iPad Launches, FCC Teardown Leaked

Apple's much-awaited iPad officially launched today, and iFixit has gotten their hands on photos from the FCC teardown. They've done an analysis of the internals and provided directions on doing it yourself, if you're so inclined. Predictably, it's a hot topic in the media. Cory Doctorow wrote about why he won't be getting an iPad, complaining about the closed, hacker-unfriendly design and what he calls the "Wal-martization of the software channel." Daring Fireball's John Gruber disagrees, pointing out that enthusiasts — even kids exercising their curiosity — are still quite capable of playing around with the iPad through app creation, and with much more of a chance to compete with big companies than in the Apple ][ days. Similarly, others are referring to it as the "bedtime computer" — technology that has a reasonable shot at expanding into completely new areas of use, like bedtime reading for kids. Such a device was predicted in 1972 by Alan Kay, the PARC scientist credited with the epigram "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." His hypothetical DynaBook bears striking similarity to what Apple finally came up with. So, those of you who have picked up or received an iPad already: how do you like it?

Comments

Re:3...2...1... Wake up!

[Scrameustache]

Maybe in 6 months when normal people get a look at one they will see it as the same 'magical' do-nothing-special device that the iPod and iPhone turned out to be.

And then they'll buy them by the tens of millions every year? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ipod_sales_per_quarter.svg

I'm sorry if you think that's "going gaga over how cool it is", but I call that "looking at the bottom line". Then again, you think iPods "do nothing", while I'm still using my 2002 model as an external hard drive.