Fair enough, though I wonder if you really need to buy it to realise that you don't have a use for it. I suppose a trial run is reasonable, in case it has some magic use you don't consider till you have it.<p>I'm still though, to this day, boggled by the commenters who seem to think that a Flashless browser is crippled. What sites do these people use all day whereby the Internet is entirely useless without Flash? I see it <i>only</i> on an occasional Flash Game and video sites who have not yet rolled out HTML5 (a number dwindling month on month). Once a particular TV catchup service I use deploys <video>, I'll literally see Flash once a week.<p>Is there some usage pattern for the web that I'm unaware of, wherein people require Flash continuously?
At least his reasons are not ideological, he doesn't find any practical use of an iPad. Neither do I. He openly admits that he uses other Mac products.<p>I will probably consider buying an iPad (or other slate device) once the market matures and there are other reasonable slate devices I can compare to. Also there is a good chance that Apple will release the second iteration soon, which might improve on an already impressive device.<p>Just following the hive minds and buying things because everyone else is doing it too, even if you don't see any use of it, is quite silly IMO.
If you view the iPad as a replacement for a laptop, then it falls short. Text entry is difficult, you can't print, can't use USB devices, can't use flash, can't videochat, etc. People who have extremely limited computer needs will find it sufficient, but that's a niche market.<p>However, as an adjunct to your computer, it's quite nice. Certain kinds of web browsing are much more pleasant. Curling up on the couch with ABC video is comfy. Comics are fantastic. Within narrow domains, it's better than anything else on the market. That being said, a laptop or phone does all of those things, just not as well.<p>The question is, which way are people going to see it?
I'm surprised he bought it knowing he had no use for it. One week out I'm finding it extremely useful for various things -- largely leisure stuff like reading long articles that test my attention span browsing on the desktop, a resurgence in my interest in casual gaming, and I already read an entire book on it. I'm checking the App Store 3 or 4 times a day. My favorite geeky app at the moment is MyCongress which really shows off what a bigger screen can do for simply aggregating information from other sources. It pulls together Twitter, YouTube and OpenCongress into a nice GUI that you can pop around really quickly and explore. I'm excited to see this model applied to other areas of interest for me.
> it’s not out of dogmatism but because I simply don’t see a good use for the machine and don’t want to spend $500 on something I’m not going to use.<p>So why did he buy it?
I think the most important use case is one where you don't already have a Macbook or an iPhone. In fact the most important use case for an iPad is when you don't use computer at all ... <a href="http://buzz.dennykmiu.com/ipad-is-the-prequel" rel="nofollow">http://buzz.dennykmiu.com/ipad-is-the-prequel</a>
I think the most telling part of the video is the 2 screens he has behind him.<p>I have seen a few people contemplate getting an ipad, it wasnt to support their primary computer, it was their primary computer, I cant see any use for an iPad, but I have those 2 screens as well.