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How is Ipad not considered "a computer"??

It is a computer, just not a computer. I'm sure other people have caught this, but they put full sized Apple stickers in the box, like the ones that come with Macs. And I think there's a hidden message there pertaining to what the future holds for the iPad.

I'm sure they did their best, but they should've shot for a bigger battery, faster processor, more RAM. Make it more like a Mac, and less like an iPad. I'm sure the speed of the 2G iPad (whenever it comes out) will make this one seem like a children's toy though.
 
OGDaniel said:
It is a computer, just not a computer. I'm sure other people have caught this, but they put full sized Apple stickers in the box, like the ones that come with Macs. And I think there's a hidden message there pertaining to what the future holds for the iPad.

I'm sure they did their best, but they should've shot for a bigger battery, faster processor, more RAM. Make it more like a Mac, and less like an iPad. I'm sure the speed of the 2G iPad (whenever it comes out) will make this one seem like a children's toy though.
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We ain't seen nothin' yet. I'm already predicting gen. 2: Cortex A9 dual-core processor using a more advanced SOC with a nicer video card, at LEAST double the RAM, webcam, bigger battery, and some great iPhone OS upgrades like a file system, widgets, and more. And we already know it'll multitask by this fall.

I think Apple just wanted to get something out this time around. Like the iPhone, it won't be until 2nd generation that its features and internals will make it a sensible general consumer device. I bet it'll be cheaper next year too.
 
mikethebigo said:
We ain't seen nothin' yet. I'm already predicting gen. 2: Cortex A9 dual-core processor using a more advanced SOC with a nicer video card, at LEAST double the RAM, webcam, bigger battery, and some great iPhone OS upgrades like a file system, widgets, and more. And we already know it'll multitask by this fall.

I think Apple just wanted to get something out this time around. Like the iPhone, it won't be until 2nd generation that its features and internals will make it a sensible general consumer device. I bet it'll be cheaper next year too.
Click to expand...

I wonder what they will call it. Also, I wonder if the resale value of the gen 1 ipads will be good.
 
Dammit Cubs said:
I mean we all don't think of as a full scaled computer but nevertheless, its still a computer. Gimp or not Gimp. It's just Apple decided to make the environment closed as opposed to other operating systems.

In this case, you can also think of your phone as a computer too.

As far as I'm concerned...the first real PC i have bought was

166MHZ Intel Pentium MX processor (I was pissed to find out 2 weeks later PII arrived)
128MB Ram
Hard Drive was 32GB
It had Floppy and CDROM
It couldn't do Flash
It could play P-dddy music known as Puff Daddy back then
I played Quake 1 and 2 on it.
and Worms...

My Iphone and Ipad can do circles around that computer. How much did i pay for my PC back then....2200 dollars!!!!!
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Basically every electronic device we buy today is a computer.. They all have a CPU, RAM, and ROM in them...

Heck, my car has a computer in the dash...

But a REAL computer is one that you, the user have complete control over, and the ipad is ***** NOT ***** a real computer, it's a device that has LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY and is 100 % CONTROLLED BY THE APPLE COMPUTER CORPORATION.
 
djrobsd said:
Basically every electronic device we buy today is a computer.. They all have a CPU, RAM, and ROM in them...

Heck, my car has a computer in the dash...

But a REAL computer is one that you, the user have complete control over, and the ipad is ***** NOT ***** a real computer, it's a device that has LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY and is 100 % CONTROLLED BY THE APPLE COMPUTER CORPORATION.
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No a computer is a device that used is computational fetch, decode, execute through the use of of a central processing unit which is linked with a type of memory interface. (probably not the exact definition, computer just needs to compute).

What you are looking for is the ipad is does not have a graphical user interface similar to that of a windows based operating system, Macintosh OS or linux based GUIs. That's a software problem. People have put windows xp on their iPhones.

Ipad is an tangerine while your laptop is a mango. They taste different but they are both fruits. Minimum standards needed for a computer to be a computer in this modern day, well the ipad has it. It's a computational device just like your conputer. Its just missing a few flavors.
 
This thread has gotten a bit silly. Someone else listed devices (DVR, stereo system) that are computers. Yes, that's correct. By this standard, the iPad is a computer as well.

This is the catch, however. How many people ponder whether to buy a DVR or to buy a Dell? A stereo or an iMac? Nobody would make direct comparisons like that. They may wonder where to spend their money between two different things they are interested in, but they aren't going to evaluate those items directly against a computer.

If I went around talking about "my computer" when I meant my DVR, it would baffle everyone ... even though technically, a DVR is a computer with a narrowly focused UI and input/output devices.

Calling my iPod touch a "computer" would be an affectation ... I've never heard anybody doing that, and if they did, it would be either for laughs or to prove a technical point.

The iPad is a bit further in the direction of what people think of as computers ... but still not there. This is not a put-down, it's just how it is. There are features iPads share with what people think of as computers, and features that are not shared. The form factor and UI are very different.

If you refer to your iPad as "a computer," you will end up confusing people when they see that you are actually talking about an iPad.

For those comparing power with early computers - that's a specious argument. A PCjr (which, btw, was also my first computer) is slower, has inferior graphics and has less storage than my iPod. But it was without question a computer by definitions of the time; marketed as a computer, competing with other computers for sales. It had a keyboard and monitor. It ran most DOS programs and games, with some exceptions. I did my homework on it, printed on the worst printer ever made, the IBM thermal printer.

Look, at the end of the day - is an iPad (or an iPod, or a DVR) technically a computer? Yes, of course. If you want to go around calling them computers, go ahead. Just be prepared to explain what you are talking about when you get confused looks until you drop the affectation.
 
wombat888 said:
This thread has gotten a bit silly. Someone else listed devices (DVR, stereo system) that are computers. Yes, that's correct. By this standard, the iPad is a computer as well.

This is the catch, however. How many people ponder whether to buy a DVR or to buy a Dell? A stereo or an iMac? Nobody would make direct comparisons like that. They may wonder where to spend their money between two different things they are interested in, but they aren't going to evaluate those items directly against a computer.

If I went around talking about "my computer" when I meant my DVR, it would baffle everyone ... even though technically, a DVR is a computer with a narrowly focused UI and input/output devices.

Calling my iPod touch a "computer" would be an affectation ... I've never heard anybody doing that, and if they did, it would be either for laughs or to prove a technical point.

The iPad is a bit further in the direction of what people think of as computers ... but still not there. This is not a put-down, it's just how it is. There are features iPads share with what people think of as computers, and features that are not shared. The form factor and UI are very different.

If you refer to your iPad as "a computer," you will end up confusing people when they see that you are actually talking about an iPad.

For those comparing power with early computers - that's a specious argument. A PCjr (which, btw, was also my first computer) is slower, has inferior graphics and has less storage than my iPod. But it was without question a computer by definitions of the time; marketed as a computer, competing with other computers for sales. It had a keyboard and monitor. It ran most DOS programs and games, with some exceptions. I did my homework on it, printed on the worst printer ever made, the IBM thermal printer.

Look, at the end of the day - is an iPad (or an iPod, or a DVR) technically a computer? Yes, of course. If you want to go around calling them computers, go ahead. Just be prepared to explain what you are talking about when you get confused looks until you drop the affectation.
Click to expand...

Alright! Another person that owned the PCjr. What a great machine. I used it for schoolwork and printing too, lol. The kind of printer that used pages with holes on each side.

I sadly have to disagree with you about the iPad though. It runs a unix operating system. It has a processor, ram, storage, input and output, everything. Just because its limited doesn't mean it's not a computer.
 
An iPad is a device that can do a lot of things a laptop can do and a few things that a laptop cannot do. Simple as that. Some people will prefer one over the other depending on their needs.
 
Mike, you're not really disagreeing with me ... I agree it is a computer. My point is that if you say "let me get my computer", go to your car and come back with an iPad, whoever you were talking to will say "I thought you were getting a computer."

I am pretty sure my DVR is based on linux, and it has a hard drive, RAM and CPU.
 
wombat888 said:
Mike, you're not really disagreeing with me ... I agree it is a computer. My point is that if you say "let me get my computer", go to your car and come back with an iPad, whoever you were talking to will say "I thought you were getting a computer."

I am pretty sure my DVR is based on linux, and it has a hard drive, RAM and CPU.
Click to expand...

Okay, yup totally got me there. I'm defending it more on the technical definition, but socially, the iPad wouldn't be considered a computer by many people.
 
The iPad is not ment to be a computer it's supposed to be in-between a Mac and an iPhone. It's more iPhone now but it will get mor computer like. I think that the os 4.0 being implemented in the fall means apple is cooking somthing up, i think in that time they will be adding some nice features
 
The iPad is definitely a computer. When I took my iPhone for service in January, the Apple Genius says he considered the iPhone a "small"computer. All the more reason why I'd consider the iPad a computer as well.
 
wombat888 said:
Mike, you're not really disagreeing with me ... I agree it is a computer. My point is that if you say "let me get my computer", go to your car and come back with an iPad, whoever you were talking to will say "I thought you were getting a computer."
Click to expand...

But you also pointed out that people don't think, "Should I buy an iMac or a DVR?" But many people do ask if they should buy a MacBook or iPad. So if we apply that test, the iPad is definitely a computer, though I do agree that it is odd to refer to it as "my computer" in casual conversation. But while I may not say "Let me go get my computer," when getting my iPad, I do think of it as a computer, and one that could replace my laptop if it just had a bit more efficient file sharing system.
 
Night Spring said:
People who say this must not have seen what can be done with jailbroken iPhones -- you can do almost anything you'd do with a desktop/laptop. Much of the limitation with the iDevices is not on the hardware level, but in the way Apple configured the OS. Plus, the microwave does one thing, iPad does a thousand things (at least). How can you talk as if they are on the same level????
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I think what he is saying is that there is a broad definition of computers.

I couldn't live without my multi-funtion iDevice (whether one calls that their Blackberry, iPod, iPad, or iPhone) nor my microwave. They are both products which a lot of people find incredibly useful. They also happen to have a processor in them.

The iPad is really only one step away from being a full fledged Mac, and that's OS X, but in the future I can see an iPad with a smaller version of OS X which will be useful for those who may feel a Macbook or MBP is fine, but overkill for their needs.
 
63dot said:
I think what he is saying is that there is a broad definition of computers.

I couldn't live without my multi-funtion iDevice (whether one calls that their Blackberry, iPod, iPad, or iPhone) nor my microwave. They are both products which a lot of people find incredibly useful. They also happen to have a processor in them.

The iPad is really only one step away from being a full fledged Mac, and that's OS X, but in the future I can see an iPad with a smaller version of OS X which will be useful for those who may feel a Macbook or MBP is fine, but overkill for their needs.
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Anyone ever hear or read the difference between the terms denotation and connotation? This debate reminds me of the differences in the iPad being a computer vs. the Mac being a computer. Both are denotative computers but the CURRENT connotation of the computer is the Mac not the iPad.
 
wombat888 said:
If you refer to your iPad as "a computer," you will end up confusing people when they see that you are actually talking about an iPad.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you, if you call your iPad a computer you confuse people, and if you call your DVR a computer you scare people ;)

The only use I see for an iPad is using at the same time as you use your computer, surfing in an extra tab...
 
Night Spring said:
People who say this must not have seen what can be done with jailbroken iPhones -- you can do almost anything you'd do with a desktop/laptop. Much of the limitation with the iDevices is not on the hardware level, but in the way Apple configured the OS. Plus, the microwave does one thing, iPad does a thousand things (at least). How can you talk as if they are on the same level????
Click to expand...

My TV can do almost everything an iPad can do. I can connect it to the Internet and view content. I can connect it to my LAN and access videos, music, photos. I can connect an Xbox and play games. Is my TV a computer? No, but it does have computational functions. My TV does not run a full computer OS but has computer like functions hardwired internally. So in my opinion the iPad is not a computer but a computer like device.
 
sapporobaby said:
I can connect an Xbox and play games.
Click to expand...

Um, in the case of the Xbox, the game is run from the Xbox, and the TV is just acting as a monitor, so I wouldn't count that as a thing your TV can do. Let me know when some company comes out with a TV that can run word processing and spreadsheet apps without hooking up to another device, and I'll call that a computer.
 
Night Spring said:
Um, in the case of the Xbox, the game is run from the Xbox, and the TV is just acting as a monitor, so I wouldn't count that as a thing your TV can do. Let me know when some company comes out with a TV that can run word processing and spreadsheet apps without hooking up to another device, and I'll call that a computer.
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Exactly. And the screen on an iPad is nothing more than a monitor as well. Just happens to be touch screen The point I am making is that it comes down to an OS level. The iPad runs the iPhone OS while a PC or Mac runs a full blown computer OS. Having a screen and word processing applications does not make a device necessarily a computer.
 
The iPad's similarities to a computer simply stop at media consumption, internet browsing and the ability to edit existing creations. I wouldn't ever do a project from start to finish on my iPad.
 
iPad is a computer

mikethebigo said:
6a00d09e7bc293be2b00e398d464750002-320pi


This was my family's first computer. An IBM PCjr....

My god did that thing kick ass. And if that's a computer, the iPad sure as hell is too.
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My very first computer was a VIC-20 in 1980. I was only 6.
vic20andtv.jpg


It had 5 Kb (kilobits) of RAM and 1.0227 MHz CPU also with 16 colours. The VIC-20 was a computer.
 
sapporobaby said:
Exactly. And the screen on an iPad is nothing more than a monitor as well. Just happens to be touch screen The point I am making is that it comes down to an OS level. The iPad runs the iPhone OS while a PC or Mac runs a full blown computer OS. Having a screen and word processing applications does not make a device necessarily a computer.
Click to expand...

Actually, I consider the iPhone to be a computer as well. And surely, the iPad is more than just its screen? How am I typing this post on my iPad if it were just a monitor? The iPad's CPU and other internal chips are an integral part of the iPad, whereas an xbox is a separate add-on device to the TV. Attaching an xbox to a TV doesn't make the TV a computer, while on the other hand, you can't detach an iPad's screen and use it by itself! So your statement about the iPad screen makes no sense whatsoever.
 
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