A star appears over San Francisco and a new gizmo is born. The iPad! At first glance it resembles an iPhone in unhandy, non-pocket-sized form. But look a little longer, and . . Nope. You were right first time.Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Apple excels at taking existing concepts - computers, MP3 players, conceit - and carefully streamlining them into glistening ergonomic chunks of concentrated aspiration. It took the laptop and the coffee table book and created the MacBook. Now it's taken the MacBook and the iPhone and distilled them into a single device that answers a rhetorical question you weren't really asking.
A star appears over San Francisco and a new gizmo is born. The iPad! At first glance it resembles an iPhone in unhandy, non-pocket-sized form. But look a little longer, and . . Nope. You were right first time.
Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Apple excels at taking existing concepts - computers, MP3 players, conceit - and carefully streamlining them into glistening ergonomic chunks of concentrated aspiration. It took the laptop and the coffee table book and created the MacBook. Now it's taken the MacBook and the iPhone and distilled them into a single device that answers a rhetorical question you weren't really asking.
That makes sense. Looked at that way, it could have some real success. How the developers respond and take advantage of the new UI elements will have a major impact, though. I think the concern is that it will feel like a giant iPhone rather than a real PC that's been simplified without sacrificing the experience of good software.
Dunno. We'll see, I guess. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
On the other hand, the iPad does do a lot of things nicely, including being more portable. We just felt like Netbooks needed to be stood up for a little."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10443246-1.html Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice.
" if you have managed to convince yourself that the iPad is a useless, locked-up DRM-laden failure of a `computer' before even touching one, I have two words for you:
My mom.
My mother is a lovely lady in her sixties who is... well, "not computer savvy" is probably a good way to put it. I regularly have to figure out why her computer is running incredibly slowly, or why it won't print, or any of the million other random things that happen when people who don't live and breathe computers sit down at one daily.
The iPad is perfect for her. It does exactly what she needs. It will let her watch movies and listen to music and read books on long flights. It will make using a computer fun instead of an annoying chore.
... I dream of the day when I can finally throw off the oppressive chains of being the one guy in the family who knows how to actually keep a computer working.
And you know what? There are millions upon millions of people just like her out there. They outnumber us. And they finally have a chance to become productive, self-sufficient computer users instead of constantly asking family members to fix their computers or, even worse, keeping the Geek Squad in business.
No, the iPad isn't for everyone. But I'm going to go on record as saying that, for non-computer-geeks everywhere, the iPad is going to redefine computing."
http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/31/ipad-moms-next-computer/ Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice.
Instead, it seems to be less of a pathology and more about esoteric perceptions of manna and mojo. With both high end and low end hifi, the hardware becomes a fetishised extension of the owner's self image - a personal totem for the living room.
News flash: people identify with their choices and base choices fashion. You can't tease the whole thing apart (except for 16,000 a metre cables - clearly mad) because your own biases skew your analysis. I can say I use Apple stuff because I'm bored of fiddling. Other people would say I'm just a fanboi because they hate Apple stuff for other reasons.
If you have to - or try to - spell out the fact that something has manna and mojo, it brings the association into consciousness. Which is the best way to destroy the effect.
The association only works as long as it's unconscious. If people start thinking 'Hey - is that really true? What does that mean?' - pfft.
It's ironic because Apple are usually so good at marketing, and usually know how to create those associations without being so clumsy and obvious.
Perhaps uncoincidentally, the iPad reception has been lukewarm so far.
I think it's going to need some stand-out apps to regain teh sexey, and because it's a bigger, more time-consuming and more difficult platform to develop for, that's going to take a while.
um, yes, but you underestimate just how dumbed down folks are these days, they need everything explained.
laboriously literal, matterbound, moribund.
reminds me of that classic bumpersticker i used to see everywhere in hawaii
'are we having fun yet?' back before 'cringe' became mainstream as it is now with 'the office', a harbinger, likw woody's neuro-whine.
first 4/4 was too complicated, then 2/4, now it's fascist machine stomp, 1/1...
people are really stuck, toys like this give a sensation of movement, but ultimately it's just a tool, like all apple products.
it's what you do with it that will be magical or not.
meanwhile, the sizzle sells the steak. the word 'magic' tickles some atavistic nerve, even if you've long forgotten what it meant!
these look fab'n'glam right now, in 20 years they'll be w-a-y kewler.
if the singularity folks are right and we do blend our consciousness with computer parts, i sure hope we can choose apple software, rather than ol' bill's.
(staggers into wall)... if you're gonna DRM me, at least make it work, lol! ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
of course the real magic is the vision and the ability to attract a level of skilled realisers of it.
i think steve has waited until he was really ready to do this.
now to see if his timing is on the money.
i guess yes. ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
one definition might be: so far ahead of your present understanding that it might as well have just landed from space
:) ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
