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"there's no way this OS in its current and foreseeable state will ever be as useful as my 5-year-old clunker of a Dell laptop (or Mac for that matter)."


Thats an interesting statement...would you mind defining what you mean when you say "useful"...?

Basically anything beyond social media and entertainment. I'm a student in the sciences and the only notable advantage it has provided me with is the ability to use e-textbooks and read primary source literature without wasting paper or getting a headache. Of course, there's something to be said about the entertainment value, as I'm glued to my tablet a lot for web surfing and the like, but true productivity value isn't there yet.
 
Basically anything beyond social media and entertainment. I'm a student in the sciences and the only notable advantage it has provided me with is the ability to use e-textbooks and read primary source literature without wasting paper or getting a headache. Of course, there's something to be said about the entertainment value, as I'm glued to my tablet a lot for web surfing and the like, but true productivity value isn't there yet.

Absolutely not.

Today I started writing up a protocol for an experiment on Pages using my MBA. As usual I take my ipad mini everywhere with me, and whilst out between laboratories I bumped into someone who I realised I could discuss my protocol with. Out came the mini from my pocket, and we went through it there and then in the corridor, ammeding things on the fly. I sat back down on my desk, and thanks to iCloud syncing I was good to keep working on it on my MBA straight away.

If thats not productivity I don't know what is.
 
Absolutely not.

Today I started writing up a protocol for an experiment on Pages using my MBA. As usual I take my ipad mini everywhere with me, and whilst out between laboratories I bumped into someone who I realised I could discuss my protocol with. Out came the mini from my pocket, and we went through it there and then in the corridor, ammeding things on the fly. I sat back down on my desk, and thanks to iCloud syncing I was good to keep working on it on my MBA straight away.

If thats not productivity I don't know what is.

Very good example of how the iPad doesn't have to be as powerful as a desktop/laptop, or have the exact same features/functions, in order to increase our productivity. And also of how the iPad isn't a replacement for the traditional computer, but an extension to them. I wish Jobs hadn't used the term post-PC, that just gives people the wrong impression of what the iPad is about.
 
Maybe $399 at Walmart will change some folks mind about the 4th gen 16gb. That price screams IMHO.
 
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