4 ms·

Did we ever know? I will concede that it was good for the random user doing some casual internet use while watching TV before phones got big enough for that, bu

Did we ever know? I will concede that it was good for the random user doing some casual internet use while watching TV before phones got big enough for that, but I would contest if it ever had a single unique use other than that even at launch. Any device with a single purpose seems likely to fail, I think. >Innovations like automatic transmission I'd count that (or indeed, tablets) an 'innovation' in the same way as PRISM or systemd. Sure, it is one in that it's new and a different approach and even helps a very specific class of users, but not a net positive. I guess that's just the state of the world though, that we will always be forced to accept 'innovation' that does nothing but make life hard for the power user, the enthusiast, the person with an above-room-temperature IQ. >had to be “far better” than a phone or a laptop That's where it gets interesting, I think. As stated above, better than a phone contemporary to its launch, yes, but it was never better than a laptop bar "easier to pick up and carry around", which rarely applied to what are so often sofa-bound devices, or shoved into a backpack on a long journey at most.

ceejayoz 12y ago
> I guess that's just the state of the world though, that we will always be forced to accept 'innovation' that does nothing but make life hard for the power user, the enthusiast, the person with an above-room-temperature IQ. I like how not wanting to use computing devices in the same way you like to is a mental defect in your world. Wow.
- toothbrush 12y ago
  The way the GP put it is a little harsh, yes, but i can see where they're coming from. Personally, i think a device that "just works" is great. Really. For certain people (i agree, not low-IQ people, just non computer enthusiasts). And this is where the iPad shines. My gripe, though, would be that it doesn't cater to the power user who wants to modify components and software / create (whether that be a novel, a song, or a piece of software) in the same way that a general-purpose (and i'd go as far as to say open-source/libre software) computer does. I like hacking at my editor and being able to plug in an Arduino, and an iPad wouldn't let me do that. Having said all of that, my response is: if that is a deal-breaker for you (like it is for me), don't buy an iPad. Simple. The iPad has it's target market very well defined and served (even if i do lament the fact that it's such a DRM / walled garden / evil spying companies experience, where the user is the product).
  - mikeash 12y ago
    I can't really see where they're coming from. The existence of an easy tool doesn't eliminate the more powerful tools, and even advanced users sometimes want easy tools. I'm a computer power user by any reasonable definition. I program for a living, I customize a lot of stuff, and I get pretty upset whenever I try to run an unsigned binary and my Mac decides this is too unsafe and makes me jump through hoops to make it happen. But I also use my iPad a lot. If I'm reading on the couch or watching a video, it gets the job done much better. It's fine to say that it's not for you, but it's ridiculous to say that simpler tools must only be for people who are incapable of using advanced tools.
    - autoreleasepool 12y ago
      > I get pretty upset whenever I try to run an unsigned binary and my Mac decides this is too unsafe and makes me jump through hoops to make it happen. In my experience, a simple right click -> open (as opposed to double click) gets the job done. Is this what you're refering to?
      - mikeash 12y ago
        Doesn't that only open it once, and if I want to keep using it I have to go flip the setting in System Preferences? And in Apple's infinite wisdom, that setting now resets if you haven't exercised it in a while, which is pretty crazy.
        autoreleasepool 12y ago
        No, once you open it that way (on an admin account) it's supposed to allow you to open it normally from then on. I beleive you if you say it has bugged on you though.
        mikeash 12y ago
        Either way, I'll be sure to try it out next time I run into it and see what it does.

ceejayoz 12y ago

> I guess that's just the state of the world though, that we will always be forced to accept 'innovation' that does nothing but make life hard for the power user, the enthusiast, the person with an above-room-temperature IQ. I like how not wanting to use computing devices in the same way you like to is a mental defect in your world. Wow.

toothbrush 12y ago
The way the GP put it is a little harsh, yes, but i can see where they're coming from. Personally, i think a device that "just works" is great. Really. For certain people (i agree, not low-IQ people, just non computer enthusiasts). And this is where the iPad shines. My gripe, though, would be that it doesn't cater to the power user who wants to modify components and software / create (whether that be a novel, a song, or a piece of software) in the same way that a general-purpose (and i'd go as far as to say open-source/libre software) computer does. I like hacking at my editor and being able to plug in an Arduino, and an iPad wouldn't let me do that. Having said all of that, my response is: if that is a deal-breaker for you (like it is for me), don't buy an iPad. Simple. The iPad has it's target market very well defined and served (even if i do lament the fact that it's such a DRM / walled garden / evil spying companies experience, where the user is the product).
- mikeash 12y ago
  I can't really see where they're coming from. The existence of an easy tool doesn't eliminate the more powerful tools, and even advanced users sometimes want easy tools. I'm a computer power user by any reasonable definition. I program for a living, I customize a lot of stuff, and I get pretty upset whenever I try to run an unsigned binary and my Mac decides this is too unsafe and makes me jump through hoops to make it happen. But I also use my iPad a lot. If I'm reading on the couch or watching a video, it gets the job done much better. It's fine to say that it's not for you, but it's ridiculous to say that simpler tools must only be for people who are incapable of using advanced tools.
  - autoreleasepool 12y ago
    > I get pretty upset whenever I try to run an unsigned binary and my Mac decides this is too unsafe and makes me jump through hoops to make it happen. In my experience, a simple right click -> open (as opposed to double click) gets the job done. Is this what you're refering to?
    - mikeash 12y ago
      Doesn't that only open it once, and if I want to keep using it I have to go flip the setting in System Preferences? And in Apple's infinite wisdom, that setting now resets if you haven't exercised it in a while, which is pretty crazy.
      - autoreleasepool 12y ago
        No, once you open it that way (on an admin account) it's supposed to allow you to open it normally from then on. I beleive you if you say it has bugged on you though.
        mikeash 12y ago
        Either way, I'll be sure to try it out next time I run into it and see what it does.