I believe Microsoft spent BILLIONS of dollars on legal fees over a decade of antitrust battles in the US and Europe in order to PREVENT you from having freedom of choice (such as the ability to use other browsers other than IE). Of course, they lost, but apparently you're still happy to be part of that user base and spend more money there will Bill and company.
Ironically, Jobs has delivered freedom of choice to many people in other ways. Remember, not so long ago, you had to buy the whole album even though you didn't like most of the songs, in order to get the one or two songs you wanted? Well, itunes solved that problem and now you get the song for $0.99, not $15.95. Doesn't it suck that most people have to pay a big monthly fee to cable or sattelite companies who "control the airwaves" -- even if you just want to watch football games on Sunday, or those one or two shows you like. That's going to change next.
I should also point out that anyone can develop software for the ipad (or iphone). So really, it's just a question of adoption... Companies who make software for PCs can adapt it the the apple devices if they want to... Nothing is stopping them.
I don't really get how the App store is limiting your freedom of choice by only offering one place to buy apps. If the same apps were available to download from Walmart.com for $0.89 vs. $0.99 would that make such a big difference?
I love that apple is big enough now to be "evil".... irony.
BD
First of all, Microsoft has
never prevented any software from being installed under Windows by an end user. Not a browser, email client, photo editing program, text editor, or any other type of software that you could possibly name. You should check your facts before making any claims. Personally, the only Microsoft software on my system is Windows 7 and Office 2010. All my other software is from whatever company makes the program that I feel does the best job for my purposes. And guess what? None of them were prevented from installing by Microsoft.
As for iTunes, it didn't solve any problem. All it did was take advantage of a situation that had already developed on the net of people downloading music for free using the infamous Napster. Until recently, all music downloaded via iTunes could only be played on an iPod due to DRM. That's not exactly freedom. Now you mention video programming...which will only be available to those willing to buy Apple hardware at the usual inflated Apple prices. I do not have either cable or sattelite. I get my HD programming with an OTA antenna which gives me all the programming that interests me... the three major US networks plus Fox, CW, CBC, 7 PBS channels in digital - 2 in HD, as well as the local analog broadcast of CTV. And it's all 100% free. And that isn't about to change.
Now as for programmers being able to program what they want for the iPad, yes they can. As long as they are willing to sell it through the Apple apps store and give Apple their 30% cut. they can't program for Apple iPod, iPhone or iPad and sell it directly like all other software developers do for both the PC and Mac platforms. Apple prevents them from doing so.
You want to know what the big deal is? OK...would you buy a car if you could only have it serviced, buy accessories and buy your gasoline, at whatever inflated price they decide to charge, from the company that built your car? Would you buy a television if you could only buy your programming from the same company and only the programming that was approved by that company? Well that's what you get when you buy into the Apple iP** ecosystem.
For some of your other points...no backlit LED, LCD or even a CRT can compare with a Kindle for reading. Kindle uses something called electronic ink or e-ink for short. It greatly reduces eyestrain and you can read for extended periods of time with no problem, something you cannot do with even the best OLED display on a handheld device.
For watching video, the iPad is outdated due to the fact that it's display is a 4X3 form factor, not a 16X9 widescreen which is standard for watching wide screen movies. If you plan on playing web based games or watching webpage based video, you're also out of luck because the iP** devices do not support Flash and will not for the foreseeable future due to a disagreement between Adobe and Apple which has also led to a lack of any 64 bit software from Adobe, such as Photoshop, being released for the Mac platform.
And the lack of multitasking will not be addressed by a simple software upgrade because the custom procesor that Apple has developed for the iPad is not able to multitask.
The most important omissions are that of a webcam, no onboard USB ports - so you can't directly upload pictures from a digital camera or any other device such as a USB flash drive, connect additional storage capacity or even connect a printer of any kind. And to me one of the worst ommissions is the lack of handwriting recognition, a standard funnction of any tablet device, which would have been a great function for students to use for taking notes or making notations in textbooks.
It's entirely possible that some or even all of these things will be addressed in a future version of the iPad. But as it stands now, the device is light years away from the "magical and revolutionary" piece of technology that Jobs claims it is. All it is, is a jumbo iPod Touch. Nothing more, nothing less.
Techman
