I saw some comments On youtube on a video where people were like “I’m watchin this is 387 B.C. on my iStone 4s!”

I understand that. I feel the same. But the point is elsewhere. The disruption is that this thing, whatever limited it is (and it is), has the potential to attract many new users. Not you. Not me. The fact you have so many “devices” says it all . And so do I.

It’s the rest of them. Not the rest of us.

“them” are all around me. From my children to my parents. From my colleagues to my friends. So many of them, who don’t care much about computers, turn to me (as the recognized expert around here), and ask “would that iPad be nice for me?”.

Yep I may be wrong. But I recognize a potential.

Time will tell.

I define my years to be 20 days long, don’t you?

How exactly is non-x86 a point against? ARM is just as much an industry standard for portable gear as x86 is for desktop.

While your passion is praiseworthy, I think you’ve actually got the situation reversed. The iPad is portable, but so is my laptop. I own an iTouch, and many people own various smart phones, and I can attest that I actually carry mine around all day—and use it happily to send email, read the news, etc. when I’m out and about.

There is no way in hell that I would drag an iPad to the bar.

There is a change in the way we use computers happening, but it’s not a replacement of the desktop-at-home: that’s here to stay for a while yet, for when people need to type up a book, or a place to store their photos and music, or to play higher-end games.

The change is that pocket-sized computers like the blackberry, touch, or the android phones, or other smart phones are injecting casual computer use into casual settings, away from the main computer at the office/home. Form factor is everything, and anything bigger and heavier than a wallet isn’t going to do it.

Also, the iPad might be 90% of what 95% people need in a computer, but that last 10% can be an awfully painful compromise.

My main concern is that the iPad is a nice little piece of work with a lot of potential, but if Apple is dead insistent on tying it to the iTunes App Store, a lot of that potential (particularly the benefits of an ultralight touchscreen in hobby and industrial projects) will go wasted.