{"id":209,"date":"2010-02-02T14:38:01","date_gmt":"2010-02-02T22:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/35.225.155.113\/blog\/index.php\/2010\/02\/02\/contemplating_the_ipad\/"},"modified":"2019-10-13T13:01:51","modified_gmt":"2019-10-13T20:01:51","slug":"contemplating-the-ipad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weinstein.org\/blog\/index.php\/2010\/02\/contemplating-the-ipad.html","title":{"rendered":"Contemplating the iPad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the dust has settled a bit and
\neveryone else has either praised or condemned<\/a> Apple’s latest hardware
\noffering let us take a look at a few interesting points…<\/p>\n

The Beginning of the End Or The End
\nof the Beginning?<\/b><\/p>\n

A number of people see the end of open,
\nmultipurpose computing devices should the iPad find significant
\ntraction, such as Jim Stogdill. While comparing the iPad to an Toyota
\nPrius<\/a>1<\/sup><\/a> he lets known his fear that the closed hardware platform coupled with the
\nhigh barrier to entry (pay for software developer kit (SDK<\/a>), wait for
\napproval) will significantly detour the next generation of
\nprogrammers from playing around and innovating.<\/p>\n

Yes, I am of the generation that
\nlearned programming, first hand on Apple IIe. It is part of the reason
\nwhy Apple holds quite a hold on my attention. As a kid I playing with
\nthe machine for hours at a time, learning what it could do thanks in
\npart to the built-in BASIC programming language<\/a>. Heck even as an
\nadult I’ve found that old computing platform useful<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, I can’t stop thinking, just
\nbecause transistor radios can’t be easily fiddled with, didn’t mean
\npeople stopped fiddling about with electronics<\/a>. Sure, there might be
\na bit more ignorance about electronics<\/a> in the general population than
\nmy liking, but that’s easy to take care of. I mean, I didn’t take
\nauto maintenance in high school to become an auto mechanic. I took to
\nin part to prevent that high barrier to entry as a road block from getting the most out of my vehicle2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the conditions that exists
\ntoday are by no means the end-all-be-all. When the Mac first came out
\nthe SDK was priced quite high. Now a days it’s free, anyone can start
\nplaying around on a Mac by simply using the second DVD included with
\nOS X to install Xcode<\/a>. Nor did the high entry point stop innovation,
\nI mean just look at Adobe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Which of course brings me to the
\noverall point about the iPad, it might contain the DNA of what could be – being able to access content at anytime, from anywhere<\/a> no
\nmatter if that spreadsheet resides<\/a> on your iPad, on your computer or
\non a cloud – but that doesn’t mean what it is
\nlimited to now will also be true later.<\/p>\n

In fact, I would suggest that, as time
\ngoes on Apple with open up the iPod\/iPhone\/iPad platform more
\nand more as new opportunities arise. That goes double for the iTunes
\nstore.<\/p>\n

To take just one example, personally,
\nwhen I see my iPhone 3G pause for a handful of seconds just after it
\nreceives new email in the background I’m glad Apple hasn’t allowed
\nmultitasking<\/a> applications. From my vantage point the hardware is just
\nbarely able to support one or two apps running at the same time, let
\nalone dozens.<\/p>\n

About That Hardware<\/b><\/p>\n

After all that additional computing
\npower comes with a tradeoff, responsiveness and battery life.<\/p>\n

The two most power hungry elements of a
\nlaptop are the LCD display and the CPU. A 10-inch screen requires
\nquite a bit of power just to keep the screen backlit and readable.
\nRequire more computing power for something like multitasking and down
\ngoes the battery life drastically.<\/p>\n

So I’m not sure why people are
\nsurprised that Apple has yet to enable multitasking given that the
\niPad is reported to get 10 hours of battery-life. Plus, everyone who
\nhas had time with the iPad thus far has commented on it being wicked
\nfast<\/a>. Again no doubt in part because of the lack of overhead required
\nfor managing a dozen apps at once.<\/p>\n

Apple has obviously made some key
\ndecisions about what to focus on for the here and now. <\/p>\n

\n

Of course not a lot
\nis publicity known about the custom processor, but I’m sure Apple
\nwill be using variations of the chipset in devices to come and has an
\noverall roadmap for the next few generations, leading us back to the
\nconclusion that it is probably only a matter of time until more
\ncomplex features such as multitasking make their way onto this
\ngrowing mobile platform.<\/p>\n

What About the MacBook Air?<\/b><\/p>\n

Speaking about Apple’s growing mobile
\nplatform, has the iPad killed the MacBook Air<\/a>? I mean I haven’t heard
\nmuch from “the experts” about how the MacBook Air now fits into
\nApple’s overall strategy.<\/p>\n

Sure some people are proclaiming the
\ndeath of computing as we know it<\/a> which should make one wonder,
\nwhere does the MacBook Air fit these days?<\/p>\n

While I don’t know for sure, it doesn’t seem hard in hindsight to see the MacBook Air as an evolutionary branch of Apple’s
\nlong running development of tablet. Or for that matter as an
\nexperiment: Are people looking for slim, fast, lightweight laptops,
\nsuch as what the Air represents or something different?<\/p>\n

Given that Apple last quarter sold
\nmillions of iPhones and that while iPod sales are decreasing, iPod
\ntouch sales were up 55 percent<\/a> it isn’t hard to spot the trend line of
\nwhere the market seems to be leading.<\/p>\n

So given that Apple now has the
\nlightweight go anywhere category covered from the pocket-size mobile
\ndevice (iPod touch), a smartphone (iPhone) to the tablet (iPad) at
\nvarious price points as well as the more traditional laptops with the
\nMacBook and MacBook Pro, one has to wonder, what’s going to happen to
\nthe MacBook Air?<\/p>\n

\n

\n<\/a><\/p>\n

1<\/a> I
\nhave no idea why tech people love car analogies, but it seems to be
\nthe case. However can someone help me understand if the iPhone is
\nthe Hummer<\/a> of smartphones how is an iPad a Prius?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2<\/a> Ack, more stupid car analogies…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"