Slashdot Mirror
Apple's 'What's a Computer?' Ad is Annoying People: Business Insider (businessinsider.com)
Can an iPad replace your computer? It has been the topic of debate for years, with plenty of people advising against it. Apple sure begs to differ. It has been running a commercial in which it predicts a world where a computer is extinct and a child with an iPad doesn't even know what the word "computer" means. Business Insider reports that plenty of people are finding that commercial annoying. From the report: "Does this commercial tick anybody else off?" writes one commenter on a snippet of the commercial that was posted to Facebook. "I want to smack this kid. What's a computer? You know what a computer is you disrespectful smarta--!!" Plenty of other social media posts, some with thousands of retweets, have made the same observation.
_ALL_ads are annoying!
Every ad-writing person, ever: We did our job right!
Adverts work by either appeal or by being annoying. But eventually one does learn to tune them out.. either by applying the brain filter, or by adblocking before it gets to the brain.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
I fail to see how this makes news on slashdot oh wait it's anti apple that might be how
It's not even anti-Apple, we already know Apple only makes toys for the mentally impaired.
It is so smug and self aggrandizing. The very essence of Apple. Exponential smugness.
I hate to tell you but an ipad IS a computer. Just because the packaging of the computer is different doesn't mean it isn't a computer. Just like your cell phone is a computer. It has a processor, memory, operating system, drive... sound like a computer?
The only possible explanation that I could come up with is if the commercial was supposed to be someone from the future, and they're talking to someone so old that they were from today's era.
But if you're going to do that, you need some flying cars or something to suggest that it's in the future.
As it is now, it's just a free-range child mouthing off to her neighbor.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
It's because the kid acts like an arrogant rich twit who can't look away from his screen for three seconds to have a decent conversation with someone. He looks like a poster-boy for smartphone (or tablet in this case) addiction.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Apple removed the useful headphone jack and yet other companies follow suit. The keyboard may be the next victim. It's just as easy to ignore why people need a keyboard as it is to ignore people who want a single standard headphone for everything.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
LOL, Apple just replaced the keyboard/mouse with a touchscreen. That's what an iPad is. It removed access to a filesystem also. It's still a (neutered) computer, no matter what that dumb, brainwashed kid thinks.
All those non tech geeks writing swift code on their ipads because hey, what's a computer?
.... "Is that a PC?"
A "Computer" is too general. A PC could connote 1980s, IBM, Microsoft and Windows, etc.
An iPad can replace a computer when they can actually write all the code for iOS on an iPad. Until then, people will need real computers.
An iPad is a computer. I am at a loss to understand the outrage. Does it do everything everyone might want? No. Does any other computer do anything anyone might want? No.
Ads are generally dumb. There is no reason to get mad.
"I'm glad you asked, kid. A computer is any device that's Turing-complete".
I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
A computer is a device that is user-programmable, aka you are not restricted to the apps found in the vendor's app store. The iPad is a content delivery mechanism much like a BluRay player (which has games too thanks to BD-J)
Your iPad is a computer. Your smart watch is a computer. Your graphing calculator from 1987 is a computer. Aside from the smarm in this commercial, I found it dumb that she says "What's a computer?" while her hands are actually right there on a computer.
Making a computer in the shape of a tabled dosen't mean it ceases to be a computer.
Keep reading and you will see all the hate slashdot has for Apple. I dont necessarily mean the editors per say but more the community
Actually what annoys me more is the concept of the parents just abandoning their child, presumably because they are too busy working 24/7 so they can afford $1000 ipads and a city centre house with a garden.
'Take your computer and fuck off out the house'
'What's a computer?'
'Less of your cheek. I've got to get a pointless report over to the boss before 11pm'
This ad even annoyed my teenage daughter. We are a very pro-Apple family, so itâ(TM)s not because we dislike Apple. But she feels that of course the kid knows what a computer is, and that the ad makes kids look stupid or oblivious to the world around them and she doesnâ(TM)t like that stereotype. Even if you donâ(TM)t use a âoecomputerâ - you certainly can know what one is. A better response would have been something witty about progress, maybe like âoeThis is more than a computerâ or âoewho uses computers anymore?â or something. This is all even before we get into the fact that from a technological standpoint, an iPad *is* a computer...
How is this news? If you follow any tech news outlet, you know that every piece of Apple news is immediately jumped on by a rabid pack of trolls. For whatever reason, Apple anti-fans are the biggest vocal minority on the internet.
"Can an iPad replace your computer?"
Of course it can. Software installations? There's an app for that. Web design? Fill-in-the-blank template. Communication? Tweet-filled emojis. Research? Ask Siri.
We seem to overlook the side effect of dumbing down devices to create an idiot-proof UI for the masses; most users are not tech saavy because they don't need to be.
It makes sense to devolve the computing environment.
In a post-Turing world, where 1984 will be ... like 1984.
Unfortunately, people are playing directly into the hands of the "there is no such thing as bad publicity" trap because it bring awareness to their product. If they wanted to protest the commercial better then they should be posting things like, "Fuck you, Apple! #NeverBuyFromApple" which would have a better impact. The reason for this is that it sends a negative signal about a brand without leaving the ability for someone to dismiss it. It will leave people a bit bewildered but they will get the message you are trying to send instead of the one Apple is trying to send.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
...how Apple had to cancel the "I'm a Mac. I'm a PC" ads because everyone thought Mac guy was an insufferable douche and liked PC guy better.
Back when I was at UC Irvine, the campus had come out with a donor marketing plan that many, many people found pompous and condescending. Check it out here: ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?... ). The general feel was "If you just see a normal every day object, you're an idiot."
Well if it were parabolic smugness it would have a latus rectum.
It's all about making iOS the dominant platform. You can see it in the way Apple deals/supports its Mac line compared to the iOS devices. You can see where it gets its revenue (75% or more from iOS). The "computer" - OSX - is a thing of the past, to be dropped into the dustbin as soon as they can replace all its functionality. Right now, Apple considers a Mac simply a means to build tools for iOS - but once iOS on an iPad Pro can do that - the Mac will go bye-bye.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
apple should show the new mac pro at Superbowl with an kick as ad.
ONLY apps can app apps, and this appvertisement only has the appiest apps on the appiest Applet, NOT LUDDITE computers!
Apps!
That pisses off a lot of Mac users. See the MacRumors forums if you don't believe me. Mac mini was last updated in 2012. It was downgraded in 2014. Apple is on the verge of killing the MacBook Air even if their new butterfly keyboards are crap, they're so obsessed with USB-C that they're dropping USB-A even though a lot of people still ASK for them. Don't like the overpriced MacBook? Buy an overpriced MacBook Pro instead! It's like they think everyone is as rich as americans. Mac Pro? They released a freakin' no-future-upgrade-path of a cylinder tower instead. Would have been cool for a Mac mini, pointless for pros.
Tim Cook really does seem to think iPads can replace computers, including Macs.
But most people with a Mac need to have it, just as PC users need their PC. Whatever your choice of OS, computers are tools to work with, not toys to consume data.
If a stupid tablet was enough, we'd buy tablets!
#DeleteFacebook
The target audience is adults who never learned to type and still can't read above a 4th grade level. The fact it happens to also alienate the well-educated is actually part of the design. This will work very well, unfortunately.
To me, the point was, they made it soooo good it's a completely transparent tool now - no learning curve, it knows what you want and does it, or um "it just works", only Apple's been failing that one more and more seriously of late. Spinning that they've gotten better - the opposite of reality - ain't gonna fly in a time when a lot more people then usual are flat broke anyway and can't afford an Apple tax for something that's no longer even close to being superior. Hubris and vanity is how I took it. And yes, annoying.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
is the computer.
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
Another annoying ad is the Geico ad where the gecko is hosting a meeting in a conference room, and a call-in attendee is speaking at the same time he is. It's annoying when it happens in real life - We don't need to see it in a commercial.
Keep reading and you will see all the hate slashdot has for Apple.
And that makes Apple special? There's plenty of /. hate for Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and more. There are also users that love those companies, although MS lovers are a minority.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
to keep insulting your customers.
The next one is a kid on Facebook not knowing what the internet is.
Why does it matter? Are you a pedophile?
I don't respond to AC's.
... a child with an iPad doesn't even know what the word "computer" means.
Because that kid is dumb or uneducated. Even if we accept Apple's premise, History would still exist and that kid would certainly know that word from there and how her iPad came to be and it is actually a type of computer.
I hate marketing people -- probably more than lawyers and politicians.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
A hundred years ago, authors wrote books/manuscripts with pen/pencil and paper. Neither pen, nor pencil, nor paper requires a desk. An author can easily operate a pen, and write a book from a park bench, or lying on the floor. Police detectives can write in their paper notebook while walking the streets of any city on-foot.
And yet, with the mobility of pens and paper, authors still had writing desks, and police still did written reports from a desk.
The keyword in "desktop computer" isn't "computer", it's "desk".
A desk is a marvelous thing. It's an organizational structure. It's a focus. It's big. It's dedicated. It's productive.
If you can do anything from an ipad, then you can do six anythings concurrently on a desktop with one large screen. You can do 18 anythings concurrently on a desktop with three large screens. And if one of your "anythings" involves another something -- like an object, or another person, or a product sample, then your desk supports that kind of additional item.
And if one of your "anythings" involves real collaboration with three other humans, in one place, as most creative tasks do, then a big desk in a big room with a big screen allow three humans to function in parallel (as opposed to series).
If you can accomplish your task in a 12" screen, then enjoy your flattened 1980s original imac. 12" doesn't get much accomplished these days. It does, however, do the same thing that it always did.
Your ipad is harder to read than an old newspaper, more awkward than an old book, bigger than a walkman, has worse sound than a record player, and is more delicate anything that's ever been handheld before. It's wonderful and amazing for all sorts of other reasons, especially for varied functions, but it is absolutely worse at each individual effort.
Jack of all trades, master of none. If you don't plan on excelling at anything, the ipad is the perfect device for you.
Some advice: when you hire a contractor to build your house, don't hire one who comes with a swiss army knife. You want the guy with the big rusty hammer, and the big box of screw drivers.
Can't tell if the kid is male or female.
California "thinking" in action I suppose.
How dare you! Its clearly one of the other 33 genders you insensitive prick!
After seeing the commercial for the first time my wife and I looked at each other and remarked something to this effect: "She doesn't know what a computer is. Is that kid just stupid, or completely undereducated?
A commercial not accurately depicting reality. I am stunned, speechless really.
Some settling may occur during posting.
Eat yerself fitter!
http://www.acetonestudio.com
I fail to see how this makes news on slashdot oh wait it's anti apple that might be how
It's not even anti-Apple, we already know Apple only makes toys for the mentally impaired.
You know what's the definition of "mentally impaired"?
Calling the most successful company of ANY type on the planet a "Toymaker for the mentally impaired".
Is an iPad not a computer?
It's nothing but verbiage semantics for GenZ marketing. The Millennial version is "what's a mainframe?"...
If you try using an Apple toy with anything that isn't another Apple toy, you're going to spend at least as much time as that Linux user trying to troubleshoot it, except you're far less likely to find a way to fix it in the end other than to -surprise!- buy more Apple stuff.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Its 2018 not 2008 grandpa. Linux printing works great now. Thanks Apple for your work on cups.
Which they COULD have snatched-away from the Open Source world.
But didn't.
And in fact, just announced that they are switching it to the Apache 2.0 License.
Remember that, Apple Haters.
What is a slide rule?
What is a log table?
The tech changes and the terminology changes with it. The ad is (apparently) a prediction and it is pretty certain that at some point in the future the word "computer" will be just as obsolete as the other terms. Who in the real world actually "computes" anything, anyway?
However, it is questionable if, in the world where the word "computer" has slid into obscurity, whether Apple will still be around to say "We told you so!"
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Millenials are why we can't have nice things. This commercial is typical of millenial thinking by ignoring reality and history. Also, I like some Apple stuff, but I'm not stupid enough to think a single Apple product is the best tool for all jobs.
ipads are good for sitting on the john taking a shit, or reading an ebook.
Nobody lays on their stomach in the grass to play with a computing device.
Nobody.
Funny that you use that example. A few months ago, a house guest tried to print to my wireless Brother printer from their iPad. They kept whining that it was just prompting them for "an AirPort device". They were never able to print.
It's like the nerdy kid trying to be cool. It's obvious whats going on, and it's failing miserably.
To my knowledge, NO company has ever turned their corporate brand into a product name without first dominating the market. You dominate the market - as 80%+ - then it happens. You can't try to rename the product with your brand name and hope it lets you reach 80% market saturation.
And Ipad, while strong, do NOT dominate the tablet market. They never hit more than 65%, and in 2017 they were as low as 25%/
As the Liar in Chief would say, "Sad".
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
Hey, that's from a Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie skit!
Where is _my_ computer? Paper Tape? Punch Cards? :)
BTW, I have kbds (PS/2, BT or USB OTG) for all machines, RPi, iP5 on up.
But, eh? A raspberry pi is a computer.
California "thinking" in action I suppose.
No, because it is completely tone-deaf on race: the 'intelligent' white kid talking down to the 'ignorant' black woman at the end. It's actually rather offensive.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
If you try using an Apple toy with anything that isn't another Apple toy, you're going to spend at least as much time as that Linux user trying to troubleshoot it, except you're far less likely to find a way to fix it in the end other than to -surprise!- buy more Apple stuff.
That is a giant steaming pile of bullshit. I have been using Apple toys for decades and I have used them with a long string of non-Apple toys and so far they have worked fine together with the exception certain Microsoft VPNs, the occasional WiFi hotspot and most HP and Samsung printers but that's mainly because HP and Samsung printers seem to be total crap since they don't work very well with my Linux box or the Windows grey-boxes at work either.
It doesn't annoy me. It's just Apple actually TELLLING us what we've long observed: that they don't want real computing being done with their hardware. They want you to be a media consumer in their walled garden. No arbitrary programming languages, no installing your own OS on the hardware, none of the things that we associate with computers.
They want to kill computers. That's Apple's vision of the future--children never seeing an actual computer. They want it to be like my early childhood, except with a fancier TV.
Apple has its spaceship castle. Time to raise the drawbridge.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Uh, if they snatched it away from the Open Source world, much fewer would use it. You understand that many (especially the vocal) the Open Source world woould bend over backwards to avoid "binary blobs".
APL would have been stuck using another system that they would have to maintain themselves and have far fewer vocal "we need open source!" proponents.
A 'tablet' is actually a 'tablet computer'.
I disagree.
A computer is a device that can be instructed to carry out arbitrary sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. The iPad is not a computer because it is very restricted/limited (apps are restricted to the walled garden of Apple's App Store for example).
Then either there was something wrong with your printer or your guest is a complete moron. I print from my iPhone and iPad to my Brother printer all the time. It's trivial to do so. Even my wife can do it.
I've never had any problems using my Apple "toys" with non-Apple devices. I print stuff. I use a VPN to log into other networks that don't use Apple routers. I remote desktop into windows/linux machines all the time. I SSH into non-Apple computers. I mount NFS shares from non-Apple servers. I sometimes use them as remote controls for my Rokus. I'm confused. What problems are you describing? My home is mixed with Apple and non-Apple stuff and they can all talk to each other just fine.
The point is, the WIMP interface will eventually go the way of the rotary dial telephone. The younger generation is growing up using the multitouch interface, which is a lot more intuitive for certain actions like resizing or rotating things on screen. Ok, I'm overstating the case; the IBM PC keyboard will be around for a long time, still doing the same tasks that people used to use typewriters and adding machines for: rapid entry of text or numeric input. And speech will replace the poorly conceived touch interface now being put in every automobile (pretty stupid to design a car with an interface you have to look away from the road to use!) A combination of touch and AI-assisted speech I/O will be used elsewhere. But I still prefer typing because i can type faster than I can talk, and it's is less awkward to fix my (frequent) mistakes when I'm typing. Another prediction: the most important job skill in the future will be the ability to work well with AI. That's why I'm trying to train all my family and friends to talk to computers now, with Amazon Alexa, Google Home Advisor, and Siri being the training wheels used (Cortana is a lost cause.)
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Samsung just did something really annoying: They pulled an Apple with the Galaxy S8, and gave it a Samsung proprietary USB connector, instead of using the micro-USB connector that has been the defacto standard for portable devices for years now! So, if you want to charge you Samsung phone in your car, you either need to take your AC adapter cord with you everywhere, or buy more cords from Samsung! Samsung usually does things right... except when they try to copy Apple! (The USB-C standard should be fine for charging anything.)
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
A computer is a device that can be instructed to carry out arbitrary sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically.
You fail CS100. A computer is a device that has input, output, storage, and processing. An iPad is a computer.
No, u fail. A computer is a fancy clock.
Because you feel so strongly about this you better go edit Wikipedia then because that is what it says.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Let me know when you've made the edit.
Streaming directly to a TV from your phone is easy with android stuff and requires an AppleTV for iPhone, for example.
A computer is a device that can be instructed to carry out arbitrary sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. The iPad is not a computer because it is very restricted/limited (apps are restricted to the walled garden of Apple's App Store for example).
What you say is true of an iPad that is not connected to a Mac. But an iPad connected to a Mac is a "computer" by your definition.
...I really wish I knew what marketing firm and/or team was trying to 'go for' on this commercial. It's super F annoying for sure.
I found the "What's a computer?" icing on the cake to watching that turd 'slap-collapse-close' the $500+ iPad on the counter of the taco shop like it was so much F effort to maybe have respect for what the new-kids call a device that has more compute power, CPU and GPU, that I had with any of the 10 computers I had growing up in the 80's and 90's prior to college. Nonsense.
I wish she would have fell out of the tree and had the broken arm vs. her friend and crushed that iPad.
So the supercomputers being run by NCAR are not computers because you cannot program them yourself?
The owners of those supercomputers can program them themselves. The owner of an iPad cannot program it without additionally purchasing a sufficiently recent Mac, whose price typically exceeds that of the iPad. A used pre-2010 Mac will not work, nor will a computer other than a Mac.
I suppose an iPad can replace a computer if you want to view cat videos. If you want to do word processing, spreadsheets, or even explain in detail why the guy posting on your favorite forum is an idiot, it's not even close to replacing the computer.
Maybe most people don't do the first two, but how could anyone do without the last?
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
You ask for a computer for Christmas, and mom buys you a Nintendo 3DS. Do you applaud her for being "technically correct, the best kind of correct" (Futurama)?
I think it is the music that makes the ad so obnoxious. The music is just terrible and repeats that same old stupid refrain, "Where is it you want to go?" It is a song that I would expect to appear on Idiocracy. The entire ad just does not make me want to go and get an ipad.
Has anyone seen Hidden Figures? Back when NASA was preparing to launch their first satellite, "Computer" was someone's job title. Someone who sat at a desk all day solving equations and formulas all day. If you asked someone back then, where's the computer, they'd point to the desk's seat, not the desktop.
Exactly!
The meaning of many words change over time. Get over it! It's self centered and ignorant to assume that one's current vernacular will remain unchanged in the future.
Just because you're successful doesn't mean you don't owe your success to exploiting idiots.
Just look at Trump...
Apart from the $5000 iMac and Mac Pro, Apple sells Facebook machines with limited RAM and ports.
16 GB is the top end for MANY laptops, and there is no other laptop with as much I/O expandability as the 2016/2017 MacBook Pro.
Sure, if the only measure of "successful" is has the biggest pile of rotting money.
I would say the most successful company was AT&T/Bell Labs. But you know they actually made shit.
C. Unix. Actual Telecommunication hardware.
No, because it is completely tone-deaf on race: the 'intelligent' white kid talking down to the 'ignorant' black woman at the end. It's actually rather offensive.
I think you need to read a book once in a while. I doubt her name (or nickname) being Scout is an accident.
Also, she's got a racially ambiguous enough look that calling her "white" is impossible to state for sure.
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
Depends. I can stream from my iPhone to my friend's chromecast, from the youtube app.
That is a giant steaming pile of bullshit. I have been using Apple toys for decades and I have used them with a long string of non-Apple toys and so far they have worked fine together with the exception certain Microsoft VPNs, the occasional WiFi hotspot and most HP and Samsung printers but that's mainly because HP and Samsung printers seem to be total crap since they don't work very well with my Linux box or the Windows grey-boxes at work either.
Maybe if by "work at the same time" you mean you can fit them in your vagina at the same time. You know VPNs and WiFi hotspots aren't tangible things though, right? As for the printer, all I can suggest is keep trying, everyone has a dream to strive for.
Uh, or get a $2 usb-c to micro usb adapter. They didnt go proprietary, they went with the new standard.
You know what's the definition of "mentally impaired"?
Calling the most successful company of ANY type on the planet a "Toymaker for the mentally impaired".
Actually, I'll have you know the average IQ is 100. You could cater to nothing but the mentally impaired and control half the world's wealth by definition.
Why? It'll just be reverted.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
Most people aren't computer literate anyway, they're barely appliance literate. This is similar to thinking they can cook because they can usually push the buttons on a microwave correctly.
You live and learn, or you don't learn much.
That is why the ad sucks. It's like saying if you use an Ipad you are computer illiterate.
You know what's the definition of "mentally impaired"?
Calling the most successful company of ANY type on the planet a "Toymaker for the mentally impaired".
Actually, I'll have you know the average IQ is 100. You could cater to nothing but the mentally impaired and control half the world's wealth by definition.
I would doubt that the sub 100 IQ'ed control half the world's wealth, by definition. Trump notwithstanding, LOL!
I think you need to read a book once in a while. I doubt her name (or nickname) being Scout is an accident.
What book is that from?
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Xcode does not run on an iPad, a pre-2010 Mac, or a non-Apple PC. Using Xcode as your defense means an iPad is a general-purpose computer if and only if it is associated with a sufficiently recent Mac.
I would doubt that the sub 100 IQ'ed control half the world's wealth, by definition. Trump notwithstanding, LOL!
If you think Trump and/or his supporters are idiots you're delusional. He won with an Army of nerds shilling for him for free because he represented their interests for a change and in addition he himself has an IQ no less than 4 s.d. above average. But hey, whatever helps you stop crying and go to sleep at night; personally I look forward to another 7 years of you idiots buttraging all over the place.
By that argument, any computer isn't a computer, because it can only do those things that are allowed by the CPU manufacturer.
As far as I'm aware, CPU manufacturers aim to make their products LBA-complete,* such that they can do anything a linear bounded automaton can do. What significant parts of LBA completeness are not "allowed by the CPU manufacturer," other than as part of a smart card or other deliberately locked down SoC intended for security against physical access?
* Technically, it's impossible for a physical computer to be Turing complete, as a Turing machine has unbounded tape. An LBA is the same as a Turing machine except for having bounded tape.
So it doesn't surprise me that, with every single iteration, there is less modularity in those devices. the big guys are orienting the masses towards to one brick of closed monolithic software/hardware thing that is conditioning the "computing" behavior of their users.
I am not comfortable on tablets, the Ux makes me feel trapped in a glass. i need my shell, and the possibility to replace a hardware component if I want to, this used to be a standard. but what was the standard few years ago will be niche in the very near future
I have a watch that is a computer for real. It is the EZ430
Most digital wristwatches aren't nearly as user-programmable as the eZ430-Chronos.
And yes, the iPad has a processor that you can program, so it is, indeed, a computer.
The iPad is not shipped as a general-purpose computer but can be turned into one with an additional purchase of a proprietary product. In the case of an iPad, buying a Mac new enough to run the latest Xcode turns it into a general-purpose computer.
If one could program it using only free software (as opposed to the full IDE or Xcode), I would count it as already general-purpose. Android devices are this way, as Debian provides a functional free subset of the Android SDK.
The Mac Pro 5,1 is the computer that makes the content the other 80 per cent of computer users reads on their iPads.
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
Then either there was something wrong with your printer or your guest is a complete moron.
Holding it wrong, obviously.
90% of "users" don't program, don't need to program and don't want to program.
As more school corporations incorporate computer science into the high school curriculum, "I don't wanna program" will feel more like "I don't wanna go to school."
Then let me amend Archtech's suggestion to account for the flaw you point out:
"I'm glad you asked, kid. A computer is any device that's LBA-complete".
"What's an LBA?"
To unlock the answer, translate the article "Linear bounded automaton" into simple English.
Guess what the best selling beer in the world is? Budweiser.
Obviously, it's the best beer, then.
Try doing a "long branch" on a Motorola 6800, best you could do was a jump of maximum 255 bytes.
On both the Motorola 6800 and the MOS 6502, a long branch is possible though not position-independent. It is encoded as a short branch with the opposite condition around an absolute jump.
Big Monsanto/Walmart/Verizon fan here, I see...
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Some of the apathy toward fixing encoding is a legacy of vandals abusing Unicode control characters to mess with the layout and abusing foreign language characters to post obscene glyph art. If Unicode support matters to you, you could always use SoylentNews instead.
a "computer" is anything that does computations.
Humans, now and again, are considered computers; in fact a certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration is well known for its employment of human computers.
Pretty sure they made a movie about 'em.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
The owner of an iPad cannot program it without additionally purchasing a sufficiently recent Mac, whose price typically exceeds that of the iPad.
But it can still be done, why does an additional cost/piece of hardware invalid it?
Anecdotal evidence is evidence that something is possible, not that it is common. Because the majority of iPads are not owned by Mac owners, most iPads are not general-purpose computers.
Now consider why it isn't common. Because of the relative prices of the device (iPad, $500) and the peripheral that enables general-purpose computation thereon (Mac, estimated $1000), one cannot assume that anyone who owns the device either also owns or can easily afford the enabler. Thus you end up with sticker shock causing people to prematurely dismiss joining the free software user community entirely. A concrete example: If you own an iPad and a Mac, and your friends own iPads, you can't assume that they also have access to a Mac. Thus you can't privately share your improvements to an app with them, and they therefore cannot benefit from your improvements.
The owners of those supercomputers can program them themselves. The owner of an iPad cannot program it without additionally purchasing a sufficiently recent Mac, whose price typically exceeds that of the iPad.
I've already provided links to two different programming languages for the iPad, neither of which breaks the bank in price.
In any case, you being too cheap to buy the required equipment to program your computer doesn't turn it into a "not computer". It just means you are not interested enough in wanting to program it yourself using xcode or swift.
As for the comment by another about how Wikipedia defines a computer, well, I yield to the perfection of technical documentation that is Wikipedia. I shall ignore every CS class I've had that provides a useful definition and carry the Wiki-flag to my grave.
Most digital wristwatches aren't nearly as user-programmable as the eZ430-Chronos.
For fucks sake, I didn't say that every watch was a computer. Fucking learn how to read, god damn it.
The iPad is not shipped as a general-purpose computer
Yes, it is. The PC you buy from pieces isn't shipped to you as a computer, but fuck all if it isn't a computer when you put it all together -- even before you install an OS.
Imagine the fun of trying to get your "computer" fixed when it won't boot, using your stupid definition. You call the computer repair people. "I have something that needs to be fixed. Can you come fix it?" "Is it a computer." "No, it isn't." "We fix computers. Call someone else. CLICK". You certainly cannot call a thing that doesn't do ANYTHING a computer if a computer has to have free programming software and the ability for everyone to program it. How do you program a computer that doesn't even boot up?
If one could program it using only free software (as opposed to the full IDE or Xcode),
Another goal post shift.
Android devices are this way, as Debian provides a functional free subset of the Android SDK.
Hypocrite. Android devices are not shipped with the tools to program them, either. The cost of the tools does not define what a computer is.
Try the simple act of plugging an Apple toy into the projector in a conference room without buying more parts.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Why would you argue that? Do you deny that the most popular music on the planet is targeted for the mentally impaired? The most popular fashion accessories?
Making a lot of money means the vendor is smart, not that the customers are smart (in fact, it typically suggests they aren't).
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Hint - there wasn't any installation. It literally was "plug-n-play".
Of course, the downside was that was the ONLY printer you could use.
But compare that setup with say Linux CUPS.
Android devices are not shipped with the tools to program them, either.
They can be programmed with tools that are 1. manufactured by multiple and 2. more widespread. In fact, you don't strictly need a PC, as Android tablets have had AIDE for far longer than iPad has had Swift Playgrounds.
The cost of the tools does not define what a computer is.
Now that I think about your example of building a desktop PC from parts, I have realized something.
(Or does realizing something imply a prohibited movement of the goalposts?)
I have realized that my complaint is not even about the price per se. It's that manufacturers of incomplete computers have been systematically misleading the public about how complete their products are. Prior to the introduction of Swift Playgrounds, it was quite expensive to complete a $200 refurbished iPad by adding a Mac.
They can be programmed with tools that are
YOU claimed that iPad are not computers because they are not shipped with the tools to program them. Well, neither were ANY of the Android devices I own. If the iPad is not a computer, then neither are Android devices.
Now that I think about your example of building a desktop PC from parts, I have realized something.
Thank God for small favors.
(Or does realizing something imply a prohibited movement of the goalposts?)
Only if you move the goalposts as a result. Is English not your first language?
I have realized that my complaint is not even about the price per se.
None of us cares about your complaints, we're talking about whether an iPad is a computer.
It's that manufacturers of incomplete computers have been systematically misleading the public about how complete their products are.
If you're using that as your new definition of "computer", then yes, you've just moved the goalposts yet again.
Prior to the introduction of Swift Playgrounds, it was quite expensive to complete a $200 refurbished iPad by adding a Mac.
You don't have to "add a Mac" to turn an iPad into a computer. This is irrelevant. Not having a Mac to go with your iPad doesn't mean the iPad is incomplete. It means you don't have a Mac to go with it.
OK, fresh topic:
I concede for the moment that a computer that the general public cannot program is nonetheless still a computer. I therefore must agree that the child in the ad is ignorant (whether intentionally or not) for not being aware that an iPad is one.
But a question is raised: How does it benefit the public to make the tools for programming a computer sold to the public cost several times more than the computer itself?
Mom: What are you doing on your computer?
Brat: What's a computer?
Mom: What you won't be using for 24 hours when I take your ipad away if you talk to me dismissively like that again. You have a one hour computer timeout so we can talk again about why you don't have friends and how important it is to interact with actual people in real life.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
I've always liked Pamela Adlon, but I stopped watching Better Things because the kids (the commercial girl in particular) were annoying as fuck. Also, it wasn't a funny or interesting show.
good idea.
I want the neighbor to cross the fence, smack the tablet with a shovel, and say "I don't know what a computer is, either."
Success without humility is an indulgence in arrogance
I can introduce you to Professors in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Engineering, etc all of whom use Macs.
A computer generally enables you to create. The other platforms enable you to consume.
tone
Paper doesn't make you smart, it just shows you did the work in relation to it.
around 90% of the people wouldn't feel annoyed. They even might feel better at buying the iPad after the ad because it sounds less complex than a computer.
I have seen people (close acquaintances) of all age ranging from, older people, baby boomer wives, and even college kid stating that "computer is hard" or "I don't know what to do with it" today. Yes, today. Some of them doesn't even own a computer at home or own one that is usable today. Worst of all, some of them only use a computer because they need to use it in office and in school. They never use one outside from it.
Sadly even twitter proves it. All those related tweets have around 2k likes, which is not a lot compare to this stupid post with around 500k likes.
How does it benefit the public to make the tools for programming a computer sold to the public cost several times more than the computer itself?
Benefit the public? Why is that a consideration? the vast majority of the Public don't have the desire or knowledge to program that computer.
And those that DO tend to have the money and are WILLING to buy the tools.
Think about all those slashdot geeks who have mentioned using Borland C's compiler on their DOS machine.
No, the PhD that you require to get an academic position in my country proves you are smart, as does the many years of teaching and research you need to do before you can become a professor. That title is only awarded on merit, not on time served or just "doing the work".
Then there are the various research medals, earning a fellowship to the royal society , etc.
Its ranks a lot higher than uninformed opinion.
You must be trolling. There are entire fields of fake science (e.g. sociology, psychology, etc.) Nobody who teaches does so because they're good at science, they do so because they can't do anything in science. Sometimes that's merely being too autistic to get funding, but that's relatively rare, especially in tenured positions which are 99% politics. Paper exists so wealthy people can vet poor people to fill roles without having to be bothered to learn anything about them, that's the only purpose of it in the modern world. Of course one of the motivations is for people to pretend they know more than others, which is the category most PhD holders fall into. The competent scientists are overwhelmingly dropouts who discovered something along the way and realized it was a waste of time to keep going with it.
They can't make friends with other kids. The off-camera chaperone, who is keeping everybody in the kid's vicinity from clocking them and stealing the tablet, won't let any other kids get near them.
That maybe true in the USA, but other countries have more rigorous standards. Did you note I said "Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Engineering", you know the hard sciences. Also, academics are initially put on fixed term contracts here, if they fail to produce result they don't get renewed contracts. Even those who are employed full time can get pushed out the door if they fail to produce results. The results are based on peer reviewed publications (quality of journal matters), how often your papers are referenced by other academics/students, Conference presentations, how much research money you bring in, collaboration peers, etc etc etc etc. Each academic has to produce a full portfolio of these every 3 years.
There[sic] response also indicated to me that the child had been educated in the United States.
Never fails.
The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
I prefer Tripp and Tyler's parodies more.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Tablet sales have fallen for the third successive year. Also, I have noticed personally that the iPads in my house get used less and less. Somehow the gap between PC's and smartphones seems to be getting smaller.
then a Raspberry Pi is a computer as well.
Well no shit. Raspi is a hugely powerful computer compared to the computer in, say, your e-toothbrush.
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
BULL. FUCKING. SHIT.
Eat the rich.
It seems Apple is saying their products are aimed at people who don't know or care what a computer is. Maybe it's their new marketing strategy, or maybe, must maybe, if you know what a computer is you won't want to buy Apple products?
If you spend your time searching for solutions to basic wireless problems on stackoverflow your time is worthless regardless of which system you use.
Then either there was something wrong with your printer or your guest is a complete moron.
Well fuck, normally I recommend Apple products to complete morons because computers are hard. What are we to do now?
....if that's a boy or a girl in that ad. Remember when you can easily tell if someone was male or female? WTF?
Get off my lawn.
I'll play along.
The iPad has a web browser pre-installed, and several others can be downloaded from the App store. These web browsers support Javascript. Javascript can carry out an arbitrary sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. Ergo, the iPad is a computer.
It's a tampon.
Don't be silly! ;)
...then a Raspberry Pi is a computer as well
When was that ever in question? In fact, a Raspberry Pi may even be more of a computer than any tablet - Apple or otherwise.
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
What's a computer? That, you dumb ho!
How ya like dat?
This has been an interesting discussion. I'm not sure I stand by my original statement above. This discussion has thrown the whole PC/iPad/Laptop/Computer thing upside down for me, sent it awash in mind in an amalgam of:
Oh you like the photo/song/video on my phone? Of course you can have a copy I'll just bluetooth it to you...
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
As for the comment by another about how Wikipedia defines a computer, well, I yield to the perfection of technical documentation that is Wikipedia. I shall ignore every CS class I've had that provides a useful definition and carry the Wiki-flag to my grave.
No need. I repudiate my earlier claim. Cheers!
Funny that you use that example. A few months ago, a house guest tried to print to my wireless Brother printer from their iPad. They kept whining that it was just prompting them for "an AirPort device". They were never able to print.
That's Air Print, and Brother wireless printers are Air Print enabled. If your house guest was getting complaints about AirPort devices he was messing around in the network settings, not the print settings.
But I thought they just worked?
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
I fail to see how this makes news on slashdot oh wait it's anti apple that might be how
It's not even anti-Apple, we already know Apple only makes toys for the mentally impaired.
You know what's the definition of "mentally impaired"?
Calling the most successful company of ANY type on the planet a "Toymaker for the mentally impaired".
But what if that's what they do?
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
The user, renter, lessee if you will, cannot always programme.
I agree with your sentiment. Shades of Stallman here.
Just go with "Apple is annoying people".
It's a problem only Apple users have - everyone else works normally with office equipment.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I have a brother printer and it prints just fine from my iPhone. I think your house guest may have been defective.
Without computers serving it everything, an iPad wouldn't be able to do much.
With stellar sales of 2-in-1s, you may ask, "What's an iPad?" Answer: What your kid plays with at restaurants.
Guess what the best selling beer in the world is? Budweiser.
Obviously, it's the best beer, then.
Maybe not the best (which is most assuredly a SUBJECTIVE quality); but I would hardly call Anheiser Busch (or whatever the name of the German brewery it is that bought them a few years back) a "Toymaker brewery, that only makes beers for the mentally impaired."
THAT's the difference.
Big Monsanto/Walmart/Verizon fan here, I see...
Entirely a different argument.
And for the record: No.
Why would you argue that? Do you deny that the most popular music on the planet is targeted for the mentally impaired? The most popular fashion accessories?
Making a lot of money means the vendor is smart, not that the customers are smart (in fact, it typically suggests they aren't).
Where is that correlation coming from, and does it smell up there?
Smart people buy things, too.
the desktop has been dead since tablets were introduced. The laptop has been dead since smartphones. The laptop will continue being dead for many years to come.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
I dunno. Have you seen the people who drink Bud? :^D
When the kid with the iPad said "What's a computer?" I thought they were showing that they were designed for the retarded.
If the kid really didn't know that what they're using is a form of computer, it implies they're either somehow lacking in super basic information about technology (i.e. stupid) or have a serious mental disability.
So you admit outright to having no point? Excellent concession.
So you admit outright to having no point? Excellent concession.
Nice try.
This is just Apple recognizing that their user base is a bunch of idiots. That's how I looked at it anyhow. If you're too dumb to even know what a computer is, well you better buy an iPad!
Joking aside, I think eventually the Apple trend is going to start waning. They built their brand around "Devices that just Work". I believe this is becoming less and less true. Not sure why this is, lack of corporate focus, drive for more cutting edge features, or just greed. However in a total anecdotal way I don't use Apple products (anymore), while my girlfriend does. I seem to pretty much just coast by without any problems, while she has constant issues, and she used to work for Apple support a couple years ago. Most of the problems seem to be around poor design choices Apple has been making the last number of years. While the design choices might seem advantageous to the Apple bottom line, the resultant user experience has been diminished quite a bit. I know my girlfriend is getting pretty tired of my smugness every time she is having charging issues or whatever, and my Android just keeps ticking away without an issue (and cheaper, and more flexible, etc..).