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My verdict after one day of using the iPad

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Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#21

Post by kvs »

webwright wrote: post #15
kvs wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. iPad is for consumption not for production. Don't know when some of these guys will realize it and stop making a big fuzz. I don't see the point of it.

Everyone realizes it. I think the contention is (right or wrong) that a pure-consumption device isn't what people want or need (given the other things that they have in their lives). It's redundant. It doesn't replace anything. I think if they had multi-tasking it'd go a long way to shutting up this criticism.

True, but "people" you talk about are like you and I who wish we could poke around with this device a lot more. Most people just consume and hardly produce anything-- other than, perhaps, emails, todo lists, & recipe notes.

I think the relevant verdict would be delivered not by the Pogues or Mossbergs but by mom, dads, and the 4-5 year-olds who see this device for what it is. Because, for the first time we (as in majority of the general public) can look at a computer as a consumer device as oppose to a general purpose device that needs training or learning. I think most reviews I read missed this aspect.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#22

Post by xenophanes »

[deleted] wrote: post #14
kvs wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. iPad is for consumption not for production. Don't know when some of these guys will realize it and stop making a big fuzz. I don't see the point of it.

[deleted]

They are barriers because if Apple added an "advanced" button somewhere that gives you root, then tons of ordinary users would press it (perhaps after being instructed to by an online tutorial, or by a scam), break things, and find that their iPod does not "just work" and be unhappy. Apple would be adding a button that you can press to enable your device to get malware, and that will confuse and harm lots of people.

It's not obvious how to add an advanced button that the right people will press, and others won't. You can hide it, but it will get reported on websites that newbies see, with simple instructions. But that said, I'm sure there's a solution, and I hope Apple finds it.

I think the development effort from Apple to enable stuff which would only be used by a fraction of the audience -- even done to Apple's high standards of polish -- is a secondary and more minor issue. Apple can afford it, and Apple knows that developers are worth the expense. However, in terms of development time rather than money (which aren't equivalent because finding, hiring, and training good programmers is hard), this has to be lower priority than enabling multiple programs to run at once and some other stuff, so maybe it'll be a while.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#23

Post by ojbyrne »

mos1 wrote: post #18
ojbyrne wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most notable omission is a camera. Skype video is the killer app for this machine.

people keep saying this, and i keep thinking it'll be shot from a truly horrible angle and will be really unflattering.

If you're talking to a close friend or family member (that's the use case), it doesn't matter.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#24

Post by jsz0 »

I'm not quite sure why all these iPad articles are framed with the assumption you're going to use the iPad instead of something else. I've been working on a project in Logic most of the night on my Mac with the iPad sitting on my desk for browsing, music, and video. It's a fantastic setup. Nice break from keyboard & mousing. The display is stunning and multi-touch web browsing on this size screen is such a natural experience. Something about the portrait view is very compelling to me. I popped it over to landscape for a bit and some of the magic disappeared. I wonder if part of the appeal of the iPad is simply that it's the first mainstream computing device to use portrait orientation so effectively.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#25

Post by mlinsey »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #20
mhb wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He doesn't say his mother's going to love it. He says: ...although her Mac is terribly inadequate and confusing, with so many layers of contradictions.... Too bad this product is so far from being able to replace it for her.

FTA: "I expect to wow her with the map application." Consider it to be an example of paraphrasing.

He mentions that as the only thing his mother would like about the device. The paragraph above the one you quote says this:

I also work with people who are not very deeply skilled in computer technology, exactly the kind of people this product is supposedly for. It won't work for them, because they need to multi-task too. We learned a long time ago that inexpert users don't use less resources, they just use them differently. The argument that the Mac wasn't a serious computer was nonsense. I was there when all these arguments were fresh. This is not a replay. Keep dreaming if you want, but if you give the iPad to your mother expect the light to go on for you. At that exact moment you will realize how poorly prepared it is for that.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#26

Post by aaronbrethorst »

mlinsey wrote: post #25
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FTA: "I expect to wow her with the map application." Consider it to be an example of paraphrasing.

He mentions that as the only thing his mother would like about the device. The paragraph above the one you quote says this: I also work with people who are not very deeply skilled in computer technology, exactly the kind of people this product is supposedly for. It won't work for them, because they need to multi-task too. We learned a long time ago that inexpert users don't use less resources, they just use them diff…

You make a good point, which proves that neither of us actually knows which phrasing Dave Winer meant. Don't be a jerk. We live in the same city and might actually meet at some point. I don't like being on bad terms with people I've never met.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#27

Post by gloob »

kvs wrote: post #21
webwright wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone realizes it. I think the contention is (right or wrong) that a pure-consumption device isn't what people want or need (given the other things that they have in their lives). It's redundant. It doesn't replace anything. I think if they had multi-tasking it'd go a long way to shutting up this criticism.

True, but "people" you talk about are like you and I who wish we could poke around with this device a lot more. Most people just consume and hardly produce anything-- other than, perhaps, emails, todo lists, & recipe notes. I think the relevant verdict would be delivered not by the Pogues or Mossbergs but by mom, dads, and the 4-5 year-olds who see this device for what it is. Because, for the first time we (as in maj…

This review explicitly notes that aspect. It notes it in order to make the contention that such a belief is incorrect, but it does note it.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#28

Post by mlinsey »

kvs wrote: post #6
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #4

"The usual fanboy rebuttal is that [the iPad] is not designed for what I do." How does stating _a fact_ like this make one a fanboy? This re-reminds me why Dave Winer irritates me. Yes, the iPad does not offer a development environment. Yes, the iPad lacks file-system access. So what? Dave also invokes the classic 'my mom's going to love this' line. I think my mother will too. And I cannot wait to replace her Windows…

Yes. iPad is for consumption not for production. Don't know when some of these guys will realize it and stop making a big fuzz. I don't see the point of it.

To me, the biggest surprise of iPad launch day was just how well the keyboard works. According to various (dubiously reliable) online typing tests, I range from 40-70 WPM on the iPad. Accuracy is acceptable; much better than the iPhone keyboard but of course not as good as full keyboard.

It's perfectly fine for email, posting on message boards, etc. I also will probably use it to write documents when I'm out and about, and using it today I felt like I would like to be able to code on it (though ssh or jailbreaking are probably the only ways that will happen).

24 hours ago, I would have agreed 100% with you that "iPad is for consumption not for production". After a day of using one I have changed my mind entirely. The iPad can be an adequate device for production, and it has the potential to be a great one.

Specifically, having a software keyboard has large and untapped potential advantages over a physical keyboard, once basic typing is acceptable. The buttons on a software keyboard can change to adapt to the situation. We already see see small examples of this with the built-in keyboard: when the address bar in safari is open, the space bar disappears and the forward slash and .com buttons take its place. Imagine alternate keyboards for things like LaTeX markup. Furthermore, your pointing device (finger) is much closer to the keyboard, so no moving your hand from your keyboard to your mouse. I think apps that really take advantage of the possibilities of the interface are yet to come. Once they arrive the "tablets will disrupt the laptop" argument sounds sounding really plausible.

Re: My verdict after one day of using the iPad

#30

Post by grinich »

mos1 wrote: post #18
ojbyrne wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most notable omission is a camera. Skype video is the killer app for this machine.

people keep saying this, and i keep thinking it'll be shot from a truly horrible angle and will be really unflattering.

And a wobbly image. I'd like to see some good image stabilization using face-tracking.
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