A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
Next month brings Apple's much-anticipated iPad, but the tablet faces renewed criticism. There's disappointment caused by Steve Jobs' revelation that it won't support tethered iPhone Internet access. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers whine and moan.
Your humble blogwatcher selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention a British kid's school art project...Oh, magical iPad, how does Eliot van Buskirk hate thee? Let him count the ways:
Not all magic is good, as any Harry Potter fan can tell you. ... True to Apples iconoclastic form, the iPad will cast the following black-magic spells:.
DRMed e-books ... they can only be read on the iPad. ...
No Flash support ... like it or not, Flash appears on many sites. ...
Weirdly small SIM card ... consumers cant use the same data plan for ...iPhone and ... iPad. ...
Approved software only ... only runs software approved by its manufacturer.
No camera ... its unclear why the iPad lacks one. ...
No USB ... The reason Apple likes these proprietary dock connectors is so that it can charge accessory manufacturers a licensing fee.
Jezper Söderlund blogs from Sweden:
Det var det exakta e-mail-svaret från Steve Jobs ... under fredagen på vår fråga huruvida iPad Wifi kommer stödja tethering via iPhone. Inga omsvep och inga krusiduller, det kommer helt enkelt inte att fungera.
Wait, what? Seth Weintraub explains:
Steve Jobs this week answered a question from all the way over in Sweden. The question was ... one we've had on our minds as well: ... Will the wifi-only version somehow support tethering thru my iPhone? Two devices, based on the same OS, with already built-in technology to share one data plan suggests a secondary contract could possibly be redundant.
...
Jobs' answer? No.
But Greg Sterling is unfazed:
People are pretty polarized over the question of whether the iPad will be a hit or a bold swing-and-a-miss. My view is that it will start slow and then eventually become a big hit. ... Many people are disappointed that the iPad wasnt simply a flat-screen version of a Macbook.
...
[But] Apple is being smarter with its approach to the iPad. ... What Apple may have created in the iPad is a distinct category. ... I think its ultimately going to be a hit.
Meanwhile, Mitch Wagner! talks! availability!
April 3! That's almost a month away! You're killing me, Apple!
...
I'm pretty sure that in the past, you've been able to pre-order hot Apple devices online and have them delivered on the day the product became available. Am I remembering that incorrectly?
Sadly, Dave Greenbaum has more questions (than answers):
Now we know when we get to buy the iPad. However, we havent been told where we get to buy it. ... The end of the press release has a cryptic statement that the iPad will be sold at select ... Apple Authorized Resellers.
...
This is a curious position for Apple and its distribution strategy. ... Here is what I think will happen. ... First to get the iPad will be campus bookstores. ... AT&T stores will obviously carry the iPad 3G. ... Apple Specialists ... have also been unofficially slated to sell the iPad Wi-Fi. ... [But] Apple will want some degree of exclusivity as to who gets to sell the iPad.
Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him as @richi on Twitter, or richij on FriendFeed, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itblogwatch@richij.com.
