You seem to be missing something, which is the large number of people who were already working on tablet computers before Apple even announced the iPad. Several manufacturers released devices in a similar factor before the iPad was released (e.g. Asus's T91). Microsoft have been working with numerous manufacturers on similar devices since the late 90s. It's hardly a new idea.
Great there were TV's before Philips made them watchable. The point is not WHO STARTED it, it's WHO MADE IT USABLE. I've owned 4 different brands of MP3 players (not counting the MP3 portable CD player that had to be imported directly from the factory) which all pissed me the fuck off EVERY time I had to either: look for a song, change the volume or do something else which is BASIC shit. Then I bought an iPod and back then I was very wary of Apple. But hey, everyone loved it so... gotta have a reason right? Well guess what, it fuckin worked and kept working after I sold it to someone (current status unknown, it got stolen) so I could buy the latest-gen (more space! hooray!).
Same goes with OSX, you can bitch and moan all you want but the fact simply is: I replaced the Ubuntu (and before Windows) machine with an iMac at my mother's and now suddenly she's sending me emails with links of friggin websites she made with photos on it that she edited herself! How much I explained? Well NOTHING. Before every week something came up that either didn't work as expected or... she couldn't figure out how to do something....
The iPhone made my life so much fuckin better, sure it has it flaws but do they weigh more then the pro's? Hell no. It's the first fuckin (smart)phone ever I had that didn't require me going through 5 fuckin menu's to set an alarm clock. I've owned S60 and WM in the past and holy shit what a retarted messed up fuckin things can some developers come up with. No I don't first want to go to "Menu" -> "Extra" -> "Clock" -> "Alarms" -> "Set alarms" -> "Activate alarm". Hello?! It's a fuckin alarm clock, the goddamn thing on my nightstand HAS ONE SWITCH! Email on the S60 was horrible, even more so on WM.
I jumped the iPhone bandwagon when the 3GS was released since it was a moment I could afford one. One year later... well how many times has it pissed me off? Quite a lot. But considering that's maybe once every month/two months as opposed to every frigging time I want to do something on EVERY OTHER PHONE I EVER OWNED?! Amazing.
Ok so, Apple took a phone and made it an iPhone. zomgwtfhax it can't be good and everyone claims they invented touchscreen and phones and crap! No, they just made it usable.
Cue the iPad: same fuckin story. Tablets were out there but have you actually ever USED one?! Virtual keyboard popped out, time to bust out the pen and start tapping... handwriting recognition: orly? So basically you had a retarded laptop cause the CPU's were always shit in the tablets (no idea why) fun tho show to people but usability: zero.
Sure some people liked it but some people also think Britney Spears was actually a good singer.
Everyone makes the jokes of the iPad just being a larger version of the iPhone: guess what? it is! BRILLIANT! All iPhone users have immediate recognition to the device and just start working on it right away. Great thing is though, since the iPhone was something you could give to a total idiot and he was able to figure out how to use it: SAME GOES FOR THE IPAD!
OSX on a tablet? Sure sounds sweet, usable? I think not. This is the perfect middleground for me between the smartphone and laptop. I bring my Macbook when I go on business trips cause somethings I have to get crackin and do some typing. But chillin in the lounge and want to read the latest news? iPad.
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Sorry I just can't take fuckin nerd-zealots who claim that just because a device with the same "general concept" existed before so the newer one can't add anything to the concept. Well throw away your fuckin CD's, DVD's, BluRays etc. Let's all start rockin the crap we had in the 1890's cause the concept is the same right?
Just because a company made a successful product that is making technology accessible to the general public which well might eventually put you out of a job as a support guy... tough fuckin luck
PS: jesus fuckin chris slashdot, I decide to login you throw me back at the frontpage and voila I have to hunt and peck to find back who I wanted to reply to.
