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Dave Winer via Gizmodo? Give me a break.
The effect that the Retina Display had our industry is both magnificent and tragic at the same time. The screen is beautiful, but the increase it's had on consumer expectations is unfortunate.

We don't need a Retina Display on every computer we use.

still, a lot of consumers haven't even seen the iPad 3/4's retina display. i think it's a bigger deal for tech writers than it is for the majority of humans who will actually buy a tablet over the next year.
Why is an increase in expectations unfortunate?
Apple has succeeded in convincing consumers they need something that they really don't. In other words, I think the consumer's perceived value of an ultra-high resolution display is much greater than its actual value.
Depending on the meaning of "need" you may be correct -- at least, I'm having a hard time imagining a task which can only be performed on a retina display. However, for most people I think the display will serve as the primary source of output from their digital device, and I think it makes a lot of sense to improve it as much as possible. Even if it's only for an improved user experience and not any strict requirement, I think it's beneficial. After all, if computers still had the user experience quality that they had in the 80s they probably wouldn't be so common place today.
What this writer doesn't understand:

--not every single human has a 10" iPad, already. -- the iPad mini is a response to a different segment of the market that Apple was missing out on. -- the iPad mini is Apple's new iPod.

Just because this isn't made for tech writers doesn't mean that it won't add to Apple's revenues and it especially doesn't mean that Apple doesn't have anything else in the pipeline for brand new segments.

Has everyone forgotten about Apple TV already? Just last spring all of the major news outlets were reporting on it...

Is Gawker that desperate for clicks?
I think the Mini is the worst business decision ever for Apple.

According to numbers, it's a great idea. They hope to get some sales from the cheaper android versions.

But what is different now, is that the price tag gets a lot lower and the iPad has to compete MORE.

Now it's obvious that the iPad mini 32 gb is 2x as expensive as the Nexus 7". Add 20$ to the Mini and you can have a Samsung Galaxy Tab SII 10 inch.

While according to numbers, it's a good decision. Apple will be losing face, because people can get more bang for their buck at competitors and narcisme doesn't count as much any more as it used to.