Copy and Paste (including of images, layout, fonts and such, something other phone OSes don't do) has been implemented as of 3.0, released mid last year, so thats covered.

(Again), I totally agree with the multitasking part. The OS is capable (and does it all the time), it's just not exposed in a way to allow a user to background any task they want. This has to be a feature they have in the works for 4.0.


I'm assuming you mean the ability to install applications outside of the App Store environment. Corporations can install anything they want via ad-hoc distribution. You are correct though that end users lack the ability to go to wherever.com and download app X directly. I see your point, but I don't think this is such a big deal for most people.


This is one of my concerns with the iPad as well, looking at it from the consumer prospective. How do you print for example? There are print apps on the iPhone that talk to WiFi or network shared printers, but are pretty limited. This may expand with 3.2 and the shared storage. Beyond that, a typical consumer would want to import photos (covered via USB or SD), attach a webcam (since it's missing from the hardware). I can't think of much beyond that, outside somewhat specialized devices. The 30 pin dock connector is pretty flexible, but I'm not sure how hard it is to make a device for it.


This is something consumers don't care about. Developers can do work in C++ or Objective C. Outside that, yeah, it's limited. (desktop) Windows and OS X have far more choices here. The question is what benefit does it actually bring to the platform?


Another item that consumers won't care about. Being a heavy scripter myself with python, perl and such, I can understand your point, but don't see the big use of them on a device like the iPad.


Already possible. The App Store has a number of alternate browsers, but the main caveat is that they all use the built in WebKit renderer. So it becomes "Ability to install a different web renderer of choice". I can see this point too, especially after the whole Internet Explorer issues years back. Hopefully in time Apple opens up here, just to help prevent stagnation. Overall something most consumers won't be bothered by.

OS wise, clearly the definition of a real one is going to vary by person. Ultimately, we are surrounded by devices running operating systems and general purpose CPUs, but many of these devices are consumer electronics with specific functions. The underlying OS is so abstracted away, consumers never interact directly with it.


The iPad isn't a full featured computer, nor is it trying to be one. It's trying to be a consumer electronics device that allows computing tasks to be completed. It's a companion device, allowing someone to just grab it and browse the web from the couch, without worrying about boot times, virus scanners, and so on. Long term, it may become the preferred platform for many people, who just want to get things done without worrying about maintaining a full computer system. Apple still has a bit of work to do to make it a fully standalone product, and in time I think it's the direction they will go. For the majority of computer users out there, they have no idea what C++ is, don't care what perl can do for them, nor do they want the headaches of cleaning up spyware that sneaks in because they user didn't know any better. Long term, I can see this type of device outselling general purpose computers in the consumer space. Is the iPad the device that will do this? Hard to say, but in time, some type of simplified consumer electronics computing device will.