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The new model of software purchases

There has been a lot of talk about the iPad recently, as well as the new iPhone dev agreement.  I want to bring all of this into perspective… my perspective, that is.  This morning I read a hands on review of OmniGraffle for iPad, written on TUAW.  While I am not a high-level executive that might need to use OmniGraffle on a regular basis, I have had run-ins with the software from time to time on the Mac platform.   OmniGraffle was always one of those fun applications with which to play around, but the reality was simply that I had no reason to own it, but I did own it and OmniGroup’s other titles illegally.  OmniGroup also just announced that it would be releasing others of its software lineup on the iPad. (Macworld)

I want to discuss this item because I think if the iPad is to succeed, it needs to be able to do what Apple doesn’t want it to do: replace the laptop.  In order to do so, I think that all the major titles on the Mac Platform need to have counterparts on the iPad.  I would absolutely love to use an iMovie or Garageband on the iPad!  I am a collector by nature, though.  This came out in my college years as a voracity of downloading and using applications of which I had no necessary need.  As such, I “owned” the entirety of the OmniGroup software suite.  I have since gone legit, but the point still stands.  I was able to, due to the openness of the Mac OS platform, gain access to these items and use them to my hearts content.  This last point is of course much to the chagrin of the developers of OmniGroup.

Meanwhile, the iPad now has each of these software titles and, due to the fact that I have changed for the better, I will not be pirating them just to have the ability to say I have them in my arsenal.  The iPad’s application download system is also much better laid out for the sake of security of applications.  I cannot as easily look up a serial number to unlock an iPad app; each app is registered to a specific user.  Of course, there are always ways around the system, but as I said before, I have gone legit.

So what does the iPad app ecosystem mean for my collector nature and my wallet?  It means that I would be a poor man if I in fact owned an iPad, but I come to the crossroads once again with the horrifying idea that I would in fact need yet another piece of machinery to sort out my life.  I would then have a desktop, laptop, iPad, and iPhone, not to mention my wife’s MacBook.  Yikes!