I've mentioned several times in my blog that I'm not a fan of Apple's "controlling" business practices, even going as far as saying Apple treats their customers like "walking ATMs." Apple's clearly continuing this practice with the new oversized iPod Touch they're calling "iPad", which (like its pocket sized siblings) leaves out things like Flash, expandable memory, and all but basic Bluetooth support in order to keep users in Apple Prison.

I'm going to.

Now, before you dismiss me as some raving lunatic fanboi with red glowing eyes and a wallet with bills sticking out of it labeled "for Steve," hear me out. I was super skeptical at first.

What is the iPad?

So, unless you live in a far-away dimension, or just don't care about tech, you've heard far too much about the much-anticipated iPad.  You've heard the rumors, you saw the liveblog, you peeped the Photoshopped parodies.  But should you care?

I noticed this morning that my Comcast DCT-3416 Dual Tuner HD-DVR wasn't
displaying its clock, something I rely on when playing with my daughter
in the living room before starting work. Upon further investigation I
discovered that none of the advanced functions of the DVR were available
- no guide, no DVR menu, not even the menu. I got a picture and could
change channels, but that was about it.

I ultimately thought the internal hard drive failed (even though I could
hear it spinning), which would explain some of the behavior I was
seeing. I unplugged it a few times, let it reboot, and nothing. "Time to
call Comcast," I thought... though that's certainly not something I
ever look forward to.