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Throwing Out Software That Works
theodp writes "Just as the iPhone rendered circa-2007 smartphones obsolete, points out Marco Arment, the iPad is on the verge of doing the same to circa-2010 netbooks. Should this succeed, cautions Dave Winer, we may be entering an era of deliberate degradation of the user experience and throwing overboard of software that works, for corporate reasons. Already, Winer finds himself having to go to a desktop machine if he wants to view web content that's inaccessible with his iPhone and iPad. 'There was no bottleneck for software in the pre-iPad netbooks,' he writes. 'It matters. What I want is the convenient form factor without the corporate filter. It's way too simplistic to believe that we'll get that, but we had it. That's what I don't like — deliberate devolution.'"
Yeah my 2006 Blackberry is really obselete now. Going online, checking my mail, instant messaging, and god forbid calling people has never been a worse experience. But I guess I don't have a fart button app, time to throw it out.
The iPad causes all netbooks to disappear all of a sudden?
It's your own damn problem if you bought an iPad. Should have bought a netbook.
Writing this on my EeePC. I like a real keyboard.
thegodmovie.com - watch it
It must suck to have Steve Jobs break into your house, smash your netbook, and force you at gunpoint to buy an iPad.
Which planet do you live on?
Other smartphone are not obsolete by a long shot.
I stopped reading after the first sentence.
I use a smartphone (non-iPhone) and a netbook pretty much every day. They are far from obsolete, as they do exactly what I need in a form factor that provides a good balance of size, weight and battery life.
If your iPad doesn't meet your needs how can you claim it makes other devices that DO meet your needs obsolete?
I still want an iPad, but more as a cool toy than to fill any need. Oh, and I do not want an iPhone.
"You want to know how to help your kids? Leave them the fuck alone." -George Carlin
The iPad totally wiped out my netbook. I don't really need a keyboard, non-shiny screen for outdoor viewing, webcam, 3 USB ports, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB harddrive space and a Windows+Linux dualboot. What I really wanted was a digital picture frame I could poke...
I'm about ready to grab a sledgehammer and start forcibly tattooing this mantra into the heads of every internet commenter and Slashdot editor who has to complain about the evils of Apple's walled garden: If you don't like it, don't buy it. For Christ's sake, no one is holding a gun to your head and making you buy Apple products. There are, and always will be*, alternatives. Apple gives people a tradeoff: stability and easy of use at the cost of freedom and configurability. Just because you don't like that tradeoff, doesn't mean it's not useful and convenient for others, and when you whine about it, all you're really doing is revealing that you deeply desire an iPad. Put your money where your mouth is by shutting up and buying something is.
* And yes, I've heard all the FUD about how Apple's practices are going to tempt other manufacturers into doing the same thing they are. Give me a break.
Dislike the Electoral College? Lobby your state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
The iPad isn't crap. I'm by no means a fan of Apple, but the iPad is a very slick (if somewhat expensive) piece of hardware. Apps like Google Maps and some of the available games are very polished and work amazingly well. The problem isn't the iPad -- it's the Apple philosophy of our-way-or-no-way-at-all. Same for the iPhone; it looks like a very well-engineered piece of hardware (Grip-Of-Death issues notwithstanding), but it's horribly crippled by being tied to iTunes (which is, in my mind, has one of the worst user interfaces ever foisted on consumers -- made worse by the fact that it's rammed down our throats to use any Apple hardware.) I admire Apple's engineering, but their marketing policies have ensured that I would rather pay for a more open product (Samsung's Galaxy S series, for instance) than accept an Apple product for free.
Paleotechnologist and connoisseur of pretty shiny things.
You don't get it because you aren't the target demographic. The socially challenged male in his basement with 12 computers (all of which have been stripped to the bare plastic at least twice) and his Gentoo compiling microwave oven doesn't need an iPad.
My 80 year old mother and apparently everyone else in her Assisted Living place are in the iPad demographic and they are falling all over themselves (actually not very hard to do at 80) trying to buy one.
Get over it, dude. Go take something apart.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Often technology takes a step back to take a step forward. Remember when CDs-DVDs replaced floppies? Suddenly you either had to burn a -rw or waste a -r to copy files. Then USB drives hit the market and you had the best of both worlds, the size and the usability. Look at the Ipad as a stepping stone, once users see its flaws they will be ready to accept something that lacks those flaws.
...with the Adroid tablet, the tablet for geeks!
They already exist. A friend showed me one a couple of weeks ago (I'm sorry, I can't remember the brand, as it was far from prominent on the box) that had been brought back from Singapore.
I liked the fact that it is possible to use the thing as a *nix terminal, with the usual shell commands. Also, I liked the fact that its network interface is via WiFi rather than a paid mobile connection plan. I expect Mr. Jobs might disagree with my priorities, but what the hell.
On the downside, the finish was a bit tacky (but hey, no obvious brand...) and an excessive amount of the screen-space was occupied by a black border. But I fully expect someone will come up with a slicker offering before long.
TV? It's junk. I'm sorry to say it. I had high hopes, but the thing is just an overpriced miniature theatre.
In my village, we watch the puppet shows. They have all the entertainment we need. The music is better that the noise on the TV. We listen to the elders for their wisdom. And we hear about outside events from travelers. All together, it costs less than half what a TV costs.
All this hype over these electronic devices mind boggling. I just don't get it.
Have you tried sitting around on the couch browsing the web, watching video, and looking through your pictures on an iPad and on your netbook? Because the iPad is just way better at those things.
I was in the market for a netbook, but I waited until the iPad came out to see what it was. You know what? It's really cool, but it doesn't meet my primary needs as well as a netbook. I often need to do things like commander whatever large monitor is available at someone else's house or workplace, plug it into my netbook, and edit a large spreadsheet. I also do a lot of typing, some with the machine on my lap, and the iPad just gets killed by netbooks. So I went with a Hackintosh Dell Mini 10v. For my needs, it kills the iPad. But I also recognize that my needs aren't everybody's needs, and I've played with the iPad, and for some things, it's a way better experience. Yes, netbooks can do nearly everything iPads do, plus much more, but iPads do certain things better. If those are the only thing you do...
So if you don't "get it," seriously, have you ever tried doing the thing the iPad's good at on an iPad? Because I don't see how you could try it and not enjoy it, it's really smooth. I mean, the iPhoto experience on the iPad just kills my netbook.
The "article" is an absurd troll. The popularity of the iPad is not going to destroy the netbook category. Macs and iPhones are both selling really well too, but no one's complaining that they're about to destroy all other phones or computers. iPads for some, netbooks for others. Get what you want, nothing to see here.
Can anyone tell me how to set my sig on Slashdot?
The problem we see in all these opinion-pieces is that they look at the issue from the geek point of view. If a whole boatload of people are buying the iPad instead of a netbook it's probably because it works for them. Yes, people are stupid (No post is truly good if it's not condescending), but still - the iPad does what they need. :) ). My dad has a full set of tools and about 20 different screwdrivers, because that's what he needs. Same thing with the iPad and other Apple hardware. They all cater for the average user not the ubergeek.
For us geeks there are other alternatives, but does not mean there is a "deliberate degeneration of the UI". If anything, the iOS brought a UI that was more appealing to the average Joe.
Just as in any profession, there are different levels of tools for different levels of users. I have in my house one simple screwdriver and it's enough for all my needs (opening the computer case and changing cards
Whenever in an argument, remember this.
Let us know when your iPad can do all that. Heck, let us know when you can run Flash.
It's not even the geek perspective, it;s the apple geek perspective.
As a FOSS geek I'm not interested in apple and have identified a bunch of really nice looking alternatives to the iPad. It's just a shame none of them seem to quite make it to market!
The ubergeek wouldn't have bought an iPad and then bitched about things he knew would happen, or would be reverse engineering it to run linux.
Things that tipped the decision into "spend":
1. I'm going to Vegas. "Easy Vegas" app is good.
2. I'm going to Vegas and I'm going to watch movies on the flight.
3. Amplitube iPad Edition came out - and it's great.
4. Instant on. No need to boot to check weatheror news, or to look up something I'm curious about.
5. The Reuters app is awesome.
6. Camera connection kit deals properly with Nikon raw format.
7. The tools for photo management are really coming along beautifully. Photogene is a good tool for travel.
Since then I've discovered some new things.
1. The 10 hour battery life is both real, and awesome.
2. I have gone to a site that required flash exactly twice, and I found the same content elswehere in a format I could view.
3. I really like reading magazines on it (Maxim with Kaley Cuoco!)
4. On the most difficult setting, the Scrabble app kicks my ass.
5. I haven't turned my netbook on since I got it.
6. The screen gets dirty when I eat cheezies and surf porn.
7. There's a LOT of compatible porn.
8. I've been expecting to have to buy a wireless keyboard, but so far I haven't "needed" to.
Anybody want to buy a used netbook? It has crappy battery life and a screen that semi-sucks, but it has a keyboard.
Do I give a crap that a bunch of nerds online think that it's underpowered compared to stuff that's 18 months away? Not even slightly.
I'm as technical a guy as they come. My workdays are spent writing industrial scheduling and simulation software on Unix. But I'm past the age where I want to screw around with stuff when I get home. Give me something that works well and doesn't give me any grief.
Apple's market share of the smartphone DROPPED last quarter - and it will continue to drop. Who's #1? Android.
It won't because that's not what it's meant to do. If your needs call for multiple USB ports, twin internal drives with 640 GB of storage, then the iPad is NOT FOR YOU.
I could say "My truck provides a much better experience (than your economy car, for example). I can carry a thousand pounds of cargo or tow a big trailer. I can go off-road, drive through deep snow or mud and not get stuck." If those activities are what you do, then of course an economy car is not the right vehicle.
As always, it's a case of the right tool for the right job. Why is this simple fact lost on so many people? Is the desire to bash Apple so strong that it blocks rational thought? Is this the Reality Distortion Field's anti-Apple twin?
Government's idea of a balanced budget: take money from the right pocket to balance...oh who am I kidding?
Actually Apple isn't a dominant player in any area is it? I think iTMS may be the is dominant player in legal music stores but that's about it.
The iPod and IPhone are dominant in mindshare of their respective arenas, at least in TV and American pop culture.
I don't think it's actually that dominant in actual market share, specially globally.
Almost everybody I know is using either Nokia, LG or Motorola with a few Samsung phones here and there, I only know two iPhone users (both smug bastards) and three Blackberry users (all stuck up bastards).
But... the future refused to change.
"That's what I don't like -- deliberate devolution."
That is what is going on with VOIP, wireless phones and texting replacing conversation over land lines.
Instead of a human voice in real time, you have a typed message. A step backwards.
With VOIP if your power or your computer goes out, you don't have phone service. Not so with a land line.
With VOIP and wireless calling, call quality has gone way, way down. Problem free phone conversations used to be taken for granted.
On the other hand
It is easier to send written information.
It is also easier to avoid "facing someone" by sending them a text or an email
You have the ability to communicate by phone in a number of places, not just at home, work or wherever there is a pay phone ( remember those? )
Making long distance calls in the US is now dirt cheap. Such calls used to be the subject of heated arguments after the bill came.
If the iPads get flash, or if the flash enabled clones make it, someone will be typing "remember when you couldn't watch a hulu.com laying down on your couch?", while pointing out some things that were lost with the vanishing of laptops.
That should be Apple's new motto. Most people do not like to have to decide on an item out of a large selection.
Does it weigh less than two pounds?
Yes
Can you just turn it off with a single button and toss it on the couch or chair without worrying about hard disk damage?
SSD, so yes.
How well does it work with just touching the screen as an input device.
Why would I want smudges all over my screen when I could type on a physical keyboard with tactile feedback and control it without tiring my arm?
No, you are comparing laptops to tablets, like comparing a Cessna 172 to a Boeing 737.
"Yea, but you can't fly from Anchorage to Portland nonstop with 137 people, so it's not really an airplane..."
No, its more like comparing a roller coaster to an airplane. You are in the air, and it's kinda cool but entirely useless, and in the end you cant choose where you're going and end up back where you started.
Yea, right now I'm on my laptop because I'm running BT and yep, my iPad won't BT, but since I've gotten my iPad it's used for about 85% of my casual surfing and my other laptop, the 17" gaming rig sits alone because I don't want 8 pounds on my lap.
Im Guessing those other 15% have flash?
Exactly.
There are tens (hundreds?) of millions of people out there that are interested in "content" in small chunks (call them the iPod People, which might be a clever analogy, or not). They want music, notes, books, letters to read, maps, phone calls, and a bunch of other little pieces of content. In a digital world, one device can do large subsets of those. Lots of people have recognized that potential; I have memos I wrote over a decade ago, describing the functions that would be attractively served by "Mike's brick-of-plastic portable computer". Jobs not only recognized the potential, but also had the means and the courage to risk a large company's future on that potential.
There are another (smaller) group of people, which includes myself, who need something that lets them create content as well. I need something that lets me write hundreds of pages of text per year, program, generate complex graphs, etc. A device that meets my needs can also do all the things the iPod People want, but not vice versa. Like many in this group, I'm somewhat ticked off that the iPod people got their devices first, but I'm trying to be patient and believe that I'll eventually get something suitable. What I'm not doing is whining that the iPod People would be better off if forced to use the kind of gadget I need.
There are, and always will be*, alternatives
For 20 years, we have been stuck with a near-monopoly on desktop operating systems, because of marketing and network effects. We don't want to repeat that experience, blindly sliding into an iOS monopoly for portable devices.
Apple spends hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing their devices every year, often lying and misrepresenting their products and their history. It is reasonable for geeks to present an opposing view so that buyers can make an informed decision, know what they are getting, and understand the consequences of their purchases.
Put your money where your mouth is by shutting up and buying something is.
Why then doesn't Apple "shut up" and stop marketing their products? Why do you think that all the information we should ever get about products should come from the PR and marketing departments of companies selling those products?
Hilariously I was exactly the opposite of this. I never even considered getting and iPad, as I saw no possible use i would have for it, and i had absolutely no desire to own one. I'm not even in the market for a computer, and I hate laptops.
2 weeks ago i was in a store and had an opportunity to use an iPad for a little while. I was blown away. It was so intuitive, so easy to use and so *pleasant* to use. I didnt have to fiddle with a little trackpad or mouse nubby thingy. I didnt have to find some annoying way to position it on my lap without burning my balls or sitting in some strange uncomfortable position to give a flat surface for it. It just sat in my hands, and i pointed at what i wanted.
The next day I bought one, and now i sit in the living room with the family to check my email and browse website, even play games. I stopped playing wow because of the iPad. I'm more social, play with my daughter more (she presses the button to turn it off and then starts playing her own games while I'm reading slashdot lol), and am generally extremely satisfied with it. Not only do I like it better than netbooks, but i like it better than desktops for casual usage.
At work of course i still use a 30" monitor and 8 core machine, with a real keyboard :)
Also, what if I don't care about the relative price of an iPad and a netbook? You know what's even cheaper than a netbook? Just using the computer I already have. What if saving a few dollars and running Windows or Linux aren't my goals?
What if I want to read web sites without sitting at a desk in front of a computer?
This is the same whiney argument I hear from gamers who think the Wii is the devil. The slate computers that are coming out now are focused on the non technical and a certain segment of the geek community feels slighted. Many seem to be offended that in the end the lack of usb, memory card slots, camera and whatever features geeks cried about didn't really matter, couple that with the lack of a "real OS" being seen as a plus by the majority of people actually buying the devices and suddenly the "geek" is out of the support loop. Many geeks talk about their utopian society where everyone is technically adept and support requirements are minimal but very few actually want it.
There is no one to really blame but ourselves, just like hardcore gamers, our demands and expectations made us an unfavorable market, catering to the "casual" is less expensive, less demanding and far more profitable.
This.
A netbook can do anything an ipad can do. It's cheaper. It's just about as portable.
And it is YOURS. You have root on it and can do whatever you bloody well please on it. It's a complete computer, with a modern multitasking O/S and the ability to do anything your desktop computer can do -- except slower.
Like I posted elsewhere, I have an iPad (through work) because I do accessibility work.
We are going to iPads because they are lighter to take out into the field than a laptop, and come with a good warranty, they are a laptop replacement in some areas.
I don't have an iPad for a web server/ftp server/irc server or USENET leech because I don't need those things running for when I do work.
Its the go to device for accessibly right now, can your Linux install claim that?
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/06/01/the-ipad-could-be-the-best-mobile-accessibility-device-on-the-ma/
I have a Google Android tablet. I can go anywhere on the Web I please and install apps from any site I can download .APK files from. However, I bought it as a development platform for device control applications.
For multimedia, I prefer a netbook (I have an S101) for around the house or a motel room. The keyboard keeps it in one place in an angle suitable for viewing without having to add a stand or a docking device, and netbooks have far better performance than this generation of tablets. If I'm on foot, I'd rather get my content off a small smartphone, hanging a 7" or larger tablet off my belt is a stupid thing to do.
However, the real reason why "the netbook is not going away" is that not all of us are full-time passive consumers of content. Do you write papers for school? Do you create documents for an employer?
Would you rather type a bunch of pages on a real keyboard that does not take up screen real estate or on a virtual keyboard that takes up a third of the screen better used for document? I'm working on a patent application, and I frequently edit it via remote control from my netbook to the desktop where the file is. Speaking as an Android Tablet owner, I regard the idea of editing a 40+ page document on that tablet as a non-starter and creating one on a tablet makes a typewriter sound good.
The tablet will cut into netbook sales because the people who only want to websurf and run a few apps will buy it. But IMO, the "content-only" user is a lot less common than commonly believed.
The fanboys only want to believe that the netbook is going away because Apple doesn't make one. They're irrelevant, Steve Jobs' vision of a userbase solely composed of consumers of content created by major corporations doesn't fit the real world.
Tech Public Policy stuff
Android's market share isn't close to #1, it's #4 in the US (unless it's passed Windows Mobile, which should be happening right around now), and that's higher than its worldwide share.
I think you are confusing market share with new phone sales. Market share is how much of the market is using a particular manufacturer's product. New sales is how many new customers in a certain, recent period bought a manufacturer's product. Last quarter, Android rocketed ahead of iOS in new sales, but it still doesn't even have half the market share, in the US or worldwide.
In the US, market share is:
RIM 35%
Apple 28%
Microsoft 15%
Android 13%
And while Apple's percentage of new sales did drop last quarter, they still had worldwide sales growth up 61% for the quarter. Market share percentage fell because Android sales grew by 886% in the quarter. The point that Android sales are doing really well is true, but they're no where near #1 in market share yet.
Can anyone tell me how to set my sig on Slashdot?
As a FOSS geek I'm not interested in apple and have identified a bunch of really nice looking alternatives to the iPad. It's just a shame none of them seem to quite make it to market!
Eh, there were several `iPad alternatives' on the market before the iPad even existed.
Archos was selling their Android tablets 7 months before the iPad, and Archos first published an `actual Linux' firmware (using OpenEmbedded) and started contributing to upstream some 4 months before the iPad hit the market.
AlwaysInnovating started selling Touchbook beta units a month before Archos introduced their tablets--8 months before the iPad came to market.
And there were/are numerous others, too. I'm not sure whether it makes sense to compare the Nokia N-series tablets, since they're smaller, but they've been on the market for *years*, and they're not the end of the list.
Of course, that's not even counting the `iPad alternatives' that came to market *after* the iPad.
I'm having trouble understanding your "shame none of them seem to quite make it to market" comment--and even more trouble making sense out of others' comments to the effect of `if only there were any other tablet computers other than the iPad'....
-rozzin.