Friday, March 9, 2012

IPAD Mania, Make it Stop!



I know, I shouldn't be annoyed by the hype.  I actually did a 2 part article predicting the hysteria but I can't help myself...

With Tim cook making ridiculous comparisons like how many more IPADS than PC's were sold in the same quarter I have to point out that the statistic is only valid if you also include things like  staples  and rolls of toilet paper.   Spoiler alert, way more rolls of TP flew off the shelves and it's a seriously more useful commodity.

Then we have respected technical pundits calling the new IPAD a "content creation device" and how we're now in the "post PC era" Here's a news flash, my 8 year old digital camera and my pen and legal pad are also content creation devices, that doesn't make them "resolutionary"  I also don't need an Internet connection for my PC to be useful and I don't have to worry about filling up my flash or blowing my Data cap because I downloaded too many movies.

I'm still mystified how people can enjoy a movie on anything smaller than a 30" screen.  I didn't even like it on a 22" LCD.  It's amazing how marketing can convince consumers that less is more with a few flashy applets and a pretty screen.

Ok, here's the thing.  The new IPAD is still a tablet.  Yes it's got the greatest 10" tablet screen in the world and can hook up to LTE (fake 4G) networks now.  Wonderful, and at only $600 to $800 I can join in the fun too.

I can't stand tech hype.  I can't stand the fact that a now obsolete predecessor to this current generation IPAD only drops $100 in price and I'm supposed to be thankful.

I love how tech shows geared toward mobile devices still rely on laptops for their content while they expouse the virtues of the IPAD's third coming.  If the day of the PC is over then toss the Macbook already!  No? Then accept the fact that a tablet, any tablet, is a complement not a replacement for a PC.
All those nifty apps on the IPAD?  They're toys, nothing more than recreational apps.  Do you think Tim Cook types up his speeches on an IPAD then sends it to his secretary to edit on an IPAD?  Do you think major Hollywood movies will be shot with an IPAD camera?  Not likely if they have a major studio behind them and want to display their work somewhere other than YouTube.

Yes, there's office for the IPAD but it's so stripped down that it might as well be a document viewer.  gotomypc on a tablet?  Yeah, that's what I need, to be scrolling around the screen because I can't see the whole desktop all the time hoping my swipe doesn't accidentally wipe out the RAID array because of a careless flick of the index finger.

If you have the kind of time to be playing games, taking pictures and watching movies on your tablet during the day then god bless you.  Most people I know get up, go to work and barely have time to get 1/2 hour for lunch let alone play with a tablet.  This kind of product is aimed at a shrinking market that can't really afford a $800 tablet that's going to sit on their shelf most of the time.

When you get right down to it the reality is that the promise of a device like this for the general public holds no more water than the middle aged man who buys the red corvette thinking he'll restore his  dwindling virility
...and Apple laughs at you all the way to the bank.

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