Comments on: The iPad — I Get It http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2010/01/30/the-ipad-i-get-it/ The Adventures Of Ron & Evelyn Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:03:45 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 By: Chazzamatazz http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2010/01/30/the-ipad-i-get-it/comment-page-1/#comment-8624 Chazzamatazz Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:45:54 +0000 http://sybarite.us/puertorico/?p=2625#comment-8624 And regarding my comment about use in nursing homes (from the Ihnatko review): Bravo to Apple: the iPad has plenty of features to aid people with low vision, such as full-screen zoom, a white-on-black display option, and Apple’s “VoiceOver” technology (which reads anything on the screen aloud). For the hearing-impaired, the media player supports closed-captioned content and the audio output can be remixed to mono. Seriously, who else pays attention to these things besides Apple? And regarding my comment about use in nursing homes (from the Ihnatko review):

Bravo to Apple: the iPad has plenty of features to aid people with low vision, such as full-screen zoom, a white-on-black display option, and Apple’s “VoiceOver” technology (which reads anything on the screen aloud). For the hearing-impaired, the media player supports closed-captioned content and the audio output can be remixed to mono.

Seriously, who else pays attention to these things besides Apple?

]]> By: Chazzamatazz http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2010/01/30/the-ipad-i-get-it/comment-page-1/#comment-8623 Chazzamatazz Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:39:29 +0000 http://sybarite.us/puertorico/?p=2625#comment-8623 Two great articles just out. One, a review from a guy who got to spend 45 minutes with the actual device. Two, a nice essay on new versus old world computing: http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/2017907,ihnatko-ipad-hands-on-012810.article http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/359224392/i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-ive-been Two great articles just out. One, a review from a guy who got to spend 45 minutes with the actual device. Two, a nice essay on new versus old world computing:

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/2017907,ihnatko-ipad-hands-on-012810.article

http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/359224392/i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-ive-been

]]> By: Chazzamatazz http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2010/01/30/the-ipad-i-get-it/comment-page-1/#comment-8620 Chazzamatazz Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:17:59 +0000 http://sybarite.us/puertorico/?p=2625#comment-8620 It should also be noted that since the iPad announcement last week, it has been determined that the wireless Apple Bluetooth keyboard (and presumably other Bluetooth keyboards) pairs up nicely and will function as another way to utilize a physical keyboard. This means that you can just prop up the iPad (or use the fancy case they showed) and get out the keyboard for a mass text entry. I think it's perfect for college students in that way. Take the iPad to class, read your textbooks onscreen, take notes with the onscreen keyboard, etc. Go back to the dorm, pull out the wireless keyboard and type up a term paper in iWork's Pages. Best of all worlds right there. I would have been all over this thing in college. It should also be noted that since the iPad announcement last week, it has been determined that the wireless Apple Bluetooth keyboard (and presumably other Bluetooth keyboards) pairs up nicely and will function as another way to utilize a physical keyboard. This means that you can just prop up the iPad (or use the fancy case they showed) and get out the keyboard for a mass text entry. I think it’s perfect for college students in that way. Take the iPad to class, read your textbooks onscreen, take notes with the onscreen keyboard, etc. Go back to the dorm, pull out the wireless keyboard and type up a term paper in iWork’s Pages. Best of all worlds right there. I would have been all over this thing in college.

]]> By: Ron http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2010/01/30/the-ipad-i-get-it/comment-page-1/#comment-8618 Ron Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:34:17 +0000 http://sybarite.us/puertorico/?p=2625#comment-8618 I seem to recall that Flash didn't work on Linux for a long time. Might have been mistaken. I consider the lack of keyboard to be a huge selling point. It breaks us away from 100+ year old ways of interacting with paper and computers. The QWERTY layout was a horrible hack from the start and we've stuck with it for way way too long. It's currently the fastest way for humans to get information into a computer, but I don't think it should remain that way. (Voice and touch interfaces have been a Holy Grail for input. We probably won't reach the promised land until computers can mind reads.) Cost and hardware issues get fixed over time. iPod wasn't the first MP3 player out there, but it revolutionized the industry (helped in large part by iTunes, which started only on the Mac). And look at the first generation and how it evolved to the Touch. Imagine what the iPad might do in a couple of generations. I think what Apple is trying to do is make a super powerful piece of paper. I'm no fan boy (my only Mac is sitting in my garage, my iPods don't work anymore) but I get where Jobs is going with this. I seem to recall that Flash didn’t work on Linux for a long time. Might have been mistaken.

I consider the lack of keyboard to be a huge selling point. It breaks us away from 100+ year old ways of interacting with paper and computers. The QWERTY layout was a horrible hack from the start and we’ve stuck with it for way way too long. It’s currently the fastest way for humans to get information into a computer, but I don’t think it should remain that way. (Voice and touch interfaces have been a Holy Grail for input. We probably won’t reach the promised land until computers can mind reads.)

Cost and hardware issues get fixed over time. iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player out there, but it revolutionized the industry (helped in large part by iTunes, which started only on the Mac). And look at the first generation and how it evolved to the Touch. Imagine what the iPad might do in a couple of generations.

I think what Apple is trying to do is make a super powerful piece of paper. I’m no fan boy (my only Mac is sitting in my garage, my iPods don’t work anymore) but I get where Jobs is going with this.

]]> By: Chazzamatazz http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2010/01/30/the-ipad-i-get-it/comment-page-1/#comment-8610 Chazzamatazz Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:04:59 +0000 http://sybarite.us/puertorico/?p=2625#comment-8610 Cool post. I'm really anxious to hear your impressions once you do have an iPad in hand. Other than maybe the eBooks which are coming, I still think the biggest deal of the iPad is that it will run all of the App Store apps but with a much larger screen and a much faster processor. People who do not have iPhones and have not sampled some of the excellent apps there will not know what they are missing. Apps such as Evernote and Things, for example, are incredibly useful and I practically live in those apps every day. On the iPhone, though, they feel a bit constrained. The screen size really is restrictive on what functionality you can surface as a developer. The iPad, for all intents and purposes, eliminates those limitations. I am very excited to see what Evernote and Things will look like on iPad. In the latest documentation, Apple is really pushing developers to make their apps approximate the look and feel of real world objects. For example, a book that looks and acts like a book. That sort of realism just makes using apps so enjoyable. Sure, there will always be a place for heavier duty laptops and desktops but I think those will be increasingly oriented towards a) programmers, b) engineers and scientists, and c) graphics designers. For the rest of the world, the iPad has everything they need. I fully expect the iPad to be the last computer my parents will ever need. I relish the days when I no longer have to remember how much RAM or hard disk space or what OS my parents' computer is running when they call for help. I actually believe that the iPad will be the first successful device for residents in nursing homes. Even a half senile old lady knows how to tap on a screen. And since no other company is pursuing this, Apple is going to make a killing. Cool post. I’m really anxious to hear your impressions once you do have an iPad in hand. Other than maybe the eBooks which are coming, I still think the biggest deal of the iPad is that it will run all of the App Store apps but with a much larger screen and a much faster processor.

People who do not have iPhones and have not sampled some of the excellent apps there will not know what they are missing. Apps such as Evernote and Things, for example, are incredibly useful and I practically live in those apps every day. On the iPhone, though, they feel a bit constrained. The screen size really is restrictive on what functionality you can surface as a developer. The iPad, for all intents and purposes, eliminates those limitations. I am very excited to see what Evernote and Things will look like on iPad. In the latest documentation, Apple is really pushing developers to make their apps approximate the look and feel of real world objects. For example, a book that looks and acts like a book. That sort of realism just makes using apps so enjoyable.

Sure, there will always be a place for heavier duty laptops and desktops but I think those will be increasingly oriented towards a) programmers, b) engineers and scientists, and c) graphics designers. For the rest of the world, the iPad has everything they need. I fully expect the iPad to be the last computer my parents will ever need. I relish the days when I no longer have to remember how much RAM or hard disk space or what OS my parents’ computer is running when they call for help. I actually believe that the iPad will be the first successful device for residents in nursing homes. Even a half senile old lady knows how to tap on a screen. And since no other company is pursuing this, Apple is going to make a killing.

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