Wow, negative 6 karma? I’m surprised. Obviously, I was deliberately rough when there’s no reason for being rough. Maybe I did something wrong? Let me take a look at myself.
First of all, I dislike Apple, and I dislike people bragging about having a product from Apple. I could list plenty of reasons for this, but my reasons don’t matter.
When I first read this discussion thread, the word “iPad” sprang to my eye quickly (it’s the fifth word in the article, after all). That made my alarm bells ring and it promoted the hypothesis “this person wants to show off that they own an iPad”. When I continued reading, I found more evidence for this (already and probably wrongfully promoted) hypothesis:
for the first time in my life it’s convenient for me to read long documents from the internet. I’ve often looked at things and thought, oh, if I ever have some capability to read that, I should.
This read like what I’d expect from someone who wants to show the world that they own an Apple product. The message that reached me was roughly this: “An iPad is sooo useful for reading pdfs! Throw away those normal computers, it’s so inconvenient to read pdfs with them!”
This conflicted with my experience: I don’t find it inconvenient at all to read pdfs on a computer. What problems could one have with that? Why on earth should reading pdfs improve so dramatically with such a device?
This was to me evidence that this user in fact only wanted to show off, as well as the mere existence of this post: Finding recommendable pdfs is something I wouldn’t say is difficult at all, just search lw for the topic you want to know something about. This was further evidence for the already promoted hypothesis, I came to the conclusion that this user probably really wasn’t quite as much interested in pdfs but rather in some sort of online-”status”.
Thusly, I wrote that pretty harsh comment.
The mass of negative Karma (and your comment), however, indicates that I indeed went wrong somewhere. Probably the OP in fact doesn’t want to show off at all, and I was just unreasonable. I have to apologize.
That said, I want to know this: How does an iPad make reading long pdfs that much more convenient? Does it greatly improve productivity?
What about Apple products in general? Do I falsely believe that they’re just overly expensive accessoires for showing high status without being more useful than other mobile phones (iPhone), multimedia devices (iPod), netbooks (iPad) and computers (Mac)?
And to talk about apple users, I obviously do falsely believe that most of them mainly buy such products to show high-status. I better revise this belief.
just overly expensive accessoires for showing high status
Beliefs that actions are just for one purpose are never correct because such explanations are all just too simple, absolutist and overly generalizing, period.
Okay, my fault, let me rephrase the question so I can get an answer which is actually useful to me: Is the price for these devices justified? Are they so much more useful than other devices? How important is the aspect of showing high status to those who spend their money on an apple product?
It’s probably nearly optimal for the sellers, and much more than reasonable substitutes from the buyer’s point of view.
Are they so much more useful than other devices?
No, they probably have moderately fewer features and greater ease of use.
How important is the aspect of showing high status to those who spend their money on an apple product?
Varies from person to person. Some people might give/get them as presents. Other people might get them as a courtesy for their longstanding investment in Apple, which they think is some kind of fruit company. You never know.
I hate pdfs. There’s no way to make the pages fit the computer screen as conveniently as html does.
I have to keep moving my viewpoint in a way that jolts my attention.
Recently, instead of having a control bar for the pdf at the top of the page, there’s a appear/fade away control bar which is affected by the cursor, and IT’S ON TOP OF THE TEXT.
Of course, I have no way of knowing whether any of this is why Solvent hasn’t liked them.
The iPad makes reading PDFs that much more convenient in somewhat less the measure the Kindle does. At current, there are two major devices (by market share) that people use for reading PDFs without a desk/laptop, the iPad and the Kindle. Because the two dominant devices are heavily branded and there are only two, people tend not to use a generic term like “tablet” or “reader”. That may change over time; the other possibility is that one or both companies could find themselves fighting valiantly against genericide.
However, I see no reason to presume the OP is trying to signal status and no reason to engage in any discussion of Apple v. Alternative products in the context of this thread.
However, I see no reason to presume the OP is trying to signal status
As I said, I was wrong.
no reason to engage in any discussion of Apple v. Alternative products in the context of this thread
Well, in case there are huge benefits to productivity by using a reader, I want to know about it for obvious reasons. Other than that, anyone who can contribute useful information may do so in a reply to my comment, I don’t see any problem with having such a sub-thread.
Whether you get productivity benefits out of a reader depends on your habits. I have an iPad, I get huge benefits from it because I use it to read and browse but generally detest the games available. Mostly, it allows me to read in bed, on the bus or some other place I’m waiting. However, it also prevents me from feeding my gaming addiction.
I’m voting this down, as I suspect others are, for being uncharitable to the OP. Were this comment only about SI, it would be upvoted.
Wow, negative 6 karma? I’m surprised. Obviously, I was deliberately rough when there’s no reason for being rough. Maybe I did something wrong? Let me take a look at myself.
First of all, I dislike Apple, and I dislike people bragging about having a product from Apple. I could list plenty of reasons for this, but my reasons don’t matter.
When I first read this discussion thread, the word “iPad” sprang to my eye quickly (it’s the fifth word in the article, after all). That made my alarm bells ring and it promoted the hypothesis “this person wants to show off that they own an iPad”. When I continued reading, I found more evidence for this (already and probably wrongfully promoted) hypothesis:
This read like what I’d expect from someone who wants to show the world that they own an Apple product. The message that reached me was roughly this: “An iPad is sooo useful for reading pdfs! Throw away those normal computers, it’s so inconvenient to read pdfs with them!”
This conflicted with my experience: I don’t find it inconvenient at all to read pdfs on a computer. What problems could one have with that? Why on earth should reading pdfs improve so dramatically with such a device?
This was to me evidence that this user in fact only wanted to show off, as well as the mere existence of this post: Finding recommendable pdfs is something I wouldn’t say is difficult at all, just search lw for the topic you want to know something about. This was further evidence for the already promoted hypothesis, I came to the conclusion that this user probably really wasn’t quite as much interested in pdfs but rather in some sort of online-”status”.
Thusly, I wrote that pretty harsh comment.
The mass of negative Karma (and your comment), however, indicates that I indeed went wrong somewhere. Probably the OP in fact doesn’t want to show off at all, and I was just unreasonable. I have to apologize.
That said, I want to know this: How does an iPad make reading long pdfs that much more convenient? Does it greatly improve productivity?
What about Apple products in general? Do I falsely believe that they’re just overly expensive accessoires for showing high status without being more useful than other mobile phones (iPhone), multimedia devices (iPod), netbooks (iPad) and computers (Mac)?
And to talk about apple users, I obviously do falsely believe that most of them mainly buy such products to show high-status. I better revise this belief.
I would like to personally thank you for updating your beliefs.
Beliefs that actions are just for one purpose are never correct because such explanations are all just too simple, absolutist and overly generalizing, period.
Okay, my fault, let me rephrase the question so I can get an answer which is actually useful to me: Is the price for these devices justified? Are they so much more useful than other devices? How important is the aspect of showing high status to those who spend their money on an apple product?
It’s probably nearly optimal for the sellers, and much more than reasonable substitutes from the buyer’s point of view.
No, they probably have moderately fewer features and greater ease of use.
Varies from person to person. Some people might give/get them as presents. Other people might get them as a courtesy for their longstanding investment in Apple, which they think is some kind of fruit company. You never know.
I hate pdfs. There’s no way to make the pages fit the computer screen as conveniently as html does.
I have to keep moving my viewpoint in a way that jolts my attention.
Recently, instead of having a control bar for the pdf at the top of the page, there’s a appear/fade away control bar which is affected by the cursor, and IT’S ON TOP OF THE TEXT.
Of course, I have no way of knowing whether any of this is why Solvent hasn’t liked them.
Your second and third objections could possibly be resolved by choosing a different PDF reading software.
give mobipocket a try, with the annotation pane open very convenient for note taking/highlighting, been using this on a notebook with a pixel qi screen for a couple of months, user friendly combination hihttp://www.mobipocket.com/en/downloadsoft/productdetailsreader.asp http://www.pixelqi.com/
The iPad makes reading PDFs that much more convenient in somewhat less the measure the Kindle does. At current, there are two major devices (by market share) that people use for reading PDFs without a desk/laptop, the iPad and the Kindle. Because the two dominant devices are heavily branded and there are only two, people tend not to use a generic term like “tablet” or “reader”. That may change over time; the other possibility is that one or both companies could find themselves fighting valiantly against genericide.
However, I see no reason to presume the OP is trying to signal status and no reason to engage in any discussion of Apple v. Alternative products in the context of this thread.
As I said, I was wrong.
Well, in case there are huge benefits to productivity by using a reader, I want to know about it for obvious reasons. Other than that, anyone who can contribute useful information may do so in a reply to my comment, I don’t see any problem with having such a sub-thread.
Thanks for the information on pdfs.
That’s why I upvoted your comment. ^_^
You must excuse the emote, I’m wasted.
Whether you get productivity benefits out of a reader depends on your habits. I have an iPad, I get huge benefits from it because I use it to read and browse but generally detest the games available. Mostly, it allows me to read in bed, on the bus or some other place I’m waiting. However, it also prevents me from feeding my gaming addiction.