I guess this discussion has veered into what a computer is vs what an iPad is / should/ could be.
Back in the day, no one understood what a computer was useful for except nerds like Woz, SJ, Bill and others. The so called computer clubs crowd. Then Visicalc came along (spreadsheets) and everyone understood why computers could be useful in every desk.
Tablets like the iPad came as a response to how most people (not all) use their computers: browse the internet, do some online shopping, consume content, interact with their social networks, even check their email (so last century). Even programmers and professionals use their computers, in part, to do the same things.
Granted, one can argue that these tasks can be performed perfectly on smartphones these days, with their large screens (remember SJ saying 4” was good enough) and fast LTE connections. People use more messaging apps and less email. Conversations are short (no one writes more than 140 characters in a sentence these days).
If your “work” is occupying less and less of your computer time (you are a director/supervisor/regional head) and the other “consumer” uses are occupying more your PC these days, than you’re a candidate to substitute your PC with an iPad imo.
What Apple is preaching is that even for some work (photography, video editing, writing, etc) the iPad can also be your “work” device aka a “computer” and not only a consumption tablet.
To use SJ’s analogy: there will always be trucks, but some of us can do with smaller vehicles. The PC offload most but not all of the workload from mainframes. The iPad will chip away at the PC workloads as time goes by. Digital and SG (silicon graphics) bet that the PC was not powerful enough and that the software was lacking. They went the way of the Dodo while Microsoft mopped the floor and became the most valuable company.
But it takes time. We’re all used to the PC workflow, our mouse/trackpad, our ESC keys, etc... but in time, tablet like devices will replace traditional PCs (desktops/laptops) first in high mobility areas, than in more traditional areas. But some PCs will remain and continue to be useful for some workloads, no doubt about it.
