one's journal because the journal's maker disapproves -- and having the books reject that sort of input. If I want to use crayons or quill pens on fine paper, despite the maker intending the book only for use with 0.01mm gel pens, it's my privilege to use crayons, or I don't truly own the book. (Warnings about compatibility are, of course, appreciated, but it's still my privilege to ignore them, provided that I accept all consequences, including loss of warranty coverage.)

In this case, it's not reverse engineering, and there's a not insignificant fraction of iDevice owners -- many of them not device geeks -- who have sounded off about the issue of closed app stores.

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

And here we are likely much more in agreement than you imagine. :)

I completely agree, and celebrated with you when jailbreaking was deemed legal. I own the device, if I want to take a chance to brick it, that's my right.

I also understand and agree with Apple's position that should you choose to do this, they won't support it. (Mind you- this also means that I understand, but don't necessarily agree, with the other policies of Apple's regarding dictating post-purchase decisions).

Ok. So, in the end, I believe that we're actually in agreement. I happen to like the closed shop; but I certainly understand people who want to look under the hood on devices that they own. I understand Apple's position at wanting to keep as much of that proprietary as possible (to preserve their income stream); which is where the actual interface lies.

To be honest, I have a lot more problem with Amazon's Kindle than I do the App Store. To the best of my knowledge, once you've purchased an app, they can't take it back...

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

apple's position was a lot more drastic than that - they tried to get jailbreaking declared illegal

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

Ayep. Note that this falls under "don't ... agree with other policies of Apple's regarding dictating post-purchase decisions".

As I said: I understand where the drive comes from. There are implications of how they try to protect their revenue stream that I don't care for as well.

[mdlbear]

Fingerpaint is the style, though it wouldn't surprise me if there was an app by that name too.

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine who is blind just bought an iPad. Once the salesperson turned "Voice Over" on for her, it's a heckuva lot more efficient, and a lot cheaper and more versatile, than her Braille-reader that died a while ago.

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

It sounds like for your friend it's a good device to have then.

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

Good for you!

[sodyera.livejournal.com]

I've read almost everything Macworld magazine has to say about it, and one day when I'm near a Mac Store I'll even play with one. But I'm with you; right now the thing looks too expensive, not only for what it does but becuase of all the associated FEES it engenders. If I were working regularly I might consider one, but since I'm not it looks like anything I may want from it would leech cash out of my pockets every time I wanted to turn it on. I'm still loyal to one of the internet's guiding concepts: Follow the Free. So I'm gonna wait until the iPad evolves some and becomes a proper replacement for the MacBook. You and I know that's where it's going anyway.

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I don't think that the iPad will replace the MacBook.

In 1985, Steve Jobs stated that one of the company goals with the Mac was to make a computer that was as ubiquitous as a toaster, and just as easy to use. THAT is what I think the iPad is. The Mac platform is simply too powerful, and needs too much to work in this form factor.

Oh- and regarding playing with one? I've played with them in the Apple Store, and thought, "Meh." My next door neighbor bought one two weeks ago, and I almost couldn't put it down. Personalizing it with what YOU want to do on it makes a huge difference.

- Steve (who isn't giving up his 27" iMac anytime soon... :) )

[sodyera.livejournal.com]

It's always going to be a matter of "Does this thing work for me?" In my life, probably not until/unless my income shifts upward and my "life" becomes more mobile. eBooks cost as much as paper, there's still that so-far mandatory AT&T connection; even if only month by month I wouldn't be able to tolerate the cash drain.

[tarkrai.livejournal.com]

... ahm, no- the AT&T connection isn't required at all. The only thing that's actually *required* (and THIS is the thing about the iPad that is maddening to me) is a full computer with iTunes. You can control the entirety of your content on the iPad through the computer. AT&T is only required for the iPhone (well, here in Germany it's T-Mobile- but it's the same story).

Also, there are a LOT of ebooks for free out there (Gutenberg for example, and Baen Webscriptions has a large selection of free books).

So, in the end- the iPad is a fancy gadget designed to entice large segments of the population that aren't wired into becoming so. :)