It Might Be Beautiful
Earlier this evening, I was having a conversation with developer Dimitri Bouniol of EleMints fame about the impending iPad launch this Saturday. The reviews have finally started rolling in from the usuals (Mossberg, Pogue, etc.), and the entire Apple community has begun working itself into a furious lather in anticipation. It’s exciting, to be sure, but the true excitement comes so much less from the device itself, and so much more from what it represents.
When Apple announced the iPad a little more than two months ago, it wasn’t them saying “hey, looky at this cool tablet we made”: it was Apple saying “this is what the personal computer is going to look like 10 years from now.” The iPad is so much more than the coolest tablet device ever created, it’s Apple’s vision for the direction of computing for decades to come.
Are they right? Personally, I happen to think so, if only because they have a history of being right about these sorts of things. You’ve got to admit, though, whatever you think about the device itself, there’s something downright (to steal Apple’s buzzword) intimate about being able to interact with the digital world using your fingers. It’s a direct, part-to-part connection of space and cyberspace, and it’s a Good Thing.™
The question is, what happens next? If Apple has their way (in my interpretation), the innovations (or perhaps “evolutions”) found on the iPad migrate upstream to their computers, and then pass by osmosis to every other major computer vendor in the market, with Microsoft playing catch-up to match the software with the hardware the whole way. Apple’s sure to have an advantage in this market, because reliable touch computing really does depend on intimate hardware/software integration, as shown by the introduction of the Apple A4 processor.
Technology changes fast, though, that’s nothing new. The big change here is how this will profoundly shape the landscape of computer users. The iPad is brilliant in the way it makes “complex” computing tasks dead-simple for the not-so-technologically-inclined. If this thing permeates the market, we’re going to find more and more people using their computers/iPad-type-things to do cool things without being intimidated. For the first time ever, computing is going to be accessible in a truly relatable way.
So what happens to the developers? This is the question that, for the first time ever in relation to an Apple product, scared me. The Mac and iPhone development community is vibrant, alive, and well. With the exception of iPhone newcomers, however, even given the incredible diversity of the community, it’s striking how many developers share a common background: at a young age, they were fascinated by things that beep and light up, and something in their mind snapped (some would argue “broke”) and made them want to figure out how it all worked on the inside. We were no longer content with knowing that things “just worked” — we needed to know why.
That spirit is what creates a good developer (as opposed to a dead-end-job code monkey who hates his/her life). The iPad has the potential to sincerely inhibit the development of that spirit.
Today, in 2010, we the developers work in Xcode on shiny Macs, and we love it (for the most part). As Mac developers, we got started by poking around on the very same machine we used for our day-to-day computing: as a relatively open platform, Macs (and PCs) are easy to explore, easy enough to break, and fun to fix yourself (yes, being a developer is a sickness of the mind). So what happens when your day-to-day machine becomes something that resembles the iPad?
The iPad is a closed platform, which from a usability standpoint, is absolutely fantastic. As a developer with experience on the Mac, I wouldn’t have it any other way. However, if I was a new developer, only having experience on my iPad-type device, it would really piss me off, because I’d have no real way to experiment with the thing. With the experience I have, I know that the underpinnings of my Mac are actually very similar to the underpinnings of my (eventual) iPad, and I know how to make it do crazy — if unauthorized — things if I want it to. That zeal for experimenting in a new developer, however, might be very quickly replaced with a feeling of futility, when they see that the tools that I’m used to using are no longer available (or at least, they don’t look anything like the modern computing landscape as of 2030).
Now, being more realistic, this is all a bit of FUD: one would hope that if Apple moves this kind of intimate user experience to their Macs, they’ll have the good sense to keep the platform just as open as the Mac is already today; as non-portable devices, we really have no good reason to expect otherwise. Still, it’s a scary prospect.
So what does the computing landscape look like going forward? I suspect we’re finally approaching an environment in which everything “just works,” and people don’t have to worry about the little annoyances that created technophobia in the first place. It might be beautiful. We can only hope that as my generation becomes one of the last to learn to use a conventional keyboard and mouse, the spirit to tinker doesn’t die with the GUI.
Comments
Becca said…
I feel like the iPad will be met with a diverse set of reactions. From the developer perspective, I think you’ve nailed it. As a user, however, I’m not sure how willing I would be to convert from a laptop to a tablet, however far from now that may be. The idea is wonderful and I hope that it eventually works its way into the mainstream, but I fear that the only reason it will is because our generation is lazy. While some of the most innovative and creative individuals are people our age who actually want to tinker with electronics, it’s important to recognize that much of our generation cannot seem to comprehend the difference between “you’re” and “your,” much less the workings of a piece of modern technology. I hope, in this regard, anyway, that I’m wrong. I, like you, hope that there will continue to be individuals who are interested in discovering not only how and why things work, but also ways to improve and build upon current technology.
Shelby said…
My opinion. The tablet has been done before. It has been attempted and failed. Could it work simply because it has the Apple name attached, perhaps. I may be a PC user but I also know that things have a way of taking off when they’re supported by Apple. The Ipod changed how we did music, the Itouch changed how we did phones. There is still the classic argument between the PCs and Macs over who is better. You have your opinion and I’ll keep mine (for relevancy sake
i’ll make this unbiased).
Do I think the IPad (ok, I might make one joke about how it may as well be named MaxIpad … now I’m done) will have the influence on computing that the Ipod and Iphone did. No, I don’t think it will. There are too many pre-release notions that many buyers have about whether the Ipad is truly pragmatic beyond the big numbers simplicity desired by older audiences. I think there will be a clash between the incongruent forces of Pro- and Anti-Ipad users (both PC and Mac alike) with a not-so-very-chipper outcome. No Tethering? No Flash? No Multi-tasking? Really? Dear Apple, Stop holding out for later models Apple tablet and if you’re going to release, release your best first … don’t skimp on the “extras” so you can tack them on to later updated models and impress the masses. Release the best and THEN improve.
The tablet has been done without too much success outside the realm of graphic art such as with programs like Max or open-source Blender. And this won’t even be the half of old tablets – literally. It is sleek. It is pretty. If you can replace your laptop with an Ipad, you didn’t need a laptop to begin with, so go for it. If you love your Iphone and want more, shout “supersize me”. If you’re a techie and need your gear to do it all and make it work – you’ll hate this platform. I like being able to fix my PC with my own hands and hate the closed system that presents itself in many Mac INCLUDING the ones that are open platform simply due to how easy they are to break and how hard they are to open without experience. I work in hardware … Apples are the bane of our existance. Fix your PC, no problem. Fix your Apple … go see Steve (our local expert here at SLU). For me, that is not a way to own a piece of technology, let alone something that could “potentially replace your laptop”. Technologies like the Ipad and Macbooks and Ipods — they should be like cars. You shouldn’t own one unless you know how they work and how to fix them – and when you break, you can apply your knowledge and perform repairs yourself.
Will this be financially successful, maybe. I doubt it will revolutionize anything – not anytime soon.
p.s. – A compatriot of mine just walked out muttering about how the Ipad is just and over-priced piece of shit … he’s a mac user and our resident expert.
My advice, think before you buy. But keep an open mind. While this product makes me further disinclined to buy a Mac, it could catch my eye in the future depending on updates and reworks.
Matt Patenaude said…
Everything you say is all well and good, Shelby, but there are a couple of things I think you miss.
First of all, the iPad isn’t *intended* to replace your laptop. Will it for some users? Sure, it would work just fine for the 90% of computer users who use 10% of their computers’ features. The iPad is a terrific consumption device (and personally, I think also good at producing, but most people disagree with me on that one). Nevertheless, Apple is trying to fill (create?) a “gap” market *between* the iPhone and MacBook — there are certain key tasks that it performs better than either a laptop or a smart phone.
As for the servicing angle, I’ve serviced my own Macs numerous times without issue, it just takes a bit more patience since everything is so impeccably (and tightly) laid out. This is a key example where a brilliant combination of form *and* function wins out, with the loser being the poor chap who has to open the thing up. Gotta’ admit, though, the insides of a Mac are shmexy.
The biggest point that you (and everyone else) seems to miss, however, is that the iPad is not a device designed and marketed for you and I. Look at the ads, look at the quick tours: normal people in comfy chairs. This is a *consumer* product for the not-so-technologically inclined, who quite frankly, don’t give a rat’s ass about any of those user-serviceable extras that might be nice — they’d be going to the Genius Bar anyway!
Finally, to respond to a couple of the comments you made:
Call me a doting optimist, but I’d bet good money that that’s not the strategy. One of the most remarkable things about this device is that Apple hit their target price of $499, which is no easy feat. I’m thinking some of the extras had to go in order to hit the cheap, and will return once the R&D is paid off.
a) Why would you want to tether a device that can do most of the light Internet-related tasks you’d use a laptop for, standalone? b) Flash has been the scourge of the Internet for far too long, and as any web activist will tell you, needs to DIE. (And quite a few big players agree: http://www.apple.com/ipad/ready-for-ipad/). c) As for multi-tasking… well, if my suspicions are correct, wait a couple of months, then we’ll talk.
Add a Comment