“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.
Previous Post
Inside the iPad: Apple’s A4 processor64 Comments
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
More Apple apps add landscape mode ahead of foldable ‘iPhone Ultra’
Apple’s forthcoming iOS 27 enables landscape mode in more of Apple’s built-in iPhone apps, including Apple Music, Podcasts, Fitness…
Apple’s dominance deepens with global market share gains across key product segments
Apple continues to solidify its position as a tech powerhouse, with impressive gains in market share across its product lineup. According to…
Apple’s global hit series ‘Widow’s Bay’ lands season two renewal
Recently hailed as “better than Martha’s Vineyard,” Widow’s Bay is open for another season. Today, Apple TV announced a season two renewal…
Beyond AI, Apple’s macOS 27 Golden Gate includes several subtle-but-helpful improvements
In his latest hands-on with the macOS 27 Golden Gate beta, Ars Technica’s Andrew Cunningham steps away from the heavy AI focus of WWDC 2026…
Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne doesn’t regret selling his stake for $800, even though it’d be worth $400 billion today
Ronald Wayne once owned 10% of Apple. Today, that stake would be worth roughly $400 billion. Instead, he sold it for $800…
correction, “will expand its market share.”
OK, so it doesn’t do everything that everyone wants or needs right now. But everyone should realize that as the platform matures, more and more abilities will be added to the interface in a platform specific way. We’ll be doing everything on it that a we can do on a laptop, but we’ll be doing it the way iPad OS interface does it.
@DLMeyer
I can use my iPod touch to control my Mac TODAY.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
And tomorrow, do the same with my iPad!
Of course, I can also use my Apple Bluetooth keyboard and Kensington Bluetooth trackball mouse to do the same.
I guess maybe what you mean is accessing media collections with my iPad that are stored on my Mac? If so, i’m with you there, especially given the pitiful amount of storage available in the iPad
What I REALLY want is a decent, pro-level (even semi-pro) photo cataloging app that I can use that is NOT iPhoto… that I can use over my network either to stream to my iPad or HDTV.
Simple: some of the iPad programming concepts will migrate into OSX.
Why does everybody want to overstate and overanalyze things?
Real world average PC procedure: 1. Turn it on or wake it. 2. Log in. 3. Go get a cup of coffee while system runs through its checks and virus scans and network settings. (Step 1 can take a while depending on your monitor; step 2 and 3 may be exchangeable depending on your network). Wait for step 3 to complete before most software can respond normally.
To shut down, reverse the steps and give it at least 3 minutes.
IPhone or iPad procedure: 1. Pick it up. 2. Slide it open. 3. Do what you need right away.
@RL: Old. No longer funny or clever.
This article is spot on, except the iPad isn’t a computer – it’s the first true digital appliance. Like other consumer appliances, it just works and requires no training.
Was having lunch with a (PC using) friend today who couldn’t believe I thought the iPad was a great new invention in personal computing. His argument was, “I need to have tons of files and the ability to dig around for them and open them with whatever program I want. I don’t want to be controlled in the way I use the programs–and I want multitasking.”
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
This same guy LOVES his iPod Touch (and will get an iPhone when his contract is up), and just a few days earlier I spent 45 minutes waiting for him to find a file on his Windows 7 machine, and the failure of a search engine couldn’t manage to locate the file he was looking for.
I wanted to whack this guy on the head and tell him that for 95% of the population (probably himself included) the iPad will be a far superior experience to anything he uses today, but I figure he’ll understand in time. Meanwhile, I told him we could trek to an Apple store and play with it after it hits the shelves. Hopefully that’ll get the mental ball rolling for him
Both MS and now Apple appear to be wanting to go back to the very system they came to life to oppose; centralized, mainframe computing which they’ve relabeled with a fluffy name “cloud computing” to distract people from what it actually is. It was/is a monolithic system where everything is on the mainframe server, and users access it over a network from dumb/smart terminals. They do not have their files at their location but must “request” access from the server which is controlled by server admins who think of themselves as gods.
Your access can be… denied. Or the network can be slow making it hard to do the work you need to do.
Apple’s famous 1984 commercial showed how Apple was going to “liberate” people from this tyranny with the Macintosh. The whole “personal” computer revolution was about putting control in the hands of the user instead of the sys admins. The iPad and Mobile Me appear to be a new variant on an old theme.
Now that they’re huge and dominate, these personal computer companies want to bring back that old monster only they’ll be the ones in control this time so I guess it’s not bad now?
Just a thought…
(and the MDN word is… thought)
Mac OSX will not “kill Mac OS X”.
Mac OSX has evolved and will evolve.
Just what did the writer think runs iPads? Mac OSX of course.
Dent someone once say we move towards the world as depicted in star trek. Communicator-cell phone.
I don’t see them using keyboards. I’d post the whole list but you get my drift
iPad won’t destroy Linux because most of Supercomputers and Servers run on it.
@Ken1w
The need for an outboard computer to make an iPad operational will kill it’s potential use as a laptop replacement in the education and enterprise environments. I am hopeful that a program like ‘The iPhone Configuration Utility” will be made available for the iPad ASAP
This article is exactly my “fear” of what is going to happen with Apple within 5 years. Basically there will be consumer lineup of iphone OS – app store based consumer devices for the content consumers and then maybe the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro for the few content creators. Goodbye iMac and Mac Mini. Then how will I build my Mac Based HTPC system – really love my Mac Mini serving up my Apple TVs. Definitely not the job for an iPad as it is now.
MDN word “wrong” as in I hope I am wrong.
I am pretty sure Steve has already a roadway mapped for OSX to evolve along this path.
Remember, he plans where the puck will be.
Jesus D. Is a loon. Oh yeah, I’m sure all corporations are going to throw our there servers and workstations and run everything on ipads. What a fruitcake.
x can’t help himself. His rectum leaks occasionally because of poor sphincter control.
@Edward,
You’re reading far too much into the iPad. There’s no reason to think Apple wants to get rid of local file storage. For example, the iDisk functionality in MobileMe has a very nice auto-sync function that allows you to treat it as a set of folders in your Finder that are available both locally and in the cloud. That means you get the best of both worlds! You also get the “Public” folder functionality that enables you to easily share files with others. Of course, all of this also syncs very smoothly with all iPhone OS devices through a free app. What’s not to like???
Hmmm…maybe a little bit of hyperbole, but what the heck.
My personal take is that iPad extends the idea of a action-oriented computing platform (as originally envisaged in Newton) as opposed to conventional computing which is file and document-oriented.
That’s fine: for the most part, when we’re on the move, we doing things and when we’re sitting at our desks, we’re analysing the things we did when we were moving and trying to work out what we did, what we could do better and what we’ll do next time around.
iPad and Mac (or, if you absolutely must, Windows) can co-exist and deliver sensible solutions for professionals in a variety of markets. What will happen, however, is that we’ll see a massive proliferation of client applications developed for iPhone OS that will be only a hop, skip and a jump from being full-blown Mac applications.
The inevitable result of that process is that the advantage that Windows has always enjoyed (developers, developers, developers, etc. ad nauseum) will be eroded and with it that platform’s ill-deserved grip on the computing market.
Here in the UK, Apple has just won a major corporate account in TalkTalk which is a major competitor to BT: with technologies like iPad and iPhone OS, that win – alongside publishers in Germany and auto prep outfits in the US – won’t be the last.
@Ankh In the full article he says there will always be a place for traditional computers and servers, but most end users won’t need them.
Maybe home users but not corporate users.
Well, Mr. Diaz… Whatever. I’m still waiting for my flying car.
It is hindsight, not foresight, that is twenty-twenty, so just keep making those predictions.
I think that what he really means is that the iPad will kill todays GUI. It would be tough for the iPad to kill OSX, since it is OSX, but with a different GUI.
I do see Apple moving to this type of GUI on the desktop. Ever since aTV, TimeMachine and the CoverFlow stuff in iTunes I have thought that.
“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.”
Actually, one has existed for ages without the other.
as a few note above, you still need a Mac/PC to setup and administer your iPhone/iPad. they are not true stand-alone products. they depend on an old school computer, and that means there still needs to be one person who knows how to make that work too.
but … there will be fewer around. especially laptops of all kinds. only “power users” will need those anymore.
and right now, a family might have several computers, as older ones get ‘handed down’ to various family members when the main computer guy/gal gets a new one. those will dwindle in number as well, replaced by Pads.
so Diaz is on the right track. this will take 5-10 years tho to work its way through the market.
To: The King of Comedy and Omniscient One of All Things Mac (aka cogitoergomac )
Bite Me! It was new to me and will still be funny years from now when my grandkids read this post. It is timeless funny. I know you think you know funny, but trust me you know nothing about funny.