…is not a fucking laptop!
About Me
This is Binary Bonsai, the online journal of Michael Heilemann — a Danish expat Interface Director at Squarespace, ex-Computer Game Developer and Film Lover — coming to you out of New York. It contains thoughts on games, interface design, movies, books, science fiction, Star Wars and various other subjects as befits the author, who is available for comment on Twitter.
Credits
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Nobody seems to get it right.
Wisdom.
Great Michael. Don’t tell us what it isn’t. Tell us what it is!
If I’d say “This new fangled ‘paper’ isn’t like the stone you’re used to!”, would you respond the same way? As soon as you understand the frame, what it was designed for, what it can do, your imagination should be able to fill in the rest.
Hardly – but we’ll let that slide.
Who do you think is the target customer here Michael? What role does the iPad occupy? Apple are describing this as “revolutionary,” “magical” and “our most advanced technology,” so who is it magical and revolutionary to?
I’m not trolling – I am genuinely at a loss as to just what all the fuss is about.
Robin Sloan gets it absolutely right (and yes, I was totally reading that in Google Reader).
I must admit though – I am really curious about that A4 processor. I think there’s a real story there.
Okay, great. I have just read Robin Sloan’s article and, yes, I see where he’s coming from.
Let’s just say then that the iPad is not for me. To me it seems to lack flexibility, at least in this v1 form. Maybe a later generation product will appeal, maybe.
Wisely spoken! :D
Of course not.
It’s a netbook. It targets the same odd group that buys netbooks.
Your right. It’s an overhyped oversized iphone, that will be a success because of a apple logo..
“It’s an overhyped oversized iphone,” that doesn’t even have a phone. :-)
This is interesting, one aspect of the iPad I hadn’t thought of: http://www.cultofmac.com/ipad-changes-the-face-of-live-music-performance
Jeff Croft has written an eloquent and insightful piece on the iPad: http://jeffcroft.com/blog/2010/jan/28/ipad-thoughts/
Jonathan, stay with me, even though it’ll seem like I’m contradicting myself: The iPad fills out the role of the laptop in most households today, which even for my part, is mostly just surfing the net and consuming media. That’s 80% of what I do with my laptop, and it’s vastly overpowered for those tasks, not only in terms of power, but in terms of interaction modes. And add to that, compared to the iPad, surfing the web is even kind of clunky in many ways on a laptop. How often to I use the keyboard for these things? Not nearly often enough for it to be there all the time. People whine about ‘soft keyboards suck, yeah, if that was all you had, but it’s not a fucking laptop.
No Joen, it most certainly is not a netbook. It’s not a netbook, because a netbook is the same as a laptop, only smaller and worse and it runs the same stupid OS we’ve been using for years, with the same stupid conventions and the same stupid interface. The same stupid OS where you have to teach your mom about stupid files, stupid save buttons, stupid directories, stupid home folders and all the other crap that is 100% irrelevant to what the damned thing is supposed to be doing in the first place; disappearing.
Guys, we’ve wanted to get rid of the file system for years! Here you go. That’s it. The iPad is that device. It does exactly that. Just like the iPhone. You think OS X is easy to use? (or Windows if you roll that way, and I pity you). Forget about it; this is the ease of use and the abstraction layer of the iPhone in a form factor that allows it to compete directly with your laptop for most of the duties for which you lug around a full keyboard and disk drive and other crap, like an idiot.
No, you won’t be developing software directly on this thing, you won’t be running a web server off of it or compile some stupid open source project and mess with the bios or blah di fucking blah. Apparently it isn’t for ‘creative people’ (what a crock!).
“Yeah, but why would I want a smartcar? I mean, it doesn’t tow a 20ton trailer, come with four wheel drive or go 300mph and it doesn’t even fit en entire family.”
Then I guess there’s no market for a smartcar… Or?
When laptops first arrived, you can bet your sweet ass there were a lot of the similar complaints: Oh, but then I can’t use my Keytronic keyboard, oh but the colors aren’t good enough for doing print work, oh but it isn’t powerful enough to go up against a Cray, oh but…
And so what?
I’m not going to call Kasper stupid for thinking that Apple’s devices sell ‘just because of the Apple logo’, but he most certainly is ignorant, blindfolded and possibly medicated and, I’m merely speculating, wasn’t alive back when the gap between idea of what a mobile phone should be able to do and what the phones from the other providers was miles wide.
This isn’t exciting because it has an Apple logo on it, it’s exciting because Apple has a proven track record of only bringing things to market they believe in. And when Apple believes in a product, you better bet your ass they’ve done their homework. If this had an HTC, Nokia or (dear God) Microsoft logo on it, it would be a mess, and it wouldn’t make a dent in the market, because it would be a laptop.
Free your mind man, see it for what it isn’t as much as for what it is. It’s an existing marketplace, ready to go, it’s a proven interface revolution, it’s a controlled platform for applications, and let’s face it, it isn’t hyperbole, it is probably the best internet browser device in the world. And to Apple it’s the ultimate content delivery device. They’ve got the channels, here comes the boat.
Michael, I don’t disagree with you at all. This is what I wanted to know originally and you’ve answered. I can see who can benefit from the iPad now (and I’ve started to imagine real benefits to the commercial/medical/research fields too).
You’re right. There’s definitely a market for the device. I’m not even ruling out a purchase myself – just not with the spec as it stands today.
The iPad will evolve. That’s the Apple way (or indeed any manufacturer’s – if they want to stay in business). So we’ll see how it goes.
Honestly, I can’t wait for v2!
I think the ipad is really cool, a huge leap in the right direction and for a first of it’s kind, it’s got a lot going for it.
My problems are just the same things though, that you are trying to say AREN’T problems which i think is sort of irrelevant at this point because you either think they’re problems or they aren’t depending on your use.
I WANT an OS, I WANT multiple apps, i WANT a free environment for devs that doesn’t use the appstore. I want USB ports for crazy peripherals. I want all that on a TABLET.
I’m not smitten with the iphone interface. I don’t like how they say “THIS IS IT YOU’LL LIKE IT”. That translates that they think I’m just the same as everyone else. I thought Apples motto was “think different”?
A lot of the limitations in place on the iphone I can understand. I realize that screen space is at an absolute PREMIUM on the iphone, that it has to be used wisely. I realize that to give a proper functional interface and mobile OS, they need to make sacrifices in the iphone. I don’t think that should be in place on the ipad. I’d pay MORE money, maybe $50 or so, to use OSX on it. That should be an option. My bet is they can’t really support it and the processor on board is good, but not THAT good.
Who’s holding you back? There’s plenty of those around, and have been for years. That’s worked out so well for them, running Windows, right? No, wait, it hasn’t. Because that doesn’t work. Traditional OS’s were built to accommodate traditional computing devices. Desktops. Laptops.
File systems. Downloading and installing applications and backing up files. Uninstalling applications. Find that document you wrote that one time. Juggling stupid five browsers windows at once. Why are you so in love with these horrible ideas? You don’t need them on your phone, why do you need them on your iPad?
Yeah, ehm, you keep on believing that.
Apple just revolutionized personal computing, and all people want are USB plugs, Flash, blu-ray drives and all the other legacy bullshit that’s been holding back computers for decades.
Exactly!!
Here’s a good example of what I’m referring to:
I’ll be on a forum, i want to post something to the forum, but it’s a picture on my hard-drive. Ok, that’s not a problem, I just upload to flickr. Maybe I want to mess w/it real quick to re-size or crop or add a lolcat.
I can do that in whatever image editing app and instantly upload it to flickr using the flickr uploadr and tag it, grab the links and tab over to my forum, and post the links.
I don’t believe it will be anywhere near as easy to do this on the ipad. It will be a clumsy affair at best because this device is assuming you only ever want to do one thing at a time and add any complexity to that operation, and you are in an annoying rigamarole of one app after another, where on a simple netbook even, I hate to say it, but I could do it just as easily as if I was on my home gaming computer built with super-specs.
You said it Mikey.
I’d like an iPad, I might start reading in bed again.
Im not sure who the market is, but both the iPod and iPhone were roundly poo-poo’d by much of the media when they came out and look who’s laughing now. And as Fry says – its only at v1 atm, Steve knows what itll become in the coming years.
I get that a laptop is ott for most peoples uses, I sit here with my MBP on a Habitat surfstation, leaning forward, typing this on a clunky keyboard. I could with an iPad be relaxing back typing it. Should I need fancy image cropping etc, I have a laptop.
Shame I can’t afford an iPad atm, Im also after a new MBP. hmm.
Watching the keynote now, iwork is mental. I wonder when Espresso, Coda, CSSEdit will be available…
It seems perfect for taking to coffee houses for long afternoons of sipping lattes and reading beautiful blogs (and the NYT)…
The kindle is too austere. I’m also looking forward to the ipad for reading books.
There wasn’t. Smart folded in 2006.
:)
I still largely agree with you. And the iQ proves maybe there is a market, but that Smart just wasn’t hitting it.
The iPad would cover 99% of everything my parents do with their PC and in a much simpler way. I’ve seen my mom use the iPhone. She get’s it. Doesn’t even need it explained. Touch, push, swipe, pull. She still calls me for, admittedly, Windows XP support.
If the price is right in Europe, I’ll certainly recommend they get an iPad when it’s time to upgrade, along with a Dell Inspiron Zino HD (or Mac Mini, depending).
But I think you’re wrong, Michael, in saying the concepts of files, directories, bluray, input ports etc. is irrelevant (if that is indeed what you’re saying). They’re relevant to me, and to a lot of bloggers/tweeters etc.
That’s why the iPad won’t be a raging iPhone like success, but will (only) make Apple a heck of a lot of money (rather than a shitload of money)
I don’t know which to slap first, you or past-me. I’ll go with you ;) — Shame, I really liked Smart.
I don’t know if Apple will go that far, but I could see the iPad working without a full computer. The iPhone pretty much already does, with the exception of having to activate through iTunes.
No, they’re definitely relevant to us as geeks; but even for me, the majority of the tasks I perform using my computer on a day-to-day basis, like writing this comment, or checking my mail, which notified me of your comment, all technical underpinnings are irrelevant. And for our moms, and for Rikke and Chloe, that’s true in pretty much every thing they use their respective computers for.
Steven Frank has a great write-up by the way.
Yes, bring this. Also, multiuser support for the iPad is super-freaking important. Without those two features, it can’t really be a full replacement.
Version 2 baby, version 2.
Steve Job’s stellar innovation will soon blow up after this initial push period during it’s unveiling. The touch screen and Job’s potential to fix defections will help to make the iPad a huge product in for the forseeable future.
It could be a good musical controller. Hopefully more stable than iPhone.
Hey, thanks for the great read.
Not being able to easily share files between apps and the user’s laptop/desktop could be a big problem, though.
iPhone OS (which the iPad runs a version of) runs apps in a sandbox; they aren’t allowed to access files that aren’t “theirs”. Each app gets a “documents” folder to save data in that will be backed up upon sync with iTunes. When the sync occurs and the backup is made, the data is squirrelled away somewhere inside the user’s iTunes folder. Finding it is a pain, and I don’t even know if it’s just copied over file-by-file or if each documents folder gets put in a .zip (or whatever) and then backed up.
So if you wrote something in iPad Pages and now you need to print it out, well, good luck.
Hopefully Apple will have a good solution to this.
I should mention that, after looking into it, the next version of iPhone OS (3.2) will supposedly have things like file downloads/uploads within Safari and let you share files between it and other apps.
It also looks like there’s the beginnings of a printer API in there.
It’s an oversized iPod Touch…nothing more. It has no usefulness in the business world as there is no multitasking, no camera, no HDMI, no USB, no SD card reader, and only comes with 16GB of ram (standard).
I think Apple needs to learn what HP and Compaq learned a long time ago…proprietary is not the way to go.
Ah it’s so nice to hear the same forward thinkingness which deemed both the iPhone and iPods flash-in-the pans – even the iMac.
I feel you’ll rue your words. But of course only time will tell.
The iPod was useful as an MP3 player, the iPhone is, well, a phone, so they both have their uses. However, the iPad is the iPod, but in a bigger size. Of course people will buy it because it’s an Apple product…
I own a Mac, but I use it strictly for video editing, of course I can’t do much else on it. But, I have no desire to buy an iPod or own an iPhone. I don’t need status symbols and I’m not materialistic.
Materialistic status symbols are they? Oh how clever if you to tar a whole group of very different people with your very own brush of rightious pre judging. Well done you.
http://dump.sonuku.com/spam/misc/12646737791.jpg
He said sternly, and with some conviction, defending a point no one had attacked.
No seriously, who said anything about the world of business? But alright, if you want to have a go at it, let’s see. What is ‘the business world’? Sounds like a newly found planetoid. Kidding aside, that’s quite a big concept to generalize about, isn’t it? But here goes:
What exactly is it about the lack of multitasking is it that this ‘business world’ will be lacking, and why does this include the entirety of this ‘business world’?
And this business world, do they use built-in cameras a lot? No wait, before you answer that, answer me this instead: Is this business world usually first-movers when it comes to new IT? No, you say? Because they have immense infrastructural considerations to keep in mind? Aha. Then let me ask you another question: Is it at all possible that this camera you speak of, will find its way into the second version of the iPad? I see you nodding, I’ll take that as a yes, because that’s what nodding usually means. So, in other words, ‘business world’ isn’t an early adapter anyway, and the camera is probably coming as soon as next january… What’s the problem again?
No HDMI, maaaaajor issue. True. Because ‘business world’ uses HDMI incessantly I’ve heard. He’s very strict about that. That’s why the bottom went out under the MacBook Pro market long ago… No, wait, that’s not right… All kidding aside, I wouldn’t mind it having HDMI; but dude, since you can pull video from the dock connector, it’s not a major issue.
The USB though, would be nice. But again, that dock connector allows you to connect cameras to it, and it wouldn’t be unheard of for other devices to connect that way through, so…
SD cards though, that’s… That’s a major thing, because… with the ‘business world’ and everything… Which also goes through the dock connector, so…
Now, the 16GB RAM, you think is too small, that’s fair enough, but that’s also the smallest iPad. You call it ‘standard’, others would call it ‘the smallest’, all is fair. I tend to agree with you, but I don’t think you understand exactly how Apple is positioning this thing.
In fact, I know for a fact that you have no clue, so…
Of course, useless as they are, fully understand, yes yes, fully understand, useless as they are, yes yes.
You’re well on your way towards world domination; your ideas and thoughts are fresh, insightful and innovate. Please come back.
JMJ, yeah I saw that, had me worrying for a moment, but then I remembered that this and figured if the iPhone can cell 75.000.000 units with those odds, the iPad is probably golden.
The iPhone only held up well against Paris Hilton: http://j.mp/9uJ8DL (with http://www.flickr.com/photos/akaxaka/675793890/ as pic)
But uhm, yeah iPad:
Uhm, thanks Apple?
Quote attribution: http://daringfireball.net/2010/01/blue_boxes
But what good is nearly 100% market penetration when the platform is a) closed, b) very processor intensive, c) unstable and d) an otherwise rather bad netizen.
People point fingers at Mac fans for being all about the ‘bling’; what about these rabid Adobe fans. When they say ‘rich content’, you know they mean punch-the-monkey ads, porn and 30 second load screens.
It’s better than the alternative world without plugins:
21+% Ogg (FF+Chrome)
X% H2.643342 (Saf+Chrome+iPods)
70+% Zilch (IE)
All of which (except the iPods really) have buggy/non-complete implementations and/or have codecs that aren’t there yet (Theora for Ogg).
(Focussing just on the video-on-the-web aspect there)
All change of this magnitude will require a transitory period. As it stands, supporting both Flash and HTML 5 video during it is entirely within reason, IMHO.
Consider how we’re currently moving from CSS 2 to CSS 3. Or how we may have gone from HTML 4 to XHTML. The benefits far outweigh the losses.
What? CSS 3 just adds to CSS 2. CSS 2 didn’t suddenly stop working where it did before. No transition at all, just adding.
Same for HTML 4 to XHTML, HTML 4 has always worked, always will work and is essentially what most XHTML sites are sending anyway.
But taking the CSS 3 example:
We didn’t have to outlaw SVG rounded corners or little rounded images methods for border-radius to stand a chance, so why do you think (or imply anyway) that Flash video needs to become increasingly unsupported for HTML 5 video tags to stand a chance?
I am undecided on the iPad (terrible name). The best humour regarding this device I have seen so far is “when will they make a smaller version?”. While I love my iPhone, I not sure about this just yet.
Michael, while I read and agree with many of your comments, when you write “All change of this magnitude…”, I think you might be a bit deep in the rabbit hole. Unless you meant magnitude “interestingish”. The iPad, like the iPod, does nothing new. It is just pretty with a world class interface. And in fairness, a world class interface deserves a considered view. However, I will certainly have a gentle chuckle the first time I see someone on the train use the wifi iPad.
JJM, what I mean is, we’re implementing things that are not necessarily widely supported yet, while also providing fallback support.
I don’t think Flash video needs to be unsupported. I think Flash needs to disappear entirely, for reasons we’ve now spent almost a week elaborating on, and for which I have little more to say than has already been said.
So far I’ve seen few other people than Flash-centric developers cry over Flash’s imminent demise. Fair enough, my crowd is mostly a standards crowd so my view is obviously skewed; but I’ve gone out of my way to keep an open mind and read through hundreds of comments and many articles on the subject, and so far I remain untouched.
Flash is dying, it had its day, now it’s time for renewal. No, the world isn’t quite ready for Flash to disappear from one day to the next; but that’s not exactly happening, is it? This isn’t the first time we’ve had to cater to two different technologies at once, and it also isn’t the first time we’ve seen a proprietary solution go out the window as the net grows up (OH HAI MIRCOSFOT!1).
Probably. Though feel free to quote me on this in five years time: The iPad will revolutionize personal computing. Our children will grow up with transparent computing, and it started with the iPad.
Apple is in a unique place, not only do they have the technology to do this, they have an existing customer group who has shown themselves willing to live under their ‘draconian’ regime, the easiest media and now software ecosystem in the iTS, but more importantly, they understand how to make the software fit the hardware. HP can keep their Windows 7 tablets, good for them; this is a totally different ballgame.
My words. Mark them.
RIGHT!