The iPad and the Chuckles Thereof
OK, let’s get this straight. For most hardcore Apple fans who also happen to be computer geeks, artists, musicians, or anyone looking for something other than a pretty frame through which to view other people’s content, the iPad seems like somewhat of a wet blanket. Or, at least it should.
No Wacom-like pen support. No support for “real” OS X apps. No real ports. No flash. There’s just this cavern-like, resonating paucity of expandability, connectivity, or, to be frank, utility. If you wanted this thing, you already bought a Chumby, or a really cheap Netbook, or, hey, an iPhone— with which you can do nifty things like make calls and take pictures!
…and then there’s the name. People all over the internet are tripping over themselves for the chance to deride it. HOW DARE APPLE NAME THEIR MESSIANIC NEW PORTABLE MEDIA FAUCET AFTER A FEMININE HYGIENE PRODUCT?!?!?!11INTERROBANG
This misstep has been called “disastrous”, “disrespectful”, and “a major marketing faux-pas” by media outlets that are supposed to be credible. To be honest, it took me a full six hours after I saw the announcement and got done laughing (to keep from crying) over the specs, to realize the correlation to those handy absorbent lady napkins. By the time I connected those dots, the matter was practically done being a trending topic.
Am I the only one that sees this as shatteringly juvenile? I mean, is the word “pad” so inexorably linked to menstrual health that *everyone’s* mind raced to that connection before, say, these examples?
“They named the new tablet after a debilitating vascular condition! My god, that’s a major marketing faux-pas!”