“Brace yourself. Before the month is out, they will be knocking at your door, insisting that Apple’s iPad tablet―for sale on or about April 3 (pre-orders started March 12 at 5:30 pm PST)―is just the gadget that will solve a multitude of IT problems while, simultaneously, giving your IT strategy a leg up,” Robert McGarvey writes for CIO Update. “It will not.”
MacDailyNews Note: In what we expect will be just the first of many corrections, iPad pre-orders started on March 12 at 5:30 am Pacific, not pm.
McGarvey continues, “What it will do, say many experts, is create problems. And those problems will become your problems… Even if your company has relented and now supports the iPhone, as growing numbers of businesses do (70% of the Fortune 100 are at least testing it, says Apple) you’ll want to say ‘No’ to the iPad and other tablets.”
McGarvey’s 10 reasons to nix Apple’s iPad in your IT strategy:
1. Slow is as slow is: James Wolf, an assistant professor of Information Systems at Illinois State University [says that] moving your hands around a screen is clunky. “The keyboard/mouse is much faster and easier than the tablet’s input.”
MacDailyNews Take: Ooh, an assistant professor; of Information Systems, no less. We’re sure some assistant professor somewhere also claimed that typewriters were faster than word processors way back when, too. Nobody makes typewriters anymore.
2. The iPad does not run common office productivity tools
MacDailyNews Take: No, it runs good office productivity tools that just so happen to be compatible with the common ones.
3. No camera
MacDailyNews Take: So, use your iPhone’s camera. Camera’s are not a requirement for your “IT strategy.” They can even be banned from workplaces for security reasons.
4. No [third-party] multitasking allowed on the iPad
MacDailyNews Take: Yet. And, even if it never, ever happens, it’s not valid reason to “nix iPad in your IT strategy” which, if your IT department is anything like most, is a strategy based almost exclusively on job preservation and the stifling of worker productivity for the sake of IT’s convenience.
5. No Flash on iPad: That means no watching Web videos (unless it’s on YouTube, for which a special player is promised).
MacDailyNews Take: What is this poor idiot talking about? iPad supports H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format. Yes, MR. IT Doofus, iPad even supports your ancient, piece of crap .avi format.
6. No USB out of the box
MacDailyNews Take: Dock connector, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and iWork.com, dummy. Welcome to this century.
7. Money talks: A decent netbook can be had for half the $500 Apple is expected to price the bare bones iPad… A data plan for 3G capable models is expected to add another $30 monthly to the tab.
MacDailyNews Take: There’s no such thing as a decent netbook. And a 3G data plan for a netbook would cost more than an iPad’s.
8. Speaking of money, there is no money in the company budget to pay for iPads.
MacDailyNews Take: Depends on the company and how forward-thinking its leadership is.
9. Not supporting iPad will be the enterprise norm: ”Consumers will buy the iPad to use as an e-reader,” predicts Chris Hazelton, research director for Mobile and Wireless at The 451 Group. “But the iPad will not be bought by enterprise.”
MacDailyNews Take: iCal’ed.
10. Tablets have never caught on: Apple won’t change that. As far back as Comdex in 2001, Bill Gates predicted tablet computing would change the world. You know what happened to Comdex and tablets, too.
MacDailyNews Take: Typical IT drone. We pity these type of dinosaurs. Of course, many of IT’s beloved Bill “Whoops, I Missed The Internet” Gates’ predictions over the years have been absolutely atrocious.
Full article – Think Before You Click™ – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Shouldn’t IT people be out front, trying new things, pushing the envelope in order to drag their companies kicking and screaming into the future in order to boost productivity? Unfortunately, they’re all too often the complete opposite: erecting artificial barriers built on shaky or nonexistent foundations, resisting change at every turn, just like the fearful, little Mr. McGarvey.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Tony H.” for the heads up.]
I’m not saying that quoting any assistant professor is the best idea, but the rank should not be though of as bad. Assistant professors are simply the entry-level, tenure-track position in most US colleges and universities. If, after a set amount of time, the college decides to keep you, you get promoted to associate professor and typically receive tenure at the same time. Assistant professors typically have the terminal degree for their field (usually PhD, EdD, or SocD). The progression typically goes from assistant, to associate, then finally to full professor.
They all said the same things about the iPhone. Keep it out of the enterprise it’s just an Apple Toy it’s not a serious smart phone. Now conservatively speaking more then half the companies in the world have iPhones on their company IT systems. Many, Many IT managers and directors are using iPhones to manage and monitor their networks and systems. These IT Managers and Directors are going to love the iPad with it’s big screen and powerful chipset. No matter how much the blowhard IT punters can see that Apple is making Windows and complex technology irrelevant and has Apple does this the effects are IT departments shrink, complex IT infrastructures go away, the OS and the Devices become common everyday work and do all devices and IT, Computer, and Technology punters become aging dinosaurs searching for relevance.
Comdex died because PC’s moved beyond IT.
Microsoft is a dead dinosaur too but, it’s brain is so slow it just hasn’t told it’s body to stop twitching. Apple basically killed Microsoft when they changed the rules and the face of personal computing with the iPhone and iPod touch. It will have taken Microsoft almost the better part of 4 years to just get on the road to chasing Apple’s iPhone OS and it’s going to jump on the chase by introducing technology that is 4+ years behind what Apple is selling. It’s the Zune vs. the iPod all over again. And while Windows 7 is better then Vista it isn’t better then Windows XP according to the IT industries own benchmarks.
If Robert McGarvey was born 100 years earlier he would have been writing about the 10 Reasons to nix the automobile in your transportation strategy. For example, #7:
Money talks: A decent horse and buggy can be had for half the $850 Henry Ford wants for his contraption ….And grass is much cheaper than the gasoline needed for automobiles.
Readers Digest to Playboy?
This guy really IS cutting edge…. for 1923 and 1958 respectively.
Both mags are currently hanging-on in the Intensive Care Ward of the magazine hospital.
This guy’s work is the equivalent of Euthanasia for a terminally sick publication.
But seriously – how do these dumbos get such well-paid work, when they are so painfully ignorant and unimaginative?
We’re going to ENJOY this iPad victory.
Wow, this guy Robert McGarvey just became the #1 Biggest Asshole of 2010. Unbelievable that this guy even has a paid job, when millions of smarter people are out of work. Robert McGarvey belongs at the bottom of a sewage pit, swimming with the other shit that thinks just like him.
Mac users and owners almost always get defensive and worked up about anyone who criticizes an Apple product or offers an opinion that’s contrary to their views. Lighten up. No need to call the writer an “idiot,” “drone,” and “dummy”. And then to condescend the person being an “assistant” professor. Uh, you’re a writer on a Mac news site and calling someone juvenile names. What does that say about yourself? It reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld where the person Jerry’s dating tells him she can’t be with someone who she doesn’t find funny. He then tells her, “You’re a cashier!” Same sentiment. People who express skepticism about the iPad (I’m not pro or con since I don’t know; it hasn’t been released) doesn’t deserved to be belittled and excoriated.
If we are talking Enterprise Norm here, at least two of his arguments have no place here:
3. No camera: Most major enterprise operations DISABLE webcams, or order without them (for reasons obvious to anyone but the writer);
5. No Flash, no YouTube: No major enterprise operation is concerned with the ability of their hardware to play back YouTube (a major productivity KILLER).
This closely resembles a satirical piece from about two months ago, when iPad first came out, which provided a “convenient list of reasons against iPad in the Enterprise”. However, it seems that this guy isn’t writing satire; he’s writing out of his anus.
This guy’s just trying to be the next Dvorak.
MDN “looked,” as in “He’s an idiot.”
Personally, I use both iWork and Microsoft Office (Office on both my Macs and Windows machines). While I appreciate the availability of the iWork suite for the iPad, I do think that this presents a dilemma for companies and IT departments. Many companies and educational institutions rely on volume licensing for software. While this exists in some respect for the Mac version of iWork (as I’m currently aware, it must be done in maximums of 100 seats), I haven’t heard of any type of volume licensing for the iPad versions of the suite. I suppose this could be coming in time, but I don’t remember seeing any volume options in the app store at all.
I’m just saying that it’s sometimes beneficial to have IT manage software at a level above individual devices. I can understand how the iPad may cause headaches in this respect. Having to rely on each user to purchase the three apps separately and individually is one thing, but ensuring that all of those users maintain consistent versions of the apps could be difficult for larger institutions. Just saying!
Dear Professor McGarvey,
I’m IT and I’m bringing in iPads ASATS. They will facilitate the absorption of information and presentation of same by executives at my org.
So, kiss my &%$@)
Interestingly, the article’s headline is listed on Google News and attributed to MDN, as if this site is giving 10 reasons not to use an iPad! They do that a lot lately- problem is, most people will glance at the headline and not read the content. So all they read and take in is “10 Reasons Not to.. iPad…”
6 has potential – but in no way is it a deal breaker.
It would be terrific if it either had a USB port on the side or there was a dock port to USB adapter.
because quite frankly, it would be nice to plug any keyboard in (mouse would be redundant), lots of people use specialized keyboards – foreign languages, ergonomics etc. and it would be helpful.
Is it a reason not to buy it, NO.
BTW – no flash isn’t bad for enterprise – the majority of flash sites are videos/games or other time wasters so no flash is a plus for enterprise.
Reason Number 11 not to get an Apple iPad… Having a product “that just works” from a company that “Thinks Different” and creates products and software that are elegantly simplistic to use, could be the beginning of the end of the IT’s job at your business and if on that rare occasion that you do have a problem, set up an appointment with an Apple Genius… (could also use this reason to nix reason 8 and therefore be able to afford an iPad).
@HMCIV
“@MDN Take: “Nobody makes typewriters anymore.”
Royal Typewriter
Just sayin’.”
Man those typewriter prices are comparable to Net Book prices, only the typewriters are more productive!
Typical IT Staff/Department response in dictating what computers, smartphones, servers, etc. the company or organization should be using. They forget that they are there as SUPPORT staff and should be there to see how they can implement the IT technologies that management would like to incorporate.
Yes, the IT staff should be involved in providing feedback regarding the Pros and Cons of certain IT equipment and strategies, but too many are dogmatic and inflexible in their IT philosophies.
Generally, they look for ways NOT to do something instead of finding ways something new or different CAN be done.
We’re not getting “defensive” and worked up because we’re “Mac users”. It goes way beyond that. Name calling aside, the point is that so-called “industry pundits”, for the most part, just fail to see the forest through the trees as to what this technology means for IT, business, personal use, and overall information exchange. The time of “Let’s Rip Apple” is OVER. It’s getting old already. It’s been talked about for years and it still has no merit. Here we have an extremely innovative device that can only be described as just scratching the surface of what it will do right out of the box, i.e. there is so much more to come out of this than any of us realize. Sorry, but this guy just doesn’t get it. I won’t sit here and call him a moron, idiot, a-hole, etc because that’s nothing but a waste of energy. The plain and simple truth is journalists like this guy should expend a little thought before they write.
@auramac
Only on Google news. It truly is WW III between Apple and Google.
Weren’t such half-ass articles written about iPhone also…
He blew it and didn’t say that
#1 Can’t play Pandora in the background while surfing the net or going poopoo.( contributing freelance writer R2 )
i’m an it specialist, and I work in an all apple environment.
and really, they don’t do everything I need them to do.
it is sad really.
ps how is the dell server holding up mac daily news.
that is what this site appears to be hosted on.
Once again, IT forgets who is the customer and who is the service provider.
In Soviet Russia, you don’t operate computers. Computers operate you!
I think you counter most of his points pretty well, but why the personal attacks? The Internet has too much douchebaggery. Thanks for being part of the problem.
The only meaningful quote regarding the iPad is Alan Kay. ““When the Mac first came out, Newsweek asked me what I [thought] of it. I said: Well, it’s the first personal computer worth criticizing. So at the end of the presentation (the iPhone introduction), Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world.”
MacDailyNews replies are so unprofessional.