I have two questions.
First, Radiating Gnome, is there a reason why you ranked the iPad above, or instead of laptops and tablets in general? I know that as a DM, I'd greatly prefer the versatility and power of a laptop over an iPad. In addition, I've always liked the fact that a laptop is set up to operate more readily as a DM screen, generally keeping information from my players. But, as a DM, I really despise my players having electronic devices out on the table for anything other than reference material. it always seems that they are used far more frequently as a toy than a tool. I know that's less the device's fault than it is the person operating it, but I'm always happier when that temptation isn't there.
Well -- there are a couple of reasons - but a case could be made for either.
1. Battery Life - A fully charged iPad can easily make it through a 4-5 hour game session. I've yet to have a notebook computer that could really last that long. If you expect to be able to plug in, depending upon the conference and the setting you may be disappointed. Especially for the big D&D halls at cons like Gencon and Winter Fantasy, it's very difficult to get permission to run power cords. They're a tripping hazard, so plugging in tends to be reserved for special cases like handicapped players and DMs who need assistive devices, etc.
2. Easy to Carry - My iPad is lighter and easier to haul around than my macbook air, and the air is pretty easy.
3. Integration - this is pretty subjective, but for me, when I run a game off my notebook, the notebook becomes the one tool I'm using -- everything else is just clutter. But an iPad works much better with other packets, papers, notepads, etc. Maybe I'm revealing my age when I say this, but I much prefer making notes and tracking things like HPs with pen and paper than on a device, so it's important to me to have a good, Paper Plus Tech environment rather than a Paperless environment to DM in.
I'm also not a big fan of DM screens, personally. But ... I'm short, so go figure. That also means I don't like the notebooks screen between me and the players any more than I like the DM screen there.
Still, if the notebook is working for you, run with it.
Secondly, and I'm not sure if this has already started since I haven't been to Gencon in a while, do people think that any kind of market exists for a company that rents "killer" DM table setups in a convention setting? I know how popular tricked out game table threads get, and know how much my players and geek visitors to my house liked it when I was operating one myself. I'm just imagining a company like a high-tech
Geek Chic with a handful of game tables built around something approximating a Microsoft Surface table.
As a consumer that might be fun to see, but it sounds like really dodgy business to me. It's going to be very expensive to ship and handle and setup that equipment for the convention -- so if the rental were going to be the primary way that was making money, the rental feels would have to be so high that very few players would be interested.
If, on the other hand, they brought it and wanted it to be a marketing demonstration piece, they way Geekchic has their tables on display in the vendor hall, the last thing they would want to do is let the same half-dozen players rent the table for four hours and monopolize it. They would want to keep any given person's time at the table down to a few minutes so they can expose more potential buyers to the technology.
PLUS, if you rent it out to a group for four hours, they're going to get it sticky. Mountain Dew is terrible for a microsoft surface.
-rg
