Why I don’t want an Ipad

Good day all, this is the Angry Systems Administrator. Last week I posed the question, “To Kindle or Not to Kindle” with regards to my getting one or not. When I wrote that I said I would come back to it later.

Well, now it’s later. 🙂

I had the opportunity last week to try out the new Ipad that was just released. I was not impressed at all. I’ve never liked Apple products much. They tend to mirror Steve Jobs’s obsession with controlling everything. I did find it simple to use, and while I didn’t download any apps I was playing with ones the owner had installed ((He was testing it for his office)).

I did like the screen, but I found the unit rather heavy to hold. I didn’t play with the camera, but I am aware that it’s supposed to be a good one. One issue apparently is the cover. In order to use the camera, you have to hold the cover at a 90 degree angle from the Ipad. If you flip it over, you block the camera. I was watching a podcast with Leo LaPorte discussing this and he said you could rest the cover on your head, sort of like the old style cameras used in the mid 1800’s. He was being a bit humorous, but I thought I would try it. It really wouldn’t work and your face is so close to the screen, you wouldn’t be able to focus your eyes properly.

There has been some discussion of the heat generated by the Ipad, but I didn’t see it. However I only spent about 15-20 minutes fiddling with this thing. From what I’ve read, it’s a minor increase and shouldn’t cause an issue.

Now, I do see some uses for something like this. Anyone who would be carrying a clipboard full of papers could use this thing and sync it up with a central server. This would be very useful for hospitals, construction firms, things like that. There may also be a use for sales reps, but if a salesman needs to input a lot of data, write letters and things, this may not be as useful as a laptop.

For me, I don’t see any real use. When I need to connect to something I generally need far more tools and the ability to make changes to the system I’m on. You can’t do that with an Ipad. I definitely need a keyboard and some sort of mouse like input device.

I’m not the only one who sees these as a nice toy, but not really all that useful. The BOFH ((Bastard Operator From Hell)) also thinks these are pretty much of a waste of money.

So I won’t be getting one and if someone were to give me one as a gift, I’d sell it on Ebay. If you want one, help yourself. I’ll stick with real computers that actually do things like work. 😉

Thank you

~The Angry Systems Administrator~

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