5 ms·

Why Can’t PCs Work More Like iPhones?

18 points by jlhamilton 17y ago

acid_bath 17y ago
What a surprise: A media outlet looking to stay afloat lauds the unreleased platform they hope to monetize.
- jrockway 17y ago
  The New York Times? (Maybe, just maybe... there's not a conspiracy here, and the author just happened to write about something he found interesting. Nah... that could never happen...)
  - acid_bath 17y ago
    It's not a conspiracy if they're right in the open about it. They're praising a platform that does not exist yet, and what do you know, they have an app that will be available (for $$$) at launch. I don't mean to imply it some Big Evil Conspiracy. NYTimes is a business like any other and they need to make money. NYT has a vested interest in the iPad's success.
andylei 17y ago
i think they're right. even though they're much less customizable, most people (read: people who don't read HN), prefer simple operating systems that abstract away as much as possible.
jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
the ubuntu netbook remix interface is absolutely simple and easy to use. i have it on my HTPC and it's best described as: "a big ass iPhone". My roommate who has NO computer knowledge (she doesnt even own a computer anymore) uses it with ease to browse the web, watch shows, use boxee, google earth, play music,etc.
- jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
  fyi: here's a pic of how it looks- http://i48.tinypic.com/1z677lj.jpg http://i48.tinypic.com/1z677lj.jpg probably not the best, but it's absolutely thrilling to use. controlling google earth in 1080p using multi-touch gestures on your iPhone on a 47 inch HDTV is tons of fun.
- J_McQuade 17y ago
  I use it on my netbook, which goes more or less everywhere with me. It's not only far simpler for, say, my dad (who is still slightly unsure whether computers fall under the realm of science or witchcraft - both being bad), but it also makes things easier for me. You can read that as "one less click to get into emacs" if you want. But on a serious note, the actual interface of the OS seems to be far less important for tech-savvy people. I'm using Windows 7 right now, alt-tabbing between a web-browser and emacs (finally getting around to exploring Clojure, if you're interested), and would be doing exactly the same if I'd booted into Linux this evening instead. 'Computer people' know what they want to do on their machines and do it; and cross-platform is king for 'their sort of app', these days. My dad, on the other hand, thinks that computers are largely operated by shout-recognition. He'd love an iPad. He can point at the thing, it does the thing - he's not prepared to learn, to know or to think about it. That's the market Apple will be aiming for; people who view computers as being more like toasters than toolboxes - that thing they use to do that thing. And people love toasters. However, I genuinely believe that the likes of UNR offer a far better compromise over-all, because most people start out with flailing and shouting - it would be an awful shame to deny them the tools to move beyond that, should they be so inclined.
  - netcan 17y ago
    When I first heard about it, Ihought it was a great idea. But where are all the preinstalled NBR sales?
protomyth 17y ago
In a lot of ways this would work for a goodly chunk of people. I think if Apple did this, they should allow for alternate app stores and IT managed deploys on an App Store model (all organization computers hook to the local app store which hooks to various commercial app stores)
megaduck 17y ago
This idea's going to get market-tested real soon now. There's a lot of companies trying to replace the conventional desktop with something simpler. During 2010 alone we'll be seeing the release of: Apple's iPad, Google's ChromeOS devices, Intel/Nokia's MeeGo, Notion Ink's Adam, Jolicloud, the JooJoo, Microsoft's Courier (maybe), and countless others. There's also things that are already shipping, like Ubuntu's Netbook Remix and the Litl netbook. These products are all daggers aimed at killing traditional desktops in one way or another. They've got a good shot, too: I've been using UNR as my primary OS for over a year now, and it's met all my needs both as a user and as a developer. I still keep around a MacBook for photo work, but it's been almost entirely replaced by a netbook + phone. We'll see who the winners eventually are. However, it seems pretty obvious that Windows and OS X in their current form are doomed.
ax0n 17y ago
The iPhone's OS is feature-poor and anemic, hence the lack of controls. It has a very, very limited set of things that it needs to perform when you compare it to a real computer. "math is hard, let's go shopping!"
- wmf 17y ago
  This is true, but if most people don't use all the features of a real OS anyway then you're better off removing them in favor of a really good implementation of the few features people do use. And then you're right back to iPhone OS: it does little, but it does that really well.
  - ax0n 17y ago
    I guess I don't see the point. Windows isn't hard to learn, neither is OS X. Heck, even Ubuntu isn't too bad, if you only want to do three things with any of them: mail, word processing, web surfing, for example. I've taught numerous seniors how to do these things on a computer. I don't get questions until they want to know how to do more with their computer than they already knew. Using the iPwn model, I'd have to say "you're shit out of luck, that's all this system can do." and I really don't see how that's good for anyone.
    - orangecat 17y ago
      I guess I don't see the point. Windows isn't hard to learn, neither is OS X. Exactly. Apple fanboys have gone from "Macs are easy to use", which is largely true, to "all existing computers are unusable unless you're a total loser geek", which is rather less so. And to the extent that the iPad is easier to use, that's not because it denies control to advanced users. Mac OS X wouldn't be easier for novices if Terminal.app were removed and Apple prevented all other access to the Unix shell.
    - jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
      you dont see the point because you're an outlier. most people are retarded when it comes to computers. most people actually want to do THOSE three things with a computer: mail, word processing, and web. (throw in media watching/playing games somewhere there too). what % of computer owners you think fire up emacs and terminal? a small amount. Geeks != mass market.
jrockway 17y ago
The Linux netbooks were/are very much like iPhones. There is a button you press to view the web. There is a button to press to play music. That's it.
FlorinAndrei 17y ago
Sure they can. But they're called iPads.
netcan 17y ago
It's actually surprising that more innovation hasn't happened already, considering how much of computing has moved into the browser. Get a browser going on a machine and you have already crossed that barrier new OS' once saw as the insurmountable.

18 points by jlhamilton 17y ago

acid_bath 17y ago

What a surprise: A media outlet looking to stay afloat lauds the unreleased platform they hope to monetize.

jrockway 17y ago
The New York Times? (Maybe, just maybe... there's not a conspiracy here, and the author just happened to write about something he found interesting. Nah... that could never happen...)
- acid_bath 17y ago
  It's not a conspiracy if they're right in the open about it. They're praising a platform that does not exist yet, and what do you know, they have an app that will be available (for $$$) at launch. I don't mean to imply it some Big Evil Conspiracy. NYTimes is a business like any other and they need to make money. NYT has a vested interest in the iPad's success.

andylei 17y ago

i think they're right. even though they're much less customizable, most people (read: people who don't read HN), prefer simple operating systems that abstract away as much as possible.

jasonlbaptiste 17y ago

the ubuntu netbook remix interface is absolutely simple and easy to use. i have it on my HTPC and it's best described as: "a big ass iPhone". My roommate who has NO computer knowledge (she doesnt even own a computer anymore) uses it with ease to browse the web, watch shows, use boxee, google earth, play music,etc.

jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
fyi: here's a pic of how it looks- http://i48.tinypic.com/1z677lj.jpg http://i48.tinypic.com/1z677lj.jpg probably not the best, but it's absolutely thrilling to use. controlling google earth in 1080p using multi-touch gestures on your iPhone on a 47 inch HDTV is tons of fun.
J_McQuade 17y ago
I use it on my netbook, which goes more or less everywhere with me. It's not only far simpler for, say, my dad (who is still slightly unsure whether computers fall under the realm of science or witchcraft - both being bad), but it also makes things easier for me. You can read that as "one less click to get into emacs" if you want. But on a serious note, the actual interface of the OS seems to be far less important for tech-savvy people. I'm using Windows 7 right now, alt-tabbing between a web-browser and emacs (finally getting around to exploring Clojure, if you're interested), and would be doing exactly the same if I'd booted into Linux this evening instead. 'Computer people' know what they want to do on their machines and do it; and cross-platform is king for 'their sort of app', these days. My dad, on the other hand, thinks that computers are largely operated by shout-recognition. He'd love an iPad. He can point at the thing, it does the thing - he's not prepared to learn, to know or to think about it. That's the market Apple will be aiming for; people who view computers as being more like toasters than toolboxes - that thing they use to do that thing. And people love toasters. However, I genuinely believe that the likes of UNR offer a far better compromise over-all, because most people start out with flailing and shouting - it would be an awful shame to deny them the tools to move beyond that, should they be so inclined.
- netcan 17y ago
  When I first heard about it, Ihought it was a great idea. But where are all the preinstalled NBR sales?

protomyth 17y ago

In a lot of ways this would work for a goodly chunk of people. I think if Apple did this, they should allow for alternate app stores and IT managed deploys on an App Store model (all organization computers hook to the local app store which hooks to various commercial app stores)

megaduck 17y ago

This idea's going to get market-tested real soon now. There's a lot of companies trying to replace the conventional desktop with something simpler. During 2010 alone we'll be seeing the release of: Apple's iPad, Google's ChromeOS devices, Intel/Nokia's MeeGo, Notion Ink's Adam, Jolicloud, the JooJoo, Microsoft's Courier (maybe), and countless others. There's also things that are already shipping, like Ubuntu's Netbook Remix and the Litl netbook. These products are all daggers aimed at killing traditional desktops in one way or another. They've got a good shot, too: I've been using UNR as my primary OS for over a year now, and it's met all my needs both as a user and as a developer. I still keep around a MacBook for photo work, but it's been almost entirely replaced by a netbook + phone. We'll see who the winners eventually are. However, it seems pretty obvious that Windows and OS X in their current form are doomed.

ax0n 17y ago

The iPhone's OS is feature-poor and anemic, hence the lack of controls. It has a very, very limited set of things that it needs to perform when you compare it to a real computer. "math is hard, let's go shopping!"

wmf 17y ago
This is true, but if most people don't use all the features of a real OS anyway then you're better off removing them in favor of a really good implementation of the few features people do use. And then you're right back to iPhone OS: it does little, but it does that really well.
- ax0n 17y ago
  I guess I don't see the point. Windows isn't hard to learn, neither is OS X. Heck, even Ubuntu isn't too bad, if you only want to do three things with any of them: mail, word processing, web surfing, for example. I've taught numerous seniors how to do these things on a computer. I don't get questions until they want to know how to do more with their computer than they already knew. Using the iPwn model, I'd have to say "you're shit out of luck, that's all this system can do." and I really don't see how that's good for anyone.
  - orangecat 17y ago
    I guess I don't see the point. Windows isn't hard to learn, neither is OS X. Exactly. Apple fanboys have gone from "Macs are easy to use", which is largely true, to "all existing computers are unusable unless you're a total loser geek", which is rather less so. And to the extent that the iPad is easier to use, that's not because it denies control to advanced users. Mac OS X wouldn't be easier for novices if Terminal.app were removed and Apple prevented all other access to the Unix shell.
  - jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
    you dont see the point because you're an outlier. most people are retarded when it comes to computers. most people actually want to do THOSE three things with a computer: mail, word processing, and web. (throw in media watching/playing games somewhere there too). what % of computer owners you think fire up emacs and terminal? a small amount. Geeks != mass market.

jrockway 17y ago

The Linux netbooks were/are very much like iPhones. There is a button you press to view the web. There is a button to press to play music. That's it.

FlorinAndrei 17y ago

Sure they can. But they're called iPads.

netcan 17y ago

It's actually surprising that more innovation hasn't happened already, considering how much of computing has moved into the browser. Get a browser going on a machine and you have already crossed that barrier new OS' once saw as the insurmountable.