EXCUSES TO GET AN iPAD (AND REASONS THAT DEBUNK THEM)

The iPad, aaaaahhhh. For me it is a matter of Want over Need. I already have a MacBook Pro and am happy enough with using it around the house. At most I would take the laptop when I go visiting relatives in the city. I am not one of those people who drag laptops everywhere they go. Even though my iPod touch passed away some months ago, I have been able to make do with an ancient Handspring Deluxe (Palm OS) and a 2G iPod. Still, I cannot help thinking up some excuses to buy the iPad, then quickly realized how lame they are.

• To get my son to read more, even if it is just comic books. (Once he has the 'Pad, he will play games all the time. He does not read the comic books I borrowed from the public library anyway.)
• I like reading e-books on the couch. (I listen to podcasts and read books from the public library - cannot beat the price.)
• I can watch movies on it. (I can barely keep up with the DVD movies I borrow from the library. Granted they are not this year's features, but a year or two behind is not that bad. I am not that keen about buying movies either. I bought some Ben 10 movie for my son once from the iTunes Store. He saw it once or twice and then that's it, just sitting there taking up room on my hard drive, or off on some backup media, with little chance of ever being watched again. If I can help it, movies, like books, are best used as borrowed items from the public library.)
• My mother can surf the web with it. (She is obsessive with cleaning around the house, she won't have time to surf. When she does use it, she probably wants to print out the news article to send to friends and I will end up using the laptop to do that anyway.)
• I need to check email and can use the free WiFi at the atrium near the office. (I do fine checking email at home at night, all these years.)
• I should buy one to review for ATPM free online, volunteer-based magazine. (Someone in ATPM already did, maybe there are others who already bought it).

Who knows? I may say to heck with saving money, that even though I just spent a few thousand dollars just last year for a MacBook Pro and that I need to save money for an upcoming major home renovation, I should just get it over with, Want over Need... Maybe going back to this list will convince me not to give in to temptation.