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IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

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Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#41

Post by jerf »

kenjackson wrote: post #38
jerf wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"There's several problems with the statement made by Jerf. First, there's no control group." Ah, you're making a critical error, which is frequently made by people. There can't be a control group. This is real life, not a science experiment. It is not possible to life your life in the realm strictly covered by science. By far the dominant theory from a Bayesian perspective is that the kid had a cough (abundantly demo…

The use of science terminology to attack my experience is actually a deep, deep perversion of the principles of science. The tools are completely inapplicable. I'm not using science to attack your experience. I've tried to say several times, and in many different ways, if it works for you great. BUT I am using science to say that you haven't made a scientific statement. You've made a statement about your son in a spe…

I just went back really quickly and checked. The only scientific statement I made is that there's no particular scientific evidence that cough syrup in normal doses is bad, which is true to the best of my knowledge. It was shut down due to a lack of scientific evidence of safety, but I'm perfectly satisfied with the decades of safe use (at correct doses) prior to that decision. Had the Feds stopped usage because at normal doses they encountered some problems in some children, I'd have come to different conclusions, but to the best of my problems this case has not occurred (beyond possibly low allergy levels, which you just can't paralyze yourself over, just about everything has someone allergic/reactive to it). And an encouragement to find out what the real reasons are behind the opaque advice and think for yourself. I never claimed that the fact that it worked once (or, actually, twice, but I didn't mention that; we actually do not reach straight for the medicine in general but when the child is on their third day of sleep deprivation the balances change, and again note that when I say the child here I mean it; we were trading off and actually we were well-rested overall) proved anything "scientifically".

(Incidentally, the same appears to be true of Benedryl, for what it's worth.)

I think your detectors for anti-scientific crackpot triggered, which I understand because someone who actually deeply understands science and its limits can accidentally trigger them sometimes where the science is particularly iffy or thinner than advertised.

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#42

Post by randallsquared »

jerf wrote: post #7
kenjackson wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now they generally recommend not using a microwave for baby food, because people too often would forget to stir it before feeding the baby.

Solution: Stir it. (And check it, and also microwave less; small amounts of food may require single-digit seconds, so don't just smash the minute button.) There's actually a number of ways to make your parenting life a bit easier if you dig past why you're getting certain bits of advice, then take action based on the underlying facts rather than the resulting "official advice" suitable for parents with an IQ of 90 (a…

suitable for parents with an IQ of 90 (and I do not mean that as a joke in the slightest, they are real, and I don't really begrudge the official "advice givers" for the resulting advice).

In fact, some 25% of the population is 89 or below. No reason to treat that as a joke, really.

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#43

Post by th0ma5 »

I don't care for microwaves, except for heating up water for tea, which it is great for, but I like breads, and microwaves cook away the water inside the gluten making bread rather rubbery. I do like my Dell Mini 9 netbook, and my XDA-found custom ROM for my Nook Color! :D

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#44

Post by joebadmo »

cooldeal wrote: post #17
yannickmahe wrote: post #15

Great article. It really explains to me the success of the iPad, which from my geeky, feature-centered, cheapskate perspective made little sense. I bought a netbook one year after the iPad came out, which seemed to correspond more to my use of a lightweight computer. Incidentally, I stopped using microwaves a few years ago. I wonder what that means my future relationship with tablets will be.

I don't know how far the analogy holds up. After all, microwave is not very programmable(in the computing sense) nor so restrictive. Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable(and food grocers had to pay 30% of the price of food to the microwave manufacturer to get that special label) ? Isn't that what happens with the iPad? Eg. The free Sony e-reader app was rejected, Readability was r…

My concern is actually in a different direction: that people will enjoy the restricting tool too much. In the microwave analogy it would be that people enjoy the convenience of microwaves so much that they abandon reguarly cooked food for packaged microwave-ready food completely.

Not that that happened with microwaves, but it seems like the danger's greater with the iPad.

The iPad is designed for consumption (yes, I know there are instances of people creating awesome stuff with the iPad, but I think it's generally true that its basic purpose is consumption) and the interaction bandwidth is so low that it discourages content production by users, which is what makes the internet so great. It degrades the great promise of all of the new technology we've been creating.

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#45

Post by JunkDNA »

katovatzschyn wrote: post #16
Jun8 wrote: post #2

People who argue that microwaves has/had no clear use have clearly not worshiped their microwave for sterilizing baby bottles in no time at 2am with a screaming baby at hand. Therein lies the interesting fact: The new, "in the middle" device may trigger new approaches and ways of life that may indispensable. The baby bottle sterilizer is an unexpected but vital byproduct of the microwave.

I realize the frustration in receiving any parenting advice at all, but please bear in mind that being too strict in what germs the baby comes in contact with early on can have negative long term effects. I'm sure you know this already, just a thing to keep in mind.

The issue with sterilizing bottles isn't to protect the kid from germs as much as it is to make sure that if mom has to pump into a bottle and store the milk for extended periods of time (often frozen eventually) it doesn't spoil. It's not any different than making something like freezer jam and sterilizing the jars. In general, pump parts themselves also can be sterilized this way in a special bag with a bit of water.

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#46

Post by kragen »

sk5t wrote: post #27
kragen wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to be energy-efficient, keep food hot by insulating it, not by continuing to heat it. Like in a hooikist. I can "soft-boil" a couple of eggs with a liter of nearly-boiling water from my hot-water heater, left in a thermos for half an hour.

You probably should not put food in an insulated container if that will prolong its time in the zone between 40F and 140F.

Not unless you've sterilized it first. But putting food in an insulated container will only prolong its time in the zone between 40°F and 140°F if the temperature outside the insulated container is outside of that range. For example, if the insulated container is in a refrigerator, in an oven, on top of a cooking fire, or in a blizzard. So taken at face value, your advice is rarely applicable.

However, not all of that zone is equivalent! If your non-sterile food stays at 100°F for a long period of time, its decay rate will be much, much higher than if you keep it at 60°F. So a generalization of your advice is often applicable.

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#47

Post by kenjackson »

jerf wrote: post #41
kenjackson wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The use of science terminology to attack my experience is actually a deep, deep perversion of the principles of science. The tools are completely inapplicable. I'm not using science to attack your experience. I've tried to say several times, and in many different ways, if it works for you great. BUT I am using science to say that you haven't made a scientific statement. You've made a statement about your son in a spe…

I just went back really quickly and checked. The only scientific statement I made is that there's no particular scientific evidence that cough syrup in normal doses is bad, which is true to the best of my knowledge. It was shut down due to a lack of scientific evidence of safety, but I'm perfectly satisfied with the decades of safe use (at correct doses) prior to that decision. Had the Feds stopped usage because at n…

The fear I have is that it seems like I'm being critical, and I certainly don't intend that. You clearly have thought about this, frankly probably more than I have. We just disagree, and honestly its fairly minor for the most part.

In any case, lets not be these ladies if our kids ever do have a party together:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/223360/saturday-night-live-corn-sy...

Although if we were these ladies, who would be who?

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#49

Post by bliss »

Jun8 wrote: post #2

People who argue that microwaves has/had no clear use have clearly not worshiped their microwave for sterilizing baby bottles in no time at 2am with a screaming baby at hand. Therein lies the interesting fact: The new, "in the middle" device may trigger new approaches and ways of life that may indispensable. The baby bottle sterilizer is an unexpected but vital byproduct of the microwave.

Actually, I had a microwave and didn't like it, hardly used it, eventually got rid of it. Even for your use case above. I instead have a standalone steam sterliser that's as quick as the microwave and a better user experience because it's much less fiddly and therefore quicker to load the bottles.

One mans killer feature is another's meh.

Re: IPad: The Microwave Oven of Computing

#50

Post by swampplanet »

I still can't understand how to use the iPad. It doesn't do what my Mac Book can and I can do what it does on my iPhone. For eBooks I have my Kindle which is much better to read on. The only use I've seen so far that it excels in is in use in debates. The speaker can have more than one document up at a time. Other than that?????
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