Unfortunately, I think your expectations are just a little bit unreasonable AND it seams that you are confusing updates to the OS with operability. I have a Mac Pro, G5 tower circa 2006 that runs just fine using Snow Leopard.
No "Mac Pro" had a PPC G5. You either had a PowerMac or Mac Pro with an Intel processor. If its a Mac Pro then Lion should run on it. If its a PowerMac then you're running Leopard, not Snow Leopard.
No, it can't sync to my iPhone anymore and it's not going to do iCloud, but I'm not going to cry to Apple that they've abandoned me and my Mac Pro.
As much as Mac Pros cost, Apple should support the hardware for the majority of a decade. Mac Pros are significantly overpriced compared to equal PCs and should carry a minimum of 7-8 years of support.
As I said, the iPad cost more than significantly more capable computers at the time of release. It was advertised as a "computer" and virtually everyone counts iPads as "computer sales". Therefore, it should be treated as such. With a minimum of 4-5 years of support.
And as we've all known, the iPad 1, as great as it was - groundbreaking even, did not run Safari well and from the beginning other features were not exactly smooth (like what you see with the 2 or 3)
Safari runs fine for me on my original iPad. The problem for me is my internet service. I have the choice of FTTH or very high speed cable. On a PC (or Mac) websites open instantly. Seriously, near instant page rendering. The original iPad and now the new iPad are all significantly slower at browsing the web than either my desktop PC or my 4 year old unibody MacBook. So I don't understand this "Safari doesn't run good" argument because, to me and on my home internet connection, all iPads are slow as snails at page rendering.
So again, your expectation is that your 2 year old iPad should do the same things the new 3 does? Do you expect the 720p HDTV you bought 2 years ago to offer 1080p and 3D today, because it's just 2 years old (not to mention the similar model today costs the same or less even though it adds more features)? I call bull on thinking like this.
Theres quite a few things wrong with your argument there. First of, when the original iPhone was being introduced at MacWorld, Jobs made a point that the reason for going with a touchscreen only device was so that if new features were thought up they could be pushed out via software rather than hardware updates.
Second, nobody is asking for the original iPad to be able to do all of the things the new iPad can. You can't magically add cameras or RAM. What we're asking for is continued software support. Theres no reason for us to be locked out of security fixes or minor software improvements. Especially when the older and weaker iPhone 3GS is still being supported and getting those minor improvements.
The other issue with no more new releases for the iPad is the fact that as apps get updated, even if they don't require features of the new OS, they'll still look for that OS revision number and refuse to install or run based on that, even if they're otherwise perfectly capable of running on the hardware. So iPad apps that I paid money for will eventually no longer run on my original iPad just because it has an older version of the OS, even though the hardware is perfectly capable of it.
Basically, what Apple is doing is saying if you want to continue using all of those apps you paid money for, you need to go and buy the newest hardware or end up losing access to those apps and, in turn, the money you spent on them.
I understand 2 years seams like a short time for a full OS refresh that you can't enjoy on your iPad 1, but the iPad is not a Mac Pro, regardless of whether you think it runs faster (in some cases) than the Pro.
Hah never did I say that. I did say that the iPad cost more than my desktop computer, which is still faster in many ways than the currently shipping Mac Pros. Yet my desktop is essentially guaranteed to receive support from the various hardware manufacturers responsible for the parts in it for at least half a decade from purchase. Hell, I have a TV tuner I bought 8 years ago that still receives driver updates. Nvidia still updates GPU drivers for GPUs that are pushing the better portion of a decade old. Yet Apple can't continue release at least security fixes and minor feature improvements for something that cost me $658 barely two years ago?
And given Apple brought the iPad to market, clearly not knowing where it was going to go and what changes they'd be making based upon new technology, getting 2 years before you can't upgrade the OS seams absolutely reasonable to me.
Whether or not Apple knew how successful (or not) the iPad would be, thats no excuse for them to charge more than a significantly more powerful computer and then toss support for it barely two years after release.
Theres other things that factor into this as well. When the iPhone 4 was announced, Jobs made the comment that the iPhone 4 was in development for a full year before the original iPad announcement. That means that Apple had plenty of time to integrate cameras into the original iPad, bump it up to 512MB of RAM instead of 256, use the iPhone 4's home button instead of the 3GS home button, etc. But they didn't. They basically gave us first adopters the shaft. Even worse was the fact that they shipped it with iOS 3.2, when it should have had 4.0 from the start. Then we had to wait 6 months after the iPad's release to finally get 4.2. Basically, those of us who have owned an original iPad from the start have only had a usable device for a year and a half, since it was essentially useless with 3.2. Then they tell us to piss off after that amount of time.
Apple certainly lost me as an iPad customer. I was one of those people who was first with an iPad everywhere I went. I was one of those people who sold people on iPads and, like many first adopters, is responsible for the success of the iPad as it is today. Now, however, I tell people who Apple dropped support for such an expensive device so quickly. I point out how quickly they drop support for their computers, killing support for some that cost more than $1,000 only a few years after they were released when they still run Windows 7 perfectly and will probably even run Windows 8 with the same drivers. Its kind of funny now that I think about it. A lot of those computers Apple won't support with Mountain Lion will probably run Windows 8 just fine. Apple won't let you have the latest and greatest of their own software but Microsoft will be more than happy to let you run their software. Anyway, back to my original point, I think all of the people who bought an original iPad and all of those who were responsible for the success of the iPad need to point out what Apple has done as far as support goes and essentially saying our hundreds of dollars mean nothing. We made the iPad successful and we can undo that success.
