“The more I read about it the more enthusiastic I get about the iPad. I also get equally annoyed about some of the stupid things that are being written. One thought keeps resonating with me though: the iPad isn’t really a computer. At least not in the traditional sense. (I know that technically it is a computer) Instead you should think of it more as a device that happens to do computing tasks,” Thomas Fitzgerald blogs.
“The iPad offers a new way to look at computing, and I think this scares a lot of people. Its ‘closed’ nature is offensive to some because they can only think of it in terms of existing computers, but that’s not really what the iPad is, or what it’s supposed to be. The iPad is a consumer electronics device that happens to do computing tasks. While it’s designed to replace having to use a computer for certain tasks, it’s not trying to completely do away with the desktop or laptop for tasks that they are more suitable for,” Fitzgerald writes. “Once the iPad is released, computers aren’t going to suddenly disappear or stop working, so those arguing that the iPad represents a loss of freedom are simply missing the point. The iPad isn’t for running your c++ compiler or hacking your system, or for running multiple operating systems. That’s what computers are for. For other tasks though the iPad removes a layer of abstraction between the user and the information they are viewing. Just like you don’t need a tool to read a book, with the iPad you no longer need the tools of a traditional computer, the keyboard and mouse, to read electronic information.”
Fitzgerald writes, “[iPad] represents the culmination of a very long journey for Apple. Thirty years on after setting out to do so, Apple will have finally achieved its goal of truly providing a computer for the rest of us by taking the ‘computer’ part out of the equation.”
Full article – highly recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Jobs sent not his iPad into the world to condemn the computer; but that the computer through iPad might be saved.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Chas” for the heads up.]
The problem with computers, for many people, is that they do too much, not too little. Ask your mom.
“…but that the computer through iPad might be saved.”
Wait, the iPad will double as a Time Capsule??? WOW!!!
Not a Time Capsule, HMCIV, a Time Tablet! Specifically, a New York Times Tablet!!
Ah, John 3:17.
I feel as though it was just yesterday that I inspired that one.
John 3:17. An oldie, but a goodie!
Leave my mom out of this combosation or we will have words later. hahahahha!!
What annoys me is the people who bitch that it needs to be more like a computer, then after two weeks or reading they brainwash themselves into thinking that it is great because of what it doesn’t have or do.
Stupid.
Nice use of a Bible quote. How about Matt. 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the computer or the operating system; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
“I tell you one thing that really drives me nuts, is people who think that Jethro Tull is just a person in a band.”
-Oscar, Armageddon
BIBLE
The Bible is something I haven’t seen discussed on the iPad. Full page Bible Apps that feature search, bookmarks, concordances etc would be the most useful Bible ever created.
My Mom teaches Bible Studies and she’s going to absolutely love this.
A computer? Maybe, with OS 10. As it is NOW, it can’t replace a laptop, or i-mac.
Or a couple of Nietzsche’s golden quotes:
That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.
God is dead.
In fact, I want an OS 10 ipad.So, I’ll buy the OS 10 2ghz 15 inch ipad. (laugh..) Or the 4 ghz ipad. It will keep me WARM in the winter, before it explodes.
@XE1
Great point!
I liked it so much that I blogged it.
Nice take, MDN. Although, its bordering on sacrilege and idolatry (for all things Apple). But it’s all in good fun.
The vision in 1984 was a computer that was in fact an appliance. By that they meant that we would no more think about the appliance than we do the toaster. It’s all about the toast, not the innards of the toaster.
Which means all our obsession on our computers and devices is a bit strange given the original goal.
Perhaps the iPad brings us closer.
Love the quotes from the New King Nerd version!
You raised a proper issue but got the message confused. Importantly, to use an iPad, a computer is necessary as as prerequisite. The IPad saves to the computer, I think. Am I wrong about this? Is it possible to use an iPad without first having a computer to sync to?
The iPad and the computer will be one.
I no longer feel the need of owning a Macbook.
@ Mac+
“I no longer feel the need of owning a Macbook.”
Neither do I.
@ @banditsbill
what are you talking about?
He’s the guy who plays the flute?
Great article and a keeper to provide to people who are getting a lot of misdirection and FUD from the typical knee jerk reacting tech bloggers.
The day of, or perhaps after, the announcement, I heard a Bible publisher discussing the possibilities of the iPad.
I’m not certain that an iPad absolutely needs a computer for syncing, but it’s certainly more useful with one. I still think Apple should release “iHub”, an AppleTV-like appliance for iPhone OS device management. iTunes and Time Machine.
@ @Bandit Bill….by the way which one’s Pink?
@Deadlyserious “Is it possible to use an iPad without first having a computer to sync to?”
Don’t know if Apple will let you just turn it on or if you need to synch with iTunes before you get to the apps.
If you can just turn it on and go, no problem.
If you need to synch to iTunes, find a trusted Mac/PC friend, maybe the Apple Store, to do the initial sync.
Then turn it on, surf the web, download apps, music, videos, books, and more using wifi or kick in for the 3G. Type in your contacts, set up your calendar, download photos from your digital camera using the Camera Connection kit. Have your buds send files via email to view and copy.
Want to get your other digital stuff onto the iPad? You probably already own a computer, no?
Want to update your iPhoneOS, visit an Apple Store or get with your trusted Mac/PC friend.
Back it up? Yes, you’re out of luck for now if you don’t have a trusted Mac/PC friend. Maybe Apple will let you back it up to their new data center when it goes operational.