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Is it just me, or does iBooks seem kind of... retro?
- Thread starter hotwire132002
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Yes. An old idea. In fact IMO someone needs to come up with a new graphic analogy for ebooks. Let go of the past.I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.
Yes. The bookshelf analogy - complete with fake woodgrain - is silly, and almost insulting. Like "desktops" that look like, well, desktops. And Clippy. And, dare I say, Microsoft Bob.
I guess this was supposed to reinforce the idea of this as a "grandmother computer". But it's NOT a grandmother computer, because it pretty-much requires that you ALSO have a "real" computer. (To sync/backup. In fact, necessary to activate.) What they need to make it a standalone computer isn't much, but they seem to have missed the point. They need cloud backup of your data. Programs can be re-downloaded from the iTunes store. They need a backup system that will backup your system settings, which apps are installed and purchased (iTunes server already does the latter), then restore the apps from the App Store and the data from the cloud storage.
Otherwise You Are Screwed if something happens to your iPad and you haven't backed up to some computer.
I had hoped to recommend the iPad to my sister. She's a retired school teacher who never got a computer. (My brother is a retired school teacher who introduced computers - Apple, of course - Apple II, to be exact - to the music curriculum in his school district years ago.)
I can't in good conscience recommend it to her at this point. That doesn't mean I'm canceling my 3G order, though.
I guess this was supposed to reinforce the idea of this as a "grandmother computer". But it's NOT a grandmother computer, because it pretty-much requires that you ALSO have a "real" computer. (To sync/backup. In fact, necessary to activate.) What they need to make it a standalone computer isn't much, but they seem to have missed the point. They need cloud backup of your data. Programs can be re-downloaded from the iTunes store. They need a backup system that will backup your system settings, which apps are installed and purchased (iTunes server already does the latter), then restore the apps from the App Store and the data from the cloud storage.
Otherwise You Are Screwed if something happens to your iPad and you haven't backed up to some computer.
I had hoped to recommend the iPad to my sister. She's a retired school teacher who never got a computer. (My brother is a retired school teacher who introduced computers - Apple, of course - Apple II, to be exact - to the music curriculum in his school district years ago.)
I can't in good conscience recommend it to her at this point. That doesn't mean I'm canceling my 3G order, though.
Although a new graphic standard would be nice, I'm sure it's not an easy thing to come up with. Or they should go further with the idea, and maybe use a victorian library analogy instead of a bookshelf one. My grandfather's house had a library room in which each wall was solid with books. Even the closet door was hidden among the shelving and had to slide forward before rotating open for access. You had to know the secret to the system to find any particular book, and there were far more than anyone could possible read.
Or maybe something like coverflow for book covers.
Or maybe something like coverflow for book covers.