Slashdot Mirror
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.'"
(No, I didn't RTFA.)
Being a "mainframe guy", I can't help but laugh at how PCs were brought in to break the IT stranglehold, and now after uncountabillions have been spent on virus protection and remediation (with companies still not blocking most web sites), the pendulum is now swinging back in the direction of centralized control.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
iPads are for content consumers, not creators.
Programming for iOS isn't especially difficult, and the Enterprise developer license doesn't involve an Apple review of the app because there is no App Store involvement, so there are essentially no restrictions. It's basically like programming a PC, because it's just a computer.
Do simple facts count as a rational rebuttal, or shall I call you a hater as well?
It doesn't require less IT staff. It requires the same amount, if not more.
The iPad doesn't exist in a vacuum. It still has to be managed, which isn't particularly simple since it's so locked down. And since basically NO custom business apps run on it, that means that most iPad users are going to be using Terminal Services (or similar) to get anything done. Unless apps are written to run on the iPad, or run via a web page. But that's unlikely in most businesses.
So..considering all that, what's the real advantage of an iPad for business? Well, it's light and the battery lasts forever, and it's easier to carry than a laptop. That's ALL. In every other way, it's inferior.
That's why IT departments hate it. It's basically a big iPhone, but people want to use it to replace their notebook. Ugh.
its a lot simpler and cheaper to continue on the pc platform then to throw out your existing code base, migrate all of your reports and provide training to your staff who are lucky as it is when they turn any electronic device on.
my company evaluated all of the tablet solutions and we realized to our dismay that a windows7 pro tablet allows better security control, easier document syncing, no extra cost compared to our existing system, does not require the user to have a second device just to install os updates, allows for remote support, doesnt require a user to register an account that we would then have to manage because you know they will forget the password and the device pin if your able to find a way to force the pin.
The only thing we found that the ipad had over say the asus is battery life and about .5lbs
Apple devices are great consumer devices. In fact I am using one right now to type this. Apple does not belong in corporate America. Nor do they really care about the market. They more then love the profit margins they have with consumers.
It still has to be managed, which isn't particularly simple since it's so locked down.
I can tell you are in IT because only an IT person would insist locking down only counts if THEY locked it down.
In reality the iPad is made for people who have to get by with NO IT DEPARTMENT, Which means it has to be as secure as IT would make it with no user intervention.
Well, it's light and the battery lasts forever, and it's easier to carry than a laptop. That's ALL.
That's All?
That's EVERYTHING.
But you also left out far greater degree of security than any laptop, with far more secure internal storage than most laptops.
That's why IT departments hate it. It's basically a big iPhone, but people want to use it to replace their notebook. Ugh.
IT: Screwing over the needs of the business since the dawn of time for sometimes marginal and often negative gain.
When IT gains power, get ready for the company to ossify rapidly and proceed to get nothing done.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
To expand on #1, touch tablets are decent for information consumption, but not content creation. And even in information consumption, tablets are only applicable where the information can be consumed on a small, low-resolution display. I don't think, for instance, that day traders with their arrays of cheap monitors will want to limit themselves to an iPad.
Touch is a reasonably nice interface for many info browsing traversal mechanisms, though.
Once again the "apples and oranges" comparison of PCs and Ipads rears it's head. True wisdom comes from understanding that they're tools that serve different needs; any comparison of a tablet (of any stripe) to a PC (of any kind) is nothing more than some idiot making noises to drive up clicks to the website.
I own one of each - and a laptop, too. Which one am I using right now? You can't tell. For short posts to a website or making notes, any one of them will serve the need. Each offers advantages and drawbacks and it's always best to choose what works for you and your tasks, not what some random commenter on this site insists is the "one true way.
Would I try to write Klines of code on the Ipad? No. Can I go mobile with the PC? No. Am I going to be away for a whole day with no chance to recharge? Notebook won't do, but an Ipad would.
What's right for you might not be right for someone else; no matter what PC you're talking about or what tablet you're talking about - they're not intended for or capable of the same tasks.
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
I've read most of this thread (119 post already) and without exception, everyone making the case of PC is better than iPad (or visa versa) case is completely missing the point of either and both. These are TOOLS. Arguing over iPad over PC is like arguing that a phillips screwdriver is better than a boxed end wrench. Both are used to turn something (screw, nut) but other than that, they aren't the same tool.
There is no need for such a pissing contest.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Pretty much, I've noticed a resurgence of the trend in the last couple of months. But as attempts go this one seemed pretty lame. iPad unstable? really? My mom has one and she doesn't even know how to turn it off or reboot it. She uses it constantly. (Several hours a day on a typical day).
Now, my iPad is pretty unstable, but it's running beta software all the time. Hardly conclusive. And, even with its instability I don't have to reboot it.
Most of the statements in the article have some truth to them, but the implications are wildly out of wack. (Implying a stability equivalent to PCs for instance, while PCs have greatly improved in recent years they still often have issues waking from sleep for example.)
The article is pure FUD in the truest sense. Fear, Uncertainty, Disbelief. While I'd be somewhat hard pressed to accuse the author of directly being in Microsofts pocket, I think it's obvious that Microsoft had a influence in some manner. (Even if it was just a quiet little request made to an editor for a more 'balanced' perspective).
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.
Trust me, if you're talking about Windows, even when IT guys DO NOT lock the living shit out of it, you still end up with the same thing... a machine that is painful to use and barely works.
I have to completely disagree with the premise, that IT locking down the machine is causing the issue. I believe that IT choosing an architecture that is general purpose, and then removing most of its general purpose functionality, is a part of the problem. Has anyone noticed that 90% of corp workers use their computer for only company email and browser-based Corp apps? What is wrong with the idea of ditching the general purpose boat anchor and choosing an extremely limited architecture that does everything those 90% need... making THAT the defacto standard for new employees, and then giving the general purpose machine to the other 10% that need to do heavier (real computer necessary) stuff?
I think big IT issue in most corporations is not the lowly IT tech guys, but their management, especially the corporate architects, the directors and veeps, that have their head shoved so far up their asses they have no idea that they are allowed to and even required to innovate. Instead, they concentrate on doing the same thing today that they did yesterday, i.e. maintaining status quo, and keeping Microsoft in business. After all, if everything just worked all the time, what would be the point of even having an IT department? No, they must build "broken" into the infrastructure.
The Admin and the Engineer
They are both tools, however one is a full toolchest, and the other is an eyelash curler.
How many of those apps were developed on an iPad itself, not on a "normal" computer?
Your argument boils down to one thing: iPads are for consuming content and not producing it.
The game.
All 10 of them. Or at least, that's what it looks like they were developed with.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
I didn't read TFA, that would be blasphemy, but as a long-time PC advocate and a more recent iPad user, I do agree with a lot of the comments here. The iPad is a relatively good tool for consumption and as an organizing aid. It's great to take to meetings and have access to my calendar and contacts and it's reasonably ok to take notes on. For light email use it's ok, but the mail client is missing a LOT of features compared to a full-featured mail client like Outlook, Thunderbird or Evolution.
For any real creation work it becomes tedious very quickly. Also, if text entry requires anything more than the normal A-Z, it is EXTREMELY tedious, especially if you need to enter special characters. Just entering the paragraph end tag requires an ungodly number of taps and finger dancing (it's 10, I just checked). The available special characters are also quite limited, for example there is no degree symbol.
Given a choice between a normal laptop and the iPad, if I was forced to take one over the other, it would be a laptop. But used in combination with a laptop the iPad is a useful tool for some tasks.
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.