After a number of my recent columns, people have written in, especially about two items: tablet computers and cloud-based services. Because there have been quite a number of you, I’ve decided to answer here and point you to the blog.

First, with regard to tablets: Stop looking at processors, memory, and physical configurations, and PLEASE stop telling me that the latest Android tablet is going to kill the iPad. It’s not. Yes, the hardware is better, yes, it has more features (built-in anyway), and yes, you’re geeky-cool if you defy “Think Different”(now that its really “Think the Same”) and go with somebody else’s tablet.

But it’s NOT about the tablet itself – it’s about usability. It’s about the universe of Aps, how well-connected they are, and how they install. A Tablet is NOT a substitute for a laptop, and isn’t intended to be. It’s about access to your data on the ‘net. And, as such, its internal storage is irrelevant for most purposes. It’s connectivity is everything. And, much as I like underdogs (ask Gary about my predictions about Apple from 10 years ago when everybody thought they were all done) the iPad owns the market right now, because it does the job, including software installations, much more seamlessly than the competitors. It’s about the Ap store and MobileMe, and how well they integrate, not with the tablet, but with your life.

Should you buy now, or will there be a better one 6 months from now… Good God, OF COURSE there will, no matter whose you buy. Not only is there ALWAYS a better iPad coming, no matter how they tell you, there’s a better Samsung, Motorola, or HP right behind the existing one. Once again, it’s about aps. Does it do something you need in the field NOW? How bad do you need to do that thing? If it does, and you do, buy. There will always be a better one coming. Yes, you bought an iPad and your neighbor got an iPad2 or aGalaxyTab, and tells you how much better it is. But that’s just your opportunity to one-up him later with an iPad3 or a GalaxyTab Extreme.

The hardware is growing at leaps and bounds – and so is the software. Stop looking at them separately, look at the available software and hardware as a system, and stop whining. We’re in the BUSINESS of introducing new electronics, aren’t we?

JRR