jsh1120
iPF Noob
As I noted above, I can't rant about Microsoft as well. In fact, given long acquaintance I have many more complaints about Microsoft than about Apple. In fact, more than once in the last quarter century I've considered abandoning Windows for Apple. (The last time was when I suffered through a couple of years with Vista.) But in my business it's not really an option.
Furthermore, I'm skeptical about M'soft's ability to create a truly useful tablet OS. Their track record for small devices, both phones and tablets doesn't inspire confidence. Hopefully, their next effort will be an improvement.
I wouldn't be here if I weren't delighted with the iPad. It does what I want it to do and does it better than its competitors. I wasn't looking for or expecting a laptop replacement. The, ahem, "limited" multitasking available on the iPad serves my needs very well. I can put up with a crippled browser experience considering that the experience is on such a small screen. I wish there were a way to set up separate accounts for different members of my family, but I understand that I'm dealing with what amounts to an OS that was designed for a phone, not a computer. And phones are strictly personal devices, not usually shared among several users.
I am disappointed that Apple didn't place a higher priority on updating, extending, and enhancing iTunes with the introduction of the iPad. It's a terrible kludge for what amounts to an application designed for music downloads as the only viable source of apps on a device not primarily designed as a music player. But the volume of complaints suggests that Apple will finally improve the experience in the next few months.
Overall, my take on Steve Jobs' "vision" is that tablets aren't computers. They require a different paradigm for the user experience. And I largely agree with that perspective. My (admittedly snide) remarks about "PC thinking" were meant primarily to suggest the rather obvious point made by many others. I have no major objections to the iPad's underlying philosophy applied to that device. It's not, however, a philosophy that can/should be extended to more complex uses.
No one, however, is forced to buy and use an iPad. All in all, better designs emerge from people with particular "visions" rather from committees that try to design universal applications and devices that are all things to everyone. And for that, Apple deserves applause, not complaints.
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