Plus, anyone that knows how to use an iPhone/iPod already knows how to use Windows or Mac OS.
I don't think this is true for a great many people.
Say what you will about the iPhone OS, and you can say that it's extremely limiting and closed, it lacks multitasked, it is austere, it is a shadow facsimile of what is possible on a full-fledged computer; but it is very, very intuitive. Old people do not need to consult their children or grandchildren upon turning on an iPhone.
Well I mean, without numbers it's not really certain who's right, but I still think that given that an iPod/iPhone is a rather costly device, having the means to purchase one means you surely have had experience with a full sized computer in the past. Not in some cases, but for the vast majority, sure.
Besides that hilarious flub there's also the importance it attaches to the iPad's announcement. Just by announcing this device Apple has flung us into a new era.
They are (wrongly) putting this up with the announcment of the iPod/iTunes, which looking back did launch us into a new era. The 'Sony wii' thing is awesome though, missed that completely.
Plus, anyone that knows how to use an iPhone/iPod already knows how to use Windows or Mac OS.
I don't think this is true for a great many people.
Say what you will about the iPhone OS, and you can say that it's extremely limiting and closed, it lacks multitasked, it is austere, it is a shadow facsimile of what is possible on a full-fledged computer; but it is very, very intuitive. Old people do not need to consult their children or grandchildren upon turning on an iPhone.
Well I mean, without numbers it's not really certain who's right, but I still think that given that an iPod/iPhone is a rather costly device, having the means to purchase one means you surely have had experience with a full sized computer in the past. Not in some cases, but for the vast majority, sure.
I don't know about that, I see a surprising number of young (< 5) kids playing with iPod touches that they had obviously not purchased themselves.
Plus, anyone that knows how to use an iPhone/iPod already knows how to use Windows or Mac OS.
I don't think this is true for a great many people.
Say what you will about the iPhone OS, and you can say that it's extremely limiting and closed, it lacks multitasked, it is austere, it is a shadow facsimile of what is possible on a full-fledged computer; but it is very, very intuitive. Old people do not need to consult their children or grandchildren upon turning on an iPhone.
I dont think that's entirely true either.
My girlfriends dad is older, very successful and works in finance. Ive shown him the stocks app a zillion times, and my girlfriend CONSTANTLY asks me to show/explain to him my iPhone because he doesn't know his way around his blackberry very well.
He just doesn't really get it. He hates the iPhone keyboard, and gets very confused when he grabs the thing and launches an app by mistake. Granted - I'm 100000% sure that if he sat down and just slowed down when looking at the thing, he'd figure it out and like it. But when it comes to that whole "its instantly accessible!", he cant stand it and it intimidates the hell out of him.
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SarksusATTACK AND DETHRONE GODRegistered Userregular
edited January 2010
I just really don't want another device as closed off as my iPhone. I've seen how that works and I don't like it. If the iPad is a success then there will eventually be competitors and I'll get one of those.
My girlfriends dad is older, very successful and works in finance. Ive shown him the stocks app a zillion times, and my girlfriend CONSTANTLY asks me to show/explain to him my iPhone because he doesn't know his way around his blackberry very well.
He just doesn't really get it. He hates the iPhone keyboard, and gets very confused when he grabs the thing and launches an app by mistake. Granted - I'm 100000% sure that if he sat down and just slowed down when looking at the thing, he'd figure it out and like it. But when it comes to that whole "its instantly accessible!", he cant stand it and it intimidates the hell out of him.
Just get him a "Hey You Kids, Get Off My Lawn!" app and he'll be hooked.
Plus, anyone that knows how to use an iPhone/iPod already knows how to use Windows or Mac OS.
I don't think this is true for a great many people.
Say what you will about the iPhone OS, and you can say that it's extremely limiting and closed, it lacks multitasked, it is austere, it is a shadow facsimile of what is possible on a full-fledged computer; but it is very, very intuitive. Old people do not need to consult their children or grandchildren upon turning on an iPhone.
Well I mean, without numbers it's not really certain who's right, but I still think that given that an iPod/iPhone is a rather costly device, having the means to purchase one means you surely have had experience with a full sized computer in the past. Not in some cases, but for the vast majority, sure.
I don't know about that, I see a surprising number of young (< 5) kids playing with iPod touches that they had obviously not purchased themselves.
Yeah, but their parents own a computer obviously. They probably do to, but you don't see them carrying those around do you?
Plus, anyone that knows how to use an iPhone/iPod already knows how to use Windows or Mac OS.
I don't think this is true for a great many people.
Say what you will about the iPhone OS, and you can say that it's extremely limiting and closed, it lacks multitasked, it is austere, it is a shadow facsimile of what is possible on a full-fledged computer; but it is very, very intuitive. Old people do not need to consult their children or grandchildren upon turning on an iPhone.
Well I mean, without numbers it's not really certain who's right, but I still think that given that an iPod/iPhone is a rather costly device, having the means to purchase one means you surely have had experience with a full sized computer in the past. Not in some cases, but for the vast majority, sure.
I don't know about that, I see a surprising number of young (< 5) kids playing with iPod touches that they had obviously not purchased themselves.
Yeah, but their parents own a computer obviously. They probably do to, but you don't see them carrying those around do you?
Do kids this young use computers? Because this is the kind of thing I see regularly.
Plus, anyone that knows how to use an iPhone/iPod already knows how to use Windows or Mac OS.
I don't think this is true for a great many people.
Say what you will about the iPhone OS, and you can say that it's extremely limiting and closed, it lacks multitasked, it is austere, it is a shadow facsimile of what is possible on a full-fledged computer; but it is very, very intuitive. Old people do not need to consult their children or grandchildren upon turning on an iPhone.
Well I mean, without numbers it's not really certain who's right, but I still think that given that an iPod/iPhone is a rather costly device, having the means to purchase one means you surely have had experience with a full sized computer in the past. Not in some cases, but for the vast majority, sure.
I don't know about that, I see a surprising number of young (< 5) kids playing with iPod touches that they had obviously not purchased themselves.
Yeah, but their parents own a computer obviously. They probably do to, but you don't see them carrying those around do you?
Do kids this young use computers? Because this is the kind of thing I see regularly.
.com/watch?v=XrVt2ZcrWUY"]this[/URL]
Uh, yes. Yes they do. Education programs especially are trying to emphasize computers for younger kids since they're so prevalent. Remember that whole OLPC thing?
This argument is anecdotal and I doubt there'd be any way to quantify our positions.
I will say though that there is a difference between "knowing how to use an interface" and "enjoying the use of an interface."
Obviously techie people don't enjoy the various unsavory aspects of the iPhone's interface. But it's undeniably less abstracted from the software content than using a keyboard and mouse. When you move a mouse you are moving a physical object that loosely represents a software object on screen. When you touch something on the iPhone or iPad you're just touching it—it's that much closer.
And I think, while most people can get by using a computer OS, I think there's a sizeable chunk that prefer the iPhone's limited but more tactile simplicity than wrestling with a complex and abstracted OS interface.
But you can just as easily modify a PC to work like that, with large buttons that do exactly what you want.
Most people that I've come across have a few nice buttons they use for their internet, word processing, email, etc. Past that, they typically don't use most of the functions of a PC, but hell, we probably don't either. (Counting, say, video editing, SETI scanning, nearly anything). The Apple Mobile OS thing (we really need a good name for it) is closed off. It has those buttons, but that's where it stops.
Plus, anyone that knows how to use an iPhone/iPod already knows how to use Windows or Mac OS.
I don't think this is true for a great many people.
Say what you will about the iPhone OS, and you can say that it's extremely limiting and closed, it lacks multitasked, it is austere, it is a shadow facsimile of what is possible on a full-fledged computer; but it is very, very intuitive. Old people do not need to consult their children or grandchildren upon turning on an iPhone.
Well I mean, without numbers it's not really certain who's right, but I still think that given that an iPod/iPhone is a rather costly device, having the means to purchase one means you surely have had experience with a full sized computer in the past. Not in some cases, but for the vast majority, sure.
I don't know about that, I see a surprising number of young (< 5) kids playing with iPod touches that they had obviously not purchased themselves.
Yeah, but their parents own a computer obviously. They probably do to, but you don't see them carrying those around do you?
Do kids this young use computers? Because this is the kind of thing I see regularly.
.com/watch?v=XrVt2ZcrWUY"]this[/URL]
Uh, yes. Yes they do. Education programs especially are trying to emphasize computers for younger kids since they're so prevalent. Remember that whole OLPC thing?
As stated in their five principles, OLPC is specifically targeted at elementary school children ages 6 - 12, not toddlers. I have never seen a 1 year old using a computer, and I don't expect I ever will (they lack the fine motor skills needed to do so). But I can't count the number of times I have seen parents give their 1 or 2 year old an iPhone or iPod to play with.
It's not just OLPC, but tons of education programs recommend starting computers and such. They're not just letting their kid play with an iPhone (though what parent hands something who's main instinct is "PUT IT IN MY MOUTH" an iPhone is beyond me) but also with desktop PCs, laptops, and more. a 1 year old isn't using an iPhone anymore than a Desktop computer, they're just poking shiny things. Sitting them at it and using software designed for them, and designed to react to keys to help the kid learn is different.
But you can just as easily modify a PC to work like that, with large buttons that do exactly what you want.
Most people that I've come across have a few nice buttons they use for their internet, word processing, email, etc. Past that, they typically don't use most of the functions of a PC, but hell, we probably don't either. (Counting, say, video editing, SETI scanning, nearly anything). The Apple Mobile OS thing (we really need a good name for it) is closed off. It has those buttons, but that's where it stops.
Past that, it's just aesthetics.
You're right, you can just modify a computer to have a touchscreen and an iPhone-like OS so that little kids can use it. But that's my point. You are going to have a group of people (kids) who have more familiarity with the iPod/iPhone OS than with a "real" computer.
Spelunker on
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mrt144King of the NumbernamesRegistered Userregular
But you can just as easily modify a PC to work like that, with large buttons that do exactly what you want.
Most people that I've come across have a few nice buttons they use for their internet, word processing, email, etc. Past that, they typically don't use most of the functions of a PC, but hell, we probably don't either. (Counting, say, video editing, SETI scanning, nearly anything). The Apple Mobile OS thing (we really need a good name for it) is closed off. It has those buttons, but that's where it stops.
Past that, it's just aesthetics.
You're right, you can just modify a computer to have a touchscreen and an iPhone-like OS so that little kids can use it. But that's my point. You are going to have a group of people (kids) who have more familiarity with the iPod/iPhone OS than with a "real" computer.
And I suppose these kids will never be able to adapt to higher functioning levels of computer interaction.
But you can just as easily modify a PC to work like that, with large buttons that do exactly what you want.
Most people that I've come across have a few nice buttons they use for their internet, word processing, email, etc. Past that, they typically don't use most of the functions of a PC, but hell, we probably don't either. (Counting, say, video editing, SETI scanning, nearly anything). The Apple Mobile OS thing (we really need a good name for it) is closed off. It has those buttons, but that's where it stops.
Past that, it's just aesthetics.
You're right, you can just modify a computer to have a touchscreen and an iPhone-like OS so that little kids can use it. But that's my point. You are going to have a group of people (kids) who have more familiarity with the iPod/iPhone OS than with a "real" computer.
the iPhone OS bit, yes. The touchscreen, no, obviously.
Also, 300 million people.
30 million iPods/iPhones.
Number of those that have kids/are kids? Far, far lower.
So yes, you'll have a small group of kids that never learned to use a more advanced computer?
But you can just as easily modify a PC to work like that, with large buttons that do exactly what you want.
Most people that I've come across have a few nice buttons they use for their internet, word processing, email, etc. Past that, they typically don't use most of the functions of a PC, but hell, we probably don't either. (Counting, say, video editing, SETI scanning, nearly anything). The Apple Mobile OS thing (we really need a good name for it) is closed off. It has those buttons, but that's where it stops.
Past that, it's just aesthetics.
You're right, you can just modify a computer to have a touchscreen and an iPhone-like OS so that little kids can use it. But that's my point. You are going to have a group of people (kids) who have more familiarity with the iPod/iPhone OS than with a "real" computer.
the iPhone OS bit, yes. The touchscreen, no, obviously.
Also, 300 million people.
30 million iPods/iPhones.
Number of those that have kids/are kids? Far, far lower.
So yes, you'll have a small group of kids that never learned to use a more advanced computer?
The best part is, it's almost like a litmus test for future achievement. If your only experience is dealing with an Iphone by age 12, then your prospects are easily limited to POS OS. The Iphone could easily be used to train generations of burnout dive bar waitresses.
It's not just OLPC, but tons of education programs recommend starting computers and such. They're not just letting their kid play with an iPhone (though what parent hands something who's main instinct is "PUT IT IN MY MOUTH" an iPhone is beyond me) but also with desktop PCs, laptops, and more. a 1 year old isn't using an iPhone anymore than a Desktop computer, they're just poking shiny things. Sitting them at it and using software designed for them, and designed to react to keys to help the kid learn is different.
Oh I'm not saying you can't teach a toddler to use a computer, you absolutely can (according to my father I was comfortable launching and playing games on an Apple II when I was 2). But toddlers seem to just pick up the iPhone OS. And I absolutely disagree about whether little kids are using an iPhone, they're poking at it in an effort to figure it out. And inevitably they do.
It's not just OLPC, but tons of education programs recommend starting computers and such. They're not just letting their kid play with an iPhone (though what parent hands something who's main instinct is "PUT IT IN MY MOUTH" an iPhone is beyond me) but also with desktop PCs, laptops, and more. a 1 year old isn't using an iPhone anymore than a Desktop computer, they're just poking shiny things. Sitting them at it and using software designed for them, and designed to react to keys to help the kid learn is different.
Oh I'm not saying you can't teach a toddler to use a computer, you absolutely can (according to my father I was comfortable launching and playing games on an Apple II when I was 2). But toddlers seem to just pick up the iPhone OS. And I absolutely disagree about whether little kids are using an iPhone, they're poking at it in an effort to figure it out. And inevitably they do.
All four one year olds that have been handed a 300 dollar piece of electronics probably are poking at it to figure it out, yes. It's not difficult, but neither is a windows machine. Click on something and it opens. On a mac, click on it, it opens. Hell, the Windows 7 start bar is basically large iPhone icons in bar form. It's ridiculously easy to launch an application. Or even more than one. The only hard part for a baby is figuring out how the mouse works. So, I don't get it? What's the point here? The iPad, if marketed at parents for their children might influence future generations? Or something?
You know, I was looking at my smartphone earlier and I thought to myself how much better it would be if it was impossible to fit into any of my pockets.
alternately: Apple needs to sell this thing with a bundled pair of iPants that have pockets large enough to slip in an iPad easily.
The best part is, it's almost like a litmus test for future achievement. If your only experience is dealing with an Iphone by age 12, then your prospects are easily limited to POS OS. The Iphone could easily be used to train generations of burnout dive bar waitresses.
25 years ago using a computer required knowledge of a text-based UI. Today how many 12 year olds are comfortable using a shell? Far fewer than are comfortable with a GUI like Windows or the MacOS. But that doesn't impact their ability to use a computer. So why is it impossible to imagine another shift to an even simpler type of UI? You have to remember that most people don't care about how a computer works, they just want it to work.
I do not know if I am sad to say it but I want one of these.
It works for me because:
1) I hardly use my cell phone as it is, if I could I wouldn't even have one. All I do is text anyway. I don't want a 200 dollar phone and a wtf phone bill for what I will be basically using as a slightly sophisticated iPod.
2) I work at a desk all day, and I want a decent screen to browse the net on from a comfortable spot. I have never really liked laptops as they are battery suckers and often heavy for a non-shitty one.
3) 3G data plan on the cheap will let me conduct personal business from work, which... I really need, since I work in a corporate network fortress but also do telecommute contracts.
Jasconius on
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mrt144King of the NumbernamesRegistered Userregular
The best part is, it's almost like a litmus test for future achievement. If your only experience is dealing with an Iphone by age 12, then your prospects are easily limited to POS OS. The Iphone could easily be used to train generations of burnout dive bar waitresses.
25 years ago using a computer required knowledge of a text-based UI. Today how many 12 year olds are comfortable using a shell? Far fewer than are comfortable with a GUI like Windows or the MacOS. But that doesn't impact their ability to use a computer. So why is it impossible to imagine another shift to an even simpler type of UI? You have to remember that most people don't care about how a computer works, they just want it to work.
Which is why POS OSes are so simple; they just work for people who need them to just work. It's the people that make them work behind the scenes that get paid the big bucks. Are you seriously saying that the simpler the better even if it comes at the expensive of the prospects of their child?
And I'd argue that not knowing shell does impact your ability to effectively and efficiently use a computer, especially for me where my lack of shell knowledge a year ago made analyzation of logs and Exchange 2k7 cumbersome. Shell is god.
mrt144 on
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mrt144King of the NumbernamesRegistered Userregular
I do not know if I am sad to say it but I want one of these.
It works for me because:
1) I hardly use my cell phone as it is, if I could I wouldn't even have one. All I do is text anyway. I don't want a 200 dollar phone and a wtf phone bill for what I will be basically using as a slightly sophisticated iPod.
2) I work at a desk all day, and I want a decent screen to browse the net on from a comfortable spot. I have never really liked laptops as they are battery suckers and often heavy for a non-shitty one.
3) 3G data plan on the cheap will let me conduct personal business from work, which... I really need, since I work in a corporate network fortress but also do telecommute contracts.
I don't know if this is going to be that comfortable.
I do not know if I am sad to say it but I want one of these.
It works for me because:
1) I hardly use my cell phone as it is, if I could I wouldn't even have one. All I do is text anyway. I don't want a 200 dollar phone and a wtf phone bill for what I will be basically using as a slightly sophisticated iPod.
2) I work at a desk all day, and I want a decent screen to browse the net on from a comfortable spot. I have never really liked laptops as they are battery suckers and often heavy for a non-shitty one.
3) 3G data plan on the cheap will let me conduct personal business from work, which... I really need, since I work in a corporate network fortress but also do telecommute contracts.
I don't know if this is going to be that comfortable.
2) This doesn't have any more battery life than a laptop. You're still gonna have to plug it in and dock it at a desk all day. Probably in that fancy ass keyboard attachment.
The best part is, it's almost like a litmus test for future achievement. If your only experience is dealing with an Iphone by age 12, then your prospects are easily limited to POS OS. The Iphone could easily be used to train generations of burnout dive bar waitresses.
25 years ago using a computer required knowledge of a text-based UI. Today how many 12 year olds are comfortable using a shell? Far fewer than are comfortable with a GUI like Windows or the MacOS. But that doesn't impact their ability to use a computer. So why is it impossible to imagine another shift to an even simpler type of UI? You have to remember that most people don't care about how a computer works, they just want it to work.
Which is why POS OSes are so simple; they just work for people who need them to just work. It's the people that make them work behind the scenes that get paid the big bucks. Are you seriously saying that the simpler the better even if it comes at the expensive of the prospects of their child?
And I'd argue that not knowing shell does impact your ability to effectively and efficiently use a computer, especially for me where my lack of shell knowledge a year ago made analyzation of logs and Exchange 2k7 cumbersome. Shell is god.
Exactly! There are levels of computer knowledge. Having shell access most definitely impact's their ability.
Spent the last few minutes reading gizmodo comments from when the iPhone was announced. Not implying anything, just funny to read:
A touch screen on a phone is not revolutionary or innovative. They've taken numerous existing technologies, half-assed a few of them, churched-up a ten-dollar whore and sell it for heaps o' cash.
I will admit, it is very shiny and pretty. Some of the specs are decent, but it's far too expensive and half-ass to be considered Teh Best Phone Evar. I actually chuckled when Jobs used the word "magical" as though it's powered by fairy dust and giggles.
The Apple fans expect to overpay, get shafted and look cool. The rest of us are gawking in disbelief. This is what everyone was waiting for?
Please stop using the word innovative.
Innovative
1. The act of introducing something new.
2. Something newly introduced.
I have had windows mobile phones that do all this and more for years. Nothing here is new other than a scratchable shiny surface. Nothing like carrying my phone around in a $25 sock. There are literally thousands of apps available for windows mobile. Wake me when apple innovates something more than just buzz.
planned obsolesce. way to go apple. I'll continue to surf the internet from my laptop using my 3g phone as a modem while people are fiddling with their scratched to hell iphones.
All sounds real familiar. I'm not completely sold on the iPad, but then again, I wasn't completely sold on the iPhone when it first came out. When you compare the original iPhone to the 3GS though...
The best part is, it's almost like a litmus test for future achievement. If your only experience is dealing with an Iphone by age 12, then your prospects are easily limited to POS OS. The Iphone could easily be used to train generations of burnout dive bar waitresses.
25 years ago using a computer required knowledge of a text-based UI. Today how many 12 year olds are comfortable using a shell? Far fewer than are comfortable with a GUI like Windows or the MacOS. But that doesn't impact their ability to use a computer. So why is it impossible to imagine another shift to an even simpler type of UI? You have to remember that most people don't care about how a computer works, they just want it to work.
Which is why POS OSes are so simple; they just work for people who need them to just work. It's the people that make them work behind the scenes that get paid the big bucks. Are you seriously saying that the simpler the better even if it comes at the expensive of the prospects of their child?
And I'd argue that not knowing shell does impact your ability to effectively and efficiently use a computer, especially for me where my lack of shell knowledge a year ago made analyzation of logs and Exchange 2k7 cumbersome. Shell is god.
I'm saying it won't impact the prospects of a child at all. That will become the new norm, just like GUIs now are.
Think of a computer as a tool to accomplish various tasks. For most people those tasks are limited to things like web browsing, email, text editing, storing and viewing photos and videos, playing games, etc. Knowledge of a shell is unnecessary for any of those tasks.
Spent the last few minutes reading gizmodo comments from when the iPhone was announced. Not implying anything, just funny to read:
A touch screen on a phone is not revolutionary or innovative. They've taken numerous existing technologies, half-assed a few of them, churched-up a ten-dollar whore and sell it for heaps o' cash.
I will admit, it is very shiny and pretty. Some of the specs are decent, but it's far too expensive and half-ass to be considered Teh Best Phone Evar. I actually chuckled when Jobs used the word "magical" as though it's powered by fairy dust and giggles.
The Apple fans expect to overpay, get shafted and look cool. The rest of us are gawking in disbelief. This is what everyone was waiting for?
Please stop using the word innovative.
Innovative
1. The act of introducing something new.
2. Something newly introduced.
I have had windows mobile phones that do all this and more for years. Nothing here is new other than a scratchable shiny surface. Nothing like carrying my phone around in a $25 sock. There are literally thousands of apps available for windows mobile. Wake me when apple innovates something more than just buzz.
planned obsolesce. way to go apple. I'll continue to surf the internet from my laptop using my 3g phone as a modem while people are fiddling with their scratched to hell iphones.
All sounds real familiar. I'm not completely sold on the iPad, but then again, I wasn't completely sold on the iPhone when it first came out. When you compare the original iPhone to the 3GS though...
Basically. It's silly but people will buy it left right and center anyways.
i love my iphone
robotbebop on
Do not feel trapped by the need to achieve anything, this way you achieve everything.
Oh, hey I'm making a game! Check it out: Dr. Weirdo!
Did you get a shitty 3 cell? Are you ever in a place you can watch a movie and not plug it in anyways?
Airplane?
Just saying.
Those have power plugs.
In coach? Maybe it's just because I fly shitty US airlines, but traveling every other week for my job for the past 5 years, I haven't seen a plug...ever.
Posts
Well I mean, without numbers it's not really certain who's right, but I still think that given that an iPod/iPhone is a rather costly device, having the means to purchase one means you surely have had experience with a full sized computer in the past. Not in some cases, but for the vast majority, sure.
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
A new era of DRM. That's the rub.
I don't know about that, I see a surprising number of young (< 5) kids playing with iPod touches that they had obviously not purchased themselves.
I dont think that's entirely true either.
My girlfriends dad is older, very successful and works in finance. Ive shown him the stocks app a zillion times, and my girlfriend CONSTANTLY asks me to show/explain to him my iPhone because he doesn't know his way around his blackberry very well.
He just doesn't really get it. He hates the iPhone keyboard, and gets very confused when he grabs the thing and launches an app by mistake. Granted - I'm 100000% sure that if he sat down and just slowed down when looking at the thing, he'd figure it out and like it. But when it comes to that whole "its instantly accessible!", he cant stand it and it intimidates the hell out of him.
Just get him a "Hey You Kids, Get Off My Lawn!" app and he'll be hooked.
Yeah, but their parents own a computer obviously. They probably do to, but you don't see them carrying those around do you?
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/17/itunes_iphone_app_store_audience_hits_30_million_users.html
30 million people have used the app store, or have at least become familiar with it.
There are around 300 million people in the US.
So, around 10% of the entire population of the united states is familiar with the Ipod OS.
edit: Playing Starcraft on it would be fun.
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
What we got was:
Do kids this young use computers? Because this is the kind of thing I see regularly.
this
Uh, yes. Yes they do. Education programs especially are trying to emphasize computers for younger kids since they're so prevalent. Remember that whole OLPC thing?
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
I will say though that there is a difference between "knowing how to use an interface" and "enjoying the use of an interface."
Obviously techie people don't enjoy the various unsavory aspects of the iPhone's interface. But it's undeniably less abstracted from the software content than using a keyboard and mouse. When you move a mouse you are moving a physical object that loosely represents a software object on screen. When you touch something on the iPhone or iPad you're just touching it—it's that much closer.
And I think, while most people can get by using a computer OS, I think there's a sizeable chunk that prefer the iPhone's limited but more tactile simplicity than wrestling with a complex and abstracted OS interface.
Most people that I've come across have a few nice buttons they use for their internet, word processing, email, etc. Past that, they typically don't use most of the functions of a PC, but hell, we probably don't either. (Counting, say, video editing, SETI scanning, nearly anything). The Apple Mobile OS thing (we really need a good name for it) is closed off. It has those buttons, but that's where it stops.
Past that, it's just aesthetics.
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
As stated in their five principles, OLPC is specifically targeted at elementary school children ages 6 - 12, not toddlers. I have never seen a 1 year old using a computer, and I don't expect I ever will (they lack the fine motor skills needed to do so). But I can't count the number of times I have seen parents give their 1 or 2 year old an iPhone or iPod to play with.
It's not just OLPC, but tons of education programs recommend starting computers and such. They're not just letting their kid play with an iPhone (though what parent hands something who's main instinct is "PUT IT IN MY MOUTH" an iPhone is beyond me) but also with desktop PCs, laptops, and more. a 1 year old isn't using an iPhone anymore than a Desktop computer, they're just poking shiny things. Sitting them at it and using software designed for them, and designed to react to keys to help the kid learn is different.
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
You're right, you can just modify a computer to have a touchscreen and an iPhone-like OS so that little kids can use it. But that's my point. You are going to have a group of people (kids) who have more familiarity with the iPod/iPhone OS than with a "real" computer.
And I suppose these kids will never be able to adapt to higher functioning levels of computer interaction.
the iPhone OS bit, yes. The touchscreen, no, obviously.
Also, 300 million people.
30 million iPods/iPhones.
Number of those that have kids/are kids? Far, far lower.
So yes, you'll have a small group of kids that never learned to use a more advanced computer?
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
The best part is, it's almost like a litmus test for future achievement. If your only experience is dealing with an Iphone by age 12, then your prospects are easily limited to POS OS. The Iphone could easily be used to train generations of burnout dive bar waitresses.
Oh I'm not saying you can't teach a toddler to use a computer, you absolutely can (according to my father I was comfortable launching and playing games on an Apple II when I was 2). But toddlers seem to just pick up the iPhone OS. And I absolutely disagree about whether little kids are using an iPhone, they're poking at it in an effort to figure it out. And inevitably they do.
All four one year olds that have been handed a 300 dollar piece of electronics probably are poking at it to figure it out, yes. It's not difficult, but neither is a windows machine. Click on something and it opens. On a mac, click on it, it opens. Hell, the Windows 7 start bar is basically large iPhone icons in bar form. It's ridiculously easy to launch an application. Or even more than one. The only hard part for a baby is figuring out how the mouse works. So, I don't get it? What's the point here? The iPad, if marketed at parents for their children might influence future generations? Or something?
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
alternately: Apple needs to sell this thing with a bundled pair of iPants that have pockets large enough to slip in an iPad easily.
25 years ago using a computer required knowledge of a text-based UI. Today how many 12 year olds are comfortable using a shell? Far fewer than are comfortable with a GUI like Windows or the MacOS. But that doesn't impact their ability to use a computer. So why is it impossible to imagine another shift to an even simpler type of UI? You have to remember that most people don't care about how a computer works, they just want it to work.
It works for me because:
1) I hardly use my cell phone as it is, if I could I wouldn't even have one. All I do is text anyway. I don't want a 200 dollar phone and a wtf phone bill for what I will be basically using as a slightly sophisticated iPod.
2) I work at a desk all day, and I want a decent screen to browse the net on from a comfortable spot. I have never really liked laptops as they are battery suckers and often heavy for a non-shitty one.
3) 3G data plan on the cheap will let me conduct personal business from work, which... I really need, since I work in a corporate network fortress but also do telecommute contracts.
Which is why POS OSes are so simple; they just work for people who need them to just work. It's the people that make them work behind the scenes that get paid the big bucks. Are you seriously saying that the simpler the better even if it comes at the expensive of the prospects of their child?
And I'd argue that not knowing shell does impact your ability to effectively and efficiently use a computer, especially for me where my lack of shell knowledge a year ago made analyzation of logs and Exchange 2k7 cumbersome. Shell is god.
I don't know if this is going to be that comfortable.
2) This doesn't have any more battery life than a laptop. You're still gonna have to plug it in and dock it at a desk all day. Probably in that fancy ass keyboard attachment.
edit:
Exactly! There are levels of computer knowledge. Having shell access most definitely impact's their ability.
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
All sounds real familiar. I'm not completely sold on the iPad, but then again, I wasn't completely sold on the iPhone when it first came out. When you compare the original iPhone to the 3GS though...
My Dell Inspiron gets 3 hours if I am lucky.
Did you get a shitty 3 cell? Are you ever in a place you can watch a movie and not plug it in anyways?
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
I'm saying it won't impact the prospects of a child at all. That will become the new norm, just like GUIs now are.
Think of a computer as a tool to accomplish various tasks. For most people those tasks are limited to things like web browsing, email, text editing, storing and viewing photos and videos, playing games, etc. Knowledge of a shell is unnecessary for any of those tasks.
Basically. It's silly but people will buy it left right and center anyways.
i love my iphone
Oh, hey I'm making a game! Check it out: Dr. Weirdo!
Airplane?
Just saying.
Airplanes.
I'm sure it's only 10 hours with the screen backlight as low as possible.
Those have power plugs.
SniperGuyGaming on PSN / SniperGuy710 on Xbone Live
Its what it came with.
I don't watch movies with it, because it's a huge piece of shit. I wouldn't watch movies on the tablet either.
Also the tablet has the dubious advantage of not weighing 3 tons.
If you are offended that I would consider the product a reasonable purchase given my circumstances and current armament of devices, let me know.
In coach? Maybe it's just because I fly shitty US airlines, but traveling every other week for my job for the past 5 years, I haven't seen a plug...ever.