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Apple Retail Announces 2015 Interactive Summer Camps for Kids

This sounds like an awesome program to me. I'm doing what I love (Video post production) because I had a passion for it as a kid (albeit with limited resources) and the ability to do it in high school thanks to having the programs and cameras. Anything that can get interested youth doing film sooner (and away from Movie Maker is a bonus) is great in my books.

Now, if only there was a more advanced version that used better cameras / editing software... I could insert a joke about Final Cut X here but I'll just let it go.
 
Piggie said:
Indeed, but Apple is not the "REAL" World

PC's run the world, Apple is the fashion brand, and Apple just want to try and get kids young, to brainwash them, then lock them into it's own means of making money for the company for the future.

You should never use Apple to teach people/young people about real technology tech.
It would be like NIKE making out they know everything about the world of footwear.
Click to expand...

This is a dumb argument. I've been using Apple products since I was a child, LONG before their products were even remotely mainstream. I didn't use a PC until I was in high school, and I still remember picking up on it quickly. If you have an idea of how one computer system works, you can pretty much apply across anything else.

I will say, however, that I learned about desktop hardware because I would replace hard drives, memory, and CD drives in earlier Mac models. Today, with everything being user inaccessible, I don't think children will get the same learning experience with that sort of thing.

But anyway, the Summer Camp for Kids isn't about that, it's really about creative things like learning how to make music or make movies, using the software on the Mac.
 
Piggie said:
PC's run the world, Apple is the fashion brand, and Apple just want to try and get kids young, to brainwash them, then lock them into it's own means of making money for the company for the future.

You should never use Apple to teach people/young people about real technology tech.
Click to expand...

As someone who works in the film industry (in a post-production house specifically) I can tell you that when it comes to the tech of making movies, mac runs the show. Our macs outnumber our PC's 5:1 and do the job better.

The fact that the majority of the world uses Windows doesn't mean that it's the "real" tech or that mac is inferior. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.
 
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SimonDK said:
Why do you feel the need to post this drivel? You seem so confident that the world supports your reasoning, let us weirdos use are inept tech in peace.
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Because it's True :)

Sorry, but if you think The world and multinational businesses across the globe keep the economy, construction, engineering, accounting and everything as we enjoy it today, on Apple Macs, I suggest you seek medical help.

Apple computers are good in the small area they are focused in, and segment of the mostly consumer market they are aimed at, but let's be honest about this.
 
Alphabetize said:
This is a dumb argument. I've been using Apple products since I was a child, LONG before their products were even remotely mainstream. I didn't use a PC until I was in high school, and I still remember picking up on it quickly. If you have an idea of how one computer system works, you can pretty much apply across anything else.

I will say, however, that I learned about desktop hardware because I would replace hard drives, memory, and CD drives in earlier Mac models. Today, with everything being user inaccessible, I don't think children will get the same learning experience with that sort of thing.

But anyway, the Summer Camp for Kids isn't about that, it's really about creative things like learning how to make music or make movies, using the software on the Mac.
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I 100% agree with a excellent point you made there.

Apple "USED" to be a proper computer company, decades ago.
Long before it became the fashion/lifestyle tech company it is now.

I'm not taking anything away from Apple, they have done great, amazingly, they have molded a market with expert skills. It's just a shame they have forgotten their roots, and offer people like myself nothing to buy. :(
 
Piggie said:
I 100% agree with a excellent point you made there.

Apple "USED" to be a proper computer company, decades ago.
Long before it became the fashion/lifestyle tech company it is now.

I'm not taking anything away from Apple, they have done great, amazingly, they have molded a market with expert skills. It's just a shame they have forgotten their roots, and offer people like myself nothing to buy. :(
Click to expand...
I'm sitting here with Xcode open to a project I'm working on, a couple Terminal windows, and Script Editor open to a script I'm working on, and I'm thinking to myself: "This guy has no clue". You can do incredibly advanced things with a Mac, things that completely nullify your argument that Macs are being made by a "fashion/lifestyle tech company". If all you know of Macs are what you see in the adverts, then I would understand your argument, but the fact is that behind the scenes, Apple continues to develop all of the Mac's advanced functionality from AppleScript, to the shell, to Swift and Objective-C. A power user of a Mac can do incredible things! These are workhorses whose potential is mostly unknown to the industry. That's its biggest failing. Lack of exposure. People in general don't know anything about Macs these days.
 
Piggie said:
Because it's True :)

Sorry, but if you think The world and multinational businesses across the globe keep the economy, construction, engineering, accounting and everything as we enjoy it today, on Apple Macs, I suggest you seek medical help.

Apple computers are good in the small area they are focused in, and segment of the mostly consumer market they are aimed at, but let's be honest about this.
Click to expand...

I did not give an opinion or thoughts on the points you made. I just did not see why you felt the need to frown upon this particular offering.

I can tell you now from first hand experience I am able to communicate with multinational business just fine on a Mac, I can also send invoices to them as well.

You accept that Apple computers are good in a small area, would you agree that video editing might be included?

So then offering a free workshop to children in the summer holidays around that particular niche might seem appealing to a parent.

Also they may well go outside to make a short film with the skills they learn.
 
I'm glad macrumors posts the announcement for the Apple Camps each year. I got my daughters into the iMovie class this year. Last year they did the iBooks class. Its fun and, most importantly, free.
 
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Piggie said:
I'm not taking anything away from Apple, they have done great, amazingly, they have molded a market with expert skills. It's just a shame they have forgotten their roots, and offer people like myself nothing to buy. :(
Click to expand...
Well, there we got the core of the whole argument. Apple doesn't offer anything for YOU, and you conclude that Apple computers are "fashion devices" not fit for the real world. I have no idea what kind of application you want to run that is not available on a Mac, but I am quite sure that it's a niche application as opposed to your claim that the real world needs PCs and that they are unreplaceable. I'd claim that 99% or more of all PC users could immediately switch to Macs without any loss of productivity.

I have that "fashion device" called Mac at home, and I do everything with it that I previously did with a PC. And yes, that exceeds web browsing and email. I work with a PC in the office, and I could replace it with a Mac immediately. The only thing keeping me from doing so is that our IT department does not support OS X. But other than that, there is no application that I need in the office which does not run on a Mac. And I don't work as an administrative assistant for Olive Garden. I work for one of the top 20 tech companies in the world. I hold a degree in computer science, and I work in embedded software development. I am what some people refer to as a "power user". I'm the guy my friends and family go to when they have a computer issue. I live right in the center of that "tech real world". And the only reason why it's dominated by PCs is "Well, it looks cheaper on the surface to own a PC than to own a Mac." That's it. Nothing else.
 
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Piggie said:
Because Windows and Linux are open.
They mostly can run on anything from a $20 device to a $20,000+ device.

Not locked into anything, can attach anything, mess with anything (Linux even moreso) and the entire world runs on those devices.

I'm not saying Apple is bad for what it is, a upper end fashion brand, but it is what it is.
Great for some people to do some jobs with.

Or put it this way, All Apple computers vanished overnight and there would be a "blip" around the world whilst we quickly get over it.
All PC's (Windows/Linux) vanished overnight, the world as we know it would simply grind to a halt.

What's more serious and educational in the grand scheme of things to educate children about?

It's fine, but just accept it for the fluffy fashion brand it is, whilst the real world runs on other systems.
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Not sure why you're throwing Windows and Linux together, as they're used completely differently.

Server: Linux if you're serious; Windows if you happen to be a Windows shop without the Linux skills.

Desktop: Mac by default; Windows if your apps are Windows only.

Mobile/Tablet: iOS if security, privacy, range of apps, future support, ease of use; Android if cost matters above all else, or if need some very specific hardware feature only one vendor provides.

On my Mac I have MS Office, Xcode, and all the Java and GNU dev software. To me, it's the best software development platform, even if the software ends up running on Linux or Windows.
 
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now i see it said:
Great idea. Set them up for a sedentary life style before puberty...staring at a screen all summer instead of getting out into the REAL world.
Click to expand...

Any kid that has advanced computer skills early will already be ahead of the pack. The REAL world requires being tech literate. This is 2015, not 1815.
 
MarkCollette said:
Not sure why you're throwing Windows and Linux together, as they're used completely differently.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The main reason I class those as different is different variations of both OS's, and of course more variations of Linux, will run on a million million permutations of hardware, from a tiny few dollar device, up to millions of dollars.
You are free to configure and spec the hardware specifically for your needs, knowing that whatever the task you require, from planning a moon trip, working out kids homework, or doing banking deals to run a country.

TechZeke said:
Any kid that has advanced computer skills early will already be ahead of the pack. The REAL world requires being tech literate. This is 2015, not 1815.
Click to expand...

Operating some easy to use "apps" on an Apple product is what you call "Advanced Computer Skills"?

Really!

May I suggest, a kid from the 1970's or 80's who owned a Sinclair ZX80, ZX81 or Spectrum, developed VASTLY better skills and went on to be some of today's best most advanced programmers, and kids today may well be playing with an easy to use, child friendly Apple app.

Comments like your remind me of some people I have met who can operate a PC or Mac, and use Office and think they are computer geniuses.

You have to smile

:)
 
Piggie said:
Operating some easy to use "apps" on an Apple product is what you call "Advanced Computer Skills"?

Really!

May I suggest, a kid from the 1970's or 80's who owned a Sinclair ZX80, ZX81 or Spectrum, developed VASTLY better skills and went on to be some of today's best most advanced programmers, and kids today may well be playing with an easy to use, child friendly Apple app.

Comments like your remind me of some people I have met who can operate a PC or Mac, and use Office and think they are computer geniuses.

You have to smile

:)
Click to expand...

I don't know specifically but I think the original point was that classes such as this could give people an interest in more advanced things. I love film editing but if someone had handed me Avid Media Composer (what I use now) when I was a kid just messing around with it, I would have been turned off immediately by the number of features.

No one could argue that learning iMovie will make these kids into experienced editors with advanced skills. However, what it could do is give them an interest in the filed so that they want to do more. I may use Avid now but I started with Windows Movie Maker and iMovie. They couldn't do a lot but they did enough to give me an interest in the field. Once I out-grew them I went to move advanced software like Final Cut Pro and Premiere before landing at Avid.

My point is, these classes aren't designed to give kids "advanced computer skills" in any way. They are designed to get them interested via easy to use apps. Interest goes a long way but can be easily destroyed by offering too many complexities too soon.
 
Piggie said:
Indeed, but Apple is not the "REAL" World

PC's run the world, Apple is the fashion brand, and Apple just want to try and get kids young, to brainwash them, then lock them into it's own means of making money for the company for the future.

You should never use Apple to teach people/young people about real technology tech.
It would be like NIKE making out they know everything about the world of footwear.
Click to expand...
Uhh... our entire dev team uses Macs. Most are on laptops. The server is on Linux and will later be on FreeBSD, but we just SSH into it from our Macs. I honestly feel bad for anyone who has to program in Windows. Must be torture every day.

And as cool as it is to mess around with hardware (yes, it's actually kinda fun), we use a relatively cheap AWS virtual server, which is hassle-free. Those "skills" of upgrading PC hardware as a user were only useful up until the late 90s, mid-2000s for some. People will use whatever gets the job done, and even glued-together Macs often do that very well.
 
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Dargoth said:
I'm sitting here with Xcode open to a project I'm working on, a couple Terminal windows, and Script Editor open to a script I'm working on, and I'm thinking to myself: "This guy has no clue". You can do incredibly advanced things with a Mac, things that completely nullify your argument that Macs are being made by a "fashion/lifestyle tech company". If all you know of Macs are what you see in the adverts, then I would understand your argument, but the fact is that behind the scenes, Apple continues to develop all of the Mac's advanced functionality from AppleScript, to the shell, to Swift and Objective-C. A power user of a Mac can do incredible things! These are workhorses whose potential is mostly unknown to the industry. That's its biggest failing. Lack of exposure. People in general don't know anything about Macs these days.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I keep finding more and more built-in dev features in OS X. The whole Xcode suite is amazing, and Automator has saved me lots of time. It's by far the best OS I've used for programming, and it's so much more solid than everything else for non-programming work. Windows feels like it's geared up for playing computer games more than anything else, and all the free OSs are a pain to use for anything other than a server.
 
Piggie said:
May I suggest, a kid from the 1970's or 80's who owned a Sinclair ZX80, ZX81 or Spectrum, developed VASTLY better skills and went on to be some of today's best most advanced programmers, and kids today may well be playing with an easy to use, child friendly Apple app.
Click to expand...
They'll only have the advantage of knowing how to write in languages and work in environments that were completely abandoned before I was born. High-tier programming is all about having theoretical computer science skills, which are independent of software, hardware, and runtime environment. As far as basic computer skills go, programmers should still learn things like Vim and Unix, but there's nothing wrong with using newer tools than what those 80s computers had.
 
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AlecZ said:
Yeah, I keep finding more and more built-in dev features in OS X. The whole Xcode suite is amazing, and Automator has saved me lots of time. It's by far the best OS I've used for programming, and it's so much more solid than everything else for non-programming work. Windows feels like it's geared up for playing computer games more than anything else, and all the free OSs are a pain to use for anything other than a server.
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Hopefully as the Metal API is adopted by Mac game devs, we won't even need Windows for gaming.
 
Dargoth said:
Hopefully as the Metal API is adopted by Mac game devs, we won't even need Windows for gaming.
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There's still the hardware issue. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't let us upgrade our GPUs in our Apple computers without much trouble. "Hardcore" gaming, as a result, can never go to Mac.

P.S. I'm not a gamer, but I know some gamers.
 
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AlecZ said:
There's still the hardware issue. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't let us upgrade our GPUs in our Apple computers without much trouble. "Hardcore" gaming, as a result, can never go to Mac.

P.S. I'm not a gamer, but I know some gamers.
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Right, but even on lousy hardware, Windows does show noticeably better performance. Hopefully that will soon no longer be the case. :)
 
now i see it said:
Great idea. Set them up for a sedentary life style before puberty...staring at a screen all summer instead of getting out into the REAL world.
Click to expand...

well they are going to be staring at the screen all day anyway. at least this is something productive.
 
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