While you and I run Adobe's creative suite and utilize it's various resources to pay our mortgage, MOST folks in the world have no use for CAD, Adobe's suite, or even MS Office's suite. They'll handle what they need just fine with iWork, iLife, and third party apps available for a buck or two to take care of image and motion manipulation of their stills and movies, drawing and design, etc. We're the exception to the rule, those of us taking the time to post and debate this fact. Huge exception....as in less than a single percentage point that needs that kind of horsepower these days.
I've got the 'full' MS suite and it's working extremely well with Sky Drive/Sharing and the ability for ten bucks a month to run on five computers and tablets. It's a pretty amazing 1.0 release. Flash is going the way of the DoDo, even on 'regular' computers it's 'dead tech' and HTML5 is quickly making trash of Flash. A mouse isn't necessary on the iPad. Any of the third party syli work well for better 'accuracy' if that's what ya need...but iPad is 'built' for your fingers. As OSx is built for the mouse. Even MS Office's new suite works extremely well with touch only input which blew me away initially. The 'ribbon' on the iPad edition is incredibly efficient with touch. 7.0/.1 have done wonders for multitasking. Especially on the iPad Air where I'm still able to 'read' from the 'last' or 'next' window in the tray. No, it's not like M/T'ing on a computer but it's fairly easy to utilize the four finger swipe to and from the last or next app open. Each of your reasons are hardly an argument 'against' the iPad being one's only computer ESPECIALLY considering the advancements made in just 40 months (iPad 1-->last Fall's Air and rMini releases. Think what another 40 months will add to the already extremely capable tablet experience, again, especially with the seismic shift we see right now as people are loading up on tablets and smart phones!). These current generation smart phones and tablets; iOS or Android...are both stronger, faster, more efficient with quadruple the battery life and resolution of laptops we were carrying just four years ago! Intel is jumping in with both feet. nVidia and it's Tegra processors...we've seen what ARM and the A8 instruction set is capable of...and this is the first generation of that set! We've only gotten a peak at its potential and I don't think a single company involved with engineering silicon these days isn't thinking faster, smaller, more efficient and more 'powerful'...for Mobile! Not the declining sales of laptops and desktops (with the possible longevity they possess and the almost 'disposable' nature of mobile over 24-36 months).
Or buy them (Wacom)? Why not. I've got a PC, first I've purchased in a decade. It's an HP 2 in one with a core i5/8GB RAM/128GB SSD. Pretty sweet little unit they pops into a core i5 tablet when needed. Unfortunately NO current OEM has figured out the damn trackpad which is absolutely ridiculous in 2014 IMHO. Windows 8.1 is still atrocious if using without a decent mouse and literally unusable with any of the applications we're discussing (CS, MS Office, Autodesk, CAD, audio and video production, et al). Yet extremely powerful it is! Just another reminder why sometimes Apple is a bit late to the game in some instances. They wait til their plan actually 'works'! This is HUGE and a massive drawback to the Windows 8 platform.
I agree while heartedly...except the last sentence. I've never actually 'loved' a computer. Our rMBPs are a different story entirely. I think Apple is selling the hell out is these...especially in comparison to the rest of the laptop and desktop market. That said, I'm with ya. In the next decade I think Apple will continue blurring the lines between OSx and iOS. As a single processing 'unit' ala the Pi, your smartphone has the power inside to drive the thunderbolt V version @ 100Gb/second, over fiber...and with the speed to drive external GPUs, aceess external memory and computational power....hooked up to whichever display you want via Apple TVs protocol and without wires. The only 'replacement' necessary is your phone/tablet each time you feel like it while Apple moves as well into the services area, strengthening that end of their plan all the while merging OSx and iOS to the point we use iOS when not 'plugged in' and OSx when we've got 110volts!
Are you a CC subscriber? Have you tried LR with the iPad? I'm really REALLY enjoying it and HOPE Premier and Audition are 'on the way'! It's pretty awesome the way LR works and syncs even the RAW edits from our 5dII and IIIs. Even some minor video tweaking is possible. Another killer 1.0 release IMO
Where did they move? I'm 43 with dozen nieces and nephews (from 4-20 years old). Each one with 'access' and of age is definitely ON Facebook.
It's got VPN built in. Current MS Office support is incredible (not sure what VB is tough). Use Evernote, Dropbox or any of the hundreds of third party mail/doc management, photo management apps...that's what the App Store is there for! All of which allow you to attach whatever you want to emails. I access my home server with SugarSync and Jump...but have modest needs. Have you looked at Logmein or the heartier apps for server and NAS access? Having an AP Extreme is kinda cool with 'native and free' support through Airport management. If you subscribe to iTunes Match, you should be able to work with your iPad and Nano, minus the computer to add songs, playlists, play counts, etc. I'm not a huge fan of Match YET...But it's definitely improved a lot in a year
You don't game, edit photos, videos...what is it you need 'several' monitors driven by an iPad to do exactly? Wild...I've got the same tools as you but like my wrench, screw driver and hammer, they each do different jobs and do the extremely well. Check out the App Store. Put some software on your iPad (apps). It's pretty cool what they're actually capable of. I'm sure you've got a valid need for several monitors or displays ...but you represent a very small fraction of a single percentage point of computer users. As do I. It's sometimes easy to forget that moms n dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, kids and teens ( before writing thesis's and long reports )...even those of us using computers for our '8-5 gigs', the iPad is a helluva lot more 'productive' for me and what I want to do in the evenings or mornings that isn't 'work'. Reading, surfing, music and media, news and sports....even surfing and replying to forums, that's where my iPad functionality is. Enjoyment of using a 'computer' that's handy, slight, powerful, beautiful and fast with a battery that lasts all weekend!
I'll pick the laptop up Monday morning at 9
Yeah...you're right. iPad isn't gonna work for you. That said. I've got an iPad 1&2 here at home. Both work well, battery has hardly lost any life. Memory certainly hasn't 'failed' but you're right. It's not going to replace your (or my) MacPro
I've got several MMOs on my iPad. Few hours of watching TV? Spend a couple learning to type on your iPad. I'm definitely quicker on a keyboard but set up like you want it if ya know how to type you can easily nail 50-70wpm. I've written a lot of docs in Pages, Evernote and now Word. No issues. No challenges multi tasking either but I dug into that earlier. It's funny you've got time to watch those few hours to watch TV and play an MMOs but it's time consuming to use your iPad for research and writing as that's about as good as it gets for actually researching. Again. Four. Finger. Swipe! Right or left.
How can this be when daily so many other millions are buying and finding new and inspiring ways to use theirs? Kinda makes ya wonder. Again, advice? Buy an iTunes card. Take a pic and it enter that really long quote you don't want to type, buy a few apps that appeal to you, and enjoy! There are almost a half million iPad apps. Surely something interests you? Even just a good book, comic, game or newspaper...movies, music, email and social networking aggregation. Calendars and clocks and calculators and games games games. For all genres, ages and genders. It's maddening to me to hear something like this as I'm almost exactly the opposite. Daily ...and I've owned each iPad, I'm finding something new and interesting I'm able to accomplish more efficiently and with more enjoyment that pulling the laptop out.
You of all should know what an EXTREMELY minor percentage of 'yous' are actually out there, in today's world, accessing servers or manipulating massive spreadsheets. Tiny, tiny percentage. Pilots, military, engineers and creatives, retail and sales, bartending, entertainers and musicians, nurses and doctors, they're ALL using them. Students and teachers. Professors and Professionals the world over are implementing iPads into their workforce and workflow. You named two of maybe three or four things an iPad isn't 'built' to do. Yet that somehow matters to the masses?
Come on!
Oh good lord. Anyone that's truly a 'computer specialist' realizes just how incredible the iPad is. More power than the dashboard in Space Shuttle Endeavor's dash by what ...100 fold? 10,000x the computational power of the Apollo's guidance and navigational computer?
I'll bow to ya. MR 'Computer Specialist'
I addressed this already...but it seems as a moderator you've made your voice heard. The OP's question as I read it wasn't pertaining specifically to 'us geeks' but the true population. We get it. You NEED a computer. At this point, so do I...but can we not agree five years ago the iPad Air in its current form factor, speed and battery life, display accuracy and resolution and a half million apps wasn't science fiction? I'm ready to bet by 2020 the iPad or tablet will do what you're looking for especially logging into servers. As far as spread sheets, that's why The Lord made accountants. BoreeeeInggggg
Your post inspired me to post. Our son's elementary school did the same this year (iPad 2 or later) were required. His reading, writing and spelling have done a 180° turn this year (third grade) from last. O's with an occasional S+. Kickin' ass and I'm proud of him. I asked him after our last progress report and meeting with his teacher what 'happened'. His response..."Dad, it was the iPad! It's SO much more FUN learning with the iPad!" Now, if they'll just start teaching Objective C, JScript, Python...Coding!!! Then we'll be getting somewhere
