iPad? Really? (was RE: Voice recognition will never kill the keyboard was: Re: Evolution)

[Ian King]

Please, I just ate....  The iPad is another Apple marketing success, but it isn't "defining" in any sense.  Just because the bleating masses bought a bunch of them doesn't mean it's a meaningful step in any direction except profit.  It just means that the marketeers at Apple are without peer.  That's not a compliment.  

Keep in mind that I'm typing this on a PowerBook - I'm not anti-Mac.  I own and really enjoy a 7" Android tablet device - I'm not anti-tablet.  (I also own a Fujitsu Stylistic Tablet PC that I bought a long time ago, and if you want to sit down over a couple of beers I'd be happy to talk about its strengths and weaknesses and why the "Tablet PC" was ultimately doomed.)  I'm not anti-"device", as I've been saying for some time that the "Personal Computer" has had its day and will be supplanted by "devices" that are not recognizable as computers - and it's happening, with the proliferation of mobile devices as the primary mechanism for consumption of information technology for millions of people around the world.  (Why does Microsoft do so poorly in this market?  Because it's in their DNA to tie it to the Personal Computer.)  

But the iPad?  Yuppie status symbol.  Yet another expression of Steve Jobs' control freak personality.  Dead end.  IMHO -- Ian 
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Liam Proven [lproven at gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2010 9:15 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only
Subject: Re: Voice recognition will never kill the keyboard was: Re: Evolution

On 2 October 2010 19:59, Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> For the existing apps that are mouse-centric, I see touchscreens
>> replacing them, but for things that are text-centric I don't see that
>> as a good transition.
>
> TOuchscreens have been tried in the past (the most obviosu example is the
> HP150 'Touchscreen PC') and I think they were always found to be less
> convenient to use than a mouse or trackball. You have to move your hand
> further (keyboard to screen rather than keyboard to mouse on desk near
> keybaord), and you arm/hand is not supported (e.g. by resting it on the
> desk) when you are doing the pointing.

Well, yes, in 1983 they quite definitely weren't viable yet. :¬)

The iPad is the defining device of this technology, at least so far.
It isn't a desktop computer and doesn't try to be. It's not a Mac,
it's not Mac-compatible. It has no windows, no desktop, no menu bar,
no Dock or trashcan. No keyboard, no screen, no system unit, no
removable media, no hard disk or floppy drive.

It is a *device*, not a "computer". (Even though it runs Unix.) It
sits in cradled in your lap or held in your hands as you operate it
with your thumbs. The screen /is/ the computer. It weighs under a kilo
and the battery lasts a day of use.

And despite it being nothing like anything anyone is used to, it sold
about three million devices in its first month or so.


--
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