iPad. Whut of it?

[littlelolligagged]

My phone doesn't charge via its usb connection, though - that is just for transferring data.

The commercials I have seen for the iPad make it fairly obvious that it would require a computer for use, same as all the other products. I still just think it is entirely too overpriced for what its primary use seems to be - an ereader. Unfortunately people will buy it for $500, so it will be ages before they knock the price down to the $300 or so it is actually worth.

I have never seen an ipod that came with an AC charger - of course, I didn't buy my first one until 5 years or so ago, so maybe the really big clunky looking old ones did.

[Ominous Gamer]

My phone doesn't charge via its usb connection, though - that is just for transferring data.

Thats more about proprietary connections to pump up accessory sales than about it not being possible. I'm sure Hazir would be more than happy to clear up how the EUC is doing an amazing job on its own in stamping out this abuse.
Even then, your USB doesn't allow charging, no matter what you plug it into. Not so for the ipad. Its picky, Apple doesn't clarify that, thats bad.

I still just think it is entirely too overpriced for what its primary use seems to be - an ereader.

Feel sorry for any book lovers who fall for that.

I have never seen an ipod that came with an AC charger - of course, I didn't buy my first one until 5 years or so ago, so maybe the really big clunky looking old ones did.

From what I can find they phased them out on the 20GB color models, in 2005. Nice timing

Also, if by chance you think the charging instructions may be creative cropping, check this video at 2:24.

[littlelolligagged]

How very stupid of them.

I would buy it as an ereader that I could do other things on as well. And spare me your shit about glare and blah blah, I have no problems with reading off my computer or laptop screen.

The actual thing I want to know is, considering that you can only use one app at a time on your iPhone, would this thing require you to close your reading material to do something else. That would make it pretty well useless.

[Hazir]

How very stupid of them.

I would buy it as an ereader that I could do other things on as well. And spare me your shit about glare and blah blah, I have no problems with reading off my computer or laptop screen.

The actual thing I want to know is, considering that you can only use one app at a time on your iPhone, would this thing require you to close your reading material to do something else. That would make it pretty well useless.

On the Touch you have to do that, but going back is real fast and when you continue with your book it takes you back to where you closed it.

[Angel_Mapper]

I hear really good things about it, but I don't like the apple phenomenon. I don't want to have to use iTunes to acquire or manage all my media. Apple keeps too much control.

Since I don't buy music in non-CD form, I just use a Winamp plugin to manage the music on my iPod and avoid iTunes altogether.

[Hazir]

What idiocy is this? The iPad isn't stand alone? I think i just lost my little appetite for buying one.

[Unheard Of]

An AC charger also doesn't mean the product should only work with certain USB connections. My PSP charges via USB, as do both of our Motorola phones. They all came with AC chargers. The ipods/nanos also used to come with an AC charger (don't know if they still do), who ever used that?

The iPod hasn't come with an AC adaptor for a while. You can charge them from the mains with the supplied USB cable and an AC to USB adapter.

[EyeKhan]

Since I don't buy music in non-CD form, I just use a Winamp plugin to manage the music on my iPod and avoid iTunes altogether.

Hmm. I didn't know you could do that. I thought it was all bound to iTunes.

[Angel_Mapper]

Yeah me too! Someone at work told me about it last year when I complained about iTunes. It works great.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=iPod_...cdf8cbbf06dc4f

[EyeKhan]

Yeah me too! Someone at work told me about it last year when I complained about iTunes. It works great.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=iPod_...cdf8cbbf06dc4f

Maybe I can get an ipod afterall....

[Dattu]

The university's help desk has been receiving a lot of complaints about the iPad not connecting to our restricted network.

[CitizenCain]

The university's help desk has been receiving a lot of complaints about the iPad not connecting to our restricted network.

I hope you've been advising them that the network is for computers, so they should buy one before calling to complain about connectivity.

[Dattu]

I hope you've been advising them that the network is for computers, so they should buy one before calling to complain about connectivity.

We officially support several platforms including iPhones/iPod touches. Apparently, the only thing iPad users have to do to get online is reset their network settings and install the iPhone network configuration profile from the university's ITS page. I don't see why they call, though -- this is the same procedure that iPhone/iPod touch users go through.

Maybe iPad users are just idiots.

[CitizenCain]

Maybe iPad users are just idiots.

Not just iPad users... it's a whole company built on being trendy and so easy to use a 4 year old could figure it out. Not surprising, then, that a lot of Apple's customer base is dragged from the left side of the bell curve.

[Dreadnaught]

That's the main reason for me not owning an iPhone.

Dread, you really believe in the cloud ?

Increasingly I do. At first it seemed like an odd concept, especially when I was in college for some reason. But over the years I've found myself doing everything via the Web. My e-mail, calendar, documents and spreadsheets via Web-based versions (I use Google Apps, but others are out there) Plus most of what I do online is read news and come here. The only thing I use my hard drive for is storing pictures and playing music.

Obviously people need real PCs for things like gaming and such. But I think there's a very broad swath of people who can live with just a browser, photos and music, which is what I have with my Nexus One. Also why I am intrigued by Chrome OS-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw - Concept
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANMrzw7JFzA - Demo

[Ominous Gamer]

Increasingly I do. At first it seemed like an odd concept, especially when I was in college for some reason. But over the years I've found myself doing everything via the Web. My e-mail, calendar, documents and spreadsheets via Web-based versions (I use Google Apps, but others are out there) Plus most of what I do online is read news and come here. The only thing I use my hard drive for is storing pictures and playing music.

Obviously people need real PCs for things like gaming and such. But I think there's a very broad swath of people who can live with just a browser, photos and music, which is what I have with my Nexus One. Also why I am intrigued by Chrome OS-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw - Concept
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANMrzw7JFzA - Demo

County uses a cloud concept. Not a fan of it yet. It simply doesn't have the snappiness to it that I'm used to with my machines. I'll always trust a flashdrive over the cloud.
My motherboard has an ExpressGate instant on OS installed. Does the whole online, music, pictures thing. Boots up within seconds.

I've used it twice.

[Dreadnaught]

Depends on the applications of course, as well as the basic hardware/software being used to access it. EG is your county stuck on IE or old hardware? Is the particular software crumbly structured?

Some of the cloud stuff I use at work can be a bit slow, but it's also more reliable with multiple backups. I've had two work laptops over the past year, but I haven't saved a thing on their hard drives in a year (and I haven't had to swap files between computers).

No approach is perfect, and cloud computing as a long way to go obviously. But I think there's a ton more potential.

[Aimless]

We officially support several platforms including iPhones/iPod touches. Apparently, the only thing iPad users have to do to get online is reset their network settings and install the iPhone network configuration profile from the university's ITS page. I don't see why they call, though -- this is the same procedure that iPhone/iPod touch users go through.

wow you should put this info in very visible places

[EyeKhan]

No one here is interested in the iPad? Someone's lying under peer pressure. Or just not voting.

[littlelolligagged]

It's a poorly made poll.

[Dreadnaught]

Que?

[EyeKhan]

It's a poorly made poll.

Its public too. Ripe for group pressure.

[littlelolligagged]

There is no option for being completely undecided. Either you already own an iPad and love/hate it, you want one desperately, or you don't want one at all.

Its public too. Ripe for group pressure.

Group pressure? It's not like he's offering us drugs and we'll make fun of the pussy who is too chickenshit to try them.

[RandBlade]

It's a poorly made poll.

Yeah, there should be some sort of option between "I MUST have it" and "Not going to bother".

[CitizenCain]

Depends on the applications of course, as well as the basic hardware/software being used to access it. EG is your county stuck on IE or old hardware? Is the particular software crumbly structured?

It doesn't really matter - there's simply an added latency associated with fetching everything from somewhere online, as opposed to fetching locally. Even under completely optimal lab conditions, you add a few hundredths of second delay (which isn't noticeable), but under real world conditions, even with the best hardware, you get into tenths of second lag... which makes cloud operations feel not quite as zippy or responsive as we're used to.

[EyeKhan]

Group pressure? It's not like he's offering us drugs and we'll make fun of the pussy who is too chickenshit to try them.

I'm almost too chickenshit to respond to that!

(Heh, never thought I'd have a legitimate opportunity to use that one.)

[Hazir]

No one here is interested in the iPad? Someone's lying under peer pressure. Or just not voting.

I was interested, but lost interest. It seemed like a nice gadget, a bigger version of my ipod touch, but it turns out it's just another piece of crap

[EyeKhan]

I was interested, but lost interest. It seemed like a nice gadget, a bigger version of my ipod touch, but it turns out it's just another piece of crap

I've not heard from or read an account of anyone using it and finding it a piece of crap, connectivity problems aside...

[CitizenCain]

I've not heard from or read an account of anyone using it and finding it a piece of crap, connectivity problems aside...

Undoubtedly because of A) the Apple fanboyism pandemic B) anyone who considers a bigger version of an iPod touch to be crap probably isn't going to go out and drop $500 for that functionality.

[EyeKhan]

Undoubtedly because of A) the Apple fanboyism pandemic B) anyone who considers a bigger version of an iPod touch to be crap probably isn't going to go out and drop $500 for that functionality.

Text conversation I had:

<Roger>A Coworker bought an ipad and let me take it home tonight.

<Me>Impressions? On the wating list yet?

<Roger>It's greater than the sum of it's parts (ipod + size). It's really cool. Super fast applications. Watching video is awesome. Even sound is better than imangined.

To be fair, "Roger" is an Apple loyalist. But I don't think it's fair to blow off someone's opinion simply because they own an apple computer and an iPhone. You invalidate the opinion, by default, of anyone likely to buy this thing that way.