Those aren’t the kind of work I’m talking about. Nobody is going to type up a 40 page document on an iPad, nobody is going to run a IDE on one, nobody is going to design a building on one. Sure as a replacement for clipboards it’s fine. But that’s not desktop computer work. The discussion you wandered into the middle of was if pads (i or otherwise) would replace DESKTOP computers, and the answer is no they won’t, they will never have the power of the desktop.
1984 Macs were 1984, nobody had good screens back then. And also nobody realized what tiny monochromatic screens were doing to their eyes. It’s 2010 we know better now. People that do real desktop tend to have multiple screens that are at least twice the size of the iPad.
And carrying around an extra keyboard for a pad is just plain silly. At that point you’re carrying around 2 things that together are about the size of a laptop only with a fraction of the computing power.
Cloud storage (which is what you’re doing) sounds great until the network has issues. Then you find out about the big gaping hole in the cloud. Someday you’re computer at home will be inaccessible, and you’ll find out that your pad has basically no storage. Of course even with the cloud most of the pads don’t even have the memory to open some of the documents I deal with.
Pads are great for what they are. But even Jobs knows that what they are is NOT a replacement for desktops or even laptops. The only people that will get rid of their computers for a pad (which is part of the original post I replied to) are the people who got rid of their computers for WebTV, the web and e-mail and now e-book crowd have never really needed a computer. Which is fine, there’s nothing wrong with capturing that market, but there’s a fat gap between that market and replacing the computers in the HR departments and architectural firms, and even animation houses of the world. Supplement sure, replace, not gonna happen.
And, Discostu, I've seen no one claiming the iPad was ever intended to replace the workstation class machines you are talking about or even all desktop computers. However about 75% of desktop machines in enterprise ONLY do things at which the iPad excels... and are prime candidates to be replaced, increasing their users' productivity. You claimed iPads were mere "readers," implying they were not useful for anything but display of media. I showed you were wrong. They are that and more. A lot more.
As for storage. 64 GigaBytes is a lot of space before I have to start worrying about that "hole" in the cloud. Frankly, it's just not a concern.