A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad • Hacker News Board

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#51

Post by _delirium » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 10:53 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #50

pclark wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

really? why?

The more "higher level" thought processes required just to operate the basics of your device (e.g., basic navigation, app launching, scrolling, etc) the more mental effort (and thus, frustration and cognitive load) it takes from the user. As an extension to this, the less brain power you have to devote to basic, fundamental interactions with the machine, the more bandwidth you have to dedicate towards other things (e…

I'm not sure that always applies. I find myself much more productive on an RPN calculator, once I learned to use it, than on standard calculators, even though the learning curve was higher. I also find that with window managers, tiling WMs were harder to learn, but are a lot better now that I know how to use them.

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#52

Post by ique » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 10:59 PM UTC

aphyr wrote: post #38

philwelch wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it's fast. Everyone complains it doesn't have multitasking, but is there really a better way to switch apps that would be any faster than that even with multitasking?

Yes. Coming from android, the ipad app-switching interface feels cumbersome.

A couple of weeks ago everyone in the administration of the school my mom works at got Android phones.

Only about 2-3 people understood anything the phone had to offer of about a dozen people. They recently had to take the entire administration through a full-day course on how to use the phone.

Do you think this 2 year old could understand the android platform as easily as she does iPhone OS?

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#53

Post by RevRal » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:02 PM UTC

Anyone else think this could have very well been a father teaching his child how to use current caveman technology? Like a bow and arrow.

"It doesn't work when you hold your thumb there. Good. Now pull the arrow back and release."

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#54

Post by thomasreggi » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:02 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #50

pclark wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

really? why?

The more "higher level" thought processes required just to operate the basics of your device (e.g., basic navigation, app launching, scrolling, etc) the more mental effort (and thus, frustration and cognitive load) it takes from the user. As an extension to this, the less brain power you have to devote to basic, fundamental interactions with the machine, the more bandwidth you have to dedicate towards other things (e…

I really like the calculator example. Imagine a buttonless calculator that just took dictation in plain english and gave the result for really complex equations.

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#55

Post by thomasreggi » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:03 PM UTC

pclark wrote: post #36

thomasreggi wrote: post #2

So easy a child can do it? I really think testing a user interface on a child is key to good design.

really? why?

thing is we tend to complicate things unnecessarily when things are simplified down to an instinctual intuitive process the experience becomes more enjoyable.

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#56

Post by thomasreggi » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:03 PM UTC

tzs wrote: post #39

thomasreggi wrote: post #2

So easy a child can do it? I really think testing a user interface on a child is key to good design.

"So easy a child can do it?" But is it so easy a caveman can do it?

I'm a sucker for good slogans...

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#57

Post by thomasreggi » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:06 PM UTC

edo wrote: post #45

thomasreggi wrote: post #2

So easy a child can do it? I really think testing a user interface on a child is key to good design.

The grandmother test is a few gazillion times harder to pass. Beat that one, and you conquer the world!

totally thinking about this while I was watching

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#58

Post by ecq » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:06 PM UTC

I have a 2 year old boy and he loves the iPad. There's an app called Doodle Buddy he really likes.

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#59

Post by tremendo » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:14 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #15

Now try giving that 2.5 year old a Netbook with Windows on it and see how well that works.

That 2.5 yr old can spell already which many kinder-gardeners twice the age can't, and same toddler is _clearly_ already familiar with the interface as in swiping to scroll and hitting the home button to go back to the app menu. It was not a "new" toy, just a bigger version of a toy (s)he's already very familiar with

Re: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

#60

Post by anigbrowl » Tue, Apr 06, 2010, 11:15 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #15

Now try giving that 2.5 year old a Netbook with Windows on it and see how well that works.

If it had a touch screen it might be just fine. It's the mouse and keyboard which add a layer of abstraction, rather than the operating platform itself.

I do feel that such comparisons are akin to saying 'you are not a good horse breeder because I have just invented the bicycle'. Owning a horse for your transport needs is no longer a sensible choice for most people, but that hardly obviates all use cases.