So Apple’s new iPad is pretty dumb. It brings to mind, for me at least, a few questions:
What does Apple really have against Flash? The message from Apple is out-of-touch and smug… The hype conveys a tone that suggests it’s common knowledge that Flash is some big problem on the web. It isn’t. It’s got it’s faults, but it’s a sound technology that plays a major role in Web 2.0 content. So on my iPad, if I’m reading a book about SEO, and I want to check my Google Analytics, bye-bye charts and graphs. Prrretty lame.
Isn’t Apple getting a little hypocritical? Language from the Apple camp decries Flash as buggy and proprietary… hello? My $4000 Mac Pro Tower came with an OS (10.6.0) that was rife with annoying bugs and issues, and for Apple to point the proprietary finger is a paradox so obvious it barely requires explanation. The entire business model for the iPad is an insult to the intelligence of the Apple customer base… You aren’t going to convince us to keep running money through your (cr)App Store just by telling us that’s really what we want. It isn’t. We want real software and real Web 2.0 content, and we want Apple to shut the f*$k up and make really good computers and a great OS.
What device does Apple believe they’ve made, and for what market? Their own website says it’s the best way to browse the web, hands-down. Uh, if half the websites I use everyday just won’t work, how is that better than my MacBook? It isn’t. It’s a deal-breaker. Why on earth would my generation, with our open-source world and the software ethos we’ve developed, allow Apple to take away all of our priceless web 2.0 apps just so they can make us buy packaged versions of them through their store? It’s ridiculous and downright greedy, although it’s a deviously brilliant way to pull the plug on the majority of free web-based apps.
Apple is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, don’t kid yourself. Jobs has a reputation for being and having been a ruthless and difficult businessman and a extremely trying ego. His whole “smile cuz we’re gonna change the world” shtick is a complete facade. I want to like Apple, I really do. Their hardware and OS are superior I’m a huge fan of my iPhone. But I want Apple to let me have my Apple on my terms, not theirs. That ruffles ol-turtleneck’s feathers.
In light of my grievances, I’ve thought of a few enhancements that the next version of the iPad should have.
1. New Name – “Max iPad.” Conveys a sense a confidence. This is a professional device, and as we all know, being a professional can involve a heavy workflow. But regardless if you have a heavy flow one day and a more medium flow the next, you know the Max iPad will have you covered.
2. More Storage – When your workflow is heavy, you need to be able to count on a device that can really absorb the load. Over the course of a long hard day at work you can express a huge volume of stuff, and it needs to be held somewhere until you can dump it into something, like your backup hard drive.
3. Waterproof It – When it comes to a device like this, you need to know that what you want outside will stay outside and what you want inside will stay inside. A tight-fitting moisture lock barrier, designed for out-of-the-way comfort, would ensure that no enormous volumes of liquid end up where you don’t want them. Avoid embarrassment resulting from leaks and accidents that may occur in your briefcase.
4. Add Wings – On long flights and bumpy car rides, you expect a device like this to stay firmly fastened in place, and to be large enough to really do the job. If the device had a strap, or maybe… some kind of “wing” like fasteners, it would be easy to hold it securely. By wrapping the “wings” around the side of and fastening to the bottom of one’s legs, the device would be held safely where you want it.
5. Lose the Dock – Most Max iPad users will be uncomfortable with using the dock, as it will involve inserting the device into a slot to use those features. The Max iPad doesn’t require any insertion into any slot, you just strap it into your lap and go.
