Um, this isn't new. This has been the case at the stores I have recently visited and those were about a couple weeks to a month ago. That was at Park City Mall in Lancaster, PA and the Apple Store in Grand Central Station
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Apple Stores Replace Kids' Table iMacs With iPads
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Just what we need. I am in my mid 20s and my IT education was primarily word processing and office applications. I pity those kids these days who won't even get the level I got, and instead spend their time consuming videos and pictures on these devices.
The goal of teaching kids how to code (as IT classes in schools should be) seems further and further away with each story like this
Yep, because I use to see a lot of children coding on the old iMacs setup in the Apple Store.
Interesting. I've noticed a (general) anti-mobile trend occurring here and with those who want more power driven systems. Almost five years of iPhones, iPads and iOS dominating (and still dominating) Apple's market and thus online forums, I'm getting the sense there's a growing backlash towards consuming on these devices rather than instilling people to be creative, create and/or educate. Threads and comments seem to slowly appear that dislike Apple's lack of professional/educational product focus (such as iOS integration in OS X, yearly OS X updates seem rushed, MacBook's becoming smaller and less powerful for graphics and intensive work, lack of Mac Pro development, Pro-apps slowly fading, etc). Although txt books are new and hopefully will positively impact the education sect, however I wonder if over saturation of iDevices in the market will have a negative impact on Apple's future.
Just an observation, not my opinion, and I know many who think otherwise.
Just an observation, not my opinion, and I know many who think otherwise.
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I'm waiting for the kid who asks (loudly), "Mommie, are they gonna be bringin' out a 23" iPad with a stand and keyboard?"
They should keep the iMacs to show them as educational computers. Little kids aren't going to need a portable computer.
Oh, and the iMac games are a lot better than the iPad ones.
LOL I'm in my mid 50s and my IT education was learning how to do things like recursive descent expression analysis in PDP-8 machine language. I pity youngsters of today who spend their time word processing and using office applications.
Originally Posted by Boisv
First off, doing almost anything on an iPad requires a basic ability to read.
or an iPad.
First off, doing almost anything on an iPad requires a basic ability to read.
or an iPad.
They *are* iMacs.. just.. a lot smaller..
I think the reason people that have a lot of angst regarding Apple promoting their mobile products so much as compared to their regular computers is..
When I got my first computer (a ZX Spectrum) I really *wanted* to program it, to push it to its limits. I purchased books on BASIC just so I could program circles and silly animations. In a sense, it gave me a great appreciation for programming and computers.
Similarly, when I bought my first synthesizer (a used Casio) I really had to go into tweaking it to make some usable sounds and that's how I learned synthesis, modeling, sampling, etc. The workstations you get nowadays are so easy to use.. just hit a few buttons and that's it.
The general consensus (imo) is that one would not appreciate programming/coding etc or the work that goes in an iPad displaying whatever it does, simply because one is so distracted and consumed by the media on it that they just don't care.
When something is hard to use, you actually use your brain to work with it. Things are a lot easier to use now, so most consumers take technology for granted. In a way we are creating a society of dumbed-down consumers (?)
Personally I feel as though mankind's innovative spirit died after the mid 1900s.. all we create now is things to entertain us, or make us lazier.. and nothing extraordinarily different.
I think the reason people that have a lot of angst regarding Apple promoting their mobile products so much as compared to their regular computers is..
When I got my first computer (a ZX Spectrum) I really *wanted* to program it, to push it to its limits. I purchased books on BASIC just so I could program circles and silly animations. In a sense, it gave me a great appreciation for programming and computers.
Similarly, when I bought my first synthesizer (a used Casio) I really had to go into tweaking it to make some usable sounds and that's how I learned synthesis, modeling, sampling, etc. The workstations you get nowadays are so easy to use.. just hit a few buttons and that's it.
The general consensus (imo) is that one would not appreciate programming/coding etc or the work that goes in an iPad displaying whatever it does, simply because one is so distracted and consumed by the media on it that they just don't care.
When something is hard to use, you actually use your brain to work with it. Things are a lot easier to use now, so most consumers take technology for granted. In a way we are creating a society of dumbed-down consumers (?)
Personally I feel as though mankind's innovative spirit died after the mid 1900s.. all we create now is things to entertain us, or make us lazier.. and nothing extraordinarily different.
My store has been using them for a few weeks now. I think the kids enjoy them more than the iMacs.
I for one DO think that ALL children should learn to code- whether it be BASIC, Ruby or Python. Programming is not only a practical skill in itself, it also helps with logic and math and it does give children an opportunity to decide if they want to do something like that for a living- even if they don't, at least they aren't totally ignorant of the process.
I love the Mac, but there is something that has been missing at Apple since the Apple II and Woz days- computers (whether handheld, laptop or desktop) shouldn't be opaque and they shouldn't be looked at as mere appliances (per Jobs) and media devices (per iOS)- computers should also allow those interested to look behind the cover and enhance their understanding and technical ability.
I feel that society would be better if we raised the level of understanding and competency in computer usage and programming. This is the motivation behind providing a Python programming environment in the XO laptop. Wouldn't it be ironic if the third-world ended up being the producers and Americans became merely media and entertainment consumers. Oh wait...
I love the Mac, but there is something that has been missing at Apple since the Apple II and Woz days- computers (whether handheld, laptop or desktop) shouldn't be opaque and they shouldn't be looked at as mere appliances (per Jobs) and media devices (per iOS)- computers should also allow those interested to look behind the cover and enhance their understanding and technical ability.
I feel that society would be better if we raised the level of understanding and competency in computer usage and programming. This is the motivation behind providing a Python programming environment in the XO laptop. Wouldn't it be ironic if the third-world ended up being the producers and Americans became merely media and entertainment consumers. Oh wait...
Should put up a fence around it and move the "s" in "Kids" a bit.
"The new Apple Kid Stable. Revolutionizing the taste of free range children."
"The new Apple Kid Stable. Revolutionizing the taste of free range children."
How ironic is it that Apple is finally gaining significant PC market share, and they no longer care for it?
I'm not sure if I would call it "significant" market share, but I would call it modest. According to MacRumors coverage of the 2012 Q2 report:
New March quarter records for Desktops and Portables. Growth of 7% YoY compared to IDC's 2% growth for the PC market.
So 7% growth versus 2% growth for the PC market. Modest. From that same report:iPad sales up 151% YoY
That's significant growth.I was specific in my post about desktops. Your link is about overall Mac sales, which includes portables. Let's examine Apple's Q2 2012 Unaudited Summary Data:
Q2 2012 Mac Portables Revenue: $3.5 billion
Q2 2012 Mac Desktops Revenue: $1.5 billion
Q2 2012 Overall Revenue: $39.2 billion
Data included from previous quarters were more dramatic than last, but you get the idea. Portables generated over twice as much revenue as Desktops for Apple last quarter (and for the other periods included in that PDF).
Some ways to put Mac Desktop revenue into perspective:
- Music services alone beat Mac Desktop revenue last quarter.
- The underperforming iPod revenue alone almost beat Mac Desktop revenue last quarter (and it did beat it in Q1 2012 and in Q2 2011).
- Apple's worst performing year over year revenue growth segments starting at the worst: iPod (-25%), Mac Portables (-1%), Mac Desktops (8%).
- Mac desktop sales alone were about 3% of Apple's total revenue.
So per the article, Mac sales alone could sustain another company, yes, but desktops are not the biggest part of Mac sales: laptops are. My original post cites the success of the MacBook Air as an iconic and leading product and also cites the has-been status of the iMac and the lack of other updates to the desktop line. To Apple, the Mac desktop is a small son and hence gets the small son treatment (1 token update a year is what it is looking like).
I wonder if there is sales data for each product somewhere. In other words, of the $1.5 billion Mac desktops brought in last quarter, what is the breakdown by iMac / Mac Mini / Mac Pro. Do you think that sales of an almost 2 year old Mac Pro would make up even a third of that $1.5 billion figure? I don't.
Think of some other things Apple used to make that ended up accounting for very little revenue and growth. What comes to mind for me is the XServe and we all know what happened to that. I fear the Mac Pro will be the next thing to get XServed (pun intended).
OS X is a separate issue. Even if Apple kills off Mac desktops, OS X still runs on Mac laptops. I think all of the major features introduced in recent years tend to benefit laptop users more than desktop users. Spaces, Trackpad gestures, and Full-screen windows immediately come to mind.
Just what we need. I am in my mid 20s and my IT education was primarily word processing and office applications. I pity those kids these days who won't even get the level I got, and instead spend their time consuming videos and pictures on these devices.
The goal of teaching kids how to code (as IT classes in schools should be) seems further and further away with each story like this
They are children. Children play computer games and have a hell of a long time before iPads. iPads have word processing apps of course. Please tell me how moving to tablets will make the kids stupider later on???
There are over a half dozen Basic interpreters available for the iPad, some not much different from AppleSoft on an Apple II, some free.
The iPads are cheaper to replace then the iMacs I'm sure.
Either way it makes sense on a few levels. Get them hooked on an iPad early!
People always viewed iMacs as educational computers. A lot of elementary (and middle and upper) schools use them because they are so simple, easy to use, appealing, and useful for subjects like math and reading.
While I can see the iPad being useful for reading, I just can't see a school having iPads for all of the kids to use. There is no multi-user support on the iPads, and they don't have all of the educational stuff (and games like Zoombinies, my kindergarden favorite).
Also, the younger kids would never use such a portable device, especially not at a school. What, is a 3rd grader going to carry around an iPad? Most of them would probably end up breaking or losing them. An iMac is a lot better for a little kid to use for math, reading, and learning how to use a PC.
so not what you say IT classes should be teaching the kiddies. But they are practical items that almost everyone can potentially use in a job rather than a very select skill that only a few folks will ever need
The goal of teaching kids how to code (as IT classes in schools should be) seems further and further away with each story like this
First off, rarely are they IT classes so much as computer use classes which is why they teach touch typing, word processing etc.
Second, no one is saying they won't ever work with a computer. An actual IT class likely would. So they can code the iPhone app they have to make for their final exam
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If that is how these folks choose to parent that's on them. Same if that's how teachers chose to teach. It's not Apple's fault. They are just providing a tool.
I remember in high school all our classrooms had tvs and vcrs and some teachers would just pop in a movie because they didn't feel like teaching that day. Same game. right up there with dumping your kids at the library or mall to hang out rather than actually spending time with them. or letting the Wii babysit them.
Or you have the flip side of parents that only pick education games, don't let the kids watch TV all afternoon but actually get out and play outside, that put away their cell phone during home cooked meals and make the kids do the same etc.
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or fought over the small number of iMacs. in many stores it was only 1 or 2 on that table. compared to 4 iPads.
not to mention that there were maybe 4 games on the iMacs compared to something like 20 on the iPads when I counted the other day. From what I could tell they were mostly education games as well. Perhaps 1 or 2 just straight up game games.
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if the iPad becomes fast enough and has the storage that an iMac has then I say awesome
I figure it actually will come close to the lower end at some point. like 10 years down the road.
And the interesting thing is that at that point computers and computing devices will become so common place in our lives that they will be just another part of the day. Kids will look for something else that will be their fun because the computer is school etc for them.
You should only learn things because they will someday be useful for your job ? I thought education and learning was about expanding your horizons, not about teaching a trade.
Why are we teaching literature, math, philosophy, geography, history and all those other "useless" subjects for cab drivers ?
+3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117068
I went to college to learn how to learn - and along with 90% of my class I went on to get graduate degrees at other schools.
That will be because for many, if not most, folks that is all the need. Why try to open a jar with a sledgehammer after all.
Not everyone is trying to write games, edit feature films, etc. They want to read email, listen to some music, get the red eye out of the photos of the kids and so on. An iPad can do that. and just as well as a 'real' computer.