Compared to my laptop, the iPad lacks a keyboard, software development tools, writers’ tools, photographers’ tools, a Web server, a camera, a useful row of connectors for different sorts of wires, and the ability to run whatever software I choose. Compared to my Android phone, it lacks a phone, a camera, pocketability, and the ability to run whatever software I choose. Compared to the iPad, my phone lacks book-reading capability, performance, and screen real-estate. Compared to the iPad, my computer lacks a touch interface and suffers from excessive weight and bulk.
It’s probably a pretty sweet tool for consuming media, even given the unfortunate 4:3 aspect ratio. And consuming media is obviously a big deal for a whole lot of people.
For creative people, this device is nothing.
Contributions
Comment feed for ongoing:
From: Markus Breuer (Jan 27 2010, at 22:52)
Tim, I love your little posts and read nearly each one of your tweets, but ... while this is a statement, that is understandable from an emotional side of view, it shows an interesting definition of creativity.
Given that fact that humans have been creative for some 20,000 years - or maybe 50,000 years, I am not trying to be precise - and (some) creative people (in developed countries) only have PCs, mouse and keyboard available for some 20 years, this sounds a bit unfair. :=)
I am quite certain, that there will be MANY creative people utilizing the iPad and similar devices in many creative ways, as a canvas for creative expression and even as an everyday tool.
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From: Jonathan Hollin (Jan 27 2010, at 22:58)
Yep... the iPad left me distinctly underwhelmed too. I'm sorry Apple, but the iPad doesn't fit into my workflow anywhere.
Still, the fanboyz will love it! :-)
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From: tathagata (Jan 27 2010, at 23:09)
I think, by 'creative', you really mean developers. For writers and graphic artists, the required software tools should be on the way.
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From: MacRat (Jan 27 2010, at 23:11)
For creative people...
This is your target audience.
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From: William (Jan 27 2010, at 23:13)
Back in 1997, my web buddies and I were worried about two things that could ruin the Web:
The first one was what was then called "push technology": Netscape Constellation (which I called "consternation"), Microsoft Active Desktop ("active despot") and PointCast ("PointCastration"). Tim probably remember these. Anyone else? PointCast was a big deal back then, it is now completely forgotten.
The other thing that worried us was the rise in "asymmetric" connections (faster download than upload).
Both were keeping us up at night because we worried about the Web turning into a consumer's media as opposed to a participative media.
We were misguided in the specifics. "push technology" died, at least in the way it was envisioned (RSS/Atom are much more benign and even empowering). Asymmetric connections don't really mold the flow of creativity.
But I never lost the underlying fear of a move towards a more consumer-centric Web. Even if the days of user-generated content. Blogs are great, but the rest of the "social web" is often more of a consumption model than a creation model, even (paradoxically) as people do generate more and more "content".
Then comes this tablet which, as Tim describes, is the perfect Web couch potato tool.
Not that creative people don't have periods of heavy consumption for which such types of devices might be adequate. I am not condemning the device, just taking the opportunity to reconnect with my youthful ideals.
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From: Dustin (Jan 27 2010, at 23:40)
I agree that the iPad is underwhelming. But, I do see a bright future for multi-touch devices. I'm glad that Apple is exploring this. They seem to be starting with the basics and taking it step-by-step slowly. Hopefully future multi-touch devices will build on this base and add the other things that people want.
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From: foresmac (Jan 27 2010, at 23:41)
I don't think it's a big fat zero. It's not ALL it could be, true, but I think something like Writeroom combined with a hardware keyboard of some kind could make a good, portable writing tool... as but one example.
Brushes looked really impressive. What if Corel made an iPad version of Painter? Mobile Photoshop is ok on the iPhone... what would an iPad version look like?
I have a friend that uses an iPhone to make music... I expect these apps will work just as well (or better!) on an iPad. What about a virtual Kaos pad app? Or a virtual Autoharp? I'm sure that's only scratching the surface. iWork is pretty impressive... how far can we be from an iPad version of GarageBand?
I don't think the iPad is as awesome as it could be—it's missing a built-in webcam, for instance—but there's a lot of potential there waiting to be unlocked by app developers.
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From: Janne (Jan 27 2010, at 23:42)
It's basically a large-screen iPod, and I don't really see the point of that.
It's big enough to fall into the "small laptop" kind of size. But then I'm better off using an actual small-form laptop, with the same size screen, as much or much more power, much bigger storage and memory.
It can't replace a laptop as the software ecosystem is closed down anyway. I can't get the tools I normally use on the road, from my photo editor with its customized filters and plugins, to my writing tools, illustration programs, analysis tools and so on.
If, on the other hand, a small laptop is too big and clumsy, then so is this. You're better off bringing a normal-size iPod - or a cellphone of your choice - for your web browsing, email, music and videos.
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From: Ryan Cousineau (Jan 27 2010, at 23:47)
The sketch artists yearning for $1000 Wacom Cintiqs (that's the cheap 12" one) will disagree with you.
A niche, yes, but creative.
Same goes for all the people who will use this as musical instrument (because there's an app or 50 for that).
There's a lot more musicians and sketchy types than programmers.
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From: Not Steve Sprang (Jan 28 2010, at 00:07)
Your lack of imagination is thoroughly uninspiring.
You seem to forget that creative people also write software for the iPhone OS ecosystem. Then creative people use that software and develop creative things. Are you yourself not creative or imaginative enough to see the possibilities? Or does the fact that it doesn't have exactly what you expected it to have interfere with your opinions?
I think you're losing touch and letting your emotions get in the way of what you write.
I'll leave you with something creative truly creative.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/tny/2009/05/jorge-colombo-iphone-cover.html
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From: Newton Apple Fall Crunch (Jan 28 2010, at 01:21)
The Apple Newton was 10 years ahead of its time.
The iPad seems to be 10 years behind he times.
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From: David Anderson (Jan 28 2010, at 01:23)
I'm disappointed too, but I (partially) disagree with you. The Brushes and Keynote apps may show the way forward for a category of delightful multitouch interfaces for creating content. Having a good experience working with drawings, images, and modest amounts of text and video ought to be possible.
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From: Oliver Mason (Jan 28 2010, at 01:30)
Tim, I think you're too pessimistic. I can see many creative uses, especially in learning and teaching. As a previous commenter said, not all creative people are developers (or photographers).
I think the iPad will be a useful device that will just lie around in the house. The kids can pick it up, use it as an etch-a-sketch, play music, make music, send emails to friends (good for their literacy skills), and do lots of things a laptop is just too clumsy to use. The touch screen really will make a difference here.
If you look at current PC use, I think most people will use them for games and stuff, which is also not very creative. It always depends what you make of it.
It might be better in version 2 or so, if it gets a camera and other peripherals, but especially at the current price I think I might get one. As a family computer; to be shared. Not as my main work or development machine.
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From: Marko Anastasov (Jan 28 2010, at 02:51)
Some people thought that it's going to be a device which would change how we interact with computers, that you'd own it instead of a laptop etc. Did you? I agree with your points, except that I think that iPad is meant exactly to be just a "consumption" device, something to keep in the living room and take on a casual trip.
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From: Jens T. (Jan 28 2010, at 03:15)
<i>"For creative people, this device is nothing."</i>
*Ouch* what a profoundly stupid statement! How do you define creativity? Is rocking Emacs and recompiling the kernel the extent of your creative output? Of course not. You take nice pictures. Is your Pentax "nothing" because it lacks the ability to run whatever software you choose? After all, there might be an internal RAW converter that is unencumbered by patents and renders the blues a bit nicer, right?
Let creative people worry about how they want to make use of the possibilities this device offers before declaring that it's not for them.
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From: JulesLt (Jan 28 2010, at 03:22)
I'm amazed by the comments here that 'don't see the point', or that 'it doesn't fit into my workflow'.
For years, I felt the same about laptops - because it was true. I don't regularly travel as part of my job, and the gap between laptop and desktop price / performance was too large. What I didn't do was turn that into a reason to dismiss laptops as a category, or any particular laptop.
If you can't see the possibilities of this device, only the issues, then I suspect you'd have missed the point with the 'Mother of All Demos' too. In 5 years time, this level of technology - if not Apple's version of it - will be around $149. At which point you'll probably have 2 or 3 of the things dotted around your house.
There are lots of applications where a thin handheld, yet large, screen beats both a phone screen (too small) and a laptop or netbook (overall device is too bulky to hold in your hand). It is the handheld factor that distinguishes this from the laptop experience, and size that distinguishes it from the phone.
I'd use this thing in my bedroom - put it on it's dock and it's a TV/alarm clock/weather station/etc - things you can already get or use a Jumbly for - except you can pick it up and use it in the kitchen as a cookbook.
As for whether it's what I wanted - well, like Tim I'm disappointed that it's more of a locked down iPhone/iPod than a computer we can hack and play with (without jailbreaking).
That's going to cut down some of the creativity that comes from people doing the unexpected.
(And I am thinking now . . . how about an editor that uses Bonjour/DynDNS to connect to a service that runs the scripting language of your choice, remotely, on your PC/Mac/Linux box - that would solve some issues, although not the local development ones).
And yes, most of the presentation was focused on consumption, rather than creation - but given the software that exists on the iPhone already, I think the device itself will lend itself easily to being a 'creative' tool, for those people who create using software.
The rest of us can wait for a nearly as good Android equivalent in 6-9 month, or a Windows 7 / Linux one with no meaningful library of touch-designed software, but the ability to use loads of stuff designed around a WIMP paradigm, like running DOS apps inside Windows.
I'm also sanguine about the 'consumerisation' of technology. I have zero interest in car maintenance. I like the fact that cars today are a lot more consumer friendly that 30 years ago (for my Uncle, a mechanic, it is the opposite - too many electronic black boxes that you just replace, rather than mechanics you can repair).
We are the mechanics in this case. We do not like black boxes. We do not like what we can't change, improve, bodge. We can see what is wrong with a product. But in a major sense, we are wrong. People want car designs that work, not mechanics to fix flawed design and manufacturing. We prioritise maintainable over all else.
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From: Jose (Jan 28 2010, at 04:30)
As some people has already posted, it's your target audience if you are a software developer, witch is the kind of person I believe you refer from "creative people".
Now, there are tons of creative people out there that are not programmers and will find iPad enormously useful once "creative people" start doing apps for this new platform and they will, but it will take some time to get rid of the clunky keyboard.
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From: Phil (Jan 28 2010, at 05:33)
Nothing?
This is the new paper. This is the destination of what you create.
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From: David Megginson (Jan 28 2010, at 06:40)
So what do we have here?
1. An iPod that won't fit in your pocket or purse?
2. An iPhone that can't make phone calls?
3. An expensive netbook with no keyboard?
I've owned an HP notebook/tablet hybrid for almost 3 years, and I've found the tablet surprisingly annoying to use -- the only time I fold it into a tablet is to show people how it folds into a tablet.
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From: len (Jan 28 2010, at 06:59)
I am a composer is multiple art domains. Simply put, we are up to our eyeballs in neat technologies that do less and less per pound somewhat the way we once (and some still do) had to carry 10 footpedals to make one sound.
I saw nothing there that interested me and a lot that turned me off particularly lack of multi-application integration vital to composition in multimedia. It will be a big hit with the kindle crowd and the casual gamers. OTW, more belt weight for less firepower.
As they said at CNet, iPass.
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From: Robert Young (Jan 28 2010, at 07:20)
It lacks the most basic object for a device bigger than the palm of your hand: A HANDLE. Just looking at the picture of Steverino, it was clear that it is totally unwieldy. It will fail along with the Newton. A fig on you, Steve.
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From: Tom Frauenhofer (Jan 28 2010, at 07:23)
Tim, I think that it is a device for some creative people but not others. I don't think it was just a convenience that they had the create of the Brushes app on stage, for example. I could really see this being used for creating graphics from scratch.
As to photographer's tools, there are a pile of interesting photography apps in the app store that allow you to do some very creative work on the iPhone already. The app options may not be as rich as those on a laptop/desktop, but that doesn't mean it's not a rich environment.
And "the ability to run whatever software I choose"? This statement is more telling of the author than the device, don't you think? There's always something that's not been ported to the device/OS I'm using at the moment, so I end up with a combination of devices and virtual machines to cobble together what I need. There are already a lot of apps that I can run on the iPad out of the box (thanks to the iPhone compatibility), including a rich set of very useful apps. Apart from missing Flash, I don't know what I can't run in the browser for browser-based apps, but I suspect that's a very rich set, too (and a much better experience then on the iPhone, thanks to the larger screen landscape).
I agree about the camera - I think that was a huge omission. And I wonder what kind of connectivity it will have to external displays. And I wish it had a USB port.
(BTW, I'm sure it will have a web server - no reason you couldn't get Apache running on this.)
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From: Preston L. Bannister (Jan 28 2010, at 07:33)
Think of the iPad not as a computer, but rather as a book with an infinite number of pages. I like books. For me at least, desktop computers, laptops, and smartphones make poor books.
The iPad crosses a number thresholds, each by itself a small change, but collectively? First is a screen large enough to serve as a page. Combined with a long battery life, low price point, portability, a good UI, and pervasive network connection - this could be a big deal.
Are books "creative"?
Can the iPad serve where books serve now? Dunno - I've not used an iPad - but there is a fair chance.
What other applications fit the form-factor? Applications where smaller displays were too small, and laptops too bulky. The screen is a touch smaller than regular-sized paper, which may be a (small?) problem. Have clipboards and 3-ring binders fallen entirely out of use? If not, why?
Think about "Content Management" applications, where most of the captured content is awkward to display on a screen smaller than a sheet of paper. How does a suitable, highly portable, inexpensive device affect that domain? (I'm thinking this is a earthquake-sized event, in that domain.)
Aside from book-like / paper-like usage, there are other possible usages. My daughter is into drawing graphics, and was very happy to get a digitizing tablet. But the tablet means a bit more setup, and makes her laptop table-bound. Could the iPad serve as a connected but much more portable drawing surface?
Is this "creative"?
You are right, this is just a niche limited variant of a computer. But the book-like paper-sized niche is pretty big.
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From: Robert Young (Jan 28 2010, at 07:35)
@William:
I got involved with web development back in 1999 with servlets and java 1.1. It was clear to me then (having spent the previous decade with *nix databases and RS-232/VT-100's) that html/http was stretched beyond their technical limits. It has only gotten worse.
Eventually, html will be moved out of the way, and the underlying transport will be used. The Apple lock-in to its i* devices fits nicely with that ploy. We'll see.
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From: Robert Young (Jan 28 2010, at 08:32)
One last (modulo another brain fart) comment.
When IBM created the Personal Computer in 1981, it predict 2,500/year in sales. They based this estimate on a specified use case: users (assumed to be engineers and scientist, etc.) would write programs for their own use, and run same on their Personal Computer. To that end, IBM made available 3 operating systems from which the user could choose the one to his liking: CPM/86, UCSD P-System, PC-DOS. It was envisioned to be a mainframe on a desk.
And so it was until...... Lotus released 1-2-3, and only for PC-DOS. At that point the light bulb went off around 128 and the Valley: what IBM had created was an Office Stove, a device for which the User *DIDN'T* write the programs to be run, but which could bake all sorts of delight food stuffs. That IBM didn't restrict the BIOS and didn't secure the OS's made Billy Boy rich. And quite a few programmers.
The iPad is just the most extreme extension of this paradigm: it's an appliance, but significantly less open to the gaggle of Cooks in the wild. Users, in Steverino's mind, couldn't care less whether the Cooks are indentured servants to Apple. They don't even care that they are locked-in to Apple. They just know that the tarts taste good.
It is form over substance as never before. If it works. I just don't see it being any more successful than the Newton, or any tablet. The interface, even with multi-touch, is not that far from what PARC did originally. As someone remarked, you need three hands. Yes, you do.
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From: Dan Guy (Jan 28 2010, at 08:55)
You can read a book on your Android phone. I have four or five book readers on my G1 and N1. A few of them even have online book catalogs, though all the books are public domain -- none of the catalog apps will allow me to purchase books.
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From: Chris (Jan 28 2010, at 09:05)
Four words: audio/MIDI control surface.
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From: Rob (Jan 28 2010, at 09:07)
I fail to see how this is any improvement on the iTouch. It is just a bigger iTouch. My daughter has an iTouch, and while it is marketed as a music device, it does browsing, email, games, a variety of aps, etc. And it has a USB port. And it fits in your pocket. And costs a lot less.
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From: bil (Jan 28 2010, at 09:27)
Tim,
I'm a bit surprised that you'd be so dismissive so quickly (but you're far from close to the worst).
What I'm _really_ amazed at all of the negative discussions that have come out all over the web. I kind of feel like I'm in the Mike Meyer's skit, "if it isn't scottish, it's crap!"
To those who say what's the point of a bigger iPod, I say I love my iPod touch, but it's too small--my eyes aren't what they used to be (and if you're not in your mid 40s, just wait (; ), and my fingers are big, so navigating the web is a pain.
When I first saw the newton at an NDA demo, I said I'd like it better if it were closer to 8.5x11 in size, with a full size virtual keyboard. But the iPod is great for me--I use it as a level, a plumb, a network testing tool, to read public domain books, to check the weather forecast, to check email, to play some game when I'm waiting for someone, and as a pedometer. I could probably get a phone that could do that, but I don't want the data plan.
To those who say, it's not enough, I say, it's a start in a good direction. I've always used laptops, but it wasn't until I got a dual core intel 1.83 macbook pro with a 15" screen that I stopped using my desktop at home. It used to be I used the laptop when it was the only option. Now I sit on the couch and do work, and my desktop gathers dust. I still like a desktop better for really serious work, at work, I use a G5 with two big screens, but I can't carry that around with me.
It doesn't run whatever software you choose, but what does? It does run lots of software, with more options everyday. If you want to stretch things, to run whatever software I choose these days requires a beefy mac with at least two virtual machines setup (and yes, I do that).
My girlfriend really wanted a kindle for christmas, I suggested we hold off on that to see what this spring holds. At $499, the iPad is expensive in comparison, but still looks great. Everything she uses her laptop for is web based. With a keyboard attached, I think it could replace her laptop.
Not mine, tho. But if it gets a bit bigger, stays thin and relatively light, and supports NX or VNC nicely, maybe. We'll see, the day is still young.
Does it meet everyone's every desire? No. Why should it? If Apple even attempted that, the price would be bumping up against the macbooks, and folks would be dumping on it because it costs too much.
Fundamentally, it's just another option I'm glad to have. Things are much better than when linux was very young, google didn't exist, and MS had 95% or more marketshare of computer OSes.....
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From: Mads (Jan 28 2010, at 11:16)
It definately something for creative people - making music, doodling around (as I already do now with inspiring music software on the iPhone) will be much fun. The trick is the appstore. It's a giant source of fun, inspiring, and challenging creative stuff. I'm pretty happy that Apple has released this "canvas" for creative exploitation. Add to the fun rather!
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From: Piers (Jan 28 2010, at 11:52)
I was about to comment "Len Bullard's got to be around here somewhere" - then I read a little further...
Maybe not "iPass", schools are full of eyeballs, and this probably points to the classroom of the future (I hope not).
The name gives it away: the Pad - as in Thai - is saucy, but consumptive. Or something.
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From: Bill Higgins (Jan 28 2010, at 14:05)
Do you plan to get one or suspect that you might at some point get one?
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From: chris (Jan 28 2010, at 15:26)
Wow, I can't think of another fragment with this many comments this quickly.
The ipad, to me, is an output device: good for providing stuff for you eyes & ears.
And given the games for the touch/phone, there will probably be some very interesting games available for it as well.
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From: len (Jan 28 2010, at 18:07)
Of course, Piers. But Rob Koberg sent me the perfect link:
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/7995/appleipad.jpg
Humor is good.
It's a consumer device as Tim points out. If you want to lug it around, buy one. But "magical"? As a musical gear head, it better make piss into gasoline as the saying goes before I'll buy one. I'm trying to get rid of the "magical" gear filling up the corners so I can concentrate on the only wand that ever did the job: six strings. ;)
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From: glenn mcdonald (Jan 28 2010, at 19:21)
I'm with Phil: this is the new world. This is Apple starting the whole information/media/communication ecosystem over from scratch (or, more precisely, finally admitting that the point of the iPhone was to start the whole thing over from scratch). iPad 1.0 doesn't have a camera or the right ports, and maybe it won't be able to run Logic, and obviously 64GB isn't enough etc etc. Not everybody bought the first iPhone, either, so maybe this isn't quite your model, yet. But don't confuse the model with the platform!
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From: Mike (Jan 29 2010, at 00:56)
The 4:3 ratio's a pretty good compromise. For old movies you'd want 4:3, for newer you'd want 16:9, or photos 3:2 is best, for documents 11:8.5 or A4 ratio.
If you'd only use it for new movies, then 16:9 might seem best off the top of your head, but it's nice to have letterboxing if you have access to videos that allow subtitling to happen out of the image area, as with closed captions, and it's nice to have a place for controls that don't cover image areas when they appear during use.
Front row puts up a volume control that covers the subtitles in most movies. With a little bit of thought the volume level could be the left or right 3 pixels, the part below the image area for subtitles, the part above for controls like play and stop, and so on.
Assuming that the media area is the best aspect ratio is the fatal assumption that brought us metric paper sizes. Yes, you can cut an A2 sheet in half and get A3, which is A4 when halved, and so on, but for printed documents you usually need a bleed margin to trim off, so in the end no efficiency was achieved.
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From: liveff (Jan 29 2010, at 02:30)
A bit too narrow view of who are the creative people here ?
Think our parents/our young children who were always constrained by awkwardness of keyboard/mouse. With iPad, they will be able to really enjoy digital media and unleash their creativity. Desktops and even laptops are going to be enterprise/advanced-user niche. I believe iPad is how PC as in personal computing should have been and will be for the mass market.
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From: Fabian (Jan 29 2010, at 03:52)
Tell Colombo he's not being creative. I think his covers on the New Yorker are kind of nice.
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From: Elliotte Rusty Harold (Jan 29 2010, at 04:01)
On writer's tools specifically I think we have to wait and see. I don't think the iPad can be judged fairly about this unless you actually try one out. Given that most of my writing these days is inside a web browser, the only real question is whether the lack of a physical keyboard is as crippling as a lot of folks expect. I'm not so sure.
Apple pays a *lot* of attention to human factors, far more than most other companies. I would not be surprised if the writing experience is quite good. An onscreen keyboard on a larger pad should be far superior to the limited keyboards on even the largest phones. Superior enough that you won't miss a real keyboard? We'll have to find out, but you can (wirelessly) plug in a real keyboard if you like; and in some environments like airline coach class or the NYC subway--basically any cramped environment--the iPad is likely to be much easier to write with than a classic notebook.
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From: Justin (Jan 29 2010, at 04:22)
How can you say it offers nothing for creative people simply because it doesn't ship with such software? Or do you think that there is some reason that people won't write creative applications for it?
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From: Jason kempshall (Jan 29 2010, at 04:44)
Three words, techno yuppie bullshit!!! Apple “The company” can suck it! They do make good computers, but what is next in their super cool and sophisticated “I” range, the I-Segway??!! How is any of this shit going to make our lives truly any better (like they try and make out in the TV ads). I am an Apple computer user and I do like the functionality of their Laptops and desktops, but as a company I loathe them. Their pretentiousness meets no bounds!
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From: ed (Jan 29 2010, at 05:03)
Of course it has a keyboard; in fact, it has two. It has a virtual or software keyboard and it has a 'plug-in' hardware keyboard.
And yes people make things on it - not software, but documents of various sorts using iWorks (spreadsheet, word processing and presentation) or email.
I think the problem is that you really like the device, and you just want to be able to say 'check out my slick computer', but of course you can't, since you can't program it. It's not your computer; it's steve's computer. That's what bugs me about the iPhone. It's a great computer, but it's not my computer. It's steve's. I need steve's permission to program it.
Do you scoff at everyone who owns an iPod, saying, 'oh you sheep, you should own a Fender electric guitar!' Very few people can 'make' anything worthwhile by programming a computer, just like very few people can make anything worthwhile with a Fender guitar.
It just bugs you that Apple won't let you program your own stuff. Are you unhappy with your car radio because it won't let you make your own stuff?
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From: Michael (Jan 29 2010, at 08:08)
Had pretty much the same thoughts as Mr Bray. It's a computer that takes away the ability to be a creator, turning all users into mindless consumers by force.
"glenn mcdonald: this is the new world. This is Apple starting the whole information/media/communication ecosystem over from scratch"
New world of closed and controlled and private, you mean exactly in the ways in which the internet and particularly 'web 2.0' isn't?
It's not new, it's a 20 year old blast from the past. It's AOL revisited (as far as I know what AOL was, not being from the USA).
I would hope the 'internet savvy' would reject it outright since it is rejecting them outright.
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From: Piers (Jan 29 2010, at 08:23)
@len ... obvious, but amusing. Do you think there is any potential use of the iPad in VR? Granted, it's a pretty lame AR device if it doesn't have a camera, however, it seems like the nice screen and accelerometers might have some potential in this realm. For instance, if a Myst app is available, I'll probably have to buy one of the damn things.
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From: Riggie (Jan 29 2010, at 08:39)
The iPad is limited, true. However, real Creative people have the Imagination to Create within the set structures presented and not be Limited by such a Narrow focused mind. I think you need to reevaluate your view of your own creativity.
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From: Alan (Jan 29 2010, at 10:30)
Restrictions breed creativity. Would I ever have created this image if it weren't for the exact restrictions of the iPhone?
http://alanfalcon.tumblr.com/post/359942936/zurg-via-hipstamatic
Probably not.
The iPad will breed creativity in a different way, of course, but I think the original comment misses the point entirely.
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From: Stormchild (Jan 29 2010, at 10:42)
You're going to need a crowbar to get your foot out of your mouth in a few months' time. ;)
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From: Michael Critz (Jan 29 2010, at 10:46)
Some iPhone apps are great creative tools, such as Brushes, BeatMaker, & ReelDirector. I also think the iWork apps look great.
Would an iPad replace my laptop for working off-site? No.
Would an iPad replace my laptop for a vacation? Maybe.
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From: Peter (Jan 29 2010, at 10:48)
"It's a computer that takes away the ability to be a creator, turning all users into mindless consumers by force."
Right Michael, because you can't draw on it, all you can do is stare at it. And you're going to be forced to be a consumer because someone's going to make you spend $500. And then they're going to make you use apps/web apps/websites where you can't make anything.
It's a freaking large iPod touch. It's not a chain. Unless you're into that sort of thing.
If you're going to troll, try trolling a little more intelligently.
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From: Miche Doherty (Jan 29 2010, at 10:54)
Macs for creating, iProducts for consuming: a reasonable generalisation. But I think it's going a little too far to say that iPad is "nothing" for creative people. David Hockney, for one, might disagree with you.
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From: Eric (Jan 29 2010, at 11:05)
I'm not certain there won't be an "app for that" but the iPad wasn't designed to produce media, it was designed to consume it. So why should it be surprising that it doesn't fit into someones creative workflow. Neither does a bicycle but that doesn't make a bicycle useless?
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From: Jemaleddin (Jan 29 2010, at 11:14)
I think it's sweet that you assume that creative people will never want to consume content.
Odd. But sweet.
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From: Hervé (Jan 29 2010, at 16:10)
It's funny how the same critics that were applied to the iPhone are now geared toward this iPad. People want to comp
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From: haapum (Jan 29 2010, at 18:55)
For creative people, I believe, every device is something.
It is what you can do with something, not what it helps you create, that defines your creativity.
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From: Anon (Jan 30 2010, at 02:29)
I predict the iPad will be a failed product.
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From: Jose A Vivas (Jan 30 2010, at 04:53)
Under the perspective of "Inside Steve's Brain" the iPad's introduction is consistent.
No "One More Thing" no music at end. Just a tiny linear innovation for extend familiarizarion for all iPhone/iPod users to other device.
As Steve said: "this is a in between iPod and Laptop" No more. Why not a Camara? We can not capture the images. Just the rest of the content: Books, Music, Video, Web/Mail, and Apps.
As iWork , Autodesk, for example with Sckech could be raise the experience for Artists as Brushes did. The enrichment of multitouch is starting. For me is by far better than Kindle.
The missing link? Camara. This "social devices" needs to capture the enviroment and the image is a huge source of it.
Next version with Camara and iChat could be the next upgrade.
I still waiting for this.
Cheers from my iPhone and still slow EDGE connection
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From: Wu Ming (Jan 30 2010, at 06:54)
Before the device comes the social-economic system where it is used.
Worrying about the future of computing based on the iPad and not on capitalism it's the geek way of avoiding the real problem.
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From: Says more about you then the iPad (Jan 30 2010, at 17:14)
I am not sure I agree. "Nothing Creative"? What about all those teen's on youtube with videos of how they hacked their iphone, app developers, content creators etc...
Apple dont want you to won the iPad, they want you to own an iPad, iPhone, MacBook and Apple TV.
They provide some of the best hardware to be as creative as you want. All they want is for you to put that creative 'thing' on one of their devices.
To say that it is nothing creative says more about you than it does about the device. Maybe its time for the next generation to take over the creative reins from those who just dont know what to do with the technology available to them.
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From: John Dougan (Jan 30 2010, at 19:14)
My problem with the iPad (as well as the iPhone and iPod touch) is that it isn't really a computer, it's a device to run consumer applications that Steve approves of (one at a time). I own an iPod touch and am quite happy with it...but I don't need a second one of any size. I ended up with a Samsung Omnia running Windows Mobile as my phone because it can run Skype, tethering and GPS software simultaneously over EVDO radio (and yes, I need to do that)
I can see the iPad selling quite well, most people aren't capable of using an actual computer or don't see the need. The only task I'd really consider it for is as a book reader...but the price is currently too high for that application alone.
It reminds me of one of the stories in the _Zen of Programming_:
A novice went into the master's cubicle and saw a new computer sitting upon the master's desk. "What is that computer?" asked the novice. The master placed his hand upon a small box that was connected to the computer by a wire. "Behold," said the master, "This device controls what we see on the screen. The screen simulates a desk. For example, here is a filing cabinet and a trash depository. Here also is a typewriter and a calculator." "This is a wonderful invention," whispered the novice in awe. "It is not as wonderful as it seems," said the master. "Can you see the two desks?" The novice nodded. "One is on the floor, the other is on the screen," he remarked. "Just so. Now, is there something missing on one of the two desks?" The novice pondered for a moment. "One of the desks does not have a computer on it," he said. The master shook his head. "Neither of the desks has a computer on it."
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