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The thing is, most people aren't scribes. The iPad isn't a good laptop replacement. It's something new. Developers are still in the early stages of figuring ou

The thing is, most people aren't scribes. The iPad isn't a good laptop replacement. It's something new. Developers are still in the early stages of figuring out what this means.

hammock 16y ago
Rule #1 of entrepreneurship? Make sure your product solves an existing problem. If tablets don't do this then they fail.
- sudont 16y ago
  An existing problem is not always codified through speech: rather, we may not understand the problem because it is such a part of the fabric of our life we cannot consider the alternative. It’s possible that tablets and their rapidly evolving OSes have not been around to show us the distinction between digital data retrieval and desktop computing. This is not the same as a manufactured problem. Using digital data in the field has always been shitty, but it’s been up until now that we’ve understood that computers must be in some static form, not a clipboard. Previous tablets most likely failed through latching an OS for sitting onto a computer for walking. The same issue is in art: our modern idols are merely the most recognizable stop points in a continuous evolution of style and formality. In retrospect, it’ll be easier to see the distinction between tablet and laptop five years from now. See also: the faster horse in your garage or driveway.
- jimbokun 16y ago
  Apple is selling a ton of them, so by your logic they must be solving someone's existing problem. Unless your definition of entrepreneurship fail encompasses "selling a lot of product and making a lot of profits."
- commieneko 16y ago
  Revolutionary tools seldom solve existing problems, instead they give us new abilities or mental modes for dealing with the world. (And sometimes it gives us new _limitations_ as well...) In other words, an automobile is not simply a better horse. A word processor is not just a better typewriter. A printing press isn't just a faster scribe. While there may be some overlap between abilities between the old and the new, and that overlap is often a useful marketing tool, that is usually the least interesting area.
- cageface 16y ago
  The problem they solve is that ordinary computers are too complex and unreliable for the average user. Watch somebody over 50 with an iPad for 15 minutes and it makes sense. That's not what makes them interesting to me though. They may make a better email reader for Joe Average but it's the interactive audio & graphics possibilities that intrigue me.
- ugh 16y ago
  Just because it’s something new and unlike a laptop doesn’t mean that it doesn’t solve an existing problem.
- forgottenpaswrd 16y ago
  The first time I used Windows 3.11 it was a toy compared with the real work you could do with DOS and all their programs. In Windows, you could use the mouse to paint, that is, all the big games and programs were still DOS. Ipad today is a toy like iphone 1.0 was, but this will change as the technology matures.

The thing is, most people aren't scribes. The iPad isn't a good laptop replacement. It's something new. Developers are still in the early stages of figuring out what this means.

hammock 16y ago

Rule #1 of entrepreneurship? Make sure your product solves an existing problem. If tablets don't do this then they fail.

sudont 16y ago
An existing problem is not always codified through speech: rather, we may not understand the problem because it is such a part of the fabric of our life we cannot consider the alternative. It’s possible that tablets and their rapidly evolving OSes have not been around to show us the distinction between digital data retrieval and desktop computing. This is not the same as a manufactured problem. Using digital data in the field has always been shitty, but it’s been up until now that we’ve understood that computers must be in some static form, not a clipboard. Previous tablets most likely failed through latching an OS for sitting onto a computer for walking. The same issue is in art: our modern idols are merely the most recognizable stop points in a continuous evolution of style and formality. In retrospect, it’ll be easier to see the distinction between tablet and laptop five years from now. See also: the faster horse in your garage or driveway.
jimbokun 16y ago
Apple is selling a ton of them, so by your logic they must be solving someone's existing problem. Unless your definition of entrepreneurship fail encompasses "selling a lot of product and making a lot of profits."
commieneko 16y ago
Revolutionary tools seldom solve existing problems, instead they give us new abilities or mental modes for dealing with the world. (And sometimes it gives us new _limitations_ as well...) In other words, an automobile is not simply a better horse. A word processor is not just a better typewriter. A printing press isn't just a faster scribe. While there may be some overlap between abilities between the old and the new, and that overlap is often a useful marketing tool, that is usually the least interesting area.
cageface 16y ago
The problem they solve is that ordinary computers are too complex and unreliable for the average user. Watch somebody over 50 with an iPad for 15 minutes and it makes sense. That's not what makes them interesting to me though. They may make a better email reader for Joe Average but it's the interactive audio & graphics possibilities that intrigue me.
ugh 16y ago
Just because it’s something new and unlike a laptop doesn’t mean that it doesn’t solve an existing problem.
forgottenpaswrd 16y ago
The first time I used Windows 3.11 it was a toy compared with the real work you could do with DOS and all their programs. In Windows, you could use the mouse to paint, that is, all the big games and programs were still DOS. Ipad today is a toy like iphone 1.0 was, but this will change as the technology matures.