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I think he undersells the iPad by comparing it to a cameraphone. Due to the fact that good lenses and flash require a certain amount of space, and no amount of

I think he undersells the iPad by comparing it to a cameraphone. Due to the fact that good lenses and flash require a certain amount of space, and no amount of technology is going to change that any time soon, cameraphones will NEVER be as good at ANY kind of pictures as even the cheapest point-and-shoots. These are phones FIRST. The camera is just another bullet point in the feature list. A multi-touch tablet with an OS and a bunch of applications designed from the ground up exclusively for a touch-based interface isn't a second class citizen here. The primary purpose of the iPad is for using applications. It is, in some ways, better than a laptop for certain tasks. It comes back from sleep quicker, is more portable, sips the battery slower, and touch interfaces work better for many applications. In fact, when I think all of this is over, it might be a boon for desktops. While it's cute to hack code in the kitchen or at Starbucks, let's face it, you aren't getting as much work done when you're stuck on that tiny screen, using that cramped keyboard, fiddling around with that touchpad. Laptops will continue to be very important, but it might end up being cheaper and work out better for many people just to buy something like a mac mini and a tablet device. In the end, can't we all just agree that we have different needs and that each of us is entitled to have the devices that we choose and afford?

Zak 17y ago
let's face it, you aren't getting as much work done when you're stuck on that tiny screen, using that cramped keyboard, fiddling around with that touchpad. I can understand why some people might feel that 1680x1050 is cramped, but it's enough for me to comfortably have two files and a REPL or two open in Emacs. The keyboard and pointing stick on my Thinkpad are my preferred input devices; if I had a desktop, I'd buy a trackpoint keyboard to go with it. I even like fiddling around with that touchpad: it makes for a great scroll surface. Last time I tried to get work done on a desktop, I kept jamming my fingers in to the giant spaces between the keys and getting annoyed that I had to reach for a mouse.
- chipsy 17y ago
  Yeah. I write code mostly on laptops. Especially on the screen size thing - I have a dual-screen setup, yet I mostly use only one screen. I run most applications fullscreened, and for a time - when I was using Linux, I'm not right now - I tried running ion, wmii, etc. I think it all comes down to getting into the mindset of doing one thing at a time. It's nice that we can have more apps open at once, ready for use, but being able to pay attention to both only translates into a helpful environment in the particular situation where workflow requires having two things open simultaneously.

Zak 17y ago

let's face it, you aren't getting as much work done when you're stuck on that tiny screen, using that cramped keyboard, fiddling around with that touchpad. I can understand why some people might feel that 1680x1050 is cramped, but it's enough for me to comfortably have two files and a REPL or two open in Emacs. The keyboard and pointing stick on my Thinkpad are my preferred input devices; if I had a desktop, I'd buy a trackpoint keyboard to go with it. I even like fiddling around with that touchpad: it makes for a great scroll surface. Last time I tried to get work done on a desktop, I kept jamming my fingers in to the giant spaces between the keys and getting annoyed that I had to reach for a mouse.

chipsy 17y ago
Yeah. I write code mostly on laptops. Especially on the screen size thing - I have a dual-screen setup, yet I mostly use only one screen. I run most applications fullscreened, and for a time - when I was using Linux, I'm not right now - I tried running ion, wmii, etc. I think it all comes down to getting into the mindset of doing one thing at a time. It's nice that we can have more apps open at once, ready for use, but being able to pay attention to both only translates into a helpful environment in the particular situation where workflow requires having two things open simultaneously.