Reply #191: Why pay for it is a valid question. Why pay more is relative to perceived value. [View All]

[Touchdown]

I have no laptop. They are really too much for what I need when I'm away from home. Likewise, they are usually not enough for me when I am at home, which is why I have a desktop. I can see the use of a traveling computer, but just not a notebook. Now, to my particular uses... I am a photographer (semi-pro, but mostly amateur hobbyist)... so therefore...

Netbooks are out of the question for me for two reasons.
They are almost universally slow. Putting a piece of editing software on it, I would have to be very selective about. Photoshop is out of the question. It would work, but it would work slowly, and when I have 600 wedding shots to go through, that kind of defeats the purpose of editing on the road. Also, the monitors are cheap, and have unreliable color reproduction. Not good when you are trying to color sync your aunt's cheap printer so that your prints don't look worse.
Reason #2... Windows. I have no windows systems that I have ever bought. I only use it at work. I don't even dual boot them on my Mac. Windows won't sync to my Mac easily and quickly like a dedicated Mac peripheral will. Not to mention that I have about $600 invested in Photography software... all for Mac. I'm not going to buy that shit again for a different OS. Now, I could "hackintosh" a netbook, but after I pay the $450 for a decent one, and another $150 for OSX/iLife/iWork suite, buy an outboard DVD drive and a 16g flash stick for the job (another $75), I'm already up to $675 and I'm not even into AT&T's $60 a month 3G data plan.... then there's the monitor. No hackintosh can fix that. Then I have to carry a mouse with me. I see no reason to personally own a windows system when all my computing is done on Macs, and I want integration. Hackintoshing is also just settling for less. It's like dropping a V8 into a Hyundai... Why not let Apple build me a Porsche?

Have you ever seen one of these?


Back when Compact Flash/SD memory cards were $150 a gig, I bought one of these so I could erase my cards and keep on shooting. It has a 30 gig HDD in it. It cannot edit, or even crop my photos on this thing. It costed me $500 four years ago. What it is is small enough to fit in my Camera bag, and has a viewscreen that serves a useful purpose.

I'm looking for the iPad to replace it. Bigger screen, double the memory space, accepts camera RAW files, and a very strong possibility of decent if only basic editing software... and it still fits in my camera bag (just in a different place). Now back to netbook comparisons... What I do know about dealing with them, is that Apple doesn't do cheap. They use high quality components in all their hardware, especially their monitors. All iMacs and Apple displays are reference quality monitors. Judging by what the reviewers are saying and others who have played with one, the screen on the iPad will keep that high quality. Dozens of small photo editing apps have already been made for iPhone, and although they are very limited in quality and function, they do serve their purpose. As of yesterday, the iPad has at least 10 dedicated photo editors available, and they all boast to do much more than with an iPhone. So there you have it. That and it plays movies, displays book text large enough to read, plays Need For Speed:Shift, works with the 50 or so iPhone apps I already have, gives me e-mail, lets me surf the net at work so I can't be spied on by my bosses. I bring a laptop in there? I have to register it with security, and the boss can see it. I don't have to show my iPhone to them.

Oh' yeah, AT&T's iPad price is $30 a month unlimited data... no contract. No other device has that deal. And... It looks to be a perfect way to show off my portfolio to any prospective clients.

EDIT: Got so into blabbing that I forgot to answer your question about TV size. One of the objections is "that it's really nothing but a bigger iPod Touch". Kind of off the wal remark, but still valid in the argument. A $120 Sharp 13" LCD TV serves the same purpose as a $2500 72" Mitsubishi DLP TV. So why the need for the Mitsubishi? Easy! Gay Porn! A 9.7" iPad is much better for gay porn than a 2.3" iPhone.;)