Those people scare me more than that banjo playing kid in Deliverance.

Okay, it’s off again. I’m lazy.

Matty Hairy made me laugh.

I don’t think the iPad is quite where it needs to be.

But I also think that it will be in an iteration or two.

I also think that, at present, no other device really does what Apple gives you: they’ve somehow turned the use of the thing into part of the experience.

I’d further argue that it’s *good* for the consumer and industry, because it’s a prototype, a benchmark, and eventually someone — Google? Microsoft? You? — will come along and out-do that experience and improve mightily upon it.

Finally, Guy, would you believe I’ve never been to Queens or the Bronx? True fact.

– c.

Ok, that said, now that I’ve played with the iPad for a longer stretch, I kind of like it in a “completely unnecessary luxury accessory” kind of way. It’s not really a “magical and revolutionary” device (Jobs’ words), but it hints at a potentially significant change on the horizon in how we we acquire, consume and interact with digital content. More on that here: http://bit.ly/93r2mF

As for NYFC, as I often refer to it, born and raised, tried to move away for good three different times, and still swear I hate it more than I love it… And yet, I can’t imagine not being here. Even having moved just 30 minutes West feels too far some days, and I’d go back to apartment living in the Bronx or Queens in a second if I could convince my wife!

Or can I be a sexy secret agent that bromances his way into the secret plans of the enemy command? I need a cool code name. Matty Hairy? The Blue Baller? Agent Cuddlebear! That’s it. Perfect.

Agent Cuddlebear signing off.

I would be much more interested in what the Internet had to say if it came with performance art.

Everyone keeps saying “It’s not a computer.” Well actually…yes…it is. It’s a very proprietary computer running a restrictive O/S. If Apple wanted it to be a full, fledged Mac…they could make it so. There’s people, right now, taking the thing apart in order to learn how they can load Linux on it…if it hasn’t been done already.

If it wasn’t a restrictive platform, companies could easily write software for it that I could buy at a local store, load onto my computer, and not have to buy only from ITunes, creating an open market and price competition.

Then you have the other end of the spectrum “Hey…I want an App that can do X”. Sorry…Apple doesn’t feel that it’s appropriate for you to be able to do “X” on their device…even though you own it. So they’ve rejected that app. Sorry. Go cry elsewhere.

As for the cost…I was surprised at first, but then I read up on the capabilities of the device. Then I frowned, kicked my cat, and said “fuck that shit”. The cost I was referring to was the hardware, only. Forget about the phone for a moment and let’s just say IPod touch.

At the end of the day it’s like this: You like it. I don’t.

So until the nation divides itself, and the great IPad wars rage around us, this isn’t something that anyone should really waste time arguing over. If you like it…wonderful! Have fun with it. I’ll still love you. Until, of course, we have to chose sides in the war. Then look out, you bearded bastard!

The iPad is not a computer, nor a computer replacement. It is not a netbook, nor a laptop.

People who want the functionality of a netbook will, I assume, buy one of those and be quite happy with their purchase. I don’t want a netbook, because I have a laptop. And a desktop.

Comparing it to the cost of an iPhone doesn’t work, either. An iPhone is $199 *only* with the subsidization of cost from AT&T. Two year contract, monthly fee. Actually, the iPad is potentially cheaper in the long run of using it.

The iPad has a larger screen, yes. Worth more to pay more? I dunno. You buy a TV with a bigger screen, should it be pennies more instead of hundreds or even thousands of dollars more? Maybe. But it ain’t. You go from 40″ to 50″, expect to pay hundreds more, and the only difference is generally the screen size.

The iPad also has a higher resolution.

The iPad has a host of apps and abilities that the iPhone does not.

Further, and perhaps most importantly, the iPad has a rocking processor. By all reports, it’s fast. Real fast.

My laptop does not have a camera, nor does it have a phone. It’s also slower than my iPhone, and cost a lot more. But I love my notebook, and will continue to love desktops and notebooks for what they do.

And for the record, I was a systems IT guy.

And I think the iPad looks pretty slick.

I want more from the iPad. I do. But it’s funny that the narrative changed on the device’s cost — when the cost was announced, everybody was very surprised. It came in cheap. Affordable, even. The Kindle, comparatively, is now a Very Expensive Device for its unitasking self. Now, suddenly, the iPad is expensive. It’s not. It’s really, really not. That is a surprisingly affordable little device.

From the standpoint of a compelling little device for media consumption and media interaction — remember, again, not a computer — you get a lot of whizbang for your buck compared to a netbook.

– c.