mbenz1962

AppleInsider said:

Coming soon
Apple's watchOS 6 update is currently in beta testing but will be released to the public on September 19th alongside iOS 13 and iPadOS.

I have no idea why AI has latched on to this 9/13 date for the launch of iPadOS. Apple's page (mini-site?) for iPadOS clearly states it is coming on 9/30.  AI has misstated the date of availability in at least three other articles; two of which also have comments correcting this misconception.  It seems Apple has pushed off the launch of iPadOS and it could possibly launch as iPadOS 13.1 forgoing the 13.0 release altogether.

After reading the release notes for this beta, iPadOS seems stable enough to try out. I’m only putting the beta on my iPad because it isn’t critical (iPhone is for me though). I have to get ready for all the family tech support when the real deal drops. I’ll post if there is anything noteworthy.

This is a great game!  I originally had Dr. Mario for the NES as a kid in the 90's. I played it all the time with my brother (and rarely lost, haha).  I then bought a download of the port for the Wii as an adult and played that with my brother (he got better but I suspect that our age difference of four years had a bigger influence on our games when we were both younger than 10). 
I signed up for the pre-order and it downloaded itself today (unexcpectedly). I have already beat the first 10 levels; after that you can select your character (if you don't want Mario). There is no need to buy anything in-app, but power-ups and new characters can either be earned in game (also gifted after a certain time period) or, of course, they can be purchased. The actual play and levels up to now (level 10) have been free.  Although, it does seem like there will be a heart system coming into play in later levels or maybe at a later time after launch. It seems to be that you always need a heart to try a level and after they are out they likely regenerate after some time has passed or you can buy more as an in-app purchase.
I can confirm this is really a great game to play. Nintendo once again shows how talented they can be. I can't wait to visit my brother next month and continue to spank him on this new iOS version in two-player (I'll have to beat level 20 to unlock this mode first though)!

I plan on picking one up during Prime Day (hoping for a slight discount below the current (90€ price). I have two Echos and they work good as easy conduits to Apple Music. I’ll enjoy the weather display on the Show when I wake up and the sunrise alarm sounds cool.
I still have my eye out for a HomePod for it’s superior sound and better Apple integration for the kitchen/dining room (where my wife is most of the day), but for the bedrooms (3 with people) we only need “good enough” sound and compatibility with Apple Music since we just primarily use the speakers as lullaby players.

My first Apple product was an iPod Nano (Gen 3) that I bought new not long after it was released in the fall of 2007.  I was traveling a lot for work in 2007 and I was impressed with the nano's screen and the ability to rent a movie digitally and watch it on such a small device.  Previously I carried my HP laptop (that weighed quite a lot and was bulky) and rented disks in the airports (that was a thing back then).  I was so impressed with the nano's portability and quality that I decided to give up the HP and bought a white plastic macbook the next year.  I had considered the original iPhone when It debuted, but the lack of 3G and the upfront cost were a deal breaker for me at the time.  I was further convinced I had mad the right decision when apple cut the price by $200 shortly after launch.  I wondered if Apple would even continue this new iPhone line.
I continued to follow the progress of the iPhone however, and my interest really increased when I saw how well my macbook worked for every day stuff. Then the 3G was announced not too long after I bought my macbook and, even better, it was subsidized by AT&T. I decided that even though I had just dropped $1,100 for the macbook I could afford the $199 price and so I went early before work and stood in line for more than an hour before the At&T store opened to get one.  I didn't and I was crushed.  I had to wait another 2 weeks before the AT&T store finally had stock again. The sales guy was willing to put one aside for me so I could get it after work (likely because he was sick of me calling every day to see if they had gotten more stock).  I switched from T-Mobile to AT&T to get it. It was fantastic to use and I convinced quite a few executives at my company to buy one and give up their antiquated Blackberry phones. 
Like the article brings out, that first iPhone that started it all wasn't a guaranteed success. It had definite shortcomings, but it also had potential because of the solid and intuitive software.  This only became more obvious and pronounced when the App Store came out. Consequently, I bought every model of iPhone for many generations after.  My wife came on board the Apple train when I upgraded to the 3GS and she inherited my 3G.  iPhones were so well built they would easily last us the 2 years (year one me and year two her) and still be worth something on eBay. By the time the 6 came out iPhones were so capable that they were lasting us even longer and so I was able to skip the 6S and bought the 7 a year later. The rest is history.