IPad opinions?

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(O/T but still slightly related....)

Apple have really made very little headway into the Corporate world. Why? They're not all that interested.

As much as most IT people love to hate Windows, it's got a stranglehold for a reason - they aim at the corporate market.

Look at all the Windows Management tools, look at AD (yes, I know it's a piece of excrement but it works), look at the Windows servers and the tools for managing workstations.

Windows may be full of bugs and security problems as has been mentioned, and can be locked down as a way of making it safer (and hence users getting pee'd off that they can't make changes at the expense of security), but Microsoft has provided the ways of managing the infrastructure.

Sure, Apple have XServes and OS X Server, but it's just not the same. I run an XServe with OS X server, and i'm seriously just considering putting *nix on it. OS X server is generally, coughpy. I've heard that 10.6 is more polished, but i'm on a G5 platform so it's no 10.6 for me.

If Apple really wanted to get into the corporate world, rather than the SMB they currently aim XSERVE at (and Uni's being BSD based), they'd be able to do something and expand their offering from basic compatibility they currently offer through Open Directory and SMB.

Apple are more interested in the high-end market. They've never stated anything but really, and looking at their market capitalisation (they passed Walmart this week!), they aren't really too bothered either.

As far as some of the other security concerns listed about the iPad go (VPN/External 3G or wifi access/corporate IP being leaked) it's no different to the iPhone. The iPad is, after all, running the same OS. Apple do release some tools to manage corporate deployments of iPhones, so i'm guessing they'll offer similar for the iPad (and Yes, Cisco VPN is supported but it's the IPSec client not the AnyConnect-esque SSL VPN client, and the IPSec VPN client is a steaming piece of poo).

Also the new iPhone OS (as they call it for iPod Touch/iPhone and iPad) is being announced on Thursday US time. That's going to be, by all rumours, far more advanced than the current one.

Apple are more keen on knocking RIM and the like off the SmartPhone perch, so expect to see more corporate aim at the iPhone/iPad market. They're platforms that are far easier to insert into legacy Windows environments, with less maintenance and management required than a desktop or laptop.

All just my 2c of course ;)
 
Just thought I'd report in on a couple of observations from using it for the day.

1. Contrary to web reports the operating system is different. Some improvements in the way drop down menus are working. Also some nice ways of presenting the diary,calendar and email. Easier but a litle frustrating as I am also using my iPhone when out and about away from wifi. Opsys on iPad is 3.2 (7B367). My iPhone is currently 3.1.3

2. Major problem is access to the Appstore. My iTunes account is domiciled as AU. When I try to access apps or iTunes I get an error, Appstore not supported in this country. . Apple's solution is for me to set up a US account. Unfortunately for this I need a USA payment method with a matching USA address. I won't be able to address this until back in OZ. Also, the local Apple store here in CA thinks that there probably aren't any iPad apps in the Au store anyway. Fortunately my core business app for the trial project runs in Safari. If I was wanting an Appstore app that would be very frustrating.

Reading on the net this problem is spreading around the world so I guess it will be fixed sooner rather than later.

3. Battery performance has been good. 8 hours of web browsing and typing. Pretty happy with a net book that does that!

Cheers

Alby
 
I actually think corporate deployment of iPhones wont be that successful. The thing a lot of peeople love about the iPhone is the "other stuff" it can do aside from email and calls - music, movies, tv, games, business tools.

If an iPhone is deployed as a corporate device - the ability to load your own apps will be blocked in the same way that it is on a BB - even worse possibly as you wont in all likelihood be able to synch your corporate iPhone to iTunes.

The other major challenge to the corp iPhone is the international roaming charges - there are not good international roaming agreements for data for iPhone as there are for BB (I incur no additional data charges on my BB when overseas).
 
albatross710 said:
2. Major problem is access to the Appstore. My iTunes account is domiciled as AU. When I try to access apps or iTunes I get an error, Appstore not supported in this country. . Apple's solution is for me to set up a US account. Unfortunately for this I need a USA payment method with a matching USA address. I won't be able to address this until back in OZ. Also, the local Apple store here in CA thinks that there probably aren't any iPad apps in the Au store anyway. Fortunately my core business app for the trial project runs in Safari. If I was wanting an Appstore app that would be very frustrating.
Click to expand...

There are ways of getting around this posted all over the web, but if you're currently in CA why not just purchase an iTunes prepaid card and use that? You either don't need an address or can use a dummy one. That way you can actually buy US apps too.
 
djfuzz said:
There are ways of getting around this posted all over the web, but if you're currently in CA why not just purchase an iTunes prepaid card and use that? You either don't need an address or can use a dummy one. That way you can actually buy US apps too.
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right. The iTunes card is an option. I think I have spent enough with apple this week without having to spend more to get something to work. It came down to a trade off with what I can do in the available time i have here in-between commitments.

I spent a while this morning doing some of the web ideas that were in the search results. The ones I found didn't work as the specific Appstore link that they were based on is not displaying on the iPad.

I think I am going to run out of time on this one.
 
Fair enough - weird about the links not working. :confused:

What you're working on sounds very intriguing - hope it works out and look forward to seeing the results! :)
 
drewbles said:
Sure, Apple have XServes and OS X Server, but it's just not the same. I run an XServe with OS X server, and i'm seriously just considering putting *nix on it. OS X server is generally, coughpy. I've heard that 10.6 is more polished, but i'm on a G5 platform so it's no 10.6 for me.
Click to expand...

You may as well wait for 10.7 now, though you’d obviously need a new xServe for that anyway. Rumour has it that it could be previewed at WWDC, and judging how slow they’ve been releasing 10.6 updates, seems about right.

albatross710 said:
2. Major problem is access to the Appstore. My iTunes account is domiciled as AU. When I try to access apps or iTunes I get an error, Appstore not supported in this country. . Apple's solution is for me to set up a US account. Unfortunately for this I need a USA payment method with a matching USA address. I won't be able to address this until back in OZ. Also, the local Apple store here in CA thinks that there probably aren't any iPad apps in the Au store anyway. Fortunately my core business app for the trial project runs in Safari. If I was wanting an Appstore app that would be very frustrating.
Click to expand...

djfuzz said:
There are ways of getting around this posted all over the web, but if you're currently in CA why not just purchase an iTunes prepaid card and use that? You either don't need an address or can use a dummy one. That way you can actually buy US apps too.
Click to expand...

As djfuzz says, you can get around this issue easily, I have 5 iTunes store accounts (Australia, Canada, US, UK, Japan) and once upon a time they were great for downloading free music samples, these days I just use the credit when there are different release dates.

The issue to remember is, when you sync your iPod, iPhone or iPad, you need to be signed into the account you want to access on the device, or else you’re signed into the wrong store and it gets complicated ;)

As for apps availability in Australia, fully expecting to get an iPad one year, I’ve already downloaded some iPad-only apps, as there were specials on with some apps being free for a limited time, and others being reduced in price, that might not happen often in the future, so you buy when it’s low :p so browse around the Australian store, unless it’s a US-specific app you might be surprised.
 
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drewbles said:
(O/T but still slightly related....)

Look at all the Windows Management tools, look at AD (yes, I know it's a piece of excrement but it works), look at the Windows servers and the tools for managing workstations.

Sure, Apple have XServes and OS X Server, but it's just not the same. I run an XServe with OS X server, and i'm seriously just considering putting *nix on it. OS X server is generally, coughpy. I've heard that 10.6 is more polished, but i'm on a G5 platform so it's no 10.6 for me.

If Apple really wanted to get into the corporate world, rather than the SMB they currently aim XSERVE at (and Uni's being BSD based), they'd be able to do something and expand their offering from basic compatibility they currently offer through Open Directory and SMB.
Click to expand...

Xserves are only good for management and deployment of Macs .. Even then we dont use 'Apple' software for deployment - but the fantastic deploy studio Home

Most of my time is spent making sure that my fleet of macs work in part with the Microsoft AD network , add the time spent with connecting printers, handling Kerberos Tickets - I only wished that Apple would play the Microsoft corporate ball game. But apple are always going to be a rouge gun.
 
Mal said:
I somewhat agree - IT is known as the great "disabler" rather than the "enabler" in many organisations. But it isn't always based on FUD, ignorance and prejudice.

Here's some things Corporates should at least consider:
  • How to stop a iPad user from connecting to an external wi-fi point (or over 3G) and accessing unsuitable material?
  • Can an iPad user leak confidential corporate material to the Internet?
  • How to mandate a certain revision of the OS, or conversely control which revision of the OS is on the machine for support reasons?
  • How to investigate iPad misuse? What logs are retained and how can they be accessed?
  • How to remote "desktop" support of an iPad?
  • Are there VPN clients for the likes of Cisco?
  • Can certain applications be blocked from running?
  • If a corporate mandates Anti-Virus protection on *all* devices, how do you handle that with an iPad?
  • Can you enforce password policies on the ipad to protect sensitive data?
  • Is there a way to encrypt the disk on an Ipad?
  • How about a "remote kill" function which wipes the device if it is stolen or lost?
Click to expand...

Really good set of points. Assuming that there will be an iPad Configuration Utility (with the same featureset as the iPhone Configuration Utility), then the following would hold true:

  • Network connections can be specified and the option to add new networks can be disabled
  • An iPad user could leak corporate information in much the same way as a laptop user I guess
  • Reasonably certain that you could prevent a software update of the iPad; there are several ways to restrict iTunes
  • No idea how to investigate iPad misuse, in terms of logs.
  • Don't believe there are any remote desktop options.
  • Cisco VPN support should be built in.
  • The list of applications can be locked and additional applications can be prevented from being installed.
  • No anti-virus products exist for either iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad so far as I know.
  • Password policies can be set.
  • Unsure about disk encryption.
  • Remote kill works via the Exchange connection IIRC.

Someone with more experience on corp iPhone deployments would be a better source of information.

samh004 said:
You may as well wait for 10.7 now, though you’d obviously need a new xServe for that anyway.
Click to expand...

The problem is that OS X Server is rubbish - doesn't matter what version. 10.7 isn't likely to change that. Fact is, XServes are awesome pieces of kit that run Linux really really well ;)
 
ozscot said:
Apple has some web pages containing enterprise deployment information
Click to expand...

Thanks. Interesting reading. Doesn't solve all of the issues with deploying iPads or iPhones, but does address some of the bigger issues.
 
 
I see ACA will have a hands-on report on it tomorrow, and Hungry Beast tonight quoted someone who said that Apple had apparently censored “sperm” in Moby D¡ck, but left “d¡ck”. Though anyone with an iPhone will know how cough Apple are with swear words, even in apps that simply search the web :rolleyes:
 
Just for some random speculation I have tried to guestimate what the iPad will cost in Oz - wifi only model that is.

I took the prices charged for various apple computers and an iPod touch. based on this "extensive" research it seems that in Oz we are paying about a 25% premium over current exchange rates for Apple products :| :evil:

So my estimates are:

Code: 
Ipad	US	93c	Guess	Premium
16G	499	 537 	 671 	 134 
32G	599	 644 	 805 	 161 
64G	699	 752 	 940 	 188

Definitely worth buying in the US at those premiums...
 
simongr said:
Just for some random speculation I have tried to guestimate what the iPad will cost in Oz - wifi only model that is.

I took the prices charged for various apple computers and an iPod touch. based on this "extensive" research it seems that in Oz we are paying about a 25% premium over current exchange rates for Apple products :| :evil:

So my estimates are:

Code: 
Ipad	US	93c	Guess	Premium
16G	499	 537 	 671 	 134 
32G	599	 644 	 805 	 161 
64G	699	 752 	 940 	 188

Definitely worth buying in the US at those premiums...
Click to expand...

Don’t forget Apple will likely want a rounder number than given there, so maybe 699, 799 and 949.
 
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