Why no OS X on the iPad?
Having always been loyal to PCs (believing MACs were just 'too GUI' - too graphical/too gooey), I fell in love with Apple, hard, when the iPhone came out. I've since become one of those people who have watched every WWDC keynote, several times each, and just can't get enough of Apple rumors, or reading about Apple history.
The disappointing iPad has left me heartbroken, and there's one thing I just can't understand:
Why no OS X?
I can't imagine that they couldn't have modified OS X to run on the iPad. I really only have two suspicions. One is that the iPad really was intended more for old people who remain intimidated by computers (and maybe privileged toddlers, with cool parents), but Apple still should have offered an option to run iPhone OS or OS X (maybe like an intra-mac bootcamp). My other suspicion was that Apple didn't want to make something for $500 that could compete with their far-more expensive family of MacBooks (particularly the MacBook Air), but then there should have (at least) just been a more-expensive model that runs OS X.
Perhaps Apple just didn't want to put money into modifying OS X to run on the iPad. I just don't get it and this thing is just such a colossal disappointment.
I understand that things like a camera would have made each iPad more-expensive to manufacture, but having them run OS X shouldn't. Steve Jobs has often said that Apple doesn't have to beat Microsoft, but it seems that if they could have offered a super-portable touch-screen computer, which runs OS X, for $499 (or $649, or whatever), they may actually, after all these years, came out with a majority of the market share.
Anyway, I'm interested in what others think about the iPad just being some joke-sized iPod Touch, instead of a really awesome tablet computer.
The disappointing iPad has left me heartbroken, and there's one thing I just can't understand:
Why no OS X?
I can't imagine that they couldn't have modified OS X to run on the iPad. I really only have two suspicions. One is that the iPad really was intended more for old people who remain intimidated by computers (and maybe privileged toddlers, with cool parents), but Apple still should have offered an option to run iPhone OS or OS X (maybe like an intra-mac bootcamp). My other suspicion was that Apple didn't want to make something for $500 that could compete with their far-more expensive family of MacBooks (particularly the MacBook Air), but then there should have (at least) just been a more-expensive model that runs OS X.
Perhaps Apple just didn't want to put money into modifying OS X to run on the iPad. I just don't get it and this thing is just such a colossal disappointment.
I understand that things like a camera would have made each iPad more-expensive to manufacture, but having them run OS X shouldn't. Steve Jobs has often said that Apple doesn't have to beat Microsoft, but it seems that if they could have offered a super-portable touch-screen computer, which runs OS X, for $499 (or $649, or whatever), they may actually, after all these years, came out with a majority of the market share.
Anyway, I'm interested in what others think about the iPad just being some joke-sized iPod Touch, instead of a really awesome tablet computer.
MBP 3,1, Mac OS X (10.6.2)
