Yeah… the thing that got me was the speed… I'm used to the iPhone 2G, and this is *waaay* faster. What Schiller and Cook said is true… you have to *use* it to *get* it.
Yeah, I've been telling people it's the future of computing… the "post PC" era.
Over 95% of the computing population only uses the computer to surf the web, email, and do light office tasks… primarily what I call "consumptive computing". The remaining less-than 5% are the content creators (and high-end gamers), and they will still need "real iron". These are people who photograph, film, make music, crunch insane amounts of scientific data.
Currently the idea of a desktop/tower machine is laughable to most people, as shown by how much laptops are outselling them. In 10 years, laptops will also be thought of as "what old people use". Most users don't even need to be shown a filesystem.
This is why I could never use such lightweight PCs as my primary mode of computing. Most often, I can make use of a netbook for a good 80% of my daily internet tasks, if not more. I'm fine with this. But the top-end noodling I do with video, pictures, gaming and general tech stuff, I need some big iron. It's also the big iron itself that's my hobby. If the iPad was not stuck playing in the iTunes sandbox according to strict and often capricious rules set by Apple, I'd be far more interested.
Well, what exactly do you mean by the iTunes sandbox?
Sure, it's the primary way of synching, but there are others (for the iphone, iPod Touch, and probably for the iPad as well). Phoneview does the job pretty well, as does Doubletwist.
As for apps though, you either need to use the device itself (the official app store), or Cydia (jailbreak app store)
* For the record, I do think the closed-universe style of platform bothers me from a consumer level, as I am not an idiot, and I don't think things like filesystems are hard. I think it's *fantastic* from a development standpoint with regards to app stability, but find it insane that the adjudication process is opaque. You may sink all the money you have (and lots of other people's) into an app only to find Apple rejects it. There has to be a better way.
I pretty much detest Flash, mostly because of it's absolute misuse as an advertising scourge and it's resource hogging. About the best things I can say for it are how it has mostly unified web video and audio, and pretty much replaced (the far worse, IMO) Quicktime.
I think the iPad is going to be a big seller, it will appeal to many folks who do minimal tasks on the 'net.
Basically put, there are certain essential elements of Flash that simply do not work -- and cannot be made to work -- on devices that do not use a mouse and pointer, regardless of the political positions of Adobe and Apple.
While what you're saying is valid, the primary usage of Flash on the web is to deliver video content. HTML5/H264 gives content hosts a way out of Flash. Other interactive components (but not all) can be done in Javascript and HTML5/Canvas.
The other cool thing about the video situation is that if the user agent doesn't understand the video tag, the content host can still provide the H264 video within a Flash player. Encode once in H264, and let the user agent sort it out for the user.
Also, the RD reblogged article's main point is about the mouseover event. This has already been solved by actions occurring on mouseup (finger up), not mousedown (tap). For example, if you want to reveal submenus (like, for example, the menu on the iPhone Keyboard for accented/alternative characters, you put your finger on the key, which will then bring up a menu of alternate choices, which you then slide your finger over, and release to select. This occurs in other areas, but this is probably the most familiar. The keyboard itself (and most actions) occur on finger up, not on tap. This is also how you can trap for things like gestures (swipe, pinch, etc).
Apple's just wrapping themselves up tighter in their own little coccoon around the festering pile of [BLEEP] known as "iTunes". As long as they insist on tying everything but their actual computers to that horrendous mutant codebase, I'll insist on avoiding their products.
Yeah, I do like Apple's user interface and industrial design. What I am not thrilled with is the rather ordinary hardware behind it all, for the price you pay. And, as you bring up, I am not fond at all of their "walled garden" approach to having iTunes as the gateway (complete with toll gate) to load pre-approved applications onto a device that I would own.
I'm actually fine with the lacking of flash. I look at it as this: I'm giving up my ability to use an embedded ecosystem that is only of benefit to Adobe. In return I get a slightly more open ecosystem (web based AJAX applications) to create content for.
I should start my pre-order. I want to get the WiFi version.
As I have ranted on before, Flash is overused in all the wrong ways IMO. Many sites have gone from using Flash-based navigation to AJAX, and are much better for it.
If it werent for Apple's insistence on iTunes being the only real gateway for application loading onto the thing, I'd probably get one. As it stands, it's far too closed up for me.
Cydia is actually pretty fucking cool. There are some great jailbreak apps out there, on par with the quality of the better official apps (indeed, some *were* official apps)
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no subject
Date: 2010-03-21 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-21 08:38 pm (UTC)Nice.
Yeah… the thing that got me was the speed… I'm used to the iPhone 2G, and this is *waaay* faster. What Schiller and Cook said is true… you have to *use* it to *get* it.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-21 10:13 pm (UTC)Over 95% of the computing population only uses the computer to surf the web, email, and do light office tasks… primarily what I call "consumptive computing". The remaining less-than 5% are the content creators (and high-end gamers), and they will still need "real iron". These are people who photograph, film, make music, crunch insane amounts of scientific data.
Currently the idea of a desktop/tower machine is laughable to most people, as shown by how much laptops are outselling them. In 10 years, laptops will also be thought of as "what old people use". Most users don't even need to be shown a filesystem.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 03:29 am (UTC)Sure, it's the primary way of synching, but there are others (for the iphone, iPod Touch, and probably for the iPad as well). Phoneview does the job pretty well, as does Doubletwist.
As for apps though, you either need to use the device itself (the official app store), or Cydia (jailbreak app store)
* For the record, I do think the closed-universe style of platform bothers me from a consumer level, as I am not an idiot, and I don't think things like filesystems are hard. I think it's *fantastic* from a development standpoint with regards to app stability, but find it insane that the adjudication process is opaque. You may sink all the money you have (and lots of other people's) into an app only to find Apple rejects it. There has to be a better way.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 02:44 am (UTC)I think the iPad is going to be a big seller, it will appeal to many folks who do minimal tasks on the 'net.
Links...
Date: 2010-03-21 08:35 pm (UTC)The new UI wars: Why there’s no Flash on iPhone 2.0
Basically put, there are certain essential elements of Flash that simply do not work -- and cannot be made to work -- on devices that do not use a mouse and pointer, regardless of the political positions of Adobe and Apple.
Re: Links...
Date: 2010-03-21 10:18 pm (UTC)The other cool thing about the video situation is that if the user agent doesn't understand the video tag, the content host can still provide the H264 video within a Flash player. Encode once in H264, and let the user agent sort it out for the user.
Re: Links...
Date: 2010-03-21 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-21 09:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-21 10:51 pm (UTC)Ah ahh...
no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 02:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-21 10:55 pm (UTC)I should start my pre-order. I want to get the WiFi version.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 02:57 am (UTC)If it werent for Apple's insistence on iTunes being the only real gateway for application loading onto the thing, I'd probably get one. As it stands, it's far too closed up for me.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-22 03:31 am (UTC)