About That “Pad” Thing (2010)

Originally published at jimeh.me on February 6, 2010.

So I was gonna write a post with my opinions about the iPad, but a cup of tea and staring at wall of wet paint is almost more tempting. If you don’t get why the iPad is important, and why it will succeed, I’m not even gonna try convincing you otherwise, time will just prove you wrong and make you feel stupid.

By this point you’re then thinking “What the fuck is this post about then?”. Sugarenia just wrote up a quick rant regarding her opinions [link dead] on the iPad, which pretty much sums up my own opinions to the letter. Only she’s written and explained herself much better than I most likely would have:

The iPad is not made for you and me, fellow geek. It’s primarily targeted to people that are still afraid of interacting with PCs, those that don’t have a clue about drivers and web apps and Wi-Fi setup. And this is exactly the kind of people that won’t buy a Linux netbook, dear Open Source zealots — because as much as Ubuntu has made Linux user-friendly, there’s still much filling that shows between the seams.

Update: I just noticed a post [link dead] by another friend of mine which is also good:

I think the main reason why self-described geeks are throwing a fit over the iPad is that it’s a shiny new toy that’s not meant for them.