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scottjl · 04-27-2010, 04:36 PM

ok. so i'm a computer novice. i walk into an apple store, don't speak to anyone who might explain the limitations (no flash, no printing) but somehow manage to walk out with an ipad and take it home. i do have wireless at home and manage to get it on my network and start surfing.

sitting on my couch in the living room...

i go to cnn.com, looks great and the web site works for a few pages. i read some news.

i go to abc.com, looks great and the web site works for a few pages. i want to watch some shows and it kindly redirects me to the ABC application at the app store. i download and watch with this.

i go to nbc.com which secretly redirects me to m.nbc.com. i get to browse a mobile site that looks different than my desktop. but i figure it's because i'm on my ipad. i'm still able to view some video clips i can find (apparently they're streaming h.264, which i know nothing about).

i go to disney.com, get redirected to an ipad specific site (http://home.disney.go.com/mobile/?device=ipad) which looks great and is pretty functional.

i go to target.com, i can surf their site and even order on-line. looks nice for me here too.

i go to hulu.com. i get a large box up-top that tells me i need to install something called Flash Player 10.0.22 or higher. i can look through some of the site but i can't view any video.

now one out of the past 6 sites isn't working. why would a sensible person immediately call the ipad a failure, say it is an unfit device and storm apple's walls demanding flash? would i not email hulu and ask "why does your site not work on my ipad?" after all, my 5 previous sites worked just fine, and plenty others do too.

is it apple's fault another site doesn't work on the ipad? no. is it apple's fault someone else's site was built with flash? no. does apple produce flash? no.

so i return to the apple store and talk to a "genius". i explain how i tried to go to hulu and it asked me to install flash. he tells me that the ipad doesn't support flash. since it's my second day with the ipad i have two options:

1. return the ipad because it doesn't work with flash and go get something else
2. keep the ipad knowing that some sites don't work.

that's pretty much it.

moral of all this.. if you want to surf the web with a full desktop experience, use a full desktop!

try sitting with that on your lap on the couch!

04-27-2010, 04:36 PM	#15
scottjl Reader of Books Posts: 1,632 Karma: 2697 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: none	ok. so i'm a computer novice. i walk into an apple store, don't speak to anyone who might explain the limitations (no flash, no printing) but somehow manage to walk out with an ipad and take it home. i do have wireless at home and manage to get it on my network and start surfing. sitting on my couch in the living room... i go to cnn.com, looks great and the web site works for a few pages. i read some news. i go to abc.com, looks great and the web site works for a few pages. i want to watch some shows and it kindly redirects me to the ABC application at the app store. i download and watch with this. i go to nbc.com which secretly redirects me to m.nbc.com. i get to browse a mobile site that looks different than my desktop. but i figure it's because i'm on my ipad. i'm still able to view some video clips i can find (apparently they're streaming h.264, which i know nothing about). i go to disney.com, get redirected to an ipad specific site (http://home.disney.go.com/mobile/?device=ipad) which looks great and is pretty functional. i go to target.com, i can surf their site and even order on-line. looks nice for me here too. i go to hulu.com. i get a large box up-top that tells me i need to install something called Flash Player 10.0.22 or higher. i can look through some of the site but i can't view any video. now one out of the past 6 sites isn't working. why would a sensible person immediately call the ipad a failure, say it is an unfit device and storm apple's walls demanding flash? would i not email hulu and ask "why does your site not work on my ipad?" after all, my 5 previous sites worked just fine, and plenty others do too. is it apple's fault another site doesn't work on the ipad? no. is it apple's fault someone else's site was built with flash? no. does apple produce flash? no. so i return to the apple store and talk to a "genius". i explain how i tried to go to hulu and it asked me to install flash. he tells me that the ipad doesn't support flash. since it's my second day with the ipad i have two options: 1. return the ipad because it doesn't work with flash and go get something else 2. keep the ipad knowing that some sites don't work. that's pretty much it. moral of all this.. if you want to surf the web with a full desktop experience, use a full desktop! try sitting with that on your lap on the couch!