Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
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Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
1–10 of 28 posts
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#2Sure, if I had a kid and it was one of those toy ones with learning activities.
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#3Say this with me: iPad is not a laptop.
Once people understand that it is a consumer device, an appliance like an iPod or a DVD player, that just happens to do a lot of extra stuff, we can start talking about what it can do and how people will use it.
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#4Yes—because obviously it would have an IDE and Compiler-suite app! Otherwise, how would you develop on it? ;)
(And then all the free, unlicensed apps anyone likes could just be released as source, and compiled+run locally in test mode.)
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#5The question is not "would you buy" but "would people buy" and the answer to that is undeniably YES.
You can argue this is not a good thing, as Cory Doctorow has at least tried to, but the argument comes across as tired and pointless. It's the ramblings of an "old man" (measured in internet years of course) who, had he been born a hundred years ago, would probably have been railing against car companies for removing the hand-start crank.
People don't want computers. They don't want notebooks. They don't want compilers or user serviceable parts.
What they do want is Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and all the other things you can only do, for the most part, with computers and notebooks. The sooner some device delivers an alternative that's easier to use, more reliable, and less fuss in the long run, the sooner people will switch to that new thing.
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#6Stop writing these articles people. Please. I'm tried of writing the same response over and over.
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#7The question is not "would you buy" but "would people buy" and the answer to that is undeniably YES. You can argue this is not a good thing, as Cory Doctorow has at least tried to, but the argument comes across as tired and pointless. It's the ramblings of an "old man" (measured in internet years of course) who, had he been born a hundred years ago, would probably have been railing against car companies for removing…
I'd like to think that the future will not always be Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#8Years ago there was a time when I used to be a big MS Windows fanboy. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best combination of everything that worked right at the time... The frequent blue screens, freezes, and constant virus & trojan cleaning was getting old, but Windows was still doable overall. Then something MS did, totally pissed me off enough to start trying desktop alternatives: MS started to ensure that Windows could only be installed a certain number of times for a particular machine that had a specific set of components. So if you changed enough of your components for the same licensed machine, Windows might think it was a different computer which was a big no no. Given that you had to have a clean install of Windows every x number of months, I just got fed up. It was the tipping point. I then started going through various distros of Linux and eventually happily landing on OSX.
For me, like the blue screens and the viruses, I see this as a possible beginning of enough frustration building to make me move on again. Hopefully this year's WDC (or next) will prove me wrong.
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#9Years ago there was a time when I used to be a big MS Windows fanboy. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best combination of everything that worked right at the time... The frequent blue screens, freezes, and constant virus & trojan cleaning was getting old, but Windows was still doable overall. Then something MS did, totally pissed me off enough to start trying desktop alternatives: MS started to ensure that Windows…
I've frequently upgraded and changed parts in my PCs over the past few years an only once has Windows refused to activate. It was fixed with a 15 minute phone call to Microsoft. I find it hard to believe this is a serious issue unless you're reinstalling or changing parts every week or something.
Edit: And by upgrading parts I mean things as big as upgrading the CPU and/or motherboard.
Re: Would you buy a laptop locked down like the iPad?
#10Years ago there was a time when I used to be a big MS Windows fanboy. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best combination of everything that worked right at the time... The frequent blue screens, freezes, and constant virus & trojan cleaning was getting old, but Windows was still doable overall. Then something MS did, totally pissed me off enough to start trying desktop alternatives: MS started to ensure that Windows…
I've frequently upgraded and changed parts in my PCs over the past few years an only once has Windows refused to activate. It was fixed with a 15 minute phone call to Microsoft. I find it hard to believe this is a serious issue unless you're reinstalling or changing parts every week or something. Edit: And by upgrading parts I mean things as big as upgrading the CPU and/or motherboard.
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