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Oh man. First of all, the iPad (which I basically meant generically as "multi-touch tablet") is not a "shiny new tech toy." For most people, it represents many

Oh man. First of all, the iPad (which I basically meant generically as "multi-touch tablet") is not a "shiny new tech toy." For most people, it represents many iterations on the kind of computer this man is using with his kids. For those of us who aren't software engineers, this article reminds me of what computers were like when I was extremely young. And the iPad isn't limited to simple things. You should try using one. You can do a lot of complex things, you can build things, you can even program.

bornhuetter 14y ago
> For most people, it represents many iterations on the kind of computer this man is using with his kids. For most people it represents a large phone that they can browse Facebook on. It's designed to be as little like a computer as possible; and for the purpose it is designed for (consuming media content), that's great. For these kids playing with this simple command line stuff is fun, and they will have plenty of time to play with tablets later. I'd argue that it's much better to do it this way around than giving them the tablet first, then trying to teach them command line when they are in primary school.
jiggy2011 14y ago
I would liken it more to a kid who is learning to drive and has a dad who is a mechanic, so instead of getting a brand new car with a SatNav , power steering and heated seats they restore a classic together and the kid learns to drive that. Not a perfect analogy but the point I am making is that I don't think there's anything at all wrong with parents teaching their kids what might be considered "unusual" skills.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  Even more simply (in the US), it is like your dad teaching you how to drive stick even though most "non-power users" of cars drive automatics.
  - jiggy2011 14y ago
    Yes that's true, in the US people seem to view driving stick as some advanced technique, here in the UK even the crappiest drivers learn with a manual (this may start to wane as modern autoboxes get better). I don't think it's very constructive to label something as "advanced" or "hard" because this can cloud people's judgement and make them scared of things that are in fact relatively straight forward.

bornhuetter 14y ago

> For most people, it represents many iterations on the kind of computer this man is using with his kids. For most people it represents a large phone that they can browse Facebook on. It's designed to be as little like a computer as possible; and for the purpose it is designed for (consuming media content), that's great. For these kids playing with this simple command line stuff is fun, and they will have plenty of time to play with tablets later. I'd argue that it's much better to do it this way around than giving them the tablet first, then trying to teach them command line when they are in primary school.

jiggy2011 14y ago

I would liken it more to a kid who is learning to drive and has a dad who is a mechanic, so instead of getting a brand new car with a SatNav , power steering and heated seats they restore a classic together and the kid learns to drive that. Not a perfect analogy but the point I am making is that I don't think there's anything at all wrong with parents teaching their kids what might be considered "unusual" skills.

jlgreco 14y ago
Even more simply (in the US), it is like your dad teaching you how to drive stick even though most "non-power users" of cars drive automatics.
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  Yes that's true, in the US people seem to view driving stick as some advanced technique, here in the UK even the crappiest drivers learn with a manual (this may start to wane as modern autoboxes get better). I don't think it's very constructive to label something as "advanced" or "hard" because this can cloud people's judgement and make them scared of things that are in fact relatively straight forward.