I've had an iPad for a while now and am beginning to get the hang of it. By which I mean that I think I know pretty much what it is capable of in its current incarnation, and can see the potential as more and more interesting apps come online.
It is definitely not a replacement for a generic PC. In fact, it's not possible to even use the thing if you don't at least have access to a copy of iTunes (Linux be damned ). It's a totally useless brick without another machine, preferably a Mac (though, once it has been activated, that quickly becomes far less of a necessity). That is part of the genius behind it: good enough to handle 90% of what we do, superb at about half of it, almost totally useless for the remaining but very important 10%. Actaully, for me, that figure is a fair bit higher, but that's because I'm a geek that likes to run servers and write the occasional program.
Nor is it just a scaled-up iPad Touch, though the resemblance is striking. This has a very different set of needs in mind - it won't replace the Touch and it definitely won't replace the iPhone, though it borrows almost everything from each and only adds a little of its own. There are subtle differences here and there that remind you of this but really it's down to size. The way that apps designed for the iPad work feels notably different to the way they work on the smaller devices: they use the size, with a different approach to menus for instance (you can often see the selected item, not just its name) and use of the display in general. The compromises that went into iPhone apps largely disappear and things that were just about usable are suddenly wonderful. It's not a lot of fun making a phone call, and it really feels like overkill when you run Shazam or other minimal interface apps, but for most purposes it just feels right. This may not be a standalone computer, but it is very definitely a general purpose machine on which serious work and play can be done, with relatively little compromise.
The iPad is a new kind of device, or maybe a very old one in new clothes. This is mighty close to the Dynabook as originally envisaged by Alan Kay and implemented in broken ways from the Apple Newton onwards (with some unfortunate detours via Windows CE and some curious hybrids like Psion and PSP). It is maybe the first general-purpose computer I have ever owned that actually works, pretty much all the time, and is so intuitive that a manual is unnecessary. Maybe the iPhone was the first, but that hid in cellphone clothing so was less obviously a computer, and really couldn't do much in the way of standard computing tasks even though it is great for many things.
It also has some nice application experiences such as...
This is the first generation of a new kind of thing. The novelty is not in any specific thing, but in the scale and style with which it is all glued together. As it matures and Apple find yet more ways to extort money from us, it will only get better. I am fairly confident most (and, in one way or another, all) of my quibbles with the current version will go away over the coming months and the next release or two of hardware and software. I'd love it if Android on generic hardware were better and seriously competed on this ground: I'm philosophically far better disposed to the Google way than the Apple way. I'd love it if the OLPC really grew into something beyond innovative and neat, or the new generation of gaming devices went far beyond gaming into similar territory but, for now, Apple (and it's hard not to hate them for this as much as I love their machines) is the only game in town.
The Landing is a social site for Athabasca University staff, students and invited guests. It is a space where they can share, communicate and connect with anyone or everyone.
Unless you are logged in, you will only be able to see the fraction of posts on the site that have been made public. Right now you are not logged in.
If you have an Athabasca University login ID, use your standard username and password to access this site.
We welcome comments on public posts from members of the public. Please note, however, that all comments made on public posts must be moderated by their owners before they become visible on the site. The owner of the post (and no one else) has to do that.
If you want the full range of features and you have a login ID, log in using the links at the top of the page or at https://landing.athabascau.ca/login (logins are secure and encrypted)
Posts made here are the responsibility of their owners and may not reflect the views of Athabasca University.
Comments
Hi Jon - thanks for your review of the iPad. About as thorough a review as I've encountered :)
I just bought myself an iPad, and I'm slowly trying to work out the best way to use it - any tips you might have would be greatly appreciated! I'm writing up a blog post on my Landing page about what I've found so far.