• No Flash
• No multitasking
• No video camera(s)
• No iChat

Yes, I’m extremely disappointed that the “ultimate web device” doesn’t have support for Flash. While I hate Flash as much as the next web developer, it’s far too ubiquitous to ignore. Maybe it’s Adobe’s problem, but I find it hard to believe Apple couldn’t get it to work if they really wanted to.

I’m still getting one.

The other problems are mostly non-issues.  I did think a video camera would be pretty slick for a mobile video conference device, but oh well, probably in version 2.0 next year to make me upgrade.

Being able to utilize the iPhone apps I’ve already paid for is a nice bonus, though I’m sure many developers will release new versions for additional money that better utilize the screen space of the iPad.

iWork

Interestingly during the keynote this was the feature I was really looking for the most.  I don’t give many presentations, but being able to put together a Keynote presentation on a touchscreen device and hook the very portable device up to a display and give the presentation rocks.  I hope they make it work with the iPhone remote app as well.  Spreadsheets are huge for me too, so I’m pretty excited about being able to have a nice big display for portable spreadsheets.

Multitasking and the OS

The lack of multitasking is actually the biggest downside for me with that big beautiful display, and I suspect it’s a bit of misdirection at this point.  There’s a reason it was announced showing off iPhone OS 3.2 and not the major 4.0 update people were expecting.  I’m betting that within a few months of a successful launch there will be another announcement presentation for a new and improved iPhone, at which time the more major update to the OS, to 4.0, will be shown off.  They’ll save it for then to blow everyone away with the multitasking features that are supported on both the iPad and the new iPhone.  When this hits, hopefully an iChat app will follow, but if not, there will always be the AIM app or other equivalents.

The Future

In the end, I think the iPad looks like a pretty slick little device.  Hopefully if it proves as popular as expected, it will help catapult the state of Flash and video on the web to the HTML5 future, it’s definitely something I’ll be moving up my research and testing list now.  As with the iPhone, I’m confident most of the limitations will be addressed going forward, the latest iPhones (hardware + software) may not seem as revolutionary compared to the first one as it did to devices before it, but they are significantly more advanced than the initial release.  So too will be the iPad.

So yes, I’ll be getting one.  I think it may serve nicely as a third display for running something like TweetDeck during the day, will be nice to have lying around for access to the web in a better format than my phone, and most importantly for the web developer in me, to keep an eye on the sites I manage and ensure they work as best they can on the device for my clients and their customers.

I presume the problem I was having was related to the new router timing out the NAT tables more frequently than my old router and not doing anything with my requests after it timed out the connection.  Unfortunately, I could not find any settings in the router configuration to adjust this interval, however it was an extremely easy fix in Mac OS and it solved the problem for me with both SSH and Transmit.

The Fix
To fix the SFTP and SSH timeout problem in Mac OS, go to your home folder and look for a folder with the name .ssh (note it will be hidden in Finder, I just used Terminal).  Inside the folder you probably already have a known_hosts file, and you may or may not have a config file, I did not.  Create or modify the config file, including the following code, taking care to make certain you indent the second line:
Host *
       ServerAliveInterval 240


This should tell your computer to keep the ssh connection alive every 240 seconds (4 minutes).  You can adjust this number as you see fit, as long as it’s lower than your router’s NAT timeout, it will resolve the problem.

NOTE: You will have to do this on every computer you’re using with the router.  I was hoping to fix it on the router itself and not have to deal with it, but this is certainly better than nothing.

Rosetta. Running PowerPC-compiled apps on the Intel. I can admit to having tried the impressive PearPC, but slow didn’t even begin to describe the initial experience. Admittedly I tried it again a few months later with a newer build and it was significantly faster but still barely usable in my book.

One potentially huge benefit would be VirtualPC. If the switch enables VirtualPC to run WinXP on OS X as fast as VirtualPC currently works on a Windows-based PC, that’d be pretty cool. What I’d really like to see is another Apple branded technology announced for 10.5 basically building in VirtualPC technology. Running Windows apps directly without actually loading a VirtualPC-type Windows XP system? Despite the potential security issues, that would be impressive and really eliminate a major reason for the average consumer to shy away from the Mac platform. Alas, no announcement on any such thing today, hopefully they’re just keeping that one a secret until 10.5 is closer.

So, a completely new lineup of dual-core Intel-based PowerMacs coupled with another release of MacOS X (10.5 Leopard) in time for Longhorn. Could Apple actually be giving Microsoft a serious run for their money?

Interesting tidbit from MacRumors.com… Developer transition kit – 3.6Ghz P4, for select and premier developers only $999. Tack on $500 for the Select Developer membership, not bad at all. Cheaper than even the bottom-rung PowerMac Single 1.8ghz G5 in the developer program at $1199 (+$500), I can’t wait to see the full specs and how it compares in speed.

Update: Bummer, you have to return the development P4 unit “by 2006″ when I’d imagine the true Intel-based units will be available.

Engadget