Apple iPad announced

[unbelift]

I think what it comes down to and what gives me the chills is that with all the content control and DRM, I would not own an Apple product these days but the product (and Apple) would own me. Nobody is supposed to be allowed or to be able to profile or restrict what information I access or how I hack my gadget. Information wants to be free.

Even my parents (above their sixties) are beginning to see how drastically the world is changing around us, ditching their google accounts (nice try if everyone else has one), no longer buying on Amazon, asking me to install Linux on their computers.

I don't want to live in a world where everyone has an iPad, a Facebook account, and a Googlemail address. It's somehow inevitable but there needs to be at least some percentage of people who stand up against it to remind a whole lot of people that sometimes privacy can mean survival and that who controls what you can read owns you.

Just my 2c

[intermediatic]

I see your point, but essentially we already live in that world. Plenty of things to be hostile about and I'm certainly hostile about 'em. Then again, I'm using the iPad to set myself free of the tyranny of physical books, so it has certain advantages and all the violence against it seems misplaced. Seems more useful to talk about hacking it or adapting it to our purposes.

[StevePoling]

I see your point, but essentially we already live in that world.

speak for yourself. Apple and Amazon are fighting for lock-in and all the negatives to the consumer that that entails. I am fighting just as hard to prevent getting locked-in. If I can't convert an ebook from whatever input format it's in to some open standard, i don't buy it. Yeah, it's nice to be using the wireless to buy a book on my Kindle when the mood hits me. It would be nice if Kindle had an app for my Moto 'Droid, but a lot of things would be nice. After all, if Amazon wrote a Droid app, I might buy more books.

But most times the book is also available from someplace else in an open format. And someday I'll get my scanner tuned up well enough to make my own ebooks of the rest. I still need a huge basement full of books, but at least I don't lug around anything heavier than my Kindle or my Droid.

[intermediatic]

Ok, if that's the route you want to go, a Marxist like Marcuse or Tafuri would suggest that you are the exception that proves the rule. By proving that the it has room for you, the system is able to stave off challenges.

I'm curious, do you convert your books to text files? What sort of open system do you believe makes you feel full and authentic on the PC that you built out of rocks and twigs from your back yard?

[rob]

iPad to get on Verizon Wireless network 10/28.

The iPad will be WiFi only (since the 3G version is still AT&T only), but Verizon is also selling a bundle with the Novatel MiFi 2200 router, a device that is "as big as 8 credit cards stacked", so it's still quite portable. The router connects the iPad to the Verizon Wireless 3G network.

So Apple has fixed the AT&T problem by having an agreement with Verizon Wireless. Now if only they would have a front-facing camera and ditch the Apple App Store.

[Moonboy242]

A word of advice on Verizon and the iPad. Once you get the scratch together to buy one you will probably be hooked on it hard. You're gonna burn through the MB limits Verizon places on their data plan and it will cost you deep. I am not a fan of Verizon even though I have cell service with them. What is important to know is that the iPad comes unlocked and any data plan sim card can be used in it - with a fast 10 second adjustment. The below is what I did right after I bought my iPad from a local Mac store.

As someone who uses their iPad all the time every day and burns through about 100 MB a day do not get the Verizon data plan with your iPad. In fact, don't buy your iPad from Verizon. Period. Go to your nearest "Apple Authorized Dealer" and buy the 3G Wifi iPad you can afford without the ATT data plan. Next go to T-Mobile and buy the unlimited monthly smart phone data plan (it is available without a smart phone with NO Contract) and take the sim cards they give you home. Next, look up the terms "sim card trimmer" and "Sim card adaptor" in Google. The rest will fall into place quickly (if not, I will be more than happy to help provide directions on how to do the manual part).

The net result will be a nice iPad, with unlimited 3G data for 39.99 a month NO Contract, and unlimited access to the web as long as you have a phone signal.

I stand by my signature. However, if you know how to tweak your iOS devices up they can be made to do a whole lot more than Apple can (or wants you) to do with them.

[univurshul]

...perhaps what's gone under the radar is the 11.6" MacBook Air. I see using this more than my iPad to be honest.

iPad might be a better user experience in the hand, but the Air is something that is just as portable, more productive, more powerful, better resolution (iPad 1024x768 vs. MBA 1366x768)...and it powers a 27" Cinema display (2560x1440) . I just watched a vid of a buyer who was reading the NY Times from a 11" MBA tethered to his home theater projector approx. 85" projection on the wall (projector was LED bulb 1080i, only consumed 80 watts).

The health of our eyes with these devices constantly up close?.... Maybe from afar, displayed on a wall wouldn't hurt from time-to-time. Makes sense.

Ai just did a review with some comparison checks: http://dum5.appleinsider.com/articles/1 ... tml&page=2

I'm liking Jony Ive's thinking behind the engineering on the new Air; applying the human controls to a larger glass trackpad is ideal as opposed to the peripheral display.
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/#macbook-air-video

[Moonboy242]

univershul I agree. Make no mistake, iPad is in many ways a luxury device that is a step down in functionality to a proper laptop. I use the hell out of it when I'm surfing the web, reading a book, doing emails, etc. When I need to be productive I switch to my laptop.

I think this is probably the best of all worlds as far as iOS and maximum versitility / productivity:

http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

[univurshul]

yes sir...I still think the iPad takes way too long to render HD ebooks. I want archive-grade ebooks to play like lossless audio files and videos do. This snail-paced rendering is bulls%$#.

I usually read all my ebooks on my MacBook pro and surf web/web-read vectorized content on the iPad with InstaPaper...but guess who just plunked down the cash for a 11" MBA? booyah!

And of course Bruce Lee Kung Fu Master on iPad is hands down the funnest game ever. Total distraction from everything constructive.

[univurshul]

I think this is probably the best of all worlds as far as iOS and maximum versitility / productivity:

http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

Does Axiotron run iOS or OSX on their Modbooks? It looks like OSX. I'm reluctant to rely on this thing for everything mobile, but I need to try before I say anything further. Do you own one, Moonboy242?

I suppose it depends on how much keyboard use you need. Without a keyboard, you have a large Waacom minus the fast accurate user control of the OSX environment. (But I suppose with practice, you can be really efficient with this.) The iPad's multitouch keyboard takes getting used to, because I suck with it, but others have demonstrated pro typing speeds with higher accuracy on it.