This is one of those great threads filled with passion, anger, wisdom, humor, and great opinion.
Hence, a Forum.
I'm enjoying all of the rather detailed thought that has gone into
some of the posts here.
I'm smiling at all the heated "hate" here for what is merely a thing.
As kdarling has reminded some of us willing to comprehend such
a concept:
"...The difference is night and day. And usually divides along age
groups. When you get older and have had lots of Things, you
realize that Things aren't what life is all about.
Friends, family, children are. Things are just... things."
I can totally relate to the above, and appreciate seeing it
posted here once in the while.
The analogy of the expensive vehicles was funny as well,
because it reminded me of when I bought my very first
new car at 19-years-old. A 1978 Jeep CJ-5 with a V-8 engine.
It was a death machine on wheels, and I loved it.
It was cold and drafty in the winter.
It was bouncy, and noisy on long road trips.
You smelled like exhaust after riding in it.
(Had headers on it.)
Anything you left in it could be easily taken, or stolen from it.
No way of locking it up.
Yet, there was a quiet sense of total independence knowing
you could maneuver it into places other vehicles simply
could not attempt.
So, in a way, I compare this iPhone with all of it's menial
short comings to my old Jeep.
The cool thing about the iPhone though, is its functionality
of being expanded upon.
It really is a hand-held computer with a screen.
And that's mainly why I purchased it.
The possibilities of the device being opened up
for other applications is quite obvious as time, and circumstances
unfold.
It could replace an order book a wait staff has in hand
at a restaurant for lame instance.
(An icon representing different menu items for example.)
Can you see an icon with a picture of french fries?
~snickering~~~
It really is a spring board for potentially many kinds of
hand-held applications only one can imagine at the moment.
The fact that it's a phone is a nice plus, but the web feature
is how I've been using it most.
While at work for instance, I'm able to look-up parts break-down
drawings from manufacturers web sites.
The thought of having a bulky lap-top in hand simply wouldn't work.
The theme with the original post here though highlights that we all
have opinion about a "thing" that either works great for us,
or is nothing but a piece of junk.
I would hazard a guess that regardless of whether we like the
product, or despise it. The real winner in all of this, are the
on-line service providers suppling the access we all have to this
discussion. For we're keeping their equipment in demand,
and fueling it on a minute, by minute frenzy.
And you've got something to occupy your time as well in
expressing and sharing your opinion.
That's pretty cool when you think about it.
Great forum!
John