[Linque]

I hate Apple's huge overheads, but there's no denying that they're able to design really user friendly products. I finally did some research and read what info is out there on the iPad, and I have to admit that it does seem quite promising and interesting.

I've been getting rid of my computers, laptops and generally all gadgets that require a lot of mainetance and are unwieldy to use. I've automated my torrent downloads straight to a media box that's hooked to my TV so that essentially I only turn on my TV and select what I want to watch. I have a Squeezebox attached to my stereos & my internet connection so I can access both my MP3 library and internet radio with the Squeezebox remote. I actually avoid turning on my PC at all unless I have something very necessary to do with it, and have found that I feel a lot better most of the time than what I used to, wasting a lot of time on the PC just surfing through the forums and news sites.

I just bought a Macbook Pro to get rid of all the upkeep I have to do with windows, long startup times etc, so that I can quickly turn on the computer, do what I want and be done with it, without worrying about updates and whatever problems come up next. I'm glad I've spent so much time with computers that I'm really good at using, building, maintaining, troubleshooting and doing pretty much anything you want with them. But I've realized that I don't have to spend that much time with them. I've come to the point that the "dumbed down" version that is quicker, easier to use and really just quite a bit more pleasant is actually much better for me than the traditional PC setup.

This brings me to Jake's point, that it's refreshing to see someone try to finally differentiate what an 'all purpose application' at home should look like and how it should function. I already got the Macbook Pro, but just as Jake said, it's still a computer and it's nowhere near as flexible to use around the house and with friends as a tablet would be. Making everything wireless was huge to me - I've been using wireless keyboards and mice since who knows how long now. But getting rid of them altogether, getting rid of the physical monitor would be huge. It would be easier to use on a sofa, pass it on to other people, use it together with someone etc, but the other big thing is that I know at least my apartment would look aesthetically much more pleasant if I didn't have all the devices on my table, on the shelves and on the ground. I want to have as few cords as possible and small and/or good looking devices that take care of the things I want to do with electronics.

So yeah. The iPad is going to cost a gazillion dollars and the insurance premiums are sky high and you can't fix it at all by yourself, but once again I've got a feeling that the product is so much more complete, better thought out and functional than what people who claim it to fail realize. We'll see. I do hope there's going to be a lot of competition on this field though. But altogether I'm glad and excited after the initial "what the hell is this" reaction I got.