Gold-Pressed Latinum -- only the finest :)

The iPad is as much of a computer as the AppleTV is... it's just an appliance that lets you get or view content through the small window controlled by Apple. I like it and would get one for a few tasks, but it wouldn't replace my laptop, cell phone, or anything else. It could replace a GPS with Google Maps and I like being able to play videos for the kiddos in the car. It may also be nice to have in the kitchen to look-up recipes or to view weather or our daily calendar. And I think it would make an awesome eBook reader, but that's it... I wouldn't use it to do my budget, or pay my bills, or do anything productive. And with no Flash support or Hulu or Netflix, it's very limiting. If this thing was a full blown computer with OSX or something that would allow installing other operating systems like Linux, that'd be different, but for now it's nothing more than a simple appliance for doing simple things... no more and no less.

Where I live we have a Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, and Panera Bread all in the same little shopping center. I personally visit Panera because of the free wifi quite often, and though I do like the coffee variety at Starbucks and Barnes and Noble, the free wifi is the deciding factor for me. I personally know what it costs to offer wifi access, and to charge $$$ an hour to use is a rip. Panera here is always packed in the evenings and even mornings with students and folks with some time to burn, and I never see moochers. Everyone with a laptop always has a plate of food and coffee in hand.