I don't need to think too hard about the reasons I want an iPad and right now I'm downloading an ISO from MSDN so I'm going to pass on the podcast until there's less contention for bandwidth. My two main priorities are spending more time with my family and being more effective at my job.

I know I'm not unique in having more than one job. I currently have a full-time contract position locally where I work on site from 8 until 4. I also have a part-time contract that I fulfill remotely and that normally doesn't require a lot of effort. I enjoy the alternative perspective it provides and it gives me ongoing work between other contracts. As part of that work I am sometimes called on to look at server logs or investigate issues as they arise. Unfortunately this tends to coincide with the work day for my full-time position. I use iSSH on my iPhone to connect to a production Linux box to look at logs and apply application/database changes. It works but it aint pretty and it doesn't help when I need to RDP to have a look at their SQL Server box. I do own a laptop which is my main development machine at home but I really don't want to lug that to work with me every day just in case I need to access a server remotely and I certainly don't want to be accessing that remote server from the machines I work on for my other client. That's an area where an iPad would absolutely shine.

My other priority, my family. I am very lucky to have a lovely wife and three terrific boys, 4yrs, 7yrs, and 9yrs who are all very busy people and I find myself spending far too much time in my office doing fairly mundane activities such as following up on emails and reading tech bulletins/blogs. Having an iPad would allow me to do much of that in our family room, while still helping the older boys do research for homework (instead of having to dive back into the office to refer to the computer) and using some of the awesome apps for kids to keep the little guy entertained. With so many work-related demands on my time that don't fit into a 9 to 5 work day I want the ability to engage with my family while still being able to work effectively. I hope that makes sense; I'm not talking about sitting in the family room hiding behind the NYT app and believe me, with 3 small boys in the house if I try to hide behind anything it is game on. But I do want to be more present and that isn't possible when I'm buried in my office.