I quoted your words before that imply your attitudes so perhaps you’d reflect on yourself before casting stones next time. Apparently you didn’t, so enjoy your new-found “magnanimity.”

We can all strive to be better in every aspect of our lives. Apple Inc has done this for years and it has done wonders for itself and the world in general.

“Would” get me (or any other post authors) in a professional setting? I’m willing to bet I’ve more letters (read “degrees” since you seem to have a problem making inferences) after my name than you. As a tenured English professor (among other professional titles I hold), I was not only defending another’s ADULT choice of vocabulary but attacking your smug sense of self-superiority (further evidenced by your description of others whose language usage you don’t appreciate as “unwashed masses” and the implication that “clean language” is inherently “good.”

Realize a public forum is more analogous to a playground than the idealized “professional setting” you want it to be and feel free, as is your right, to feel superior to others but when you make your narrow-minded prejudices known don’t expect the majority of people, washed or unwashed, to share in your grandiose self-image as morally superior because you undercut that projection with every post.

There may not be material PC cannibalization directly but indirectly by mobile devices. People are using their smart phones and tablets more and more for things like email, web, etc., functions which were previously done on their PCs. For many the PC has become less important in their computing lives and there is not as much urgency in upgrading it as in the past. Therefore a material amount of PC cannibalization is derived from longer upgrade cycles where fewer and fewer PCs are sold over a given amount of time.

My point was to Theo that the iPad wasn’t the only thing killing PCs, as evidence that I still needed one even with an iPad.

They are different tools for different needs and some that overlap. I prefer books, but I loaded several on the iPad for the kids.

BTW, when we all go on vacation, the kids use it on the drive, I use it in the evenings.

I also gave an iPad to my youngest son and an original iPad to an autistic step-grandchild (it is his constant companion).

Next I hope to get an iPad Mini for my Mother who lugs around a 15″ Dell craptop just for email, news and stock quotes.

I also have a 27″ iMac at home that I am seriously thinking about selling and getting a monitor and a Thunderbolt interface (can’t justify Apple’s monitor) and just using the MacBook Pro for work and play. It is that fast! (mid 2012 13″)

Many people are still using computers from 2006 on up. About the time the Core 2 Duo arrived on the scene. I have clients that have the 27 inch iMacs that run just fine as far as they are concerned. They see no urgent or pressing need to move on. Same with PC clients. Those machines hit a sweet spot in speed.

People who do mostly Microsoft Word all day long or input into databases just aren’t yearning for new computers. Couple this with the shift to the cloud (both external and internal) and the need is further reduced.

Gaming is largely console based for the general public and so on.

I bought the iPad primarily as a data consumption device. As soon as the retina MacBook Pro was out, I bought that also. The iPad didn’t make any difference. For me the new MacBook Pro’s speed and Retina display sold it.

I didn’t skip the MacBook because I have an iPad, that’s silly. Though I don’t often take my MacBook Pro to bed anymore.

Now couple this with the huge uncertainty about the economy from an enterprise standpoint and of course people aren’t going out to drop millions on upgrading PCs that work ok. Probably opting to buy out their leases.

Even I look at those shiny new iMacs and think I’d really like one, but my 3.4Ghz Intel Core i7 27″ says I don’t need one, and I probably won’t need one for a while to come. Nothing to do with iPads.