Should I think twice about buying an ipad?

Ummmmm.... sure.

Nope, cloud computing is what tablets will live off. No bulky hard drive, though it seems even hard drive memory is getting incredibly small and fast. And cloud is not new. It was around 30 years ago.

The real question is: What would you do with an ipad? They are terrific form some people, and they are expensive paperweights for others.

John

John
The chairmen of Google was on TV this morning. He said that the tablet is in it's infancy, and the tablets of the not too distant future using clouds will blow the apple tablets away.

My wife wants to be able to read books, and have a small computer of her own, but I think I just talked myself into waiting a year or two.

Clouds - your trace to all who link/intercept/market/spam/... - your liability - your vulnerability to gross identity abuse. Again - STUPID.

1) not new - been a mainframe thing/notion since conversational mode programming thirty years ago.

2) content is distraction for the most part.

as to the ipad etc - tablets have their uses - and if it would serve you (borrow one from a friend for a few days to explore) I wish you the best it its use.

You might be able to rent one. I rented a laptop for a month to see if I really wanted or needed a laptop. I went to Rent-A-Center (expensive but cheaper than a purchase).
Iven

Iven & Jonathan
Thanks

What's the future of cloud computing? I think Google answered that this week...

Google announces Chromebook, laptop with......e online

Google's Blogspot suffers multi-day outage

If you have valuable data, keep it on a personal drive.

The one advantage I see to "cloud computing" is that if you back up your data in "the clouds", you can always get it back. Your house burns down, total loss- you can still recover your family photo album and memories.

Best policy, keep a local network hard drive plus a cloud backup.

As for tablets? Totally depends on how much you're going to use it. My wife and I use the iPad all the time- it keeps our son entertained on long road trips, etc. That alone makes it worth it.

I'm with Jon on this. Why would I want to store all my data with an unaccountable third party, who over time will surely erode the privacy they promise you for your data? Isn't Facebook bad enough?

I'm not certain about a tablet. I think I might want one. But since I spend a lot of time on YouTube and Bill Gates has decided that Adobe is evil and iPad won't support Adobe Flash, then if I do get a tablet, it won't be an iPad.

Ed
I believe that you are right on the money. Tablet technology is in it's infancy.

I have a laptop and a tablet. I use my laptop every day and haven't used my tablet since February.

I'm with Jon on this one. Why would huge companies offer to put our stuff on their servers unless they had something to gain from it?

Plus you get system and application upgrades whether you want them or not. Right now if you don't like the new browser you can downgrade to the previous version or use a third parties software. I really doubt Google is going to be too keen about allowing unapproved third party software on their hardware. You're locked into what they deem acceptable.

IPad seems to be primarily a shopping device.
My son, who is frugal to excess, frightened himself at the ease (and addictive qualities) of one-touch purchasing, mostly items suggested by Amazon and Google.

The thing is definitely handy when travelling and there are quite a few useful apps but you won't see me storing any secure info on the cloud in this lifetime. Especially when a 2Tb drive is only $150. Google has absolutely no inclination to secure our data IMHO.

Alright... alright...

I don't see an end of personal computing any time soon. Video gamers and content producers will need things like keyboards, mice, and the dedicated tools with which to create their work. Smart phones and tablets are growing into a good niche for casual use.

So, onto storing things in a cloud. Again, the desktop computer will, presumably, be the best place to edit content for quite a long while. I don't doubt that a good touchscreen interface for typing will eventually be made known. For now, 40+ words per minute with tactile response and a full-sized keyboard are going to take a long time to replace. Video editing presumably won't be going anywhere any time soon. The average WiFi connection just isn't fit to upload several gigabytes of HD content, nor is the average cloud platform able to compete with a middle-of-the-road desktop editing package. I can't even imagine the pain of trying to edit audio in such a way.

On the other hand, free services such as Google Docs are becoming very useful. They have even added a respectable amount of support for their Android users. Netbook users should have little or no problems. Amazon has created a cloud-based service for storing your mp3s -- releasing theirs after Google's announcement but before Google got theirs off the ground. Google Music will be doing the same. Upload all of your mp3s from your hard drive and play them over your smart phone from the cloud.

So... "the cloud" is going to depend on what you want to do. If you consume content then things are going to look very promising. If you spend time creating content then it may not be your best solution.

Andrew
I think you just talked me into upgradeing my desk top. I hear lots of good things about the Apple, but that would be like starting all over again. I can use windows effortlessly.

It also looks like my wife would get more service from a lap top than she would get from a tablet.

Andrew you have given me the insight I needed to make an informed decision.
Thanks

I often think about getting one, and then realize I really don't need it. I have a laptop, netbook, and an android phone. The only thing I really do other than texting and talking on the phone is email, facebook, the occasional web search and gps navigation. Why do I need ANOTHER device that does the same stuff, and is bigger than it needs to be?