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As opposed to computers, I mean.

I should give my mom some credit here. I don't mean I ONLY watched TV. We had strict time limits. I never had cable TV until I went to college at age 18. We only had 1 TV in the house. Compared to most of my friends, who had several TVs around the house, I was practically Amish.

My point is, I didn't have a computer when I was a kid.

I can top that.

I found out years after that my dad worked for a civil engineering firm that had a computer and operator to calculate road curves. That was a big deal in 1960. I was 6.

Rabbit ears, and B&W television.

My roommate had a pong game when I was in college. I used slide rules for tests until scientific calculators were deemed to be reasonably priced for engineering students to own one.

My first computer was a Sinclair that I built from a kit and hooked to a tv. My next was a MacIntosh 128 that I ordered a week after they were announced.

Needless to say, I think that the iPad will be very successful, and that would go for the copycats as well.

It's a whole new paradigm, but what I really want is a Mac Pro with Sandy Bridge architecture.

Next year.
 
Honestly eBooks and whatnot aside, the most exciting "print" interactive media possibilities are like the Time Magazine demo that was showcased in a MacRumors post in early January. Give me content and a UI like that. That is what a 10" multitouch device needs to do for print and for other things. I would pay ESPN for a customizable, rearrangable sports scores, clips, and news App that had some of the features of the Time demo vs. their already slow and buggy ScoreCenter free App.
 
Apple deciding what books can be published = VERY VERY BAD

ePub being an open format that anybody can use for releases negates that stupid argument.

I have a large collection of ePub format books on my iPhone thanks to stanza and calibre.
 
They really are going to change the face of media with this thing.

Think about all the kids books you can get on this thing - no more books in 10 years?

The only issue for me is - can I give my $500 iPad to my two year old daughter and let her have at it?

I don't think so!

My now three year old has been using my iPhone just fine since she turned two. I really never showed her how to use it - she just figured it out on her own. She has an inherent affinity/aptitude for electronic gadgets and computers. Now she has her own iPod touch. She has Down syndrome and manipulating the iPhone interface and various education apps has had incredible impact on her fine motor skills. It's also helped with her hand-eye coordination and reaction time. The iPhone/iPod Touch is a parent's dream tool. Books, apps, music, videos all in a little device. Obviously, we limit her use, but it has proved to be a useful educational tool.

For speech-delayed/impaired kids (and adults), assistive communication apps on the iPad will be far more useful than on the iPhone/iPod Touch. The size is more in line with existing portable assistive devices.

I would have no problem allowing her to use an iPad, especially given the larger interface. It only takes one long road trip to pay for itself.
 
This stuff is great and I think the BIGGEST winners here are young children.

I was raised on TV and I can already see that my 3 year old daughter is far more creative and intelligent than I was at 3 because she spends more time with my iPod Touch and less time with the television than I did when I was a kid.

I mean, Seaseme Street is nice and all, but she's playing word games that let you drag letters around to spell words that I'm certain I didn't know until I was 4 or 5 years old. All these pre-school games we have are about exploration and discovery. They let her DO things instead of just watching things.

I honestly think the 'under-6' age range will be a measurable iPad demographic which isn't the case for ANY smart phone. The iPad is going to find a lot of customers in places RIM and Android never thought to look.



"Stay on the sofa. If you get up with the iPod you lose it for the rest of the day."
And you have to mean it.

My 3 year old has been playing with an iPod Touch for an entire year now without putting so much as a single scratch on it. Just be clear that it's not a running-around toy and then keep it on a high shelf when they're not using it.

Raising kids on electronics devices is not any better than raising kids on TV. My kids are going to go outside and be interactive with friends and learn to use their hands and imagination on a playground. I thought pre-school taught kids about the alphabet and simple spelling. Your idea of how the iPad will be good for kids is the exact reason why this world has less and less human interaction, which is why too many kids text message each other constantly and stay on Facebook from sun up to sun down. Just my opinion.
 
I'm now laughing at every naysayer that registered on this forum just to crap on the iPad. This device is getting so much support from 3rd party developers and it's getting so much press before it even hits the streets. The iPad hit a home run and the naysayers can't handle it. :D Funny I never heard anything about the HP tablet after Emballmer's boring presentation.:cool:

iPad = Fail

there ya go. mark this thread and hold me to it.

peace
 
I really hope Apple will let them put this content into the iBookstore even though it is not in ePub. I fell it would be pretty lame to have an app for every interactive book...
 
AAPL, trading today at $210. There ya go.

Feel free to check the stock price and Apple's SEC filings a year after the iPad ships.

Peace.

I am hoping for $420 AFTER the split. Then again, I think I am a talking dog posting on a technology forum. Take my opinion with a Milk Bone. That way you will at minimum have a nice yummy crunchy Milk Bone.
 
THIS is the kind of thing that will win over users in their masses. Those whining about the iPad being too locked in and not having a full OSX running on it have missed the point entirely. The iPad can be the Wii of computers, if not more so. Your toddler can use it, your granny who's never used a computer before can use it.
 
App instead of ePub?

I was blown away by Makinson's demo and speech. Here's a guy who really understands the freight train that's coming down the tracks. However (and here, as well, he displays how much he understands), we don't really know what the consumer will pay for in terms of the added value (beyond the ePub). We'll only know this by tossing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. (Sorry for so many metaphors.)

While this will initially require Apps instead of...what?...ePub can't do it, eventually some consensus will be reached and, maybe (if we're lucky or if Apple provides the appropriate SDK), we'll have a new standard through which publishers may combine whatever they wish in terms of content.

Hmmm...isn't this XML?
 
"Penguin Looking to Reinvent eBooks on iPad With Interactive Media" Really? I thought this was done long ago in the form of interactive applications and Internet. :p
 
If Penguin/DK's book "OCEAN" was available as an interactive book/app, I'd be tempted to buy an iPad for that alone... that and Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend.
 
"Penguin Looking to Reinvent eBooks on iPad With Interactive Media" Really? I thought this was done long ago in the form of interactive applications and Internet. :p

I know, but isn't the interactive media that makes people excited, it is, oh my God!, touching the computer to interact with it! It is simple as that.

I remember the excitement of interacting with a computer with a mouse when I bought my first mac in 1985. Now all computers, well excluding the iPhone/iPod Touch and the half-bred they generated, use a mouse. For a reason: simple, efficient, intuitive.

Eventually, when the novelty will fade, the content will prevail again. And the touch interface will be part of everybody life (patent war permitting). For a reason: simple, efficient, intuitive.
 
Someone needs to come out with a toddler proof shock and drool proof case for the iPad for these books before you hand your iPad over to your 2 year old.

Then again, the pad could double us as protection for some of the rabid apple fanboys when they get too excited! ;)
 
I love how everyone says that this will change the publishing industry...

This type of content can't exist in the iBookstore. Apple uses the ePub format which can hardly images inline with the text (no wrapping).

This type of interaction would have to be launched as an app and it's no different than what you have been able to do with flash on the net for years.
 
OMG!!!! Penguin has reinvented the eBook. They should call it something snazzy like "Children's Interactive Learnoreum" or how about something CRAZY like...

GAME!!!!

haha... don't get me wrong, it's cool and my kid would certainly enjoy it. But let's keep it simple. They're making a game.
 
Awesome... this will change books forever.
If you think that, you're missing the point of books. And the whole bit about how books haven't significantly changed in format since their invention. About all that's changed is the creation process being streamlined (i.e., printing press and so on).

This may catch on for some types of books (such as textbooks and some other non-fiction books, some of which already ship with 'interactive' content on a CD or the web), but this will never be suitable for more traditional books.

I also still don't think the iPad is terribly impressive. That's not saying it won't sell 'well' -- but it (and devices like it) will not sell well enough to make these sort of 'interactive books' into household things -- not for a long time, if ever. Too expensive for a large chunk of the population (particularly if you expect every family to have one-per-person), too many barriers for cross-platform book use (i.e., an iPad book -- particularly 'interactive book' -- almost certainly won't work on an AcmeCorp Slate), and not as user-friendly or eye-friendly (e-ink is closer, mind you) as a plain old book (for plain old text reading).
 
GPS and Compass?

Did anyone notice he talks about a GPS and compass ... neither of which is a featured in the currently announced specs? We all believe that it eventually should have these features, but they talked about those features like they were there already.
 
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