A Missive to the iPad Haters

30 January 2010

17 comments

A Blue Perspective: A Missive to the iPad Haters

I wouldn't call myself an Apple fanboy, but I like to think that I've mellowed a little bit in my old(ish) age. The face melting vitriol which I normally reserved for shiny Web 2.0 sites in beta invitation mode has been funnelled into more productive pursuits, and I feel like I'm ready to approach Apple product launches in an appropriately objective state of mind.

I wasn't excited about the launch of an Apple tablet; the fervor with which the media and wannabe tech pundits prognosticated about the exact form of the second (third, fourth?) coming of Jobs always had me puzzled. If you could predict so much about it, why was it going to be so revolutionary? It's no wonder that the product itself was a letdown – no physically producible product could ever have met your expectations.

But now that it's out, I can actually say that I'm excited.

I didn't think about it too much before, but seeing the iPad immediately made me realise it: we're at one of – possibly the most – exciting points in time since the induction of interaction design. And it doesn't even really matter what the product that Steve Jobs showed on Wednesday is like.

The iPad could be a complete failure (though I think that's almost impossible given Apple's current pedigree), but it's guaranteed that within the next two years consumer touch computing will become ubiquitous (if the iPhone hasn't already). It could be under the Apple brand or it could be someone else's, but either way that ubiquity is what has gotten me excited.

The iPhone gave us a taste of what a touch computing world could be like, but using your index finger to jack into cyberspace is the equivalent of jabbing a piano with a stick. Microsoft's Surface gave us the first inkling of what full touch computing could be like, but the fact that you could only use one if you happened to stroll past it at a conference booth has shown that they totally dropped the ball on that one. Not to mention the fact that all applications designed for the Surface were purely there to show off touch interaction, not make something useful out of it.

The iPad, then, is the first real multi-touch platform where we get to have a go. Where developers and designers get to actually make something that people can touch, stroke, fling, twist and flick. There's still so much of this area that has yet to be explored and if you were hoping for Apple to drop a fully formed <insert revolutionary consumer gadget here> into your lap, then you totally missed the point.

The iPad will be what we make of it. And that's what Apple is counting on.

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Comments

  1. 1/17

    Fulvio commented on 29 January 2010 @ 23:42

    Ever since I ditched the PC world for my first Mac back in 1992, I have been watching and listening to a never ending flood of Apple-haters venting their spleens. And why? because PC's are superior? Hardly.

    More likely they hate Apple because just about every innovation has its roots there. Look at the average PC, or any device with a PC in its ancestry, and you see a box with no soul, built to a price, aimed at people with no souls. On the other hand, every product Apple has ever produced (yes, even the bad ones from the dark years) most definitely has a soul, and a personality, instilling a little bit of wonder and joy in the lives of its users.

    The iPad is not perfect. Nor will iPad 2.0, or even 3.0 be. But it is a paradigm shift which will certainly affect every one of us.

    And won't the Windows fanboys just HATE that?

  2. 2/17

    iPad Forum commented on 30 January 2010 @ 10:28

    I'm a huge iPad and Apple fan, but I think that the iPad will be "just another device" -- there will be competition from others (Asus, Dell, etc) and possibly even better since the OS will be Open Source.

    http://www.ipadforums.net

  3. 3/17

    Andrew K. commented on 30 January 2010 @ 22:02

    But you said you liked my Requiem For Stick-Operated Piano.
    :'(

  4. 4/17

    Sprae commented on 30 January 2010 @ 22:14

    I think many are missing the point of the lack of full OS. It's Apple direction of focusing on mobile device for the masses. If total control is what the masses want, then why did we end up with the 'desktop'? The l33t users should stay in their terminal screens.

    60yo Ethel might just want to email/facebook/tweet to her grandson from her rocking chair. Don't tell me that it's easier for her to have a full OS laptop/netbook. She could be doing this already on the iPhone 3GS if only she could see the tiny screen and even smaller keyboard.

  5. 5/17

    Frances Kosac commented on 31 January 2010 @ 21:29

    The ONE thing I HATE about this new product, is that the ultimate goal is to take the internet from being FREE to being PAID FOR! I don't want to shell out my hard earned money for something that I get for free now! And from what I've heard, companies are camping out at Apple's door waiting to get on the "pay for my website" bandwagon! It's just not right, we pay for so much now...when is the greed going to end???

  6. 6/17

    moritz commented on 31 January 2010 @ 22:00

    remember the time sms was free?

    "The iPad will be what we make of it. And that's what Apple is counting on."

    The question is really: Will their strategey work? Pampering dump users to turn them selves in a goose that lays golden eggs for nonsense information ping pong, exchange touchy scrolling for loosing control and freedom of choise. A bad deal, but most people didn't knew they were in control when the internet for everyone started in 2010.

    They will notice maybe if you say remember the time the internet was free?

    Now 2020 we get just content for 17 year old children. Apple made us all to children. Apple wil take care of us. No thx. Yes, its in dead what we make of it.

    Apple and 'Partner' are counting on sacrificing freedom for convenience. How stupid do they think people are? Well iPod showed them... still people did not yet felt the pain of this model. An like a frog in slowly warming water they maybe not will in the next decade. We will see!

  7. 7/17

    traveller commented on 1 February 2010 @ 09:40

    I am a great Apple fan and I am looking forward to try the ipad; I agree that touch computing is the next step; and I wonder if heads up display is another next step, not sure if the technology is there for that

  8. 8/17

    Steve L commented on 1 February 2010 @ 14:34

    http://i.imgur.com/oRffH.jpg

  9. 9/17

    Troy Dalmasso commented on 1 February 2010 @ 19:45

    I think it's silly that people say Apple is trying to take the internet from free to a paid model. Safari will always be there. For free.

    Just because you can buy additional apps for the iPad, just as you can your iPhone, Mac, or PC for that matter, doesn't mean you can't surf the good old web for free. Paid applications have always been a part of the computer ecosystem and they always will be. We probably wouldn't have personal computers if it weren't for them.

  10. 10/17

    Troy Dalmasso commented on 1 February 2010 @ 19:47

    Take your foil hats off, people. It's going to be okay. :)

  11. 11/17

    moritz commented on 1 February 2010 @ 23:32

    oh yes it's going to be ok, as it is with dvd regional codes... wonderfull.

    "Safari will always be there. For free" Yes so what? Technology changes, we maybe have no http anymore in future :-)
    An who decides it can run on the ipad? Oh Apple...

    it has nothing to do with paying yes or no. paying is ok. The problem is more having a choise vs. censorship and a clear indication what you are actually paying for. Do you think Apples decisions about what appears on the app store and what does not, is really helpfull for the computer ecosystem? These decisions are perfromed by unknown criteria. Apple is knowing what is best for its customers. Sorry don't be naive. Looks more like the fans are the ones wearing the foil hat.

    Of course people are free to decide weather they want to be cencored or not. And apple is free to try it.
    Still I don't like people being 'tricked' into dependency.

    If apple would have been really successfull with all it's closed macintosh stuff at the time a pc had just a command line, would we have a free safari web browser at all? May be..

    I don't think freedom comes for free ;-)

    and foil won't help...

    But yes the iPad is a great achievement from a convenience view point. It may change the way we look to computers and increase the whole user base significantly.

    Happy surfing :-)


  12. 12/17

    Safira commented on 3 February 2010 @ 10:04

    Let's hope the technology is going in a good direction.
    Apple has something special about the products it brings on the market.
    For some reason everybody just loves it.

  13. 13/17

    Alex commented on 4 February 2010 @ 11:38

    Let's just all be happy that Safari / Apple are pushing for HTML 5 and giving Flash a kick where it hurts... browser / device support!

  14. 14/17

    Coopers Sports Picks Guru commented on 9 February 2010 @ 05:36

    I think thats an excellent point that the iPad will be just what we make of it. It's not going to change the music market like the iPod did and it certainly won't change computing standards as we know it but rather it may become the new fad of watching hulu and other podcast's in the park instead of being condonned to the computer room or trying to watch on the tiny iPhone/iPod screen. Being sleek many kids who can afford the tablet will have it in their book bags next to their other books.

  15. 15/17

    calgary web designer commented on 13 February 2010 @ 12:32

    to say I am mac hater is an understatement but lets face it if its shiny and white every mac lover will want it. let face it it doesn't have to be use-full just pretty.

  16. 16/17

    Jon commented on 14 February 2010 @ 16:49

    I use to loathe Macs. I hated them! In fact, in high-school I constantly rebelled against the computer teacher by informing him how superior PC's were to many macs sitting in his computer labs.

    Fast forward 10 years and I'm now using a Macbook Pro. Why?

    At first i purchased an iPhone and fell in love with it's ease of use, looks and navigation. It re-inspired my passion for computers.

    When it came time to purchase a new laptop, i gave purchasing a mac some serious consideration and made the decision to go ahead and purchase my macbook.

    Having used it for well over a year now, i don't regret my purchase one iota.

    Does this mean I will puchase an iPad? Unlikely, but then again i have no ill-will towards mac products as i once did. I would like to see the iPad succeed regardless of my own personal opinions of it.

    Jon of http://www.drivingschooldirectory.com.au

  17. 17/17

    web yazılım commented on 15 February 2010 @ 01:32

    When i first heard it, i was pretty shaken because of apple releasing a bigger iphone with "better" web features and trying to make people buy it as if it was a new technology.

    But right now it seems that, if they get rid of the stupid no flash support, and if they give support for html5, it means the iPad is in the game of web for a long shot.

    Besides, i liked the games demonstration so :P

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