I am an avowed Apple-hater. After I went off on one of my typical rants, my Mac friend responded simply by bringing me his ipad to play with.
It is awesome.
GRRR.
I am still offended by the advertising pitch "your mom can't understand those confusing regular computers, she should get something that only requires her to poke at pretty little square pictures."
But, if you stop thinking of it as a computer, it is a brilliant device. Most notably to me, it is a social device. By that I mean that it has the potential to enhance real-world social interactions, not just virtual ones. You can play scrabble at a cafe on it. You can sit around and look at pictures on the couch on it, showing your grandparents videos of your musical performances without making them get up and crowd around a computer. Not that I would advocate bringing it on a date, but still.
I want one.
I still think Apple is an evil company just like Facebook, and I will continue to rant about it until some antitrust lawsuit takes it down a peg.
But, I may get an ipad too.
Another point in its favor: I just caught up with your blog on an iPad.
ReplyDeleteEven though we beat the point to death in person, I think the "your mom" stuff is a little bit of a straw man. The argument that it's easier to use comes from much deeper design issues than simply how it looks. Lots of companies have tried to dethrone the iPod by making devices by copying how it "looks" but they fail because they ignore what's more important, how it "works."
It's kind of analogous to The Rules, which I could describe as anti-feminist or belittling because it asserts that women must be pursued by men. But as I learn more I find it's deeper than that, and the more important stuff about your self-worth is more crucial to The Rules than a sense of nostalgia for the 1950s.
I hope that's not too strained, I'm just trying to get you back on topic.
-- BR