“Normal people don’t like today’s computers. Most loathe them because they can’t fully understand their absurd complexity and arcane conventions,” Jesus Diaz writes for Gizmodo. “That’s why the iPad will kill today’s computers, just like the latter killed computers running with punchcards and command lines.”
“Of course, the iPad—the actual product that millions will buy in the coming months—won’t replace all computers. The entire world is not going to run just on tablets, just like the world doesn’t run only on smartphones and personal computers now,” Diaz writes. “But Steve Jobs’ Next Big Thing is the first computer that requires no training whatsoever, one that is truly accessible and useful for everyone. Just like the iPhone changed the idea of what a phone should be without anyone truly realizing it, Apple’s new computer will completely and permanently change our idea of what a computer is and how it should behave.”
Diaz writes, “The perception change will be so deep that it will kill Mac OS X, Windows and Linux as we know them today. At one point during this decade, you will no longer have a billion folders and file icons floating in a virtual desktop. There will be no more baffling setup screens. No more shortcuts to work around limitations and old conventions. These frustrating barriers—built during decades of evolution—are what make normal people hate computers. These barriers have now been obliterated, first by the iPhone and now by the iPad. Everyone will be using computers similar to the iPad. Not in terms of hardware, form factor, and specs. But on its philosophy.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
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How about a 27 inch iPad for desktop use? I love it.
Simple. Genius.
“….it will kill Mac OS X, Windows and Linux as we know them today….”
Hmmm, maybe. Perhaps it’s familiarity, or conservatism, but I don’t find the desktop and folder paradigm particularly confusing. For the heavyweight computer use most of us do in an office environment, I see the classic OS arrangements lasting for rather longer than a decade.
@TomL
I think HP makes something you’d find attractive.
I do not think the iPad will kill OS X, I think it will expand its use market share. Some people may choose the iPad user interface over the desktop interface. But until technology reaches a point where the iPad is as powerful as a Mac Tower, which will be a long time, there is a place for both. Apple will thrive in any case.
It’s not Amazon that will be feeling the heat- it’s makers and marketers of NetBooks. Do you really think that someone who is’t a reader now will become one just because it’s on an iPad? I don’t.
The iPad is the NetBook killer. I’ll keep my 2 Kindles and appson my Macs and iPhone- Thank You very much.
Amazon sells Kindles at breakeven to a small loss & makes it’s money on the e-books, mags & subscribed blogs. BTW- the 3G wireless is free on the Kindle. With the international version it also works outside the US- something your AT&T;prepaid will not do.
I want to believe, but the iPad will at least need to be able to print on a wifi network. According to the hands-on reviews, it can’t. Oh, and third party app work-arounds don’t cut it. Hopefully this, along with multi-tasking for third party apps, will be enabled this summer as part of iPhone OS 4.0.
Go Apple!
As someone in the publishing industry, it’s pretty simple to me.
I will create content with my Macs, and I will consume it with an iPad. They not only complement one another, one can’t really exist without the other.
What I do believe to be true is that the there will be many fewer desktops and even notebook computers needed on a per capita basis. That’s the paradigm shift, not that the classic OS (whatever flavor you love or tolerate) is going to be replaced anytime soon, if ever.
@ TomL
when osx becomes touch optimised the 27″ imac will do nicely
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />…if ever puts both platforms together in a frontrow/expose setup. doubt it though…
When we were young our moms said. “Don’t touch” NOW we’re told, ‘Touch all you want.” It’s very natural. That’s one of the iPad’s successes.
@Netbooks. Not the Kindle
“BTW- the 3G wireless is free on the Kindle. With the international version it also works outside the US- something your AT&T;prepaid will not do.”
Kindle 3G wireless is free for what? Downloading ebooks? Can you surf with it and do email and make VOIP calls? Is there GPS for navigation?
Outside the US isn’t an issue. There are lots of cheap pay-as-you-go data packages available all over, especially here in Europe. If they don’t do miniSIM yet, you can cut a regular SIM down with a pair of scissors and a template off the web.
The reviewers who have gotten their hands on one already say the screen is very nice for extended reading. Someone considering a ebook reader or a netbook would be very wise to consider an iPad. But there is no way an ebook reader or netbook will do, once someone is informed about the iPad.
Best ipad accessory that I have seen yet. I just wonder why Apple didn’t make this instead of their boring carrying case.
Jesus Diaz NAILED it!
I have to agree whole heartedly.
The most astute observation I have seen in a long time.
For those who want this interface to translate to a pure desktop experience I have two words for you:
Gorilla arm.
The article above mentioned that folders won’t be needed. I have wondered about how the iPad will handle lots of files created or accessed by a user. While an iPhone/iPod touch user might access a more limited set of user files, the iPad might attract users to want to access, use and create many more by comparison.
With OS-X, we are used to creating some sort of directory or file hierarchy in which we store countless numbers of files and folders. While many owners of the iPad might want to avoid that, and use it primarily for reading books, listening to music, dashing off or reading email, surfing the Web or using individual apps, my hunch is that there will be at least some people who will want to adapt their use in a manner similar to that of a Mac.
This makes me wonder: is the goal of Apple for us to store files locally on the iPad? Or, does Apple have in mind getting iPad owners to become MobileMe customers, and use its cloud-based storage capabilities to basically turn MobileMe into a large hard drive? Could this be why Apple is building a massive data center in North Carolina?
If any reader has more insight about how iPad users will store and organize their files, please do share. I’m sure this is a point that has been extensively discussed and researched by Apple; I simply don’t know the details. Thanks in advance for your help!
I know what he’s saying about the “concept” of the touch-controlled iPad eventually displacing many (if the not the majority) of computers with keyboards and mouse-equivalents.
However, considering you need one of those archaic computers with Mac OS X or Windows running iTunes to even use an iPad, this story is a bit pre-mature.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
The iPad like the iPod touch and iPhone are gateway drugs (computers), meaning it will just be the start of a long happy path to a mac!
I meant the iPad will be a short happy path to a mac, as the iPod Touch, and iPhone was for me!
To paraphrase Ballmer T. Clown:
“$500?!?, $500?!? .. Without a keyboard?!?
I like our strategy, I like it a lot..”
May he stay healthy and in the job for many more years.
LOL @ the Microsoft fanboys over at Gizmodo who are crucifying Jesus for thinking the iPad is a game changer.
What they do not realize is that he is referring to the upcoming “tablet revolution” not just the iPad.
But they hate Apple so much that they cannot give the article a smidgeon of foresight.
Obama is such a clueless asshat.
Oh, love the iPad
At least Diaz was cautious about his radical prediction! He didn’t suggest the iPad itself would topple the current paradigm, he said it was the first of many that would do so. And he didn’t say it would happen tomorrow, just “soonish”.
What do you think of an input device based on an iPad … like a keyboard AND mouse … that you can use remotely (a la iPad) or as a mere wireless add-on to your “desktop”?
From what I can see, so far it’s not meant to replace anything- it’s a totally different category that fulfills needs in a different way, one that we didn’t realize we needed or could be so useful. As an Apple product- it’s another “computer for the rest of us.” The biggest criticism is that it’s a big iPod Touch. Simplistic- but even if true- so what? In this case- it’s also More than an iPod Touch!
(Oh, God, I dread the thought of a Zune tablet..)
He nailed it.
Thank you, “x“, for interrupting an intelligent, on-topic, non-rancorous discussion with an idiotic, off-topic, rancorous comment. We love you, too. Now, time for your meds and a nap.