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Why PCs Trump iPads For User Innovation
snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Bob Lewis argues that while the iPad may be opening IT's eyes to a new way to encourage end-users to innovate new solutions for their organizations, that work will better be undertaken on the PC. 'When the subject is PCs, the answer is to lock 'em down and run everything in the data center. When the subject is iPads, the answer is that there's an app for that,' Lewis writes. 'Before you decide the iPad is your platform, though, consider the factors that favor the PC. First, it's a sunk cost. Second, it's more capable. And third, your end-users are already familiar with it. Which brings us to what's particularly sad about the end-user innovation situation: Until the iPad resurrected the subject, most IT organizations have actively discouraged it. It goes beyond locking down the devices so that end-users can't install software they might find helpful in their day-to-day work or might increase efficiency in their departments.'"
Nah what he's saying is the reason they are pushing iPads is because they don't lock them down and if they would give the users a teeny tiny bit of freedom on the PC instead of being total BOFH about everything you'd see more work getting done.
Sadly I have to agree. While AD and GPOs are nice I've seen too many BOFH get addicted to GPOs and end up locking the machines down to almost the point of unusability. The reason you don't see innovation at corps on the PC is because the IT guys first lock the living shit out of it THEN put some really shitty AV that sucks resources like Norton. What you have is a machine that is painful to use that just screams drudgery.
But don't worry two or three really nasty apps will come out for the iShiny and then the IT guys will find a way to lock the living shit out of them too. There can be a healthy middle between giving everyone admin and making them so locked out they can't do squat without IT standing there but sadly from what I've seen all you get is the two extremes.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
when you can easily work on screen as it is, with a stylus, or with any USB or bluetooth keyboard why would the iPad not be a good solution for day to day note taking?
As a heavy Tablet PC user (you know, the tablets we had before tablets were cool) I thoroughly disagree with this, at least for an academic scenario. I take all my notes on my Latitude XT. Now THAT is a great note taking computer. Write with the stylus in one note, flip the screen around and type just as easily. It has robust and full featured note taking applications like OneNote, which is pretty much the killer app for tablets.
I tried to use my iPad to do the same, but it's really just awful. Without an active digitizer, any stylus you buy is as accurate as writing with your thumb. So you end up writing super large, which isn't really isn't great for the intricate diagrams I like to draw. The apps are pretty anemic as well. Apps like UPAD are nice, but they don't have all the features of something like OneNote. Then there's the issue of multitasking, which is something the iPad really doesn't do even with the iOS4. I'm talking voice recording, cutting images from textbooks, pasting in notes, browsing the internet. It can do these things... but it's just way too slow compared to how I work on my tablet PC. And trying to do these things on the iPad 1 is just painfully slow and unstable sometimes.
In all it's an okay device, but I can't use it for what I wanted to. I usually just end up reading books and browsing web pages with it. Content consumption
Your argument boils down to one thing: iPads are for consuming content and not producing it.
The game.
More likely against Android tablets.
iPads are for content consumers, not creators.
Really? So who are things like iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Keynote, Sketchbook Pro, Create Apps Without Programming, iCreate, Creative Book Builder, Touch App Creator, Adobe Ideas, Learn To Draw, Video Editor, Auryn Ink, Scratch Card, QR Code Generator, Story Buddy, App Craft HD, DoInk, Caster, Sketchpad Pro HD, Heavy Metal Music Creator, Crayola, Build-a-Story, AutoCAD WS, Dollhouse Creator, RPG Cartographer, PHYZIOS Sculptor Pro, Forms Central, App Designer HD, Christmas Card Maker, Fractal Maker, Robot Maker HD, Make It So, Create Interactive Documents, Tab Builder, CADTouch, Visual Poetry, Doodle Pad HD, Hand Painting HD, Tapp Beat, Arte Plus, Realizer, Creative Me, Visualxscript Universal, StereoStudio, UDesigner, igiHTML Editor, et FRICKIN' CETERA, the list goes on and on and on and...
Sorry, but from the very young to the not-so-young, from the serious to the downright silly, there are literally TENS OF THOUSANDS of iOS apps (and I was just looking at the somewhat smaller set of iPad (vs. iPhone) apps) specifically designed for content CREATION.
So, quit perpetuating a completely specious myth, willya?
The problem is that your fingers obstruct your vision, so touching is not that useful to me. The day one table can handle pen input the same way as my wacom tablet does, we'll talk. The moment I can drag and drop small numbers in an editor or spreadsheet without losing visibility because of my fingers, or needing a massive cell space for each number, we'll talk.
The moment I can play a "touch" game without the freaking finger getting in the way, we'll definitely talk.
Alternatively, when our fingers are totally transparent we'll talk.