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Great article. It really explains to me the success of the iPad, which from my geeky, feature-centered, cheapskate perspective made little sense. I bought a net

Great article. It really explains to me the success of the iPad, which from my geeky, feature-centered, cheapskate perspective made little sense. I bought a netbook one year after the iPad came out, which seemed to correspond more to my use of a lightweight computer. Incidentally, I stopped using microwaves a few years ago. I wonder what that means my future relationship with tablets will be.

cooldeal 16y ago
I don't know how far the analogy holds up. After all, microwave is not very programmable(in the computing sense) nor so restrictive. Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable(and food grocers had to pay 30% of the price of food to the microwave manufacturer to get that special label) ? Isn't that what happens with the iPad? Eg. The free Sony e-reader app was rejected, Readability was rejected. Kindle and Netflix are on the chopping block if they don't pay up by June 30th, same with any apps for magazine or content subscriptions. Microwaves never had these restrictions.
- ugh 16y ago
  As of yet, no one cares. That might change but it hasn’t already.
- joebadmo 16y ago
  My concern is actually in a different direction: that people will enjoy the restricting tool too much. In the microwave analogy it would be that people enjoy the convenience of microwaves so much that they abandon reguarly cooked food for packaged microwave-ready food completely. Not that that happened with microwaves, but it seems like the danger's greater with the iPad. The iPad is designed for consumption (yes, I know there are instances of people creating awesome stuff with the iPad, but I think it's generally true that its basic purpose is consumption) and the interaction bandwidth is so low that it discourages content production by users, which is what makes the internet so great. It degrades the great promise of all of the new technology we've been creating.
  - maguay 16y ago
    Actually, for many Americans, I'm afraid the microwave has replaced their oven, and average food quality has suffered as a result. In an odd twist, my family usually cooks fully homemade food since it's healthier, but the microwave oven is still useful.
- extension 16y ago
  Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable Yes. It's mostly mediocre at cooking traditional recipes, but great with foods that are specially designed for it, some of which wouldn't otherwise be feasible. and food grocers had to pay 30% of the price of food to the microwave manufacturer to get that special label If there were legal and technical means to license microwaveable food, I'm sure someone would do it.
  - bobds 16y ago
    > If there were legal and technical means to license microwaveable food, I'm sure someone would do it. http://www.google.com/patents?q=microwaveable&btnG=Search+Patents http://www.google.com/patents?q=microwaveable&btnG=Searc...
- grishick 16y ago
  I think it applies to tablets in general rather then to the iPad
  - metageek 16y ago
    Most tablets don't have a gatekeeper deciding what apps you can run.
- metageek 16y ago
  >Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable No, but it's a bad idea to use dishes that aren't specially labeled microwaveable. And, with older microwaves, metal was right out. (Apparently things are better these days?)
lloeki 16y ago
To each is own, there is no silver bullet. I personally had the iPad grew on me more and more to the point I rarely pull my MacBookPro when at home now. As a nerd it really helps me cut off steam and saves me from burning out. Using the iPad triggers some kind of zen moment in my day where I can contemplate, learn and create (I draw) stresslessly. It happens that my use case of the iPad is actually the opposite of my iPhone where I'm constantly diverted by various events and notifications. It's not that the iPad is disconnected but it's more of the flowing kind and less of the pinging kind.

cooldeal 16y ago

I don't know how far the analogy holds up. After all, microwave is not very programmable(in the computing sense) nor so restrictive. Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable(and food grocers had to pay 30% of the price of food to the microwave manufacturer to get that special label) ? Isn't that what happens with the iPad? Eg. The free Sony e-reader app was rejected, Readability was rejected. Kindle and Netflix are on the chopping block if they don't pay up by June 30th, same with any apps for magazine or content subscriptions. Microwaves never had these restrictions.

ugh 16y ago
As of yet, no one cares. That might change but it hasn’t already.
joebadmo 16y ago
My concern is actually in a different direction: that people will enjoy the restricting tool too much. In the microwave analogy it would be that people enjoy the convenience of microwaves so much that they abandon reguarly cooked food for packaged microwave-ready food completely. Not that that happened with microwaves, but it seems like the danger's greater with the iPad. The iPad is designed for consumption (yes, I know there are instances of people creating awesome stuff with the iPad, but I think it's generally true that its basic purpose is consumption) and the interaction bandwidth is so low that it discourages content production by users, which is what makes the internet so great. It degrades the great promise of all of the new technology we've been creating.
- maguay 16y ago
  Actually, for many Americans, I'm afraid the microwave has replaced their oven, and average food quality has suffered as a result. In an odd twist, my family usually cooks fully homemade food since it's healthier, but the microwave oven is still useful.
extension 16y ago
Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable Yes. It's mostly mediocre at cooking traditional recipes, but great with foods that are specially designed for it, some of which wouldn't otherwise be feasible. and food grocers had to pay 30% of the price of food to the microwave manufacturer to get that special label If there were legal and technical means to license microwaveable food, I'm sure someone would do it.
- bobds 16y ago
  > If there were legal and technical means to license microwaveable food, I'm sure someone would do it. http://www.google.com/patents?q=microwaveable&btnG=Search+Patents http://www.google.com/patents?q=microwaveable&btnG=Searc...
grishick 16y ago
I think it applies to tablets in general rather then to the iPad
- metageek 16y ago
  Most tablets don't have a gatekeeper deciding what apps you can run.
metageek 16y ago
>Did the microwave only cook food that was specially labeled microwaveable No, but it's a bad idea to use dishes that aren't specially labeled microwaveable. And, with older microwaves, metal was right out. (Apparently things are better these days?)

lloeki 16y ago

To each is own, there is no silver bullet. I personally had the iPad grew on me more and more to the point I rarely pull my MacBookPro when at home now. As a nerd it really helps me cut off steam and saves me from burning out. Using the iPad triggers some kind of zen moment in my day where I can contemplate, learn and create (I draw) stresslessly. It happens that my use case of the iPad is actually the opposite of my iPhone where I'm constantly diverted by various events and notifications. It's not that the iPad is disconnected but it's more of the flowing kind and less of the pinging kind.