A quick note from a self-professed Mac hater.

I will admit that I am that angry PC guy that absolutely loathes Apple’s products & fans. It’s a long story related to rejection nearly a decade ago. Let’s just say Apple wasn’t meant for me and I have sworn off all things Mac.

It’s not denial I swear.

I will concede that Apple has taken great measure to change how things are done when it comes to marrying common computing, communication and entertainment tasks with new technology. What they lack in reasonable pricing and sometimes stupefying preference of form over function (I’m looking @ you Macbook Air), they make up for in risk taking and knowing their customer base. They follow their map strictly with success coming in the tune of billions and have managed to “inspire” their competitor Microsoft into revamping their OS to follow some of the work flow that had been established in the earlier OSX cats.

PC is Wal-Mart furniture; affordable, plain and serviceable. Mac is the IKEA of the computing world, you’re paying for sleekness, prestige and reputation more than you are the device and you’ll love it for what it is while PC fans mock you for what it’s not. That’s okay though, it’s not for everyone, but  it is for you.

This is where my thoughts on the latest reveal from the techno-wizard & owner of 90% of the world’s black turtle neck sweaters, Steve Jobs begins.

Let’s get the first element to ridicule out of the way: iPad, seriously you picked that name?

You’ve already been mocked about it years before you actually put it into use (search for Madtv iPad on youtube). iTab or iSlate would’ve done your product more justice but hey, the product itself is all one big gamble. It’s going to pay huge dividends if the company has planned ahead.

The bust potential must be acknowledged first however. The iPad is a lateral move in terms of a product for Apple, they have the iPod touch for music & video, the iPhone for communication, basic computing via apps & web browsing.  If you need to do some heavy lifting in terms of content creation, storage and all of the rest, you can grab a Macbook or one of their desktop machines and get to work.  It’s a tablet, tablets have been around for a while with little success in terms of shifting the market. If the iPad is about entering a dogfight with a tablet PC this thing  is all bark and little bite.

What’s so special about the iPad?

Set aside the hyperbole and think of it in the same way that Apple has gone about the design their products; they aim for sleek, simple and focused application.  The iPad is not here to compete with the tablet PC or take away from their own share of the laptop market. They aren’t trying to sell you a glorified iPod (no matter how I like to think of it as such), this is Mac’s gauntlet being thrown into the print arena of the content delivery market.

Yes Amazon Kindle, you should find a new pair of pants because Mac is gunning for you.

We are witnessing a branching of the evolutionary tree of the newspaper and a great number of traditionally printed media. What looks like a clever cash grabbing side step is actually a calculated move to further develop a shifting market. With papers, magazines and books moving into digital distribution to stay afloat, publishers will need to find new avenues to increase their subscribers and continue to create revenue. Part of that strategy has to include championing  new technology.

Apple is trying to muscle its way into position to be the go-to tool for reading digital material.

From my perspective, this is the new frontier for comics, the App store already has apps by the big boys, Marvel & DC in place to to lead the way. All that needs to be done is the the development of the content, a proper network for distribution that favors the little guys (Graphic.ly), the adoption of the technology by the mainstream (it’s Apple, it’s gonna happen) & the patience to see it all through.

If  I were an indie company looking for a way to forge ahead and something to focus upon to maybe get some funding (hey that kind of is me), this is exactly the time and place I’d want to be in; a spot where there is new technology, new techniques and new niches to find for something old to become new again.

Now if they can handle the issue with flash and keep the basic capabilities of it’s older siblings (video / audio / gaming),  Sony could very well be next in the cross-hairs (PSP, you could be better).

A change of heart?

The prospect of all of  this has me re-thinking my anti-Mac slant ever so slightly because they’re doing things that even I think are cool enough to pay attention to. I still can’t see myself ponying up the price for the iPad but I’m not going to say never. If they come out with a 32 inch wall mounted version of the iPad, I call dibs on the name iOverpaid.