4 ms·

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 cert

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.
colomon 12y ago
Personally I think an iPad is unbeatable for many kinds of content consumption. I do 90% of my comics reading on mine, it's vastly better than the computer or phone for reading PDFs, it's great for playing casual games, it's decent for surfing the net. If I want to do content creation, I have a laptop for that. It's not about one device to rule them all, it's about finding the right device for the each job. That said, I didn't have a functioning laptop last week, and I actually got a decent amount of programming done using my iPad, a bluetooth keyboard, and an SSH app. I'm pretty sure that if I were a regular Emacs or Vi user, I could use it quite happily for that on a regular basis.

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.

colomon 12y ago

Personally I think an iPad is unbeatable for many kinds of content consumption. I do 90% of my comics reading on mine, it's vastly better than the computer or phone for reading PDFs, it's great for playing casual games, it's decent for surfing the net. If I want to do content creation, I have a laptop for that. It's not about one device to rule them all, it's about finding the right device for the each job. That said, I didn't have a functioning laptop last week, and I actually got a decent amount of programming done using my iPad, a bluetooth keyboard, and an SSH app. I'm pretty sure that if I were a regular Emacs or Vi user, I could use it quite happily for that on a regular basis.