The iPad is optimised for these three things; simplicity,  battery life and cost.<p>Multitasking and background apps kill battery life. Root access and other desktop features aren't simple. More disk space would be expensive -- being flash memory. Unless the author is suggesting a spinning drive, which will kill battery life.<p>These are completely valid complaints, but it helps to understand that these choices aren't random. Personally, as much as I want all of those additional features, I'm happy to consider buying and iPad for what it already does.