iPad

Of course, the iPad is met with all sorts of disappointment. While I would not call myself an Apple fanboy, I am a computing enthusiast. I am excited about new ways of computing, and I believe the iPad is moving us as a society in the right sort of direction.

First I’ll deal with the negatives. In general it would seem the detractors of the iPad fall into two different camps.

The first camp is underwhelmed. They were expecting a Macbook Pro with a touch screen. They assumed all the rumors were true and were waiting for a new jump in computing. These are the people complaining that “it’s just a big iPhone!”

The first camp can be forgiven. They failed because they got caught up in the hype and imagined that the iPad would be perfect in every way, delivered by unicorn to their doors. They failed because they don’t have the perception to see how incredible the iPhone could actually be if it had a bigger screen. They failed because they forget that every first generation product is merely a step in a direction.

The second camp is the freedom camp. They think that because it is technology it must be what they define as “free.” This usually means that it plays Ogg Vorbis files, can run any type of software, or can otherwise be hacked beyond imagination. They decry that the iPad is a “closed” platform. Some who really went rabid go so far as even to say that it has “DRM.”

The Linux versus the world argument is as old as dirt and we needn’t go into all the arguments. The fact of the matter is, you cannot expect a corporation trying to maximize profits to build a broad open platform. You cannot expect a beautiful user experience and demand an open platform. It doesn’t work that easily. This community is frustrated because no company wants to give away their innovation and engineers. Thus, Linux remains a plaform for hackers. Who are the real fanboys here? Apple has created what the armies of hackers could not (and never would): a computer that doesn’t feel like a computer. Apple can make such a device for the reason that they do control the hardware, software, and software delivery. Take one of those out of the equation, and the quality will go down from what we have come to expect from Apple.

The only question that is really outstanding is, why would I want an iPad? Why do we need another gadget? I am not certain that Apple completely solved that problem, but they made important steps at defining the mid-size portable gadget.

There are a few key shortcomings in the device itself. The first is multitasking: it seems to me that a computer of the size and power of the iPad ought to be able to run a few applications at a time. At the same time, everyone says the iPad is incredibly fast. Guess what? Your Macbook would be fast too if you only ran one application at a time. I think this design decision makes the iPad feel more like a device rather than a computer. Again, the “computery” part diminishes into the background while the actual applications come to the forefront.

The second key shortcoming is I/O. The only data port is the 30 pin dock connector. It’s a fine little connector to be sure, but lack of, say, a USB port to transfer data or plug in other devices like a printer seems to be an odd decision.

What will we do on our iPads? Who knows what developers will cook up. For my part, I immediately think of cool board games. You could have a whole shelf of games complete with instructions and game pieces in a 1.5lb package. Think of playing risk on your iPad. It would know whose turn it is, their score, armies, and suggest battle strategies. When it’s time to battle, it could swoop in Google earth style to a natural battlefield and you could watch a 3D rending of your armies battling it out. Think of medical uses. A doctor could have access to high resolution images and be able to see a lot more data than one could on an iPhone. Think of a control panel for your home. Lots of little levers and switches could control a smart home. There are so many applications where the iPhone/iTouch needs more screen. Here is that solution.

What is the iPad? Honestly, I have no idea. It could perform badly, but I think it is the beginning of a new sort of computing, where we stop thinking about windows with three buttons in the corner, top menus, and double clicking on icons. Instead we move to a more natural, organic sort of interaction with our computers. Regardless of whether you want the iPad to replace your Touch, your laptop, or be something different, it solves a unique problem in a way that every other tablet up until this point has not effectively been able to work through. I think the iPad will start a new type of mobile computing, in a similar way as the first generation iPhone did. Get ready to start having more fun with your computers.