What iPads Did To My Family

This one is most definitely off-topic, but you might find it interesting.

Last Sunday, I broke down and bought a non-3G iPad.  I just was too damn curious.  Walked into the Apple Store, played with it for 5 minutes, gave them my credit card, and walked out 15 minutes later. 

Brought it home, set it up, downloaded some interesting stuff, and had a blast.  Big geek fun.

I then went off to work for the week, and left it home.  And that's when things got interesting ...

Some Context

I've been married for almost 25 years, and have three kids, the youngest of which is 14.  We have always had a lot of tech in the house. 

A lot.

As I think about it now, we've got a fleet of 6 PC desktops of various vintages and three Windows laptops -- two of them that actually work well.  On the Apple side, we've got an iMac and two MacBook Airs of different vintages.  We just updated the family NAS server to the most recent Iomega device.

We use Verizon FIOS 20Mb service and can keep it busy.  Add in 3 printers, three separate wireless domains to cover the house, a few thingies that connect between the TVs, stereos and the in-house tech, countless MP3 players and USBs, gaggles of cables, Harmony remotes and -- yes -- you could say that we have a decent amount of tech in my family.

Having all this stuff around is an indulgence of mine.  My 16 year old son is in charge of first-level tech support.  I get the really hard stuff, like fixing rootkit problems, or debugging dodgy hardware.

And then I brought home the iPad.

The Initial Reaction

My wife and kids summed it up in 30 seconds.  "Oh no, Dad bought another toy".  "Why do we need something else with a CPU in it?".  "What does it replace?".  And so on.

Within four hours, my wife was playing with the photo app, and sending pictures to people -- she'd be meaning to do so for a while.  Tap, tap, tap.  She was doing that from the back porch with a frosty adult beverage to complement the activity. 

She was smiling.

That fun was followed by an extended Facebook session (she's a big fan, I don't use it).  Tap, tap, tap.  This was lying on the couch with a tennis match on.  More smiles.

She left it on the table, and my 14 year old daughter (the artist in the family) started playing with an Autodesk illustrator app I had downloaded.  Tap, tap, tap. 

"Dad, this is cool".  Tap, tap, tap.  "Look at this!"  My email is now filling up with her drawings.

My college daughter is home from school.  Late that night, she grabbed it and ran up to her room.  Tap, tap, tap. "Dad, I want one".  "You do know, there's wi-fi everywhere on campus -- this would be perfect".

Are you starting to get the picture?

Later That Week

I get home from work, and there's always a certain level of chaos at that time. 

But there was a new theme this week. 

"Who forgot to charge the iPad?". 

"Hey, if you're going to eat pizza and use the iPad, at least wipe it!  How gross!" 

"You already used the iPad this afternoon, it's my turn!".

"How do I print from this thing?"  "Can we download some more games?".  "Check out this cool video".

Tap, tap, tap.

All the PCs and laptops are basically not being used.  All the Macs are not being used.  All have been powered off.

Everyone in the family is waiting for their turn at the iPad.

My wife asserted her rightful place in the hierarchy later that evening, and took it upstairs to the bedroom to relax while watching TV.  Tap, tap, tap.  Occasionally, she showed me something interesting she found online.  And smiling.

It All Flashed Through My Eyes

I don't think I'll be buying any more desktops going forward.  I don't think I'll even be buying any more laptops going forward. 

They've all been largely obsoleted (at least at my home) by a sleek $499 device that doesn't really have any right to be called a "computer" in the traditional sense. 

Sure, there's a handful of tasks that I still would prefer a real computer, but -- amazingly -- that list has now shrunk dramatically.  In less than a week.

The members of my family immediately gravitated to the new shiny thing -- no prompting, no encouragement, no migration, etc.  They are drawn to it like a moth to flame.

I now have this strange love/hate relationship with Apple.  And I think it won't be long before I'm forced to make another trip back to the Apple store.

Comments

[Dick Applebaum]

Chuck

What would you recommend for a graduation gift ($500-$800) for a 14-year-old girl graduating middle school and entering high school. The choices are among Netbook, Notebook and iPad. We are an all Mac family and have 5 iPhones, and 2 iPads.

TIA

[Chuck Hollis]

To all -- if your comment doesn't make it through, it's due to heavy traffic.

All reasonable comments make it through, moderation is off.

BTW -- I lost one myself!

-- Chuck

[Chuck Hollis]

Hi Dick --

Since I assume she'll be doing homework on it, it should support creating presentations and long term papers.

The iPad fans may roast me here, but I'd do the unglamorous thing and buy either a garden-variety notebook, laptop or desktop.

BestBuy has lots of reasonable choices as a baseline. A netbook runs the risk of being underpowered for certain activities. We have one and never, ever use it.

My high-school kids get lots of homework, and I can't see them easily doing that stuff on an iPad or a netbook.

I'd recommend taking care of that need first, and then think about something a bit more cool. Like an iPad.

-- Chuck

[Victoria Zilliioux]

In San Diego you have to be on a waiting list to get an iPad - either version - wifi or 3G. My husband got one and I am number 22 on the list at our local store. They say at the store that's a good number. I wonder how long their waiting list is!

[Kathy Berger]

Hi Chuck,

I had had my iPad 3G for less than a week when I placed an order for a second one for my college-student daughter. I can see how this portable device will transform her college experience. With apps that allow one to take notes and have them automatically emailed to a desktop computer for backup, instant access to the Internet from virtually anywhere to look up information, and the ability to carry along e-texts for every class without breaking one's back, I can imagine every college student who can afford one having one! This is the perfect tool for a student.

And I can't forget the fun factor, either. With our family's Netflix account and the free app she will be able to view movies in her down time (which she currently is not able to do). Games are a completely different experience on this platform, too, and it is a lot more fun to view YouTube videos with this device than on an iPhone! I am sure she is going to love her iPad as much as I
love mine!

[Chuck Hollis]

Dick, sorry, one more thought --

Historically, we've had reliability problems with laptop/desktop brands other than Apple and Sony.

Your price range puts you squarely into the Sony VAIO family. We have owned two of them for a while and haven't been disappointed yet.

And we're a bit picky about our tech, as you might gather :-)

-- Chuck

[Chuck Hollis]

Hi Kathy

I agree, for most everyone, the iPad is the "other" computer. I can't see living without a traditional one, at least for the time being.

And, please, don't tell my college-age daughter what you're doing.

-- Chuck

[sk43999]

Regarding Flash on ARM architecture - yes it does exist; runs on Nokia 810 and related tablets. Silverlight - don't know.

[Rick C.]

I don't understand these comments from people who say they bought an iPad and never use it. So why did you buy it in the first place? It must be nice to have $500 to spend on an impulse.

Personally, I've been to the Apple Store and played with the iPad. It's slick and I'll probably pick one up someday when the second or third generation is available. But for now, I can't justify the cost given I don't have a tangible use for it and already have a house full of desktops and laptops, iPods and iPhones.

[Fredrik]

While the iPad looks very nice indeed, almost all the critique is positive and I'll most likely wind up getting one, I have one big issue with it.

There is no support for multiple users. The usage scenario you describe in the blog-post would seem to run into this? Having to sign in to Facebook, Gmail and so on after your Spouse/Sibling/Roommate has been using it seems like an unnecessary hassle.
Not to mention security implications.

I doubt this will be "fixed" since a much more appealing solution (to Apple that is) is that you get another iPad.

But it does look nice, I guess I'll have to wait and see when it eventually shows up here in Sweden :)

[Dick Applebaum]

Thanks Chuck!

Would an iPad with a kb and the iWorks suite (Pages WP, Numbers SS, and KeyNote Presentation) change the equation?

We already have several extra BT kbs, and the iWork suite (1 Purchase of iPad apps works on at least 5 devices).

Also, we have iMacs at home to do heavy lifting. Please ask your kids how much content creation they do while at school (where the iPad or Laptop would be the only device available to them).

I know this is a difficult call because no one has any experience using a Laptop vs an iPad in a classroom environment.

TIA

Dick

P.S. Thanks for the Sony recommendation-- though I'm not sure I want to support a Windows environment. What Windows version would you recommend?

[Daniel Reiss]

Rainer, Chuck and others wondering about business fit. Here is my story:

When the iPad was first announced I immediately thought 'not for me'. I do a lot of CAD work, 3D modeling, some animation and significant Project Management. But then I played with one at an Apple Store and - Eureka - I realized that I have 3 lives: Office; Field Work and Meetings/Marketing. So I will continue to use my MacPro Work Station in the office and my 17" PowerBook in the field. But for meetings and presentations the only devices I will have with me are an iPad and my iPhone.

btw - for those of you who think that Flash and SilverLight define the Web you should pay attention to the events that occurred within a 36 hour period last week[in no particular order]: 1) Microsoft announced that IE 9 would adopt HTML5 + H.264; HP announced the acquisition of Palm, to gain access to its Mobile OS [runs on ARM - not Intel and is WebKit based]; HP announced that it has cancelled Slate; Microsoft drops Courier. And if by 'a real computer' you mean one that runs Windows7 or Mobile 7 - think again. Do not run well on a mobile device and never will. At least that appears to be the conclusion that HP has come to.

More btw - what company has led the development of HTML5, H.264, WebKit and customized ARM processors? - it a rhetorical question - Apple.

Thanks Chuck for an engaging article.

[Horst Pichler]

It seems to be a common theme here. We geeks and nerds bought an iPad as a new toy for us only to never be able to play with it. :)
I have to literally prey it out of my kids hands if I want to play with it.

Most amazing for me is that my 3 year old figured out by herself how to operate it. She used it to watch some Diego and started to move through the show and increase the volume as we were too loud for her.

I wonder what happens when I go on my next trip and try to take the iPad with me :)

[Mike]

@Enscript That doesn't make any sense. Neither my Macbook pro nor my Dell laptop have a mouse and they still work fine. The ability to attach a small, compact wireless keyboard via bluetooth makes it even MORE usable than you suggest in your inference that it won't last long simply because it doesn't come with a mouse and keyboard BUILT-IN to the device. Stay in the 80's.

I'm moving forward, iPad in hand.

[Chuck Hollis]

Dick -- questions and answers below:
------------

Question> Would an iPad with a kb and the iWorks suite (Pages WP, Numbers SS, and KeyNote Presentation) change the equation? We already have several extra BT kbs, and the iWork suite (1 Purchase of iPad apps works on at least 5 devices). Also, we have iMacs at home to do heavy lifting.

CPH> Based on my kids' experience, not really. Expect them to use the Macs for most of their homework. They will end up using the iPads for mostly fun & social stuff. I tried Keynote on the iPad, and it's not ready for prime time IMHO.

Question> Please ask your kids how much content creation they do while at school (where the iPad or Laptop would be the only device available to them).

CPH> Very little content creation at high school for a variety of reasons, the primary one is that expensive electronics brought from home by students tend to distract, break, get stolen, etc. Note taking, yes. College is a different story entirely.

Question> I know this is a difficult call because no one has any experience using a Laptop vs an iPad in a classroom environment.

CPH> My eldest daughter is taking heavy majors at a university, and she lives on her Macbook Air. She said the iPad would be the perfect second computer in her like, and wouldn't require "lugging around the Air". (?!?)

Question> TIA Dick P.S. Thanks for the Sony recommendation-- though I'm not sure I want to support a Windows environment. What Windows version would you recommend?

CPH> every laptop comes with Windows 7 these days. No big deal from a support problem, the stuff just works these days, like Apple stuff does. Software compatibility is another issue entirely, but we're mostly using free alternatives to MS Office these days for our Windows devices.

-- Chuck

[Anne]

Similar experiences here; and I can add, it is awesome when traveling. The main thing it is has subtly caused me to recalibrate my work-life balance in a healthier way. Laptop for creation of content, stays in its case or on desk when I am not working. But iPad goes with me everywhere, and is for everything BUT work (though, ok, yes, I do in fact do some work email and make notes with it). Somehow the iPad is pleasurable (this non-wife also smiles) and the laptop is now almost exclusively a dedicated work machine, and it is easy for me to mark off work time and keep it marked off. No wonder I'm smiling. Thanks for the essay, Chuck.

[B_radley]

yep, me too.

bought one for my (lovely yet neo luddite) wife as a 1st year anniversary (paper/pad=geek translation) and eureka! she's slinging the iPad + 2 new babies holstered, while surfing baby tips, crazy.

great post and thanks.
-b

[Dick Applebaum]

Thanks Chuck!

Looks like we'll go for a Sony Vaio $700 + $140 for a 2-year warranty, + $75 tax. it's over our $800 limit a bit.

I especially focused on your comment: "expensive electronics brought from home by students tend to distract, break, get stolen, etc."

I believe one killer app for the iPad (and similar devices) for students, is to get their textbooks on the device, reduce costs, and eliminate 18 lb backpacks.

When that is done, the device will become ubiquitous and lose a lot of its "steal appeal".

So far, no one has been creative enough to figure out how to do this... but someone will!

Maybe next year!

[Ron]

Is the fact there is no USB port a big shortcoming?

[yuri]

Chuck that's a great article. I am neither a big fan of Apple nor a hater. But I noticed already with my IPod Touch that Apple has designed something special. After that I wanted to buy iPadimmediately. And yiu know what? My high expections have been topped by this smart device. I don't own an iPhone or iMac.
I recommend anyone at least to try it out at Apple's stores. I am sure you'll want one immediately. Yes it is designed more for consumption that for anything else. But many of us have desktop computers to work on. But you would agree that consuming on this device is really much more fun.

[Karin]

Same in my house. I'm the one (wife) who is the geek while my husband doesn't care much about technology. He likes his iPod classic and his iMac (which I bought for him when he filled his PC with malware and viruses last year), and he can record a TV show on the PVR but that's about it. When I brought the iPad home, he instantly liked it. Somehow nobody is venturing off to their desktops anymore for browsing, and the laptop is collecting dust. It is even replacing my son's Nintendo DS (despite there is no "Mario" on the iPad).

[Vin]

I know what you mean about Mac love hate but Im moving to the like side of the issue Imac in the office and Mac mini in the kitchen if I put a laptop there it would disappear to a bed room somewhere I am considering the wifi ipad don't want the 3G bill

Nice story

[Chuck Hollis]

Hi Dick

Hope it works out as a gift.

While many of us share your vision of students carrying around digital textbooks, it seems that the textbook publishers are extremely resistant to this thought.

A bagful of heavy books just seems like an integral part of the high school experience for the time being ...

-- Chuck

[Dick Applebaum]

@Ron

"Is the fact there is no USB port a big shortcoming?"

You can get a "camera" adapter kit that includes 2 adapters:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/accessories/

1 adapter allows you to plug in a USB camera (including an iPhone). The other adapter accepts a camera HDSC card.

The USB card does not support things like thumb drives, scanners or printers.

But, there are apps that allow exchange of files among iPads and between iPads computers... so the lack of a USB port is a minor shortcoming, IMO.

[d b]

It is my understanding that, among other things, the USB adapter allows the use of that USB keyboard that's lying around in a box somewhere in the basement.

[Andrew Hill]

Congrats on making the New York Times!

[KP]

My Dad's been recovering from surgery and my mom and I got him an iPad to distract him and cheer him up. My parents are in their late 60s, neither very computer-savvy, but they have Macs and can do basic stuff with them. The latest reports from home indicate Dad never puts the iPad down. He's buying movies, apps and books and figuring them out just fine. One thing he said when first playing with it is that he's learned from using Macs that you can just play around and see if things work, without worrying about breaking anything. I had never really thought of it that way, but for folks less comfortable with computers, that's very empowering.

Also, Mom has taken to stealing the iPad early in the morning before Dad's up to read the Times with her breakfast. I wonder if they'll wind up getting another one. As for me, I'm too attached to my iPhone and Macbook Pro to really need a device in the middle. If money was no object, I'd definitely have one just to use around the house mostly.
I wrote a blog post with more thoughts on the experience:
http://headsetchatter.com/blog/2010/05/my-secret-ipad-weekend-revealed/

[Qcboys]

Nicely done Chuck.

Those who say the Ipad can not replace your laptop or desktop, I agree. I spend all day working at a desktop or on a laptop. in my opinion Computers are synonymous with work. The last thing I want to do when I come home is to use another computer. This is where the Ipad is genius. I can surf the web, check emails, watch a movie, play a game, or whatever and never feel that I am using the dreaded computer. It is liberating.

We just bought a new suv and chose not to have the entertainment system installed($1500). Instead I used that money to buy 2 Ipads. The kids can now play games or watch their choice of movies. Now there are no arguments on trips and the Ipad is portable not attached to a suv.

As far as the Ipad being a Fad, My kids each have had a 8g Touch for over a year. They had no music on their touches only games. Till the Ipad they were inseparable from their touch. Now they are actually using the touch as a music player and the Pad as primary a web surfing and gaming device.

[Katie]

I've had my iPad since 4/3. It has replaced my desktop and laptop for all but the heaviest of lifting: video/photo editing, complicated work stuff in MS Office, and early morning email. If stayed in bed with the iPad, I'd never get to work.

After work I don't touch anything but the iPad for news, web, music, movies, tv, Twitter, Facebook, email, photos, books, newspapers and magazines.

I figure to purchase 2 more before the end of the year- one for husband and one for son.

[Rush]

Chuck,

Those who criticize the iPad as an impractical toy lack active, questing imaginations. I'll bet they were among the last on their block to buy a PC or a Mac, too. As soon as I Steve Jobs's intro of this device, I knew it was a quantum shift in the computing vision---that it would perform the tasks it was designed to perform better than anything to date. And I was right.

I pre-ordered a 3G 64 GB model the day I received the email stating they were accepting pre-orders. I've had mine now for less than a week, and it is everything I thought it would be and more. I do most of everything so far described and one other thing I never thought of: I used it in a store yesterday day to do some on-the-spot comparative shopping rather than waiting to go home to fire up one of my PC's. It was extremely useful. 'Got the Amazon price in a few seconds, and others. I can do many things on the fly in readable form that I had to wait to be at a laptop or PC before. For me, the so-called smart phone was a non-starter---way too small. My primary excuse for buying it was to carry documents to court in PDF format to avoid the bulk of paper, and it will excel for that purpose since the screen is so readable and it turns pages as fast as paper, not to mention that the reader app I bought uses the Adobe Acrobat bookmarks that my software I use to produce the documents generates automatically. And, of course, as a casual web surfer, it is unexcelled. Etc. Etc. Etc.

[KSanger]

Last year I bought my wife a netbook and she's been going through the same thing. Uses it all the time, plus she can access her work email.

[George M]

Chuck being such a technology addict it impresses me you didn't know tablet PCs existed before IPAD.And yes they are great for internet and facebook for now. Maybe in future when flexible screens, adecuate CPU power, wireless peripheral conectivity and days of battery independance come into real life they will be Desktop or Laptop replacement. Till then they are just remaining a 10'' pda!

[Maggie]

I like my iPad a lot for reading books and news; cheating e-mail; surfing the Net. It's the first time I've bought anything as an early adopter, and I never planned to buy any form of Apple computer before this. This has replaced my two netbooks; I won't buy any more of those. I will still buy full-size laptops for more extensive computer use. IMO, Apple is going to do gangbusters business with iPad, especially with beefed-up versions and more apps to serve specific uses in various industries, such as health care.

[Dick Applebaum]

@ d b

"It is my understanding that, among other things, the USB adapter allows the use of that USB keyboard that's lying around in a box somewhere in the basement."

I just tried with an older USB Mac (crumb catcher) kb-- got a dialog that it is not supported and it didn't work.

I tried a newer USB Mac kb ($49 variety) and got a dialog that it used too much power... but it worked fine.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/mac_accessories/mice_keyboards

I suspect that Apple is pushing the BT kb because it conserves. precious iPad battery.

[Chuck Hollis]

George M

Actually, I did try a tablet PC at work (and at home) and it was just too cumbersome for most tasks. That was about two years ago when they were all the rage.

I think it's in a box somewhere downstairs along with all the other less-than-successful gizmos that wander through my life. I've got quite a collection -- maybe I should post pics? :-)

By comparison, the user interaction model on the iPad is completely and utterly intuitive.

Go try one for 15 minutes, and you'll see what I mean. And make sure to put it in front of the other people in your life, and gauge their reaction :-)

-- Chuck

[Bruce]

Chuck,

Great post. How would you compare the reading experience on the iPad to that of the Kindle? Is the Kindle still being used or is another electronic paper weight?

That being said, who was the primary user for the Kindle? Your family while at home or you while traveling for business?
Lastly, would you buy the Kindle again now that you have the iPad?

[Chuck Hollis]

Bruce

My wife has the Kindle. She loves it. If you want a purpose-built book-reading device, this seems to be the best one out there as far as I can see.

The iPad has a Kindle reader app. You can read all your Kindle books on the iPad without having to buy them again. The experience isn't as great as the Kindle itself, but it's adequate.

That being said, the Kindle isn't getting a lot of use these days ...

-- Chuck

[Bill Petro]

Chuck,

I'm reading this from my deck on my 3G iPad, which I stood in line for on the first day -- in the snow here in Colorado -- and apropos Mothers Day had the same reaction from my wife: "Bill's new toy" until she got her hands on it and said this is the first piece of tech I've given her that she'd have fun with.

Like you we have over half a dozen Macs, MacBook Pros as well as the same number of iPhones and iPods, but this device is different. I believe it is the harbinger of a new kind of mobile computing device. I've written two blog articles on it -- one on the day it was announced and the other on the day it was released at: http://billpetro.com/category/tech-trends/ipad-tech-trends/

-Bill

[Larence Swiger]

I last had an apple II before going all PC back in the day. My ipad purchase was the first apple product in 30 years because I also love/hate apple marketing. (ala Jobs) but I didn't get a users manual and the thing just works!
----former apple hater and 40 year IT tech.

[David Weiser]

Did some tests today with a friend in anticipation of buying one for primarily business use. We tried to use the Pages program to open a Word document that was formatted with my corporate graphics. It didn't work at all, but....next step is to try and re-create the document from scratch in Pages and see how that works. Ah, content creating on an iPad.... ;-)

I'm a mortgage lender frequently away from my desk. I basically push or create electronic "paper" (.pdf's) all day long or access various websites and want something very mobile. The Sony Series Z I was researching (3 lbs) with Verizon WAN is pushing $2,000 acquisition, around $60/month data. iPad 3G $629 with $30/month data (way less). I don't need heavy content creation when away from desk, but I do need something LIGHT.

My thoughts. The iPad's KILLER APP is that it's the world's best REMOTE CONTROL for a PC computer (or Mac). Even if the iPad cannot satisfactorily create or even edit Word or Excel content locally, I believe it will enable me to do so remotely using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). My company doesn't support VNC yet. But I could always set that up on my home computer. I work from home and use RDP extensively to access company systems. It just works.

When out at a restaurant I suspect I'll be able to walk in with a 1.5 lb remote control for my company systems and be able to route items in and out, use the Adobe distillers on my remote session, whatever I need.

There doesn't seem to be much talk about the use of the iPad in this fashion. Am I missing something? I have a decently high level of tech knowledge but can some of you at an entirely higher level enlighten me? I use the free iRdesktop on my iphone in a pinch and it just works for RDP.

Thanks Chuck for your great post. I'm thinking my business iPad will get second duty by our 7 and 9 year olds, and the fiance. We're both on our iphones more than computers these days and we too have computers and laptops everywhere in the home, netbooks, etc.

On a side note: Clamshell will be coming to market with a combined case and bluetooth keyboard, effectively turning the iPad into a production typing machine when desired, as I touch type 90 wpm.

David

[Mary Bucklew]

I'm waiting the requisite "5 to 7 business days" for my 64GB 3G iPad, which should arrive sometime around Wed or Thurs of this week. I knew the minute I heard about this new whizbang that it would be a game changer. It could be "most things to most people," since there are still alot of Apple baiters and haters out there. I never intended to write the great American novel on it, altho I'm sure that will become possible in some future iteration. And I'm retired (like the great bulk of Boomers is/will be soon), so who the heck needs/wants the ability to create spreadsheets or powerpoint presentations. Besides, we all have macs or computers that do that when we feel the need to chain ourselves to a desk.

I think the iPad is a liberating personal computing device, evolutionary as well as revolutionary, and I think your blog, Chuck, captured its essence to perfection!

Mary in Ocean View, DE
a mile from the beach

[Mary Bucklew]

I'm taking a leap here, but my geek side presumes that the main reason the iPad doesnt come "peripheral-ready" is that Steve Jobs and his very forward thinking minions are trying to lure us into a world where "clouds" provide the same access that cords and attachment devices provided in the last century. Of course, we aren't there yet, but the iPad is the thunder clap heralding what is just beyond our ken.

There are of course commerce reasons as well, with this beta-like inaugural, but I do believe he's convinced in time, he can convince us to "let go" of tethering devices.

[ThE uSeFuL]

Nice writing skills :-)
I liked the part "The members of my family immediately gravitated to the new shiny thing -- no prompting, no encouragement, no migration, etc." I think all technological companies should keep this in mind for the improvements of their devices and for new inventions.

[BenieMang]

컴퓨터를 켜지 않는 날이 올 수 있구나...

[BenieMang]

the time is coming soon, no signal sound, no place to work...

[ipad review]

I was one of the lucky few to get my hands on an iPad last week and I must say, so far so good. It's an incredible piece of technology and I think it will change the way we read, watch movies, listen to music and more. I just want to find more apps and sites related to iPad, which seem to be hard to trace online. I see on FriskyMongoose that the ipad tablet index www.dozenipad.com is the only place ranking ipad apps and blogs. The best thing about iPad is going to be video and HTML5. Most of the video sites such as youtube and vimeo can be accessed by the iPad and I think it'll improve the ultimate viewing experience.

[Morty]

Keep drinkin that Apple coolAid . . .

[JJ]

My iMac and MacBook Pro have not seen much activity since I brought home my iPad. The iPad is amazing and SO fast! It's a game changer, no question about that. Tap, tap,tap.
Great blog post.

[Chuck Hollis]

Re: drinking Apple Kool-Aid -- it's pretty tasty, you should try some!

-- Chuck

[Supplier]

Awesome little story and for those of you who want an iPad: http://www.airport-int.com/ipadpromo/ (Jesus, that sounds an awful lot like spam, but it's not!). Just figured everyone should own one of these things ;) Follow and tweet, and maybe win.... (I hope). ;0