I’ve got my iPad reserved, to pickup at my closest Apple store (about 5 miles away) on the April 3rd launch day.  I’ve been told by an Apple phone sales rep that this can only be done online, not in the physical stores themselves – and that’s how I got it done this morning, via the link mentioned in my earlier post.

There’s a lot of confusion this morning about whether reserving an iPad at a local store this way means you are * guaranteed * to get one on April 3rd or not.  I’ve seen people on Twitter and forums saying they’ve been told it is not guaranteed.

To my mind, the wording of the reservation form, and of the emailed confirmation I received, clearly say this is a definite, not a maybe.  The only qualifier I see to that is that you must show up at your chosen store by 3 p.m. on April 3rd.  So if your local store is going to be crazy on the day, some camping out / lining up may be required.  I can live with that. iPad – come to papa. :)

John Gruber’s Daring Fireball is one of my most favorite sites – one that I not only read every day, but actually look forward to reading every day.  I enjoy it because it offers an interesting mix of links on all things Apple-related, technology related, and links beyond those boundaries at times as well.  More importantly, it offers Gruber’s strong takes on a range of subjects that interest me.  I don’t always agree with his opinions, but I nearly always find his writing insightful and entertaining – a bit like a Jim Rome of the techie blogosphere, with a brash, ‘have a take, don’t suck‘ kind of attitude.

Gruber did an excellent talk at Macworld 2010 on 10 key issues he sees facing Apple today.  It’s a great topic – as Apple has been on a roll for quite a while and seem to be kicking ass and taking names in several areas, so it’s a very good time to think about what could put the skids on all their current and recent success.

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Excellent video, done by Daniel Eran Dilger of RoughlyDrafted.com.  Puts forward some very strong arguments, provides some great history and background on Flash,  and explodes a number of myths relating to it.

Well worth a watch whenever you have a chance.

According to Michael Gartenberg, the two share the fact that mainstream consumers have huge levels of interest in them.  He has a feeling that non-techie users are excited about the iPad in ways that they very rarely are for any tech product – similar to the excitement people felt for Windows 95 and the iPhone.

Check out his article on this for ComputerWorld HERE, for more of his thoughts on this subject.

I am beginning to get a similar impression – I’m seeing big enthusiasm for the iPad amongst ‘normal’ non-techie folks as well.

What do you all think?  Is the iPad drawing major interest among your non-techie friends and acquaintances?  Will this interest translate into sales?

everythingiCafe is my favorite iPhone forum site, and has been for a very long time.  It’s a great place to get troubleshooting advice on an iPhone problem, and to discuss all sorts of iPhone-related topics (and even plenty of off-topic stuff).

EIC is covering the iPad as well now – and they’ve got a great giveaway contest going – where you have a chance to win a free 16GB iPad.

Entering for a chance to win is very easy – you basically just need to be a member at EIC (new or existing), have an avatar, and make 5 quality posts between now and March 31st. 

A winner will be chosen on or around April 1st.  Head on over here to get yourself in with a chance to win yourself an iPad, and to enjoy the lovely EIC community:

http://www.everythingicafe.com/blog/win-an-ipad-from-everythingicafe/2010/02/10/