[Robo]

It won't be the Wii of the computer world, because the Wii got to where it was through gimmicks, marketing and PRICE PRICE PRICE --- the iPad is actually more expensive than its competition (netbooks or low-end notebooks). I think it will be the iPod of the computer world, which is much more significant.

In some ways, the iPad is Apple's first mass market computer. We've all described how Macs are all somewhat upmarket, but that's not even what I'm talking about here. Apple knows that they are fighting an extremely uphill battle, against Windows. They'll never convince average Joes to buy Macs in quite the same numbers as iPods or iPhones. Windows is what they know.

That's why I thought it was so significant when Jobs tipped his hand by saying he was pleased that 75 million people already knew how to use the iPad. As far as touchscreens, Apple is what they know. Apple has home-field advantage. And while we may balk about how the iPad isn't "magical," to the average person, seeing a webpage just fill their hands like that sort of...would be.

While I was typing this message, my netbook hibernated due to low battery life. I had to wait for it to finish shutting down just so I could turn it back on, and then I had to wait for it to turn back on, and then when I turned it back on I got a pop-up window informing me that my battery was low, now that I had plugged it back in. (It always does this.) Then I had to close several "helpful" popup balloons, and then HP's "Internet Connection Center" popped up (I have no idea why), and then Microsoft's "Wireless Network Control Panel" window popped up...I think I might have clicked that popup balloon in the wrong place. So then I close all of those, and then I get to work.

We might think the iPad is "too simple," but to the average user, who never understood why it's just assumed that computers should be complex? They'll love it.

This is going to be huge.