Re: Tablets?
1) The comment earlier in the thread about those sucking the tit of government and then specifically including teachers in that was unnecessary and offensive. My wife is a teacher. I know some places they have strong unions and make way more than they should. My wife happens to teach in the 2nd lowest paying district in one of the lowest paying states for teachers. She works more than the hours she is contracted for shit pay. Unlike many of her colleagues, her students *universally* make AYP and have -- every year of her career.
For many of the students in her community, she is one of few positive influences in thier life, and the school is one of the few places they can count on getting a full meal, to say nothing of safety and security compared to many of the students' home lives.
Yet, if i ever lose my job, we are screwed because what she makes would barely clear the mortgage, let alone the rest of life.
2) Be wary of tablets. Do your research rather than just blindly buy something because junior wants it.
2a) Make sure you understand what you are getting it for and what parental controls and real educational applications that particular tablet has if you intend to get it for little fingers and the little eyes that go along with them.
2b) Do not sign a carrier contract just to get a free tablet instead of a phone. The lifecycle on the current generation of tablets is going to be half of what most contracts are these days. In other words, they are screwing you and you will pay more for the tablet getting it as part of service than buying one outright and setting up a wireless network at home.
3) Go to squaretrade.com and buy a warranty with accidental damage from handling (ADH) if your tablet is anything but an ipad. Apple's applecare warranty is the only other warranty I personally recommend -- and you almost have to get it if you want software support (like for iTunes for example) for use with your tablet after 90 days.
This ADH coverage is PARTICULARLY important if the tablet is for little (and careless) fingers.
4) In RE the touchpad. Its already unsupported. A lot of people went out and bought it because they can blow $100 on a tablet but are not in a position to afford $300 or $400. Realize that the operating system that the touchpad runs is not run on any other tablet or computer on the planet. HP says they will continue to support it but given that they dont sell anything that runs it, who knows how long that will last.
If you can find one and you dont care that your $150 or $200 from buying one in the secondary market right now is potentially completely wasted 6-9 months from now, go ahead.
Realize that the app store for the touchpad has less than 1% of the applications available for Android or the iPad.
5) Make sure you know what is coming up before you buy a tablet now. As of this writing, Amazon has pressed thier suppliers in china and taiwan to get manufacturing stepped up so that both tablets Amazon is releasing will go out this year instead of staged releases with a small tablet this year and the more powerful offering next year.
The Amazon tablet, like the kindle, is likely to be produced and sold at break even or a slight loss because Amazon can content-integrate and use a model similar to how consoles are priced and sold in order to make a profit on the books/movies/apps you buy for it.
If you are considering an iPad 2 for the holidays, you may be interested to know that the iPad 3 is currently prepped to release in Q1 next year and that some of the information that is out there right now indicates that it represents a significant leap forward from the iPad 2. Screen resolution up to double the current version, much more hardware capability in processing and graphics.
Remember, something new is going to come o ut after you buy whatever you get. Make sure that you understand what you are buying and why this is the right choice for you. .... and why you will STILL think its the right choice 6 months from now when that other thing is out. If that other thing coming out is more important to you, maybe wait instead of kicking yourself later.
