WDTPRS POLL: iPads and You

In an otherwise dreadful tech day for me, I have had a bright spot.

The UPS Gal swooped in her brown truck with a gift from a reader from my amazon wishlist: the DVD/BRAY of the movie The Way (thanks to RG and thanks to MZ for Moneyball – about the game God loves best) which came recently).

While here the UPS Gal received an SMS on her fancy gizmo reminding her to be sure to get signatures from customers.

“Why?”, quoth I.

“Not for everything. I’m delivering the new iPads today and we can’t just leave them at the door.”

So!  New iPads!

I have the very lowest form of the very first iPad.  For the longest time I didn’t know what to do with it.  Then I starting figuring out how it could be useful to me.  I use it all the time now!  With my iPad I can also access all my Kindle Books.  Handy.

Here is a WDTPRS POLL.

Pick your best answer and leave a comment.

What about the new iPad?

View Results

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About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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39 Comments

  1. mamajen says:

    I won my iPad 2 from my local newspaper! It’s something I would never have considered purchasing because my family doesn’t have that kind of money, but it has proven to be pretty indispensable. It’s been useful for every one of us, including my 3-year-old son. I especially like to use it for reading books, referring to recipes (and listening to Pandora radio stations) in the kitchen, and surfing the web when I’m traveling. I haven’t seen the latest and greatest in person, but it doesn’t sound exciting enough for me to consider upgrading. I’m glad they improved the camera, but taking pictures with the iPad is a bit cumbersome, so that’s not an essential feature for me. I’ll probably wait until my iPad 2 is truly antiquated–I like to run my tech into the ground!

  2. Paulus says:

    You need a seventh option to your poll:

    I have/had an iPad and will get the new one but not just yet. I abhor crowds.

  3. Paulus says:

    Ach. Never mind. I think you updated your poll as I was commenting. Either that or I can’t read.

    Nice, new picture at the top of your blog, BTW…

  4. JohnE says:

    My wife has an HP Touchpad which I use occasionally, and I have a 3G iPod, so between the two I haven’t really had a compelling reason to get an iPad.

    Wait a minute, are you considering getting your readers iPads for Easter? In that case, I’d love one!

  5. disco says:

    Baseball may be the game that god loves best, but I confess that many an autumn Sunday I can’t help but notice that the arrangement of the priest deacon and subdeacon at solemn high mass is not unlike the arrangement of quarterback fullback and tailback on the gridiron….

  6. Timothy Mulligan says:

    I wish I could justify buying the new iPad, but I can’t. I have an iMac and an iPod Touch. I don’t do much traveling. So these two devices serve my needs sufficiently.

    Nevertheless, I would love to have the new iPad. My mother received an iPad 2 for Christmas and it is perfect for her. (She was suffering with an old, incredibly slow HP laptop.)

  7. ContraMundum says:

    I’ve never had an IPad and said I don’t want one, but of course if I win one in a raffle someplace I’ll take it. I just don’t see it being worth the price.

  8. curtjester says:

    I’ve had each iPad on day one, but the new iPad is much more than just an iterative upgrade. The new display really is that good and text is so crisp and clear you just don’t see the normal antialiasing artifacts common to displays. It is certainly much better than even my high quality computer display. I’ve been comparing it side by side with my iPad 2 and the difference is striking. I’ve done a lot of reading on my iPads, but now I have more than just a fairly good ereader, but simply the best ereader with a color display there is.

    Most apps don’t even have to be updated to have the text improved and iBrievary looks great text-wise.

  9. APX says:

    I have never had one, nor have I ever desired to spend my hard earned dollars to get one, but now that I’m getting paid real money, I am contemplating the purchase of one, but I want a new car worse, so maybe i’ll hold off for now.

  10. thefeds says:

    I’ve been struggling with opting for the Kindle Fire, or buying the new iPad. My heart was saying (retina display) iPad, while my brain was saying ($199) Kindle Fire. Unfortunately, for the time being, my brain won!

  11. leutgeb says:

    I bought an iPad2 three weeks ago, timing eh? It’s great. It has replaced my laptop at home. I have all the chant I could want on it in the form of the 1961 Liber and PDFs of everything else from musica sacra, music to play at work – I’m a music teacher, books galore, email and blogging. Bit and pieces of work can be done and emailed to myself at work. Brill. I just don’t want to see a new one just yet….

  12. Mark Scott Abeln says:

    I have an iPod Touch, which is almost completely like an iPad, except smaller. I find it very useful. Its small size and short battery life is a problem, which of course an iPad would address. But I take the iPod everywhere, which would not be true with an iPad.

  13. contrarian says:

    Getting mine on Monday, so I clicked ordered/received. Monday counts.
    I’m soooo excited. First iPad ever. The pdf and web readers, both with highlighting and note-taking functions, are a dream come true.
    It’s going to considerably change my life-style, as much as a gadget ever could.

  14. AnAmericanMother says:

    I’ll never see it . . . except in passing, but odds are my husband the Techno-Geek will be acquiring one as soon as the crowds die down.
    I’m crafty, he’s techy. It actually works out quite well, we have more bases covered that way.

    P.S. I love the new header! (is it changing from time to time? Could have sworn there were rain trailers just to the left of the dome awhile ago . . . )

  15. Peggy R says:

    I thought for sure I’d be in the minority. Don’t have and don’t want an iPad. We did get an HP Touchpad at a great discount over Christmas. My huz has been using it, however…

  16. Patti Day says:

    I don’t own an iPhone, iPod, or iPad. It’s not that I don’t want one, just that I’m not sure what I would do with one. What I’d really like is satellite radio, so I didn’t use up my 1MB of daily internet service streaming music over the internet.

  17. APX says:

    If I could use it in church rather than haul around my missal and random pieces of paper with prayers written on them, I would be all over one. My purse it getting heavy and cluttered with my current system and an iPad would be helpful.

  18. tech_pilgrim says:

    You need an option “Don’t have or want an Ipad but wife pines for one so you plan on getting on eventually for the sake of a happy marriage. “

  19. Dismas says:

    I work in the high tech sector, for a communications co. as a matter of fact. For numerous reasons, good or bad, I don’t own a cell phone. I’m not sure what the survey results reveal, but I was quite pleasantly shocked at the result. I was convinced, prior to my vote, my choice would be the minority not the majority.

  20. MargaretC says:

    My brother has the original iPad and it never leaves his hands. I haven’t seen him carry his laptop in months. (I think he sleeps with the iPad under his pillow…)

    I started saving to acquire one of my own a couple of months ago. Right now I’m debating whether to spring for the latest model as soon as the rush dies down, or buy a refurbished iPad 2.

    N.B. Apple sells refurbished models on its web site. Go to apple.com, click on “Store”, then do a search on “refurbished.” Obviously, the selection varies depending on what they have on hand, but if you’re not concerned with having the latest thing, this can be a good deal.

  21. Paulo says:

    I got the iPad 2 by November 2011, thanks to professional development funds made available to faculty at the college where I teach. My initial reaction was of disappointment, as many functions which I considered to be important were not built in into the OS. However, as I fumbled, and probed, and pushed… the little devil became an essential portion of life: I have class notes in it, which I use during my lectures; I have the breviary and the current missal; I have fun little games for kids of all ages; and while on vacation late December, one extra large alarm clock! Several of my students are using the device to take notes during class, so I have modified some of my lecture material to be “iPad friendly”. All in all, I intend to acquire one more, whenever funds are made available again.

  22. dans0622 says:

    Even though I chose the “haven’t had one and don’t want one” option, I wouldn’t say I “DON’T” want one. If someone offered me one, I’d take it. I DON’T want to pay for one.

  23. Mary Jane says:

    Have the original iPad. Love to use it for Liber Pro for chanting the propers! I find it way more convenient than carrying around a Liber Usualis. Don’t plan on getting the new iPad.

  24. BaedaBenedictus says:

    Father, speaking of movies, did you notice that Netflix streaming is now offering that James Cromwell/Ven. Pope Pius XII film? Strange because it has never had any sort of release in the United States!

    Search for “Pope Pius XII” on the Netflix site and it will bring it up. I’ve already seen it. No Scarlet and the Black, but pretty decent, and Cromwell makes a fine and heroic Ven. Pius XII!

  25. The Cobbler says:

    I might consider getting one someday to test apps. Otherwise I have no interest in one.

    And by “test apps”, no I do not mean to say I’m developing anything useful, I mean I’m developing amusing gizmos that I hope will be less generic than your average gizmo.

    Father, should I be hitting the first Preview button or the second PREVIEW button?

  26. dep says:

    @Paulus: Then there needs also to be an eighth one, to wit: I don’t have one and I don’t want one because I have and love my HP TouchPad and/or BlackBerry Playbook, the ownership of which has steeled me for the battles ahead.

  27. Martial Artist says:

    Never had and don’t want, thank you. I will likely purchase a 16GB Nook Tablet if the tax return within the month leaves me sufficient funds from the leave I sold back when I retired from full-time employment on the last day of December last.

    I gave up on Apple products as soon as I could after spending an entire Saturday upgrading the OS on a Mac Performa when OS 9.0 was released. And the reason it took so long was that there were about 9 or 10 files on my Performa that had to be removed to allow installation of the upgrade. But, instead of scanning the system for “prohibited” files prior to actually beginning the upgrade, the upgrade would run about 55 minutes and find one (1), and only one (1) file that had to be removed, name it and ask if I wanted to remove it—no helpful hints about what the SW file might be associated to, or what function it might serve, just a stupid demand that it be removed. Once the bullet had been duly bitten (i.e., the “prohibited” file removed, with not a little trepidation about what software might now be inoperable), and the installation restarted it ran about 55 minutes and found yet again one (1) and only one such file, just one with a different name. This was repeated for a total of either 9 or 10 iterations, until at about 19:00 (local) I had the (apparently) completed upgrade of the OS. As someone who had some knowledge of programming, I recognized that such a dumb approach was avoidable, and decided never again, under any circumstances, to purchase any of Mr. Jobs’ (Requiescat in pacem) products. It appears to me that, for Apple Corp., the customer is most definitely NOT always right.

    Having subsequently worked as a successful developer of custom database-driven applications using MS Access and MS SQL Server, I have become quite comfortable with Windows-based machines, and have had neither cause nor occasion to regret my earlier decision contra Apple’s overpriced products.

    I decided on the Nook over the iPad or Kindle, because I have a wealth of free PDF resources available from the former employer of Mr. Jeffrey Tucker and the Nook, unlike the Kindle and far more cheaply than the iPad, handles PDFs as a native format.

    Pax et bonum,
    Keith Töpfer

  28. Angie Mcs says:

    I have the first IPad and commented that I would not get another, at least not until absolutely necessary. My reason at this point is financial, not because I dislike using it. I have health problems which make it painful for me to sit, and with my IPad I can recline or lay down comfortably, thereby avoiding sitting at a desk top or using a heavier and more cumbersome laptop. For me, the benefits outweigh any limitations and make it easier for me to use the Internet ( not always a blessing; a prayer is definitely a wise choice before logging on! ) Generally, I enjoy using my IPad, and I think it can be a good tool for people who need to work with something that is physically easier to manage.

  29. Kaneohe says:

    Here’s another missing category:
    I was gifted an iPad, didn’t think I’d ever use it and so gave it away. Now I want an iPad.
    I really, really want a iPad.

  30. AnnAsher says:

    I have the top model first edition. It is fabulous. It has myriad uses. My kids love it. My son who has autism benefits most. We have an app that allows you to take a virtual 3D walk around Rome. I won’t get the new one because I can’t imagine using the camera and I don’t care about better resolution. We have iMac and MacBook for
    video chat. I have iPhone. We are iPeople. Love iPad but see no reason to upgrade. Maybe if they make one that flies….

  31. Random Friar says:

    This is one of those times poverty can be a bit restrictive.

    Since I am a mendicant, I guess I could beg for one, but that will probably not fly with my boss.

  32. pfreddys says:

    I plan to buy the previous iPad from a reputable used electronics dealer. Yesterdays technology tommorrow is actually very cost effective.

  33. pj_houston says:

    Moneyball is a good movie, unless you’re Art Howe. The way the movie portrays Howe I thought was unfortunate, but was probably done because the script called for an antagonist. Art is a genuine decent man, one of the few in professional sports. It was a shame for him and his family.

  34. letchitsa1 says:

    I picked that I have/had an iPad but will NOT get the new one because it was the most accurate. My reasoning for not getting a new one, however, is that my existing one still works just fine and I can’t see a justification for getting rid of it as long as that remains the case. At some point in the future I will probably get another one, but for now I’m content with what I’ve got.

  35. I have the iPad2 and love it! Though, I must say, that new iPad looks really nice. Too bad I am a poor student, and the wife won’t let me buy one. ;)

    On the note of iPads, thanks for disabling the iPad theme– i really didn’t like it.

  36. biberin says:

    A couple weeks ago I got a kindle fire for “free” with accumulated gift cards and credit card points. Yesterday I sent the fire back and got an iPad, not the new one. The fire would be perfect for my intended use, but the touch screen is horribly unresponsive. The iPad is overkill, and I feel spoiled, but it does what I need to do without four tries for each tap.

  37. MikeM says:

    I have an iPad2 that’s less than a year old. I’m not in any rush to spring for the new iPad… the screen on the one I have is just fine, and I can’t imagine why I would need more processing power on it. I do love my iPad, though. When it’s time is through, I presume I’ll get whatever the newest iPad is then.

    and biberin, I know what you mean. I thought about getting the Kindle Fire, which is a pretty nice device and a great value, but I, too, was put off by the unresponsive touch screen. It doesn’t have the silky-smooth feel of the iPad.

  38. Tina in Ashburn says:

    I’m on my iPad2 now. It’s great as long as I’m in a wifi environment to get to email and websites. We don’t have the mobile connection as that is a monthly chunka money we aren’t gonna spend right now. this thing is amazing, so problem-free. We also have the iPhones, iMacs too making managing the Apple devices a bit easier.

    I’d love the new iPad but frankly faster and sharper isn’t that important for now.

    hope you get the new iPad Father! Maybe there’s a fairy godmother out there somewhere?

    And yea, why does the comment box display two Preview buttons right now?

  39. I killed that other preview button. I too hope to get a new iPad!

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