iPad 3

Well, if it's because you don't want to "look like a hipster", then it's just silly.

If it's because you object to the walled garden and Apple insisting that it still owns your hardware, even after you've paid for it, then you're accepting subservience in exchange for some shiny beads. I'm not sure the unwillingness to enter into that kind of transaction is something you should rid yourself of.

Buying a product form Apple specifically, and thereby, through my purchase, supporting an organisation whose attitude is such that if it belonged to a person and I met him in real life, I would probably find him unbearably smug and utterly unagreeable.

But it’s useless to pretend I’m not intrigued by the form factor of the iPad and that wealth of iOS apps (my phone's an Android).

It's all in your head. As long as you don't then proselytize it, you'll be fine.

ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US.

MothBeHe wrote:

Buying a product form Apple specifically, and thereby, through my purchase, supporting an organisation whose attitude is such that if it belonged to a person and I met him in real life, I would probably find him unbearably smug and utterly unagreeable.

But it’s useless to pretend I’m not intrigued by the form factor of the iPad and that wealth of iOS apps (my phone's an Android).

I say dive in. Most places give you 14 days without a restocking fee if you decide it's not for you. I highly recommend grabbing the 4G version, too (no monthly charge until you decide to start using it the cellular data, and then as low as $20 a month through Verizon).

Malor wrote:

then you're accepting subservience in exchange for some shiny beads.

Nothing like tasteless hyperbole, is there?

Here's an honest question: how many of you that were unsure of buying into the iPad would say that you are unhappy with your device?

spider_j wrote:
Malor wrote:

then you're accepting subservience in exchange for some shiny beads.

Nothing like tasteless hyperbole, is there?

I wonder if there were cavemen who refused to use a helpful tool because it would be "selling out"? "That Gorak the hammer-maker is a smug dick, so *I'M* going to stick with ramming things with my skull! That'll show em!"

Seriously, though, if you want to use it and enjoy what it offers, buy it. If an Android or W8 tablet does what you want, get one of them.

Noted Apple fanboy John Gruber posted about the "walled garden" or "crystal prison" thing the other day:

http://daringfireball.net/linked/201...

For my money, an iOS device is just as much of a "walled garden" as an xbox, PS3, or DS is -- you have a device, you buy software for it, and don't expect to be able to import between gaming systems. In fact, using that analogy, iOS is much more compatible, since a majority of apps and content will work on legacy devices as well as between iPhones and iPads.

trueheart78 wrote:

Here's an honest question: how many of you that were unsure of buying into the iPad would say that you are unhappy with your device?

I don't think I was ever unsure but I do lean heavily towards Android and I love the iPad. Love it.

spider_j wrote:
Malor wrote:

then you're accepting subservience in exchange for some shiny beads.

Nothing like tasteless hyperbole, is there?

Quite. Glad I'm not the first one to notice that. Although my reaction was a less articulate and more reactionary "WHOA".

SixteenBlue wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

Here's an honest question: how many of you that were unsure of buying into the iPad would say that you are unhappy with your device?

I don't think I was ever unsure but I do lean heavily towards Android and I love the iPad. Love it.

I also love it, but I died from smallpox when I first got a Mac mini so I'm probably not the best judge.

If you buy video content on iTunes that first time you want to watch that content on an Android device stings. I now use a Kindle Fire because I prefer the form factor and my wife and I traveled recently. We wanted to buy a movie to watch together on the plane and there was no clean way for us both to have it without buying it twice since she has an iPad. For apps you're locked in, but they're dirt cheap to free generally. And, as someone else said, no one buys a 360, Vita, 3DS, etc. expecting to play games across platforms. Lock-in exists. The troublesome thing is that lock-in is becoming less of an issue with most media. You can run Kindle on most devices and thus you can safely by Kindle books and the device of your choice. The same goes for comics with Comixology or MP3s. Video content is where lock-in really sucks right now.

Gravey wrote:
spider_j wrote:
Malor wrote:

then you're accepting subservience in exchange for some shiny beads.

Nothing like tasteless hyperbole, is there?

Quite. Glad I'm not the first one to notice that. Although my reaction was a less articulate and more reactionary "WHOA".

Pretty sure he was asked to knock it off several times before. Guess the antibodies wore off.

DSGamer wrote:

If you buy video content on iTunes that first time you want to watch that content on an Android device stings. I now use a Kindle Fire because I prefer the form factor and my wife and I traveled recently. We wanted to buy a movie to watch together on the plane and there was no clean way for us both to have it without buying it twice since she has an iPad. For apps you're locked in, but they're dirt cheap to free generally. And, as someone else said, no one buys a 360, Vita, 3DS, etc. expecting to play games across platforms. Lock-in exists. The troublesome thing is that lock-in is becoming less of an issue with most media. You can run Kindle on most devices and thus you can safely by Kindle books and the device of your choice. The same goes for comics with Comixology or MP3s. Video content is where lock-in really sucks right now.

This is an honest question, not trolling or anything:

I rip my own DVDs to and use 3rd party apps to view them. I can also put the same files on my Boxee Box, laptop etc. Is there any legal service that allows you to buy modern content in a format that would play across multiple devices with different OSs without DRM problems? From what I can tell, it isn't just an iTunes problem, but I would love to be corrected and not waste so much time ripping DVDs!

I don't think there is any legal service you can use across multiple platforms. That's my point. Most other media can be consumed digitally across platforms. Movie and TV are the holdouts. For those of us who like to cut the cord on cable TV this presents a big problem if you want to keep current with stuff that's on AMC, etc. For movies and older TV shows, yes, we rip DVDs and it works fine.

trueheart78 wrote:

Here's an honest question: how many of you that were unsure of buying into the iPad would say that you are unhappy with your device?

I've been hesitant for ages, and recently bought one for the wife. She's thrilled with it, so no regrets there, but if I'd bought it for myself, it would have gone back the next day.

As for Malor? While a touch hyperbolic, he does make a valid point.

Well, that's a matter of opinion, and one that has been argued to pieces elsewhere. Lrt's not do it again, please!

spider_j wrote:

Well, that's a matter of opinion, and one that has been argued to pieces elsewhere. Lrt's not do it again, please!

and again, and again, and again.

I have no desire for an iPhone or a Mac of any kind, and only a little desire for an iPod to replace my dead 4th gen. Yet I'm very happy with the iPad we got for my fiance, as is she, and I'm excited to get my own when budget allows.

iOS may be a walled garden, but it's still the biggest garden out there. It's user friendly, elegant and it works. The iPad even picks up 3G signal better than the USB modem I use for my laptop.

Oh, jailbreaking is essential for many uses. Maximum download of 50 MB in the app store? That's bullsh*t, we pay for 2 gigs a month and don't use it all.

As for the 'morality' or whatever of getting an Apple device. Apple may be a company that reeks with fashionista smugness, but I couldn't give a crap. They are an evil multinational, just like every evil multinational. If you want to avoid one, you need to avoid them all.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

Oh, jailbreaking is essential for many uses. Maximum download of 50 MB in the app store? That's bullsh*t, we pay for 2 gigs a month and don't use it all.

If you don't have WiFi I think there's some jailbreak apps that will remove that limit, at least there are some for the iPhone. But mine has also a "Use mobile network to download apps", instead of using WiFI, maybe it's a regional thing?

SommerMatt wrote:

For my money, an iOS device is just as much of a "walled garden" as an xbox, PS3, or DS is -- you have a device, you buy software for it, and don't expect to be able to import between gaming systems. In fact, using that analogy, iOS is much more compatible, since a majority of apps and content will work on legacy devices as well as between iPhones and iPads.

While true, it's very disconcerting for that approach to be migrating from pure entertainment devices to general computing ones.

"Locked down just like an Xbox" is not the standard I hold my general-use computing devices to, and the iPad is seriously blurring the lines between the entertainment box/pocket gadget side and the general-use computer side.

Right, and the whole idea behind that deal was that the manufacturer was selling you the hardware at a loss, so they had to lock you into buying games to make their money back.

Apple has obscene profit margins on its hardware, but even then, even charging you top dollar, they still don't actually sell it to you. You get all the bad points of ownership, like paying a very high purchase price, maintenance, and having to replace it if you lose it or if it breaks, plus all the bad points of renting.

They're really, really not comparable.

I struggle to figure out what I'm "supposed" to be doing with my iOS devices versus what I'm actually doing with them..

Maybe I'm a big fat idiot.

I like pie.

This argument is just so tired. If you are unhappy with what Apple allows you to do with your iOS device, you are completely able to jailbreak the sh*t out of it and do whatever the Cydia community has concocted. That simple fact completely invalidates the "walled garden" analogy-- it doesn't matter what Apple WANTS me to do; it only matters what I CAN do.

TheGameguru wrote:

I struggle to figure out what I'm "supposed" to be doing with my iOS devices versus what I'm actually doing with them.

Ditto.

I'm having an absolute blast with my iPad.

spider_j wrote:

Well, that's a matter of opinion, and one that has been argued to pieces elsewhere. Lrt's not do it again, please!

I'm quoting myself, typo and all, since it didn't stick last time.

Don't like it? Don't buy it. The rest of us are happy enough, stop telling us not to be. If you think that makes us idiots, please keep it to yourself.