Having three iPhones in one family definitely makes you an Apple fanboy! :)

Seriously, how much time do you spend maintaining all those Vista computers?

Actually, I spend very little time. All the boxes are set to auto-update for OS updates, Office updates, anti-virus/malware. The Firefox & Thunderbird software auto-updates.

The backup happen automatically for all computers. I get alerts if any computer is not backed up, out of date on virus definitions, or missing patches or updates.

Very similar to a Mac environment running with a Time Machine.

@Michael I think the reason there is so much backlash on Apple for the iPad is because they did nothing to disavow all the incorrect rumors. Of course Apple's game is secrecy in order to drum up interest, but they do nothing to quell the strikingly incorrect rumors that go around.

Most companies manage expectations prior to a product launch. Apple has relied on the rumor mill in order to psyche people up and has been able to deliver a few products that deliver.

Nevertheless, they missed this time around on their first gen product. They've never reinvented the wheel on a v1, but that doesn't mean in a year they won't come out with a v2 that becomes ubiquitous.

Let's not forget, that your blog is almost unreadable on an iPhone. That's pretty much the opposite of fanboy.

"Apple has relied on the rumor mill".

Are you kidding? Apple pretty much abhors rumor. Employees who leak are gone - done, no questions. Product teams sometimes work independently in order to mask upcoming product directions and details - to the point of separate facilities. At most, about a hundred Apple employees knew what was to be I introduced yesterday. Even the invitations for the event only went out a little over a week ago. Until yesterday, there was no product to speak of.

Apple relies on their suppliers, but saying they rely on rumors to get people excited is ridiculous.

Yep. Talk about Apple and you have a controvercy. Some people love you and others get defensive (which ones depends on what you write - both sides tend to be very committed).

I found this bee hive to be quite entertaining.

Thanks.

I think the backlash is part of the whole....what is the value in this(as opposed to a netbook, smartphone, itouch, ebookreader, etc.)? And personally, that question really hasn't been answered that well by apple yet.

At the cost the device is being offered, it seems to be at a much higher price than the typical impulse buy for the vast majority. No matter how useful this may be, a device with such a high cost, to "sit between the desktop PC and smartphone"; it seems to be marketed to such a limited audience that many feel justified to question (and mock) its success.

Many would attribute much of the iPhone's success to its rapid reduction in price. At this point, why would you NOT get an iPhone when its 1) all the rage and 2) $99 with any plan. I would imagine we'd have to wait and see if apple is able to bring down the costs of this device as fast as the iPhone, before we can gauge if this device is successful or not.

You may not be an apple fanboy, but you are a successful and wealthy individual (or so i gather to spend that much $$$ on the above systems for your household), with a generous amount of disposable income to "play" with. However this isn't the case of 95% of America today, and I imagine that is where a large amount of buzz-ing is coming from.

Hello Michael, just discovered this blog thanks to your "message to the Internets" post, and I'm already a satisfied customer. You did a great job of reminding everyone how the first iPhone raised so many people's hackles — and then the moment they tried one, they were hooked. Apple has a way of making that kind of magic. (Though I do with they didn't use the "magic" word this time around.) I remember well the "burden" I had being an early iPhone owner. Everywhere I went, I had to go into demo mode because everyone just had to touch it. Looking forward to the adventure ahead...

@maxx: Have you watched the keynote? Apple has answered the question. You just have to connect the dots using every slide that didn't give ipad product information. All those slides weren't filler or extraneous. You can start at the end when Jobs talked about the intersection between technology and liberal arts and work your way back to 50m store visitors anf largest mobile device company by revenue in the world.

Well, I feel that Apple has built something that needs content to be successful. It already has all the iPhone apps including games (that will be modified specifically for it over the next 60 days) and it has those five book publishers committed to the iBook store. And the New York TImes.

I believe that during the next 60 days they will start announcing agreements with major magazine publishers to commit their publications to the iPad format. Just one will start the domino effect.

If they get Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Gardens, Popular Mechanics, Scientific American, Time Magazine, Fortune Magazine, People Magazine etc. creating sexy content at a reasonable, per issue price then the iPad will rule.

One last post from me on this topic. @Doug, if Apple abhors rumors, why do they do NOTHING to dispel them? They don't rely on rumors to make *sales*, but they lean on rumors to drum up interest and media. If you can't admit that then you typify Michael's original "Dear Internets" post.

Interesting aside...when Apple released this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20011024015856/www.apple.com/ipod/

This was the reaction of said Internets:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=500

See anything familiar?

Macfag? No. Drone? Perhaps.

BTW, excellent choice on your TLD. You do know, as a "technology professional" what _cruft_ means, yeah?