F/OSS Fanatic Gets An iPad2

Update 1

Through the act of an extremely generous and thoughtful gift, I am now the proud (yes, proud) owner of an iPad2. As a matter of course, most of you that know me on a geek-level know it's very unlikely I'd ever buy an Apple product. Despite my differences with Apple and Mr. Steve Jobs over the years, I've never denied their innovation and brilliance in seeming to know exactly what the public wants. Well, call me Mr. Joe Public.

As my co-worker Frank mused today, "the libertarian privacy freak is giving all his data over to Apple" and I was happy to do it to get to play with my new tablet. From the minute I unwrapped the package, it was like Christmas morning; which is appropriate as it was intended as a Christmas gift.

The first thing that surprised me, having never operated an iPad2 is that it's an extremely hefty piece of equipment. Very well made -- I've heard of Apple quality control issues; I've witnessed none in my brief time with the iPad2. The Asus & Samsung tablets feel like more of a child's speak & say than an tablet in comparison.

Everything is simple to use, almost too simple. Apple's UI developers have thought of everything to point where I assume too much. My brain never thinks to do the simplest thing, I'm almost looking for the slightly more complex way to get things done, which doesn't exist. That fact creates a bit of a learning curve, but I'm sure I can learn the intention of the genius yet simple minded brains of Apple's core. ;)

As I expected and already knew, it's Apple's way or the high way -- unless I jailbreak the device, which has it's own pros & cons. For example "for licensing reasons" libpurple (the core behind Pidgin and Adium's IM client) can't be published on Apple's store, thus it can't be installed on a non-jailed breaked device. This makes me sad. I'm hacker, I need my freedom of choice even if it's actually bad for me. But no one is stopping from getting a more hackable tablet. In fact, now that I have a very professional, safe, and reliable device, maybe I can get something even more geeky to hack around with.

Jeff is pleased. I'll update this as I discover everything y'all already know about my new shiney iPad2. 16gb Wifi, White if you were wondering. ;)

PS - owning an iPad2 is expensive. Though the iPad2 was a gift, I've already spent over $100 on apps, music, and accessories. Yes, Mr. Joe Public. *sigh*