In every field of art, you see the biggest innovations when the technical barriers to doing things are taken away. Make film equipment cheaper and a lot of brilliant people without much money hit the scene. Make synthesizers cheaper and you have the 80s.
Something very similar is happening here. If I have an idea for a great hardware product, now I have the option of using this existing hardware, which is beautiful and has a beautiful method of interacting. Certain of the UI specs have already been handled for me. So there's less of a gap between my having an idea and my launching it than there was, say, five years ago.
I'm hoping for further similar breakthroughs. It would be nice if making a program was simply a matter of sketching out the user interface and seeing it realized.
No, it can't, but it really doesn't matter that it can't. Most applications save your place in them, so the only cost of switching is that you have to wait a second for it to relaunch. If you've got a powerful enough processor, then relaunching applications is simply like switching. And because we've got a single-process tablet, there's no slowdown over time, no gucking up as things run dry.
I'd like Apple to figure out a policy that lets Pandora stream in the background, or Last.FM. Those are the only two I care about. Using push notifications for IM works perfectly for me: I see the messages as they happen, which is all I care about.
Yeah, I get what you mean. At first this was a real let-down event for me. I was hoping, stupid and irrational as it would be, for Apple to unveil a completely new OS, completely new functionality and technology, and instead all they did was take their already-successful technology and reemploy it.
What excited me after I saw the keynote: Speed and apps. The fact that this thing is blisteringly fast is exciting in and of itself. No load times for anything? Pretty neat. And then they did some of the demo apps, the NY Times one in particular, and basically showed off then and there how the newspaper industry could save itself, and I was struck by the fact that given a screen of this size and a processor of this speed (whatever that actual speed is), you're capable of making a lot of very powerful things.
iPhone apps right now are some of the best programs ever made. In terms of build and ease-of-use and aesthetic quality, there're some things there that blow away and Windows/Mac app I've ever used. The fact that now developers have even more room to make their content means to me that we're going to see some applications that are cool to a degree that we've never seen before. If hearing birdcalls on your phone is magical already, I want to see what those same creative minds are capable of given ten inches of real estate.
So, not exciting on the surface, but the implications make me really giddy. I'm sure when we get closer to launch date Apple will reveal ads that say all that but more smoothly. I'm actually excited to see what the ads will be like.
That's my favorite part about Apple: When they introduce a product that makes other products of theirs look obsolete. I used to love my laptop's multitouch until I tried a Magic Mouse; now my scrolling all feel stodgy.
I agree that the iPod and iPhone were much easier sells. But I suspect that the iPad will be seen as a superior product. I mean, the one thing Apple does not corner the market in is standard computing. OS X machines lose out to the Windows market. If anything, this is an entry into that market, same as netbooks were; if you look at this as a cheap, simplistic laptop that just happens not to be a clamshell, then it makes more sense. People looking for a good deal can buy this, and it handles basic computer-y things for them, and it turns out that they don't need all the cruft modern computers bring with them.
But actually in this case I've got some perspective, because last month my mother began asking me about the tablet. She owns an iPhone but no laptop; she likes my laptop but doesn't want to drop that much money for something she won't use much. Her questions were things like: Can I watch a movie on one? Can I check my email? Can I read books? For somebody who needs to do basic computer things like email and Internet, but who doesn't need anything specialized, there's nothing you need that the iPad can't do. (I'm curious as to how many people in the US own laptops. I've never thought about it before.)
As for the G4 cube comparison (though that made me think for a second!), I think there's one huge difference: The OS. This is easily the best operating system ever made in terms of usability. There's almost no abstraction. No mouse, no doubleclicking, no app folder, no dock, no task bar... you push a button and it launches something, and that thing is usually designed so that it makes perfect sense without instructions.
I didn't get why that was a big deal until I saw the streaming keynote and actually looked at the applications. I'd bet that Youtube on an iPad is simpler and funner than Youtube on a Macbook, because there're fewer steps to going about doing anything. The simplicity of the OS allows for far more elegant app design, to the point where I think people will notice and be sold on that design alone.
And you can't make a resume in iWork? I think that part of Apple's announcement was more significant to a certain crowd than we're giving it credit for.
I work at a school considering a laptop program. This was our first question, and we couldn't find anything in specs that explicitly talked about this.
I have to assume that you will be able to print wirelessly, but there's that tiny fear that somehow you can't as a protective feature for the ebooks. Silly question, but can you print from a Kindle or a Nook?
I've never seen a way to do so from a Kindle. I'd imagine it would be risky for them to offer that service: What's there to stop you from printing your own book?
The cost of paper and binding, for one. That's why physical books are so rarely pirated when compared to digital media. Printing a few pages sounds perfectly reasonable to me though.
Oh, jrockway. Here's to our upcoming 2-year anniversary of you being a fucker and my calling you a fucker. You've been with me since the start!
I think it's all right for me to call Apple my favorite company. If we want to be douchesnobs, they've earned their pedigree. More red dot design awards than any other company in history, more black pencils, an impressive list of advertising trophies, and business sales that shock and awe us all. As an entrepreneurial advertising major who enjoys industrial design, I think it's safe to say I've got a good excuse for liking Apple.
Your article is pretty good, but it just gets annoying when every article on HN is about how the iPad is going to solve world hunger with its super-shiny screen. It wasn't you personally that I was reacting to, but rather the onslaught of similarly-themed articles whenever Apple releases a new product. (The jizz reference reflects well on your writing ability, but not so much on Apple. The fact that your article exists proves the points your article makes. Excellent. :)
As an entrepreneurial advertising major who enjoys industrial design, I think it's safe to say I've got a good excuse Apple.
And I think it's safe to say, that as someone who makes a living from writing software, that I am not going to like devices that restrict users from running my software... even if it has a really pretty case. (I have eyes. I know Apple's stuff is beautiful.)
FWIW, I was a long-time Apple fanboi, diligently lining up to buy whatever new product they had the first day it was available. But then one night, I was debugging some software, and some debugging functionality didn't work because Apple specifically broke it to prevent someone from reverse-engineering iTunes. (Google "PT_DENY_ATTACH".) I formatted my Powerbook that night, switched to Linux, and never looked back.
Apple's not going to win me back with a nice screen or great marketing. When they stop selling music and videos with Restrictions Management and when anyone can run any code on any of their devices, Apple will be my favorite company too. But I doubt that will ever happen.
Yep! We've gotten into a lot of these discussions before. (I hope you took my comment lightheartedly, and not as a personal insult — it's more my way of saying we'll agree to disagree here.)
Usually I'm not a fan of the slew of Apple articles. This time I thought it warranted some, but even so it's very over-the-top. For whatever reason we've all decided to hate the shiny thing with the terrible name. I thought it might be fun to chip in with my opinion, which I'd written as a private blog entry a bit earlier.
I'm satisfied with the compromise Apple and independent developers have reached with the iPhone. If I can jailbreak at any time and get more freedom for my machine, then I'm fine with ceding it for the time being. Maybe some point in the future I'll turncoat and go after something more open, but I'm moderately retarded as a programmer at the moment and I've been slow to develop.
This is an aside, but, based on your last comment: Does Apple sell music with DRM anymore? Now they sell their files as unlocked m4ps with an option to convert to aac. That stopped me from downloading mp3 copies of all those albums, so I was satisfied; is there a restriction still there that I somehow missed?
(I hope you took my comment lightheartedly, and not as a personal insult — it's more my way of saying we'll agree to disagree here.)
Indeed I did :)
Does Apple sell music with DRM anymore?
As far as I know, many songs are non-DRM'd, but not all of them. But really, DRM didn't work out for the music industry, and it is gradually going away. It's videos/software/books that I am worried about now. For example, I would love to be able to buy TV episodes instead of pirating them. But they won't play on any computers I own, so I can't. DRM goes away, the content industry gets my cash. (But it's not good for Apple if I can watch the videos on non-Apple hardware, so I can't.)
As far as I know, many songs are non-DRM'd, but not all of them.
Hm. I thought that their big announcement last year was that they'd converted the entire store to DRM-free, but I could be mistaken.
It's videos/software/books that I am worried about now.
Yeah, I agree about this one. Right now, I try and treat each thing on a case-by-case basis. I never buy digital video, but I'll buy my games off Steam and I buy the occasional Kindle book because Valve and Amazon have done such a job of winning my trust. (Even when Amazon messes up, like with the 1984 thing, they're very good at realizing they were dumb and sounding convincing in their apology.) I also feel like books and games are so easily pirated that if something bad happens, I can get myself a copy anyway.
Now, video rental is something different. I'm completely fine with the idea of paying for temporary access if I'm watching a TV show or a movie. DRM doesn't matter if it'll be gone a few hours from now anyway.
I think it'll appeal to more people than just that. I suspect it'll make headway into the e-reader territory — some people will pass up e-paper for flexibility. It'll also be considered by anybody enthusiastic about newspapers or magazines, and I think there might be more of them than we currently see. Certainly that's what my neighbor was excited about when he dropped by to talk.
It's going to be absolutely enormous for students. Anybody who uses their laptop for casual notetaking will want this. I use my iPod and I want it also, though for me it would be a gratuitous purchase. People that want a Macbook but can't drop a thousand dollars will consider paying half that for a tablet.
As for getting work done: I can see myself using this as a primary writing tool. I'd prefer that to a Macbook, actually, because of the flexibility. (I don't mind touch-typing.) I can also see a lot of powerful applications being made around this. Could you replicate Coda as an iPad app? I think it's possible. Could you make a powerful image editor? Perhaps not in the iPad's current state (though maybe?), but as it becomes more powerful I think there's easily enough space to create a gorgeous editing interface. I can already run Final Cut Pro on my laptop with no problem, and using flash memory means things move even more quickly; we won't see professional-class applications by the end of this year, but by 2012 I suspect we'll start to see them.
Within my immediate family one purchase has been decided (my mother wants an ebook computer and a music program) and I suspect several more are on the way. When one thing can do so many things at once, it appeals to lots and lots of people. I doubt people who already have two Apple products will need this third one, but people with only one or the other or people looking to make a switch suddenly have a brilliant bridge.
Agreed on textbook/student note taking angle. But I really think you're in the minority as far as not minding touchtyping on a glass screen — I think that would get old fast for writing anything longer than a paragraph.
I'm eager to see how this works as an eReader. I still think that reading a book on a backlit display sort of stinks. I'm wondering if people will spring for the iPad as an eBook reader because it has so much else to offer, and then realize a few days later that they just can't ignore the eye strain.
That's why I'm really interested in seeing what this keyboard dock is like. Certainly it works well stationary, but for people on the move and wanting a keyboard is it a solution? I'm guessing it's not; it looks fairly bulky. Perhaps bluetooth keyboards will become a hot accessory.
The ereader angle will be interesting also. I find that I don't mind reading books on lowlit screens, but I still vastly prefer the Kindle. I'd also like to know if reading certain types of writing works better without e-paper. Perhaps reading glossy magazines feels better when your screen's glowing at you.
That's how I feel, too. The bezel I'm uncertain about, the aspect ratio is certainly different if nothing else. I'm curious how it'll feel when held. Perhaps the radical screen change will prove to feel surprisingly natural.
I think the huge (relatively) screen will make up for the ppi. As for half an inch, I suspect that with something this big anything thinner might even seem fragile. But we'll find out on launch, and whatever we hate Apple will fix and sell to us again.
I mean I know I'm an Apple fanboy and all but I think they could have learned from their failures