Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room
First iPad Reviews Are In
40hz:
In the end, I think it all comes down to the amount of personal control you're willing to give up for what you think you'll get in return.
Some people don't feel the need to look much beyond what's in front of them so long as they believe they're getting what they want.
For people like this, Apple products are a match made in heaven. Immediate gratification and no-brainer choices are a big plus as far as they're concerned.
More power to them.
It's also worth noting that owning the 'correct' brand of something is very important to these folks. Correct brand names provide instant credibility and validation - something George Alistair Sanger (aka The Fat Man*) once described as: Buying your cool.
The way 'buying your cool works' is that you don't need to know squat about something just so long as you can name drop and shoot the breeze without sounding too stupid.
Owning the right stuff grants you permission to name drop; whereas shooting the breeze (without sounding stupid) is more of a personal gift. Nice to have, but not crucial.
Many blog sites have proven that not having such a gift is still no impediment if you're a real Apple fanboy.
Then there's people (like so many of us) who are only willing to give up so much personal control - and so much personal choice - before we say: You can keep it!
This is the crowd who insists on having the final say on how their technology works, and even more importantly, what they're allowed to do with it. And if too many strings come attached to something, they won't care if it can hand them the world on a silver platter - they ain't gonna buy it.
"Different strokes for different folks!" as the old song goes. :P
I'm not a Mac...
And I'm sure as hell not a PC!
I'm not anything but me. 8)
Now...who are you? :)
-----
Note: This is The Fat Man himself in one of his trademark spangled cowboy suits:
He's not fat at all. And he's also from Maine - so why is he wearing a spangly cowboy suit?
Curious, no? ;)
http://fatman.com/
zridling:
Is it only about the money and "instant cool" though? I can't recall Jobs doing anything charitable on any scale with his company or his gadgets. Whatever I may think of Mr. Gates's company, the man has spent the last decade giving back around the globe in demonstrable ways. It's like the guy (Arnold?) who went out and bought the biggest Hummer made just to show that he could burn more gas than your biggest SUV. Or perhaps the rich lady who spends tens of thousands of dollars on a special purse to carry their fluffy dog around with them in airports. And SuperboyAC, most of the Apple people I know are on my teevee, telling me how great their new shiny toy is. No matter how hard I try, I can't respect CNBC's Erin Burnett.
superboyac:
Is it only about the money and "instant cool" though? I can't recall Jobs doing anything charitable on any scale with his company or his gadgets. Whatever I may think of Mr. Gates's company, the man has spent the last decade giving back around the globe in demonstrable ways. It's like the guy (Arnold?) who went out and bought the biggest Hummer made just to show that he could burn more gas than your biggest SUV. Or perhaps the rich lady who spends tens of thousands of dollars on a special purse to carry their fluffy dog around with them in airports. And SuperboyAC, most of the Apple people I know are on my teevee, telling me how great their new shiny toy is. No matter how hard I try, I can't respect CNBC's Erin Burnett.
-zridling (April 08, 2010, 05:33 PM)
--- End quote ---
Ha! yeah, I'm on your side. All I'm saying is that a few years ago, I would have bashed apple to a pulp. now, I really see how it makes sense to other people. I still will never get one, but I'm not so vocal about bashing it anymore. I mean, especially when guys like Stephen Fry and my other smart friends can intelligently rationalize why it makes sense to them, I give them that respect.
The other great thing about Apple is it gets people off my back. back in the day, i'd jump at the chance to fix any problem anyone had with technology. Now, I pray that they don't bother me about this stuff. So, if they are happy or think they are happy with their ipod or ipad, good. They leave me alone with my gadgets, and I leave them alone with my (superior) gadgets. That's a big reason why I've softened my stance.
JavaJones:
40hz, perhaps you're not really suggesting that there are "only" these 2 camps, but even suggesting they're the majority seems dubious to me. I think both the gadget/brand nuts and the tech nuts like us are in the minority. It's the reaction of the average people that everyone claims is Apple's market that I'm interested in.
So many arguments about the iPad have gone Person 1: "I hate it, it locks me in to proprietary Apple stuff and doesn't let me do what I want, therefore it will fail!" Person 2: "It's not even meant for you, it's super simple and easy to use, it's meant for average Joe who doesn't even want to think about how to use his computer.", and the latter *would* be a compelling argument if it weren't for some of the comments I'm hearing about "hard to hold and use for long periods of time", "awkward to watch movies on", "expensive for an e-reader", "no direct camera connections", "no USB, easy plug-and-play", "need to use cumbersome iTunes-based process to sync docs with wires, does not work wirelessly", "no flash", and on and on. Thse don't seem like a product that the mainstream, "average Joe" will love.
Not to mention the frustration that will come when a user removes an app from their iPad for whatever reason, only to lose all their documents associated with it. I mean seriously, is that the message Apple wants the average consumer to get?
The sad thing is I think it *will* appeal to average people on the face of it, and it'll only be after some use that they realize how awkward, annoying, etc. it is. I'm just baffled by how bad a first gen Apple product really can be, I guess. I mean they got so much right, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the core concept - I'm not against a simple pad-like device, even if it runs iPhone OS and is limited in some ways - but it really seems like there are some all-too-glaring faults to me. *shrug*
- Oshyan
cmpm:
With it's limitations and lack of up to date connections.
(Should be USB 3 on there)
Seems like something to find at a yard sale for 5 or 10 bucks.
16gb? Sheesh!
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