Douglas Adams Continuum (DAC)

Well? Thoughts? I want one, but wouldn't dream of buying it. Too expensive for me.

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Before long now, I'll reach the age where farting will be an essential part of propulsion.
(...don't piss us off)

I dunno what to think, it's a bit of an anti-climax really because a lot of the pre-announcement mockups were spot on. Do I need one? I'm not sure. Would I like one? Well, yeah, probably, it would be cool. Will I get one? I doubt it. As you say, too many sponds. Looks a little bit too big, if I'm honest.

Dr. S.

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Imagine a ball of iron, the size of the sun. And once a year a tiny sparrow brushes its surface with the tip of its wing. And when that ball of iron, the size of the sun, is worn away to nothing, your punishment will barely have begun.

www.sinisterincorporated.co.uk

www.tabletown.co.uk

*AHEM*

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Carpe aleae

Stephen Fry on the iPad.

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vagabond
birds, any birds, anywhere, any time

Been tying to blag my way in to the staff training preview tomorrow night at our local store as I have a friend who is a "genius" there. Failing that will have a look Saturday.
One thing I picked up on one of the mag sites (I can't remember which) is that, yet again Apple are screwing UK on prices. The US prices of $499 to $829 translate to £329-549 roughly at current exchange but it looks like we will actually be charged £349 - £599.
Unlike the US however, it looks like O2 and Vodafone will be offering the 3G version discounted with a 12 month data package.
Still not something I need but had thought would be just what the good lady might like. She has, however, started using my Macbook as her Windoze dinosaur was playing up even more than usual so I think she'll probably just keep that for now :)

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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tralala... anyone spotted the berlin answer to the ipad yet? get your hype on here: http://www.facebook.com/WePad

scroll down a bit and you´ll discover the specs in english on the left side.

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"The human gene pool needs more lifeguards!
Either that or stronger chlorination...." (Pitbull)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Or is it patent infringement?

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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Quite a few preview reviews in:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2010 ... _ipad.html

This is is a very pertinent quote:

..the iPad is a new category of device, "not a laptop".
"It's not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it's infinitely more convenient for consuming it -- books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on."

And the weird thing is the killer app appears to be the periodic table!

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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I am looking forward to playing with one. After the hub-bub dies down I will wander up to the Apple Store and check it out. I really need something lighter and more portable than my MacBook Pro for use when traveling. Internet, email, record-keeping. The requirement to have a data plan is off-putting. I already have a data plan for my iPhone. I don't need to have data plan for my MacBook. Why do I have to buy a data plan?

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vagabond
birds, any birds, anywhere, any time

You don't unless you want to connect by 3G to the big, wide world. If you don't do it on your Macbook, you probably don't need it on the iPad.

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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I investigated and discovered that you can turn the data plan on or off, there's no long-term contract! Vagahubby was telling me that I don't want an iPad, I want a netbook. Well maybe I want an iPad after all. :p

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vagabond
birds, any birds, anywhere, any time

There's a wifi only version and a wifi+3G model (more expensive)...

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/s ... OTY2ODA0NQ

I'm not leaping yet, but when I do, it'll be for the wifi only.

Try em both and make your mind up. Certainly I personally would not want a netbook. I looked at buying one for my trip but they are slow, clunky, small screened, small keyboard and built down to a price. Sure I spent 2-3 times the price on a Macbook but it is 10 times the computer.
My only concern for your application is whether the records you are keeping will be a pain to enter on an iPad.
Then again, it would be a pain to enter more than a few sentences on most netbooks.

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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Just discovered one of my former work colleagues had pre-ordered an iPad and had it delivered to the Houston office. It is now winging its way to the UK and he promises to let me be present for the Grand Opening.

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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Well, I have held one in my hands and played with it..

Bit of an anticlimax - it's just what they said it is.
- It is very, very fast - apps open almost instantly and things move as fast as your fingers can (with the patented momentum of course)
- the screen is very bright and clear. Very noticeable you could see the screen clearly from the side which you couldn't on the nearby PCs. It does fingermark despite the oleic coating but this is only noticeable when it is off or with very dark images.
- It feels very solid almost to the point of being heavy but has the typical Apple "nice to touch" feel and I don't just mean the screen. As usual with Apple, the aesthetics are a big thing.
- We couldn't connect to the US iTunes stores so so I can't comment on the killer Periodic table and Marvel comic apps but the built-in stuff is very slick. Expect an updated calendar and address book on Macs soon as this makes them feel very dated.
The mail and photo apps are superb. Very intuitive to use and very fast. We imported some pics from a camera through the adaptor which he's also bought and it worked very easily
We downloaded the "Next" (a UK fashion chain) iPhone app from the store to show someone next to me and it was superb. Much better than their website.
Also downloaded a racing game (real racing)which scaled fine and was great fun
- The Book metaphor work very well from picking the book off the bookshelf to flipping the pages with your fingers. We only had the demo ones it comes with I'm personally not convinced I would read on it but some might.
- Typing on the on screen keyboard was horrid with it flat it was OK propped as it would be on the case . Not touch-type fast but adequate for mails and notes. The machine didn't have Works on it so couldn't try that. I have read there is poor compatibility of files saved for MS Word/Excel/PP so this will be a big issue for some (including me if I used one)

Overall it's definitely worth a look if you like the idea and you are primarily a consumer of content rather than a creator.
If you need to do a lot of input, buy a laptop as long as you can cope with the extra weight.
If you need a phone with mail and web capabilities, try an iPhone - don't ask how you make calls on the iPad as I heard two people in the office ask!
.......

Out of interest, one of the other guys in the office has a Motorola Milestone (the one MG has but called a Droid in the US) and I also had a play with that. I was very surprised and impressed.
The screen is bigger than an iPhone but not as clear I found. The keyboard is very good for "thumb typing" and it seemed to have a good range of standard apps. Most of them seem to have the look of scaled down big-PC apps rather than being written with a small handset in mind but do the job.
In raw dimensions there isn't a lot in it compared to the iPhone but it feels a lot bigger as it is thicker and squarer. Not something for shirt or trouser pocket - more jacket or ladies handbag size.
As a mobile communication device it has a lot going for it. It almost a subcategory of it's own although there are some others quite like it. Going back a few years the Nokia Communicator was a bit like this
Conventional phones > smartphones > Communicators > Netbooks> iPad? >Laptops>Desktops
The lines blur...

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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And the multitasking arrives:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/preview-iphone-os/

Don't like the sound of iAd. Was one of the things that put me off Googledroid that it has OS level ad and information tracking stuff and it looks like Apple have followed them. Don't be evil, eh?

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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Give your cat an Apple...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9NP-AeKX40[/youtube]

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A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. - Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
[img]http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/kittifer.gif[/img]

Looks like a good way to get your screen scratched.

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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How cruel. There's no mouse.

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The drug purportedly affected an area of the brain called "Shatner's Bassoon"

I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.
http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/h2g230/

will this one do?

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"The human gene pool needs more lifeguards!
Either that or stronger chlorination...." (Pitbull)

Then you need an iPocket.

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Mooned on my first and 1000th post.

http://www.scottevest.com/company/ipad.shtml

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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I have just been playing The Secret of Monkey Island 2 on an iPad (not mine unfortunately).
If you have ever played any of the old LucasArts adventure games you will not believe how incredible they are when you can just touch things, swipe to move around and generally have fun exploring.
Almost worth getting one just for that.

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D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
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Dammit. I gave in.



I got a 32GB 3G one. Couldn't see me using 64GB on the basis that I haven't even filled up my 16GB iPhone 3GS.

Dr. S.

_________________
Imagine a ball of iron, the size of the sun. And once a year a tiny sparrow brushes its surface with the tip of its wing. And when that ball of iron, the size of the sun, is worn away to nothing, your punishment will barely have begun.

www.sinisterincorporated.co.uk

www.tabletown.co.uk