Glossy like the new MBPs? No, they don't. The glossy MBPs have a sheet of glass and my current gen MBA doesn't have that.
Of course, I would recommend trying it out for yourself at an Apple Store before deciding anything. Even if it wasn't glossy you still might not like the screen.
I'm not sure Apple is ahead on backup & restore with the iPhone / iPad.
You shouldn't need a desktop (with an OS that runs iTunes) in the first place. I read that the first thing you need to do with iPad is to connect it to iTunes.
What Gruber was getting at is that Apple has a far better syncing strategy since Android wipes everything between updates and Apple neatly brings all your data with you.
That said, the cloud-based syncing that Android will eventually ship looks like the "right" solution. I doubt anyone at Apple considers USB syncing to be the end game, though; I'd be shocked if they didn't have some sort of over-the-air syncing in the pipeline. The question in my mind is will they fix this in 2010 or will they fix this a few years from now. People won't want to stay tethered that much longer.
As a sidenote- syncing over USB makes sense for the iPhone, in some respects, but the iPad lends itself to be a standalone computer. Tying that to another centralized hub is a hassle, and that's where an Android-esque cloud sync would be great.
Ah; I stand corrected... I misread what Gruber wrote. Looks like Android handles updates fine, but there's no way to cross-load data between devices. So buying the latest and greatest hardware leaves you in the cold, at least until Froyo.
Android as a platform doesn't require data wipes to update. A few handset manufacturers have chosen to go this route for certain devices but other devices such as the Nexus One preserve all user data during an update. The cloud-based syncing will certainly improve things for users migrating from one device to another.
Personally, I feel more comfortable having total control over my data first, and then choosing what I want to share with "the cloud". The direct personal control over syncing to a device I also control is the more critical factor over not requiring a separate computer for me.
