Let's compare apples to apples (pun not intended) but it is fairly obvious you cannot do AS much on a tablet as on a desktop computer. You cannot do graphic design as well, you cannot do 3d modeling, photo editing, you cannot type office documents in the most efficient way, you cannot compress movies at reasonable speeds, you cannot develop for it (although I know this is technically possible it is far from being accessible to anyone compared to Desktop experience).
It is not just about programmers. It's about people who want to do more than checking email, reading websites and running a few apps here and there for convenience. When parents want to edit HD videos of their kids taken with their camcorder they will not run to their iPad to do it, because it would be too damn sluggish for that. When you need to produce something or edit something and you do not want to do a dirty job you will sooner or later have to go back to sit in front of a laptop or desktop and use a mouse unless you like wasting your time, no matter what you computer knowledge is.
"When parents want to edit HD videos of their kids taken with their camcorder they will not run to their iPad to do it"
That's the problem right there. I don't know many "parents" (== non-technical-people) who are able to edit HD Videos, at all, period. Most non-technical people I know have memorised how to do the few things they actually need from their computer, like check emails, compose documents, and use the software-de-jour of their workplace. But anything beyond that is massively more than they know how to do without running to a more technical user for help.
The whole argument is, iPad makes it possible whereas before it wasn't possible, forget if it's fast or not.
I agree with your observations. They are sound and amplify OP's point: "I am not a Mac anymore".
Personally, I haven't even bothered trying an iPad, but speaking as a previously satisfied user of the Apple's laptops, the OP's comment very much resonated with me.
I also would like to note that (as mentioned elsewhere in this thread) that Apple software's propensity to assume the Big Mommy role is hardly a new phenomena. Apple was never an "open system", it is true. But there was a golden age in the '00s that produced just the right mix of open and managed systems.
Finally, there is a political subtext to all of this. Apple clearly believes in ('benign') authoritarianism -- it is in their DNA -- and given their empowered position in the computation loop, I no longer feel it is appropriate to support their bottom line, specially given the unacceptable stated position of Jobs on matters such as free speech.
"When parents want to edit HD videos of their kids taken with their camcorder they will not run to their iPad to do it..."
On the contrary, the video editors on iPhone and iPad are hugely popular, and if we expand to include photos, the iOS photo editing dominance is staggering. Hordes of users began editing and publishing photos who never had.
With iPad 1 I still traveled with my MBP17. With iPad 2 I started to wish I could leave it at home.
With iPad 3, the Logitech Ultraslim keyboard, and the extra screen resolution (with multitasking gestures enabled to slide right/left between running apps), I now leave the MBP at home and use iSSH to manage servers and network, Google Apps for business tasks, Diet Coda and Koder for code editing and review, iPhoto and iMovie for media editing (I shoot Nikon D3 and it even keeps NEF+JPG as managed pairs), and iCab for web apps needing file uploads and downloads. If I run into a task I need a desktop for, say, to build an iOS app or test a web app in Windows 8, I VNC in.
All told, the frustration of doing everyday tasks with the iPad 3 and Logitech Ultraslim Keyboard cover has gotten low enough I leave the laptop at home even on extended trips, so it's certainly viable as the main machine for people whose job isn't as computing oriented or content creation oriented as mine.
I don't think you have to tell anyone here that the iPad isn't capable of doing all tasks, we're not retarded.
That the iPad isn't best for every task doesn't mean that it isn't overall the best device, or that it doesn't substantially enable people to do whatever it is they want to do (especially people who don't do any of the advanced computing tasks you bring up). The sales numbers indicate this. If people couldn't use iPads, they wouldn't buy them.
iMovie (the ideal app for parents editing a HD video of their kids) runs just fine on an _iPhone_. And remember, this is just _two_ years into the current tablet market, so this sounds a lot like how the minicomputer and mainframe guys were laughing at PCs when they were introduced.
It is not just about programmers. It's about people who want to do more than checking email, reading websites and running a few apps here and there for convenience. When parents want to edit HD videos of their kids taken with their camcorder they will not run to their iPad to do it, because it would be too damn sluggish for that. When you need to produce something or edit something and you do not want to do a dirty job you will sooner or later have to go back to sit in front of a laptop or desktop and use a mouse unless you like wasting your time, no matter what you computer knowledge is.