I recently got my brother’s old iPad when he upgraded to the iPad 2. As someone who’s built my own computers for 35 years, used Windows (at home and work), Mac and things earlier, used to be a programmer who knows how to tinker with it all, there are times I just want to get things done which is why I love the iPad, and the Mac for that matter.
Ever since the first Mac rolled off the assembly line, Apple’s philosophy has been to tailor the user experience to the everyman. Whether it was Apple’s unique take on the desktop interface or the popular introduction of the mouse, Apple went out of its way to make the personal computer approachable to a general audience.
Of course, part of this tailoring involves hiding or disguising almost everything that makes a computer a computer. System files are concealed. Command-line terminals are buried in a Utilities folder. The guts are all tucked out of sight. In a pre-Internet era when people bought computers to understand them, or as a means to a specific end, the pretty metaphors of Apple’s OS were often seen as an unwelcome and unnecessary illusion.
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Today, the iPad succeeds for exactly the same reasons that early Macs were criticized. It is an exceptionally disguised computer. The formula works now because we have changed.The audience for computers now is the audience for the Internet, the audience for e-mail, the audience for…being a modern human being. To make a computer for this new audience, you can’t presume that people have the patience or capacity to understand a printer driver or a kernel exception. The number of people concerned about not having root access to their iPads pales in comparison with the number of people who would freak out if Angry Birds suddenly disappeared.
Like it or not, the iPad is arguably the most popular personal computer ever made. And as much as I’d like to credit our nation’s educational efforts in computer literacy and ’80s grade schools filled with computers running Oregon Trail, the reality is that the iPad is the first computer that successfully stoops to our level. Apple’s people could explain it to us, but instead they call it “magic,” and we’re seemingly OK with that.
When I first began looking at the insides of my grandparents’ radios, I found things like octal tubes, 380-volt power supplies, point-to-point wiring on terminal strips, 15 inch speakers that weighed 8 or 10 pounds (part of which was a transient-damping coil for the power supply), external antenna connections, etc. All the tuned circuits (RF amp, heterodyne mixer, 3 IF stages) were easily adjustable for when component values drifted from heat, high voltage, etc. Every component was easily replaceable (for the experienced servicer). I’m sure some of the larger, better-looking models cost as much as a laborer’s wages for a week, but they lasted for generations.
Now you can buy an AM/FM radio that runs on one or two AAA cells, uses the rare-earth ear bud wires for an antenna, with digital tuning that locks on to a signal and sounds great for three or four dollars. Of course, you won’t be listening to any short wave bands, amassing QSL cards or replacing any parts or adjusting any circuits, but for 100s of millions of customers, none of that will be missed.
Yet at the same time, Bang & Olufsen is still in business and has a large and loyal customer base, though certainly not in the 100s of millions.
There will be niches for UNIX/Linux, Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, etc. for quite some time — only the relative proportions will change.
>> spsffan said, on July 19th, 2011 at 9:46 am
>> The reason that the ipad has become so popular is that the state of real keyboards has become so dismal.
You don’t get the appeal of pads at all, do you?
People aren’t using them to type.
In # 26 deowll said: Don’t get confused here Ipads are built to be disposed off after brief use like a cheap lighter.
Spoken like somebody who’s never owned one.
For quite a few years Apple products have been dependable, usable and long-lasting.
I use an old iMac G5 as my television set, my old 2002 vintage G4 laptop still boots and can still surf the web.
My wireless network which feeds my G5 and my wife’s Windows7 PC is also by Apple.
They work. That’s all I need/want them to do…
The thing I like most about the iPad is it starts up in a second and is ready to work. I have wasted too much time over the last 30 years waiting for dumb-assed computers to boot up, and now, get their updates and restart. I am no longer interested in anything that won’t boot in less than 2 seconds.
It makes sense. Most people want to just drive their cars. They don’t want to have to rebuild its engine, once a year. Or even do very much maintenance to it. For most of that, they take it to a mechanic. If PCs didn’t get simplified. We’d end up having more PC mechanics, to figure out how to fix all it problems. But it became cheaper just to buy a new PC, after a couple years. Then to pay the service fee to fix an old one. Blame Apple for making PCs easier to use, than to fix. And blame Microsoft, for keeping them more complicated to use and fix, to ensure careers in computer maintenance. Do they still market those certifications, that no shop actually requires, when they hire repairmen? Microsoft wasted too much time worrying about keeping secrets, and satisfying business partners, and buoying up aging maintenance practices. To innovate towards simpler to use, more robust, and easier to repair, PC software. People want PCs (tablets, laptops, or desktops) than work as well as their toasters and microwaves. They certainly pay enough for them, that they should (by now). The modern PC (in any form) should be “foolproof” in every respect possible, by now. Stop designing cutting edge PCs, for the gamers. And make the thing needing the very least bit of concern over fixing buggy software, and viruses. Sandbox the sandboxes, inside more sandboxes, so that third party apps and wares can’t screw thing up at the top. If you put a sticker on your car bumper, it doesn’t destroy the engine. But the tiniest addition to your PC, can permanently ruin it, if its designed wrong, or maliciously so. The only way PC are going to be made foolproof and secure. Is when they’re so cheap and easily replaced, you just toss them when there’s a problem, and your data moves over to the next one you buy, automatically. Thru the blessed Cloud, I guess.
At the risk of way TMI, being able to watch pr0n on a tablet may be the end of civilization.
In #33, Uncle Patso said:
There will be niches for UNIX/Linux, Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, etc. for quite some time — only the relative proportions will change.
I yield to a better speaker than I.
#35:
My 1983 Apple IIe w/128k RAM & Double-High-Res graphics still works.
Built like a tank, it was!
UncDon said,
“My 1983 Apple IIe w/128k RAM & Double-High-Res graphics still works.”
Its funny that the TI-89 hand held calculator introduced in 1998 had the same processor (Motorola 68000), twice the RAM (256K) more storage (2MB) and was clocked faster that the original MAC.
Other than web surfing, email, watching movies, and listening to music. What actual work is done with an ipad? Seriously, how many people actually USE an ipad in a constructive way in their day to day business?
Because it’s the only tablet that goes a whole day without crashing?
Like it works. Of course the Android folks don’t care about that; but most of us do.
The vast majority of people do not understand (nor care to understand) how their TVs, cars, or refrigerators work, but that doesn’t keep those devices from being wildly popular.
If a product works well, it’ll sell well.
Kudos to Apple for their superior design and technology.
I can understand it’s popularity and convenience. In particular checking email and searching the web from anywhere in the house. That’s all most people want or need. I still can’t figure out why it doesn’t have a USB (or thunderbolt) or SD card slot, maybe in future models. For the price you shouldn’t have buy an attachment.
It would be fun to have, operative word fun.
Re: #43, my Win7 PC hasn’t crashed in years, even when I ran Vista. My HTC Android either.
My current PC I built, has 2 TB of HD space, Blu-Ray player and 27″ HD monitor, I’m happy with it.
Apple Myth #1: it doesn’t crash.
I have never experienced this in my life. Well, maybe the Apple //e’s I’ve used never crashed on me, but I’ve never used the Cat OS Apple now ships. However, my iPhone definitly dumps applications back to the desktop, and Mac OS 2-9 were not reliable (anyone remember having to manually remove those system drivers to make Mac OS work, what were they called?). Yet, I’ll hear this myth until far after Apple closes up shop.
Greg Allen. How is you analogy better than mine? I consider yours more dismissive, as in, “Shut up slave and watch your TV, I mean, ipad.”
Microsoft, post Gates, is becoming this way too. Just a few minutes with the stinking, dumbed down, piece of crap of Office 2007, shows how it thinks dumber is better. Stupidity is the new high bar.
I honestly worry that there will be enough smart people around in 30 years to keep the power grid operating. Really, we are becoming a nation to inflated idiots.
# 43 lrd said, “Because it’s the only tablet that goes a whole day without crashing?”
My Nexus One has never crashed. My Tab has never crashed. both are on 24 hours a day even when charging. I only reboot them when the clocks get too far apart and I blame THAT on the mobile networks they get their time signal’s from.
# 42 So what said, “What actual work is done with an ipad?”
Well, I don’t have an iPad, but I use my Tab to keep brief medical notes on my patients. I use spreadsheets to track my supplies. It holds a complete medical reference library and I’m using to learn something of the various languages in this area of SE Asia. Oh, and Angry Birds. What? You think that isn’t work?
mmm koolaid.
Well admittedly I am not Apple’s targeted demographic for the iPad. I often need to run more than 2 applications at once and sometimes across different operating systems via virtual machines. But this is only when I am at home or school. Otherwise a simple dumb cell phone or my netbook will do (netbook rarely needed either).
I did want a Mac pretty badly at one time though. Leo Laporte’s rants often fueled this obsession back then. And once I found and became proficient with Linux. Linux eliminated 90% of my complaints with Windows. Of course in doing so Linux probably gave me another 25% worth of over all computing complaints directed at Linux itself. I still am happily running Fedora as my main OS today however.
Through this self education I have found that Apple is far more restrictive than Windows will ever be. Furthermore I have read too many stories about what a nice guy Steve Jobs is. And since Mr. Jobs is so nice and doing so well, I have decided not to give him any of my hard earned money. This decision was further fortified by 3 months coding xhtml and css on the schools iMacs. I really just don’t like “Finder.” And although pretty, those aluminum Apple keyboards sucked. The keyboards usb ports would often drop the connection between mine and my schoolmates thumb drives. Several students lost all their data because of this when the thumb drives data became corrupted (Likely from from being improperly unmounted when they came loose.). In all fairness though those keyboards were probably abused and over used in that environment.
So if you like your Mac and your iPad that’s great. But I do get so sick of hearing about how earth shattering new Apple products are all the time. In reality they are mainly anything but earth shattering. Instead they are usually re-spins of old ideas, with a nice pretty case, and a hipster logo printed on the thing somewhere.
Well at least that is my opinion anyway, so I have to say… No Thanks! I’ll find something different. I’ll bet Amazon’s rumored tablet will be pretty cool when it materializes. Maybe I’ll go with that if and when I need a tablet. Otherwise I will be probably be looking for some other Tablet that runs Android instead.
Apple products are generally easier and more pleasing to use. I can understand and see why consumers would be attracted to them. I like them myself and think they are top notched in those areas. Technically though, I don’t apprecaite them so much and don’t understand why my collegues don’t share the same views.
Price/performance ratio on Apple products have and remains high. There are limitations to the OS, the software, privacy, rights and so forth. And I hate to have to talk about what one can do with products they’ve already purchase and bought. Sure people modify THIER products to do what they want, good or bad.
Ultimately though, I think people like the ease of use, the KISS factor as Bobbo puts it. It is still one the core principles instilled into me by several of my college professors. While other products may be more powerful, has more basic features >.>’ it can’t compete with the millions of apps, with few good ones, and the ease of use. Numbers game and KISS 🙂
my macbook crashes many times, almost always when viewing a flash based movie and the internet stream gets held up.
And you wonder why Jobs axed it. Good job Jobs.
#45, Why do you even both posting? Nobody is buying into your hatred and lies.
Sometimes people just want a tool that is instantly useful. Get over it, or continue to be ignorant.
Macs are not “better” or worse than PCs. It’s just different. If you spent your entire life eating a single type of food, and one day, someone let you try something similar, but tasted different, you would be amazed at the difference. See, if the shoe was on the other foot, you would be screaming about how much better Windows is than Mac OS. It’s not a bad thing, but trying to say one is “better” than the other is completely disingenuous.
I’ve seen apps crash many times but iOS itself is far more stable than many other operating systems I have used. That does not mean it never crashes though.
I use mine primarily for personal use and to supplement my dual-monitor Windows PC at work. The most frequent work-related tasks I demand of it are note-taking (and audio-recording), calendaring, quick sketching, task lists, and reading the piles and piles of manuals I must consume prior to hours and hours of text entry on my work PC.
At home the iPad is used for leisure. Reading of all kinds including ebooks, periodicals, news (with apps USA Today or aggregaters like SkyGrid, Flipboard or Zite) and websites. Watching films rented from iTunes or streamed from Netflix or TV from Hulu+ and ABC.
Many but not most of my apps are games. But I am ruthless when it comes to games that try to render virtual controls and make no effort to use the myriad sensors in the iPad to help with game play (Virtual Dual-sticks can lick the sweat from my b*lls).
There are also several utilities and resources I use less frequently when the situation arises. Apps for remotes, apps for remote access, apps with databases built-in and updated OTA.
Add to this the location-based and conversion/translation apps on my iPhone and I have well over 300 apps in genuine use and an additional 50 that were deleted for being to a large a file size to justify their use or just poorly designed interfaces.
I bought an iPad to determine the impact long battery life and a multi-touch OS would have on my daily life. I will buy my next iPad based on the speed and efficiency with my current iPad allows me to accomplish daily tasks.
It’s really simple. I pick it up. I do a desired task quickly. I set it down. Unlike a hammer, every month it can do more and more.
If it doesn’t do the same for you, then you don’t need it yet. But for folks who like gadgets, wanting it (or something like it) is another story entirely.
It’s called Appliance Computing based on the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) – for the Masses. And it paid off ! Especially in the Media Consumption Appliance Market, which Apple now dominates ! And it’s Principle: Pay a lot for the Appliance and pay even more for each piece of “Media” you want to play on your appliance ! An essentially closed and proprietary system and environment …
So one person admits he uses it for actual work some of the time. How many have been sold?
More useless drivel and false assumptions from #57 Peedro.
If I acted like you, I’d say things like this..
“Instead of enjoying life enhanced from an Apple device, you struggle with your Android command line trying to fix your apps.”
As true as it probably is, I cannot confirm it. But your assertions you seem to assume are facts. Unfortunately for some reason, you can’t see that you appear to be an idiot. I almost pity your narrow mindedness. But please don’t stop, we are too much amused by your fantasy drivel!
Postscript: Apple’s iPad business now has twice the revenue of Dell’s entire consumer business.
A few people here complain about content consumption only devices. Whats the point? Good for you you have a unstoppable creative impulse. Content creation apps will come in a big way. The coolness of the many painting apps gives a hint of the possibilities. Touch screen UI has yet to be fully played out.
“Touch Screen” Apps = Finger Painting = KINDERGARTEN !!! I guess we can all REGRESS TO PRE-SCHOOL !!!
#65 JimD,
There’s ArtRage for iPad
http://www.artrage.com/artrage-ipad-main.html