From Daring Fireball:
"ViewSonic’s own promotional image for the product shows it running, of all things, a slightly-disguised screenshot of Mac OS X."
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/03/08/viewsonic-viewpad

First off: Android 1.6 is not meant for tablets.
Second: Windows 7 is not meant for fingers. Despite the "touch-friendly" features built in, all UI controls are designed for mouse cursors.

Probably the the most ridiculous of all the problems with ViewSonic's release is that the screenshot (http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/201103/MOD-41377_ViewPad10frontscreen... shows it running Mac OS X, which it obviously can't and won't do.

These guys are hacks and frauds.

...or does that control in the bottom right of the Windows Phone 7 screen look lifted from Mac OS 9 and earlier?

What's probably most shocking about the iPad is how little "computer stuff" has made it in. There is no file manager for example - it's not the "the Finder" has been dumbed down, there is nothing like "the Finder" even present. Clearly this is the most radical rethink of what's needed on a computer we've seen yet.

People I know look at me funny when I say that the folder-based storage of documents in computer OSes is in need of being thrown in the trash (or recycle bin). It may have made sense in the past, but with the vast number of files we create nowadays, it's just far too cumbersome. The failure of this paradigm is why we have desktop search tools like Spotlight and Windows 7's equivalent. Where I work, it's damn near impossible to find Word documents I need.

The reason, I believe, why people thought I was crazy was because those who fear change (that's most of the population) can't and don't want to imagine having to learn a new way of accessing their files. It's "great" because that's the way it has been and the way it will be.

Reading and hearing (MacBreakWeekly for 2/2/10) what I have about the iPad and how it stores and retrieves documents, I think Apple may have quietly given us the solution to the obsolete folder-based storage: Just store and retrieve the damn files. Hide the complexity from the user.

Time will tell whether this can scale. This may be just the first step. However, it's time for a change and I look forward to seeing how this plays out.

This is a good first step to getting me what I want: a color eBook reader (requirement) that can even provide enhanced content (bonus). Though intriguing, I do NOT want to lug my MacBook Pro around and try reading from it as I walk from Union Station to my office. I'm really looking forward to seeing what will be announced on January 27 at the Apple event.

Ars usually produces very thorough reviews that are typically not for the faint of heart. This review was so brief, it left out a lot of the features and capabilities that do need the kind of exhaustive review that Ars is known for.