Apple IPAD

[outlawal2]

You know I find it interesting that here is a single threaded, 1 gigahertz machine that is designed to fill a niche... NOT really designed to compete with PC's or MACs... Does not have memory protection... To fill a niche somewhere in between.. Sound familiar?

A machine that requires applications to be written specifically for it.. (Obviously not PC, MAC or Linux compatible), runs on proprietary hardware... (And I believe it is a Power architecture)

Am I the only one that thinks this sounds AMAZINGLY close to the description of what the new Amiga COULD have been? Does no one see the parallels here?

Here is a prime example of Apple brilliance.. Not the machine itself, but the background infrastructure that has allowed this machine to be feasible in the first place. (Itunes marketplace and the apps that are being written daily.)

Like the IPAD or not, like Itunes or not, the folks that masterminded the whole thing are friggin brilliant.. Given the same infrastructure and backing, the X1000 could be a huge success... Without it though, it will struggle to even reach hobbyist status...

[Demon Cleaner]

I saw that yesterday, looks nice, but is quite heavy for a device that shouldn't be

[Bloodwych]

Captain Picard had one of those!!!! They must have nabbed it from the 1980's sets!

Seriously, these touch screen things have been around in Sci-Fi for decades - we've just been waiting for the technology to catch up.

It's basically a tablet PC using recent advancements. Or a scaled up iphone or ipod.

Apple these days are better than Microsoft at remarketing old ideas - I'm sure they will be remembered for pioneering this device, even though it's just a tablet PC with Apples software and brand slapped on.

All the best to them - they have a strong marketing brand that people trust as a reliable technology partner, and indeed this could very well have been Commodore had they had the same 'umph' behind them.

[Harrison]

Apple have done their usual great job of making it look really nice, and the software looks and acts in a slick way similar to the iPhone. The photo gallery, image viewer etc all look great and move smoothly in the familiar touch screen interface.

However it is restrictive and locked into an Apple only world, which isn't good. No multitasking is mad in this day and age. For such a device I would want to be able to have more than one application open and running at the same time. My phone can do it, so this definitely should! It cripples the device for anything serious. It means you couldn't even have some music downloading to the device while you write an email!

And what about the software for it? All locked into Apple and the partners they have signed up for the iPad. Want to read a book on the device? You have to pay Apple to download it in the format they wish, from the publishing partners they allow. Same for music, applications, video etc...

I hate such restricted devices, locked into a single service provider. I want a device you can put whatever you want onto and play around with.

OK, you could argue it is fool proof. Everything is already installed on it and ready to go. You don't need, and can't have anything else. And all media is accessible to pay for and download at the click of a button. Great idea. Poorly implemented.

As Bloodwych said, its been around a very long time. Apple have just repackaged the idea, polished up the interface, cut down the hardware, and stuck a higher price tag on it. Usual story.

[Buleste]

I wonder who will be first to make an LCARS theme for it?

[Cammy]

Here's an interesting article on the iPad - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...web-users.html

Personally, as soon as I heard the name I thought of feminine hygene products. I agree with all of Harrison's points. The device has no appeal to me as a developer/tinkerer/hobbyist/hacker/thinker but without a doubt Apple will convince the world that they need it and can't live without it.