Soon after the iPad became available, I trotted down to the Apple Store to have a play and was completely underwhelmed.  But, I understand the iPad’s success which is that for a vast number of people it is more than sufficient for their needs.

Microsoft could have bifurcated its products ten years ago if it had listened to real users instead of playing the “let’s add even more features in this version even though people say they don’t use 80% of the features”. 

Apple has just been prescient in understanding the consumer.  We in the open-systems world need to take a cue from Apple’s success and out-do Apple.

You do realise that in 2001 the biggest reason I had to not buying Macs was the bloody fanatics! I made the wrong decision when I figured they could not be that bad once you had Macs… they were WORSE! Mac fanatics have been legendary, and it has been a media joke about Apple fanaticism. The media doesn’t report on the fanaticism of Android people. They have four or five stories every year quietly making fun of the Apple fanatics in line… waiting for days for a product. During the cold war, USA used to laugh at 6 hour lines for products in “Soviet Russia”… just what sort of a joke is it when capitalists line up for three days? Ever seen Android users wait three days for a product? No? Yet, you claim that Android users are the fanatics. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Apple fanatics are not just fanatics, you lot are a JOKE!

Oh, the standard comeback of mac fanatics is to claim that I am an Android fanatic. Well if I am it comes from EXPERIENCE with ALL the options. I have purchased the following in the past four months. In order…  iPad2 64GB, Windows 7 Tablet, Android Tablet, Windows 7 Tablet, Windows 7 Tablet and finally a fourth Windows 7 Tablet. The iPad is the worst product ever! It is like having a stinging case of the clap, without the fun that gets you into the trouble. Computer wise, I type this on my 17” MBP, I own 4 Macs, 2 Windows machines, a Linux machine and an Amiga (that I can not find a replacement for)… So when I say that iPad is truly crap, it is an educated opinion. I have lost count of the number of Mac religious fanatics who have just this year accused me of not knowing how good Apple products are because I have not experienced them. When, it is the mac fanatics who are projecting their own lack of experience on others. Don’t embarrass yourself the same way because I can and will rebut any stupid claims and accusations.

What’s also interesting to note is how few developers actually make any money on the App store.  It’s certainly not the massive moneymaker that many developers would hope it would be.  Either due to competition, pricing constraints or the signal to noise issues associated with 500,000+ apps to choose from.