fsync(2)

I finally broke down and bought an iPad. I wasn’t going to buy one. I thought to myself, “You always have either your 17-inch MacBook Pro or your 15-inch MacBook Pro work laptop anyway… what do you want with an over-sized iPod?” Well, it’s not that simple of course! For a long time I did want an iPod, but what I really wanted amounted to an iPad actually. I tried an iPad out in a store. Ten minutes later I knew that I had to buy one. It really was that quick. I got lucky in that I could not find one in any store right away. I actually had to order online and wait a week or so to get the device. Why was that lucky? Due to not being able to get one that very day, I was able to resist the urge to buy one on the spot long enough to actually order a 3G model because I had no other choice. Again, what I really wanted was access to the Internet on a device like this from virtually anywhere (well, anywhere on AT&T’s network anyway). This has all worked out in the end.

Is this device revolutionary? Yes. Others have written much better essays to this effect. The user interface is sheer genius IMO. Let’s take the simple example of viewing a web page or even a PDF file viewed in the web browser. You can simply double tab on a div or a column of a multi-column PDF file and it zooms in perfectly. You need to move the zoomed view to the next column? Oh yeah, that’s no problem – it knows that you really want to go in only one direction, so even if you mess up a little after starting, it basically “locks” the movement in that direction. Even the keyboard interface is smart enough to know that my switching to numbers in order to add an apostrophe means that I immediately intend to go back to the letter interface to type more. These seem like small issues, but they make using the device a wonderful experience. The auto-correction works flawlessly for me as well. I am typing this article on my iPad. So far the only thing I wish the keyboard had is arrow keys, but I already have a wireless keyboard if I need it.

The apps I have are brilliant as well. The user interface to Apple Mail just works for me. NetNewsWire’s user interface is perfect. I also love the Mac version as well. The battery life is amazing. The user interface is a joy to use. This will not replace my MacBook Pro systems, but it has earned a place as a new required device. The iPad is changing the way I access the Internet. That is why it is a revolutionary device to me. I live online almost all of my waking hours either because I am doing development or because I am simply on a network as a system administrator. I am telling you that this device is a revolutionary thing that is a brilliant example of excellent design. This is why I am sold on using Apple devices. They simply build the best devices. No one else even comes close IMO. I even used to joke about paying the “Apple tax” until I actually bought a MacBook Pro. Yeah, those days are long gone.

Apple isn’t perfect. My last post complained about Aperture 2 for example. No one is perfect, but Apple is the best when it comes to hardware and operating systems for my own personal use, hands down. I even agree with Steve Jobs about Flash, not because I like Apple, but because I just agree. When that whole thing came up, I immediately sided with the Adobe camp. Within about two hours I had reconsidered and walked away from the debate. I really don’t care. I love Objective-C and the frameworks (and development environment) on the Apple platform, it’s their device, and regardless of the widespread use of Flash, Flash sucks (let’s not even get into security). I love Photoshop though. That’s a winner. Adobe can prove the usefulness of Flash on the mobile platform before I will care. I am not missing Flash. ClickToFlash was a wonderful addition to Safari on my systems, and I am not missing Flash on my iPad. I think that just about says it all with respect to my stance on the whole issue.

Everyone else is free to execute a poor iPad imitation with Flash support, and it would even be better from a competitive standpoint to make a real competitor to drive innovation (though it doesn’t seem Apple needs help with innovation in this case). However, I feel it is not very likely there will be a real competitor anytime soon. I’ve not seen good competitors in any of Apple’s focus areas for hardware devices. The competition is not bad, but it’s not great either. I require great devices with elegant design. I want devices with incredible build quality that feel solid, look beautiful, and just work. I don’t care if they cost thousands more than junk. I don’t want junk.

Good job on the iPad Apple. It is what I almost knew I’ve been looking for. Now that’s crystal clear.