iPad for main computer?

[iceman]

Yeah I know Steve Jobs doesn't want me to do it, but why shouldn't I? My Mac just shit the bed, it remains to be seen whether my ~10 gigs of music can be rescued (I have about 6 gigs on an ipod so I know I can save that at least). The iPad has 64 gigs of storage and all I ever do is listen to music, fuck around on the internet and write stuff (not nearly as often as I should).

The writing I can email as a word document to this pc I'm typing on now to print or burn to a cd. I'm not sure how I get more music onto the iPad, I guess I could upload it to one of the kids' macs and transfer it somehow, it shouldn't be hard. 64 gigs is not a shitload but it's plenty for my music, my writing and a fair amount of video which I can just take off and replace when I want to.

Plus they have keyboards for the iPad now so I wouldn't have to type on the touchscreen all the time. I can take the thing with me easily, mess around with all the apps, it's a lot cheaper than a new Mac, I can't figure out why I shouldn't just get the iPad.

Any thoughts?

[Tippster]

Wasn't your Mac only 2 years old? That's pretty shitty.

[iceman]

Three and a bit. It's currently in use as an iDoorstop.

[OldLarry]

well, you left out a key piece of information that will be the deciding factor: Do you "listen to music, fuck around on the internet and write stuff (not nearly as often as {you} should).", in jeans?

[skinnyskier]

I have an iPad, which is great and essentially serves as my main computer. It really does want to be connected to another computer for backup and future software updates, though. The iPad has iTunes store on it, so you can purchase music. Of course there is no way to rip a CD or download from Acquisition on the iPad.

Regarding your failed Mac, there is a fixed-fee repair service which I did through our local Apple store. I think it was about $250, and I ended up with a new case, keyboard and moboard. If it's just the hard drive, you could swap it out yourself.

[Labcabin]

If I am correct, there are no inputs at all on an Ipad. No USB, nothing. So I am not sure how you will transfer 10 gigs of music without that input. I can't see using the Ipad at all as a main computer because of this fact. You won't even be able to hook up a printer.

[skiergirl]

iPad = no love for adobe. So as long as you never watch flash based players, you'd be ok. I don't have the keyboard so can't comment on that. Writing emails on the touch screen kind of blows but I haven't tried too much.

It's great for browsing the internets and reading books. I tend to read more with the Kindle App than iBooks. Books are cheaper from Amazon.

[hafilax]

If I am correct, there are no inputs at all on an Ipad. No USB, nothing. So I am not sure how you will transfer 10 gigs of music without that input. I can't see using the Ipad at all as a main computer because of this fact. You won't even be able to hook up a printer.

Bluetooth, WIFI, 3G.

[hafilax]

Yeah I know Steve Jobs doesn't want me to do it, but why shouldn't I? My Mac just shit the bed, it remains to be seen whether my ~10 gigs of music can be rescued (I have about 6 gigs on an ipod so I know I can save that at least). The iPad has 64 gigs of storage and all I ever do is listen to music, fuck around on the internet and write stuff (not nearly as often as I should).

The writing I can email as a word document to this pc I'm typing on now to print or burn to a cd. I'm not sure how I get more music onto the iPad, I guess I could upload it to one of the kids' macs and transfer it somehow, it shouldn't be hard. 64 gigs is not a shitload but it's plenty for my music, my writing and a fair amount of video which I can just take off and replace when I want to.

Plus they have keyboards for the iPad now so I wouldn't have to type on the touchscreen all the time. I can take the thing with me easily, mess around with all the apps, it's a lot cheaper than a new Mac, I can't figure out why I shouldn't just get the iPad.

Any thoughts?

Can it be updated without connecting to a computer?

If you can back everything up to a wireless hard drive then and it does everything that you want then I don't see why not.

[spindrift]

I have yet to snag one. However, there are a number of reasons why it is probably not appropriate for a "main" computer - if by main you mean an all around machine. Among them:

the previously mentioned need to tether to a computer

the current lack of anything resembling multitasking

challenges in document/media production or editing

no good notion of storage

limited storage

limited ports

I know some informed folks who have put it through its paces & the conclusion seems to be that it is a fine (better than fine actually) media player/displayer + email checking device. Lots of love for it as a super portable business "travel" device. But far from primetime as an all around "computer".

Everyone expects the multitasking issue to be addressed soon, but the other issues will likely prove frustrating enough. The original 64G Air was more robust as a "computer" and still drove people I know absolutely nuts when they wanted to use it as a "main" computer.

Nothing wrong with giving it a go --- if you have the budget reserve to add a regular Mac after the fact...

[dumpy]

Ice, you want a netbook, not an I-pad.


Lack of multitasking (I'm assuming you do other things while listening to music) and the lack of ports are real deal killers.

What's dead on your main machine?

[jibij]

Multitasking is coming soon, in a software update. Music, Pics, Internet, and writing are all very doable on the iPad (the first 3 are it's real strengths). Your application options will only be from the Apple App store, unless you jailbreak it (which is pretty simple). As long as you don't need to load "traditional" software (Photoshop, Microsoft Word, etc), you're OK. I haven't played with the iWork suite on the iPad, but from what I've seen, it'll handle all your writing needs plus some.

I'm likely going to get one now that there are some good VNC options. The iPad will basically be a window to my main computer, when I'm away from it.

edit... if your requirements are as you stated, I strongly disagree with the "get a netbook" advice. You'll just wind up with a crappy little computer with a crappy little screen.

[mawree]

Look here. My current MacBook is a refurb and still running strong. At the time I post this there is a white MacBook for $759.

The 64GB iPad is $699, and by the time you buy a keyboard doc and any other accessories, you are closing in on 800 bucks, which is already more than that refurb MacBook.

I see the iPad as a nice compliment to a computer, particularly if you travel a lot. But as your main computer? Definitely not.

[The AD]

Just based on gut feeling I think I'd get sick of looking down at that small display all the time. It's nice to have a nice big monitor in front of you for those times you are not on the go.

if your requirements are as you stated, I strongly disagree with the "get a netbook" advice. You'll just wind up with a crappy little computer with a crappy little screen.

Isn't this essentially what an iPad is, though? OK, a crappy little computer with a crappy little touch screen.

[RootSkier]

It will make you write less so no.

[Hugh Conway]

You'll just wind up with a crappy little computer with a crappy little screen.

thats a bigger screen than an ipad....

[dumpy]

Isn't this essentially what an iPad is, though? OK, a crappy little computer with a crappy little touch screen.

but with a Netbook, you get a slightly bigger screen, choice of OS (I don't think you can join the cult of Jobs with a netbook yet though) , USB ports, ability to upgrade RAM (Ipad may have this, not sure), a keyboard, multi-tasking, a potentially lower price tag, ability to use all types of software and some other things I'm not thinking of.

However it won't make you feel quite as hip as an I-pad.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Ice, you want a netbook, not an I-pad.


Lack of multitasking (I'm assuming you do other things while listening to music) and the lack of ports are real deal killers.

What's dead on your main machine?

I can't even believe they produce a machine with those shortcomings, not to mention the flash issue (which I also can't believe is still an issue with Apple).

I guess if you can now use a real keyboard having the ipad might be a possibility, but every time I see (in an ad) someone supposedly 'typing' on that thing I figure I'm seeing a complete fantasy (I can't imagine trying to input anything substantial on that touch screen 'keyboard').

Aside from having something that looks nice, I don't see the point. No real advantages over a real netbook, and plenty of shortcomings.

[jibij]

I'm not going to get into the netbook vs. iPad debate. We might as well argue politics.

I do need to clarify something though... you can use the iPad as YOUR main computer, but you'll still need a computer in the house from which to transfer your current music and pics.

[Benny Profane]

I'm not going to get into the netbook vs. iPad debate. We might as well argue politics.

I do need to clarify something though... you can use the iPad as YOUR main computer, but you'll still need a computer in the house from which to transfer your current music and pics.

I will. Netbooks suck. There will be no netbooks in a few years, just awful imitations of the IPad out there. Name me one netbook that has generated the excitement this device has, and sold so many in such a short time. And, this is just the start. Wait until the third generation comes out, better and cheaper.

I don't think it could be your main computer, just as Jibij sez. You need something more solid with a backup system as a main hub. This is just a peripheral device, although a pretty cool one, as it is meant to be.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Name me one netbook that has generated the excitement this device has, and sold so many in such a short time.

With such logic you'll end up with an extensive collection of Lady Gaga records, too.

iPhones generated a lot of excitement and sold well, too, despite their drawbacks.

Stupid to say netbooks will be gone, unless you think this thing will disappear, too (which would be less of a surprise).

[Benny Profane]

Dex, it IS a netbook. Only ten times better.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Not a netbook, and less capable than any netbook I've used. Not sure where you're going with this...but if you now say it's a netbook, do you think it will disappear soon, too?

But it looks pretty?

[Benny Profane]

What can I say. Old habits die hard.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/te...7apple.html?hp

New King of Technology: Apple Overtakes Microsoft
By MIGUEL HELFT and ASHLEE VANCE
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple, the maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads, overtook Microsoft, the computer software giant, on Wednesday to become the world’s most valuable technology company.

In intraday trading shortly after 2:30 p.m., Apple shares rose 1.8 percent, which gave the company a value of $227.1 billion. Shares of Microsoft declined about 1 percent, giving the company a market capitalization of $226.3 billion.

Apple retained the spot at the close, even as both shares declined. Microsoft dropped 4 percent to end the day with a market cap of $219.2 billion and Apple fell 1.1 percent to end at $222.1 billion.

The only American company valued higher is Exxon Mobil, with a market capitalization of $282 billion.

This changing of the guard caps one of the most stunning turnarounds in business history, as Apple had been given up for dead only a decade earlier. But the rapidly rising value attached to Apple by investors also heralds a cultural shift: Consumer tastes have overtaken the needs of business as the leading force shaping technology.

Microsoft, with its Windows and Office software franchises, has dominated the relationship most people had with their computers for almost two decades and that was reflected in its stock market capitalization. But the click-clack of the keyboard has ceded ground to the swoosh of a finger across a smartphone’s touch-screen.

“It is the single most important turnaround that I have seen in Silicon Valley,” said Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist who has invested in some of the most successful technology companies.


Their only worry is Google now, not Gate's and Ballmer's folly. And Google isn't into hardware at the moment.

[Dexter Rutecki]

You'd think the most valuable tech company would figure out a way to make its hardware work with the internet, or change batteries, or video skype, or have USB ports, or anything else netbooks do...I just found out you can't even get more than a 64 gig ipad (for reelz?). Wow.