What’s the one thing in common with all early adopters? They get screwed when the second generation device hits the streets. More features, fewer bugs, lower price tag. Ernie Varitimos in Apple Investor walks through all his early adopter Apple purchases, starting with the Apple IIe, the Lisa, a 128k Mac, all the way down to the iPhone. Now, the iPad cometh—without a camera.

Look, I know that early adopters nearly always get screwed, it’s the hazards of our obsession. But at some point, you’ve got to wonder if the company you love is calculating just how much they can screw you before you cry foul. Unfortunately, it looks like some Apple loonians are willing to be screwed over and over again. I think I’ll wait for the camera version this time.

Sigh. I’m torn between jumping in with both feet, or maintaining some discipline and waiting for the camera version of the iPad.

Last week I watched the video of Steve Jobs’ iPad presentation. He looked healthier. After that, my attention was focused on the iPad. Frank Cioffi in MDN:

It’s interesting that very few journalists or bloggers noticed that Apple’s CEO appeared much healthier at last week’s iPad announcement. It was clear, at least to me, that he’s gained some weight. Not a lot, but noticeable.

Welcome back, Steve. A little Haagen-Dazs is good for the soul.

My Valentine’s Day eCard from Wil:

What? No chocolate?

It’s another sign of the times in the early 21st century when Apple’s stock market value eclipses that of retail giant Walmart. Philip Elmer-DeWitt in Fortune:

Ninety minutes after Apple (AAPL) opened its online store for iPad pre-orders Friday morning, a burst of trading — roughly 2 million shares in 30 minutes — pushed its stock price to $227.73 and its market cap to $206.5 billion.

Values go up and down, but Apple is the third most valuable company in the US, slightly higher than Walmart and Berkshire Hathaway. As a comparison, note that Apple’s annual revenue is approximately $50-billion, while Walmart exceeds $400-billion.

All the detail you could possibly want about Apple’s iPad. Apple is proud of their new baby.

The best way to experience the web, mail, photos, and video. Hands down. All of the built-in apps on iPad were designed from the ground up to take advantage of the large, Multi-Touch screen. And they’ll work in any orientation. So you can do things with these apps you can’t do on any other device.

Does anyone remember the headline, Microsoft upstages Apple’s tablet? Forgettable.

From a few weeks ago. Me on Mac360: Apple’s Tablet: What It Will be vs. What We Want.

From November 2005, the earliest known usage of iPad for Apple’s tablet device. Tera Patricks on Mac360.