If specs in the iPad didn't matter then they wouldn't have needed to update it recently. They could have kept the first gen on sale for another 12 months and have 2-3 year update cycles instead. Same goes for the iPhone
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Why So Many Geeks Do Not Get the iPad
- Thread starter NebulaClash
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Of course they matter, but they are not the selling point to 90% of consumers.
Specs get upgraded so the iPad can do more stuff.
And most consumers are sold on what it can do that the last one cant.
They are not interested how or why it can now do these new things. They just know it can.
It's not that geeks don't get it. You forgot they invented it...
The idea of thin client computing which has been making inroads for the last 20 years or so.
the Newton and a little latter Palm, were companies that first tried to provide such "thin clients" to the masses. Diskless work stations are another example of thin client computing...
The iPad is a thin client device which is mostly designed for data consumption.
It's not that Geeks don't get it, but the ones that don't like the iPad are typically the ones who are creating new and better ways to use computing devices and the iPad doesn't help them do it directly.
Now, there is another drawback to thin client computing... it also means that data is centrally controlled rather than distributed. There are many non-technological dangers in that. But that is really a different discussion.
The idea of thin client computing which has been making inroads for the last 20 years or so.
the Newton and a little latter Palm, were companies that first tried to provide such "thin clients" to the masses. Diskless work stations are another example of thin client computing...
The iPad is a thin client device which is mostly designed for data consumption.
It's not that Geeks don't get it, but the ones that don't like the iPad are typically the ones who are creating new and better ways to use computing devices and the iPad doesn't help them do it directly.
Now, there is another drawback to thin client computing... it also means that data is centrally controlled rather than distributed. There are many non-technological dangers in that. But that is really a different discussion.
Oh yeah? Mac fanboys were elitist and snobby first. Just another thing the other side copied.
But it can do more things because of upgraded specs. People who held off on the first iPad because wanted a camera/facetime now have it. Apple makes a big song and dance about the improved specs in their presentation and on the Apple website. HD Cameras, Dual Core chips, lighter, thinner, long battery life. These are all specs.
People will look and see it lasts forever and think, yes i can take that on holiday or away for the weekend and wont need to stay near a power outlet. That for many people will be an appealing spec
for most geeks ... the iPad is a toy they don't need
But want and can't afford or justify....
I could afford a top of the range 27" iMac tomorrow without batting an eyelid, but I won't because I don't want one.
Like the the iPad, for Apple fans who love the brand, I can understand why they cannot comprehend why others may not want one of even hate Apple and the way it does things.
It does not mean it has to be envy. Some people just don't want their choices made for them, and all things given to them in neat little pre-made chunks.
Some people would like to buy some potatoes with soil on them, wash and peel them and make what they want rather than buying a neat and tidy ready prepared meal.
Like skiing, some people want to ski where they want, and perhaps not on the ready made course set out for them.
Not everyone want to follow the path that someone who heads a company feels is the path for people to take.
Some react strongly against this.
It's just we have different people, some wish to be more independent, go out and do their own thing. Others are happy to "go along" with ready made events and entertainment that others have created.
I guess I like a bit of both. I may often be happy to go along the ready made path, but also I want to have the option of stepping off the path go exploring and do/see what I want to do as an individual also.
People are not the same.
I will take one please.
But wait for the refresh, i want mine with the new updated specs All the PC/Geek brigade I know get a huge hard on that you can't upgrade things in Apple tech. I've never seen the need or understood the attraction in having to get into the workings and put new bits in, its the same with cars, if you want bigger, faster or more flashy, just buy it like that or buy the newest most up to date thing/car/computer to begin with.
Just look at the amount of why are you upgrading comments the iPad 2 has generated already.
Plenty of people claiming its the individuality of having your own made computer and then whining about not having choice or Apple making the choices for you, the same people bemoaning the people who are simply happy with what has been offered in the iPad 2, make your choice and don't go out of your way to try to offend people making a different choice to you, and please, don't keep going on about why you won't be buying one.
Just look at the amount of why are you upgrading comments the iPad 2 has generated already.
Plenty of people claiming its the individuality of having your own made computer and then whining about not having choice or Apple making the choices for you, the same people bemoaning the people who are simply happy with what has been offered in the iPad 2, make your choice and don't go out of your way to try to offend people making a different choice to you, and please, don't keep going on about why you won't be buying one.
for most geeks ... the iPad is a toy they don't need
That is probably right. The last three weeks I have no iPad and I don't really miss it. I have so many other gadgets, and I know that the new iPad is still a luxury item for me, but I will buy it anyway
Having a Mac Pro, a Macbook Air, an iPhone and an iPad is too much, don't you think?
A wave of pleasure that they can go and spout anti Apple nonsense to people, look at the number of new members here recently doing nothing but slating Apple.
Very nicely written and well thought out. A pleasure to read something here that's intelligently put, rather than the scribblings of the online visual generation that can barely write.
But I don't completely agree with all points. Take the buying new car example. It amazes me that people walk into new car delearships with the first question being "where are and how many cup holders?". No idea what size or how efficient the engine is. No thought given to reliability and longevity specs such as from Consumer Reports.
I would say smarter and informed consumers force the industry to produce better quality products. If you don't know or care what's under the hood, you're turning over the critical thinking behind the product completely to them, hoping that it'll perform as promised.
The stereo analogy is another example. If the consumer should just enjoy how things seem to sound and be happy, we're left with a generation of audio enthusiasts who know nothing better than the Wave Radio. No A-B testing or spec comparison allowed to see if there are better products out there, just be happy with what this product seems to do.
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Perhaps you don't.
My PC could be considered oh 15+ years old.
Well that's how old the lovely quality steel case is.
I've changed motherboards, CPU's, Graphics cards, Sound cards, Hard drives etc etc as I've needed to.
In effect my PC has been a 120Mhz Pentium, and it could be a 3.8Ghz i7 if I wanted.
There is no need to throw it all away and start again, that's the beauty of it.
Say you are waiting for Apple to implement USB3 but you can't have it as they don't fit it. Well I can go order a USB3 card on Monday, and by Tuesday evening I'll be running USB3.
In the same way, I may get a new game, and think ohh this is struggling, my graphics card is really not up to the job. I don't have to sell off my entire machine, I can just go and order a new graphics card.
Some Apple owners would dream of being able to upgrade an iMac like this but Apple don't allow it. Ok, some people do take them apart if they are brave and can upgrade soma parts of them.
You may be happy and content to allow Apple to make your choices for you and relieve you of having to think for yourself what you need.
Others love the flexibility a PC gives then and they would never give that up.
You may go to Disney land and enjoy the "experience" that been created for you the consumer, and be happy with that. Me I'd like to go, but I'd also want to look underground and see the tunnels the staff use and "Behind the scenes"
In a way I guess you could also liken it to a religion. Some people love to believe and follow a faith, there being an almighty up there and everything is neat and tidy, they read the stories and have a contented life, just accepting their faith.
Others cannot do this, need to ask questions, cannot just accept the stories and have a enquiring mind that is always looking, asking, and pondering things.
Neither side is wrong as such, deluded perhaps and prefers an easy and more cosy path through life.
Of course, either side probably cannot begin to understand why others can think any different to them.
I mean, how could anyone who believes in say millions of years of evolution even begin to understand how anyone, over the age about about 10 believe there is a man floating above us who created everything as is, in 7 days.
And no, I don't mean Steve Jobs
More to the point, when will rival manufacturers realize? You sense that HP/Palm may be getting it, but it took an ex Apple guy to direct them, and they're still not there yet.
Geeks(in general), like petrol-heads, are what they are, and will never be the target audience.
Don't normally comment on these types of threads but thought i would highlight a couple of things that have been bought up.
If the tablet buying market by volume is a bell curve then 'geeks' definitely sit on the tails and the general public will be the volume in sales. General public are not 'power users' so who needs a folder structure etc, all they want to do is consume and if you need to do something tricky then the app store is huge and will provide a solution ie i use dropbox and goodreader alot these days. They will sell great numbers. They will also make developers alot of money in the process.
If you a consuming then the experience is everything regardless of specs. Some windows computers can make macs look like a amiga 500 but its means jack***** if the OS is doesn't do its job very well. So apple do not need to sell to geeks, and their marketing is geared towards everyday people (which it does well) and when they say it works, and then it works, it builds the consumer confidence and reputation in their brand in the general public. Would people buy Oakley Sunglasses if they did not work well as a sunglass?
Apple gateway tech has moved from the iPod to the iPhone also opening up the market. The iPad is the perfect next purchase cause people know how to already use their iPhone, bang, you realize that for 90% of things you do on computers file systems do not matter much (if your not a geek).
Anyone who is honestly interested in this subject would do well to watch SJ interview at G5 last year and with an open mind consider his points on the post pc era. I love the Car and truck analogy to Tablets/smartpphone and PC's.
You have to remember also that Apple are offer a range of services and provide customer service matched by no one else in the tech industry! Who do you ring when you Galaxy Tab has problems Google or Samsung???
A couple of thoughts cause i love the experience my iPad offers and i value the customer service i get from Apple.
cheers for reading sorry if i rehashed some points too much i skipped page 2 cause all the fanboy talk was boring. The OP was about post PC era.
cheers
C
If the tablet buying market by volume is a bell curve then 'geeks' definitely sit on the tails and the general public will be the volume in sales. General public are not 'power users' so who needs a folder structure etc, all they want to do is consume and if you need to do something tricky then the app store is huge and will provide a solution ie i use dropbox and goodreader alot these days. They will sell great numbers. They will also make developers alot of money in the process.
If you a consuming then the experience is everything regardless of specs. Some windows computers can make macs look like a amiga 500 but its means jack***** if the OS is doesn't do its job very well. So apple do not need to sell to geeks, and their marketing is geared towards everyday people (which it does well) and when they say it works, and then it works, it builds the consumer confidence and reputation in their brand in the general public. Would people buy Oakley Sunglasses if they did not work well as a sunglass?
Apple gateway tech has moved from the iPod to the iPhone also opening up the market. The iPad is the perfect next purchase cause people know how to already use their iPhone, bang, you realize that for 90% of things you do on computers file systems do not matter much (if your not a geek).
Anyone who is honestly interested in this subject would do well to watch SJ interview at G5 last year and with an open mind consider his points on the post pc era. I love the Car and truck analogy to Tablets/smartpphone and PC's.
You have to remember also that Apple are offer a range of services and provide customer service matched by no one else in the tech industry! Who do you ring when you Galaxy Tab has problems Google or Samsung???
A couple of thoughts cause i love the experience my iPad offers and i value the customer service i get from Apple.
cheers for reading sorry if i rehashed some points too much i skipped page 2 cause all the fanboy talk was boring. The OP was about post PC era.
cheers
C
You may go to Disney land and enjoy the "experience" that been created for you the consumer, and be happy with that. Me I'd like to go, but I'd also want to look underground and see the tunnels the staff use and "Behind the scenes"
In a way I guess you could also liken it to a religion. Some people love to believe and follow a faith, there being an almighty up there and everything is neat and tidy, they read the stories and have a contented life, just accepting their faith.
Others cannot do this, need to ask questions, cannot just accept the stories and have a enquiring mind that is always looking, asking, and pondering things.
Neither side is wrong as such, deluded perhaps and prefers an easy and more cosy path through life.
Of course, either side probably cannot begin to understand why others can think any different to them.
I mean, how could anyone who believes in say millions of years of evolution even begin to understand how anyone, over the age about about 10 believe there is a man floating above us who created everything as is, in 7 days.
And no, I don't mean Steve Jobs
Good analogy. Exactly and so true... couldn't agree more.
Haha.
This is the biggest flaw in your argument. Tablets are good for doing "light" things. PCs are good for doing "heavy" things. And people who do "heavy" things also do "light" things. So, if I'm someone who does "heavy" things on my PC (which I am), and I want a tablet to use for doing my "light" things, then I need to choose the tablet that will work better for me.
Do I care about the specs on my PC? Absolutely! When working in 3D CAD on assemblies that have hundreds or even, in some cases, thousands of parts, specs matter a tremendous amount.
But do I care so much about the specs on my tablet? Not really. I have a first gen iPad, and will be getting a second gen iPad (mainly for the cameras to be able to FaceTime chat with my parents and let them see their grandson more easily). I have used my first gen iPad extensively over the past eight months, bringing it to meetings, using it to review and markup reports and technical documents, browsing the web at length, as well as a bit of game playing and movie watching thrown in. Do I think it's perfect? No. Do I think it's a fantastic piece of technology? Yes. Would I like it if it had more RAM? Yes. Is the lack of more RAM enough to make me question my decision to buy it, or question the idea of buy an iPad 2? Not even remotely. It does what it's supposed to do.
There were a bunch of false assumptions that were in the section that I clipped out, but I just don't want to take the time to get into them. However, I couldn't ignore them altogether, either.
I'm afraid that this analogy doesn't quiet hold water. For this analogy to be right, you'd have to say that you'd rather design and build your own amusement park, as opposed to simply going to one that someone else designed. One can easily argue that those who care enough can, in fact, open up just about any Apple device, whether we're talking about the hardware or the software, at least to some extent, to "see the tunnels the staff use."
And here you fairly clearly demonstrate your own lack of understanding of religion. While there may be those who fit your description, there are also plenty of others who need to ask questions, that have inquiring minds that are always looking, asking and pondering things. You should try reading some of the great works of literature by some of the great theologians. Often, while their subject matter is rather different, their process is not dissimilar from that of science, frequently ending up with more questions than answers. Faith is rarely an easy path.
Neither side is wrong, but one is deluded? Like being condescending much?
I understand that you are not a religious person. However, you might try to speak (or type, as the case may be) with a little more care. Not only is it clear that you are not a religious person, it is also clear that you have made little effort in understanding religious people, but rather have chosen to dismiss them as deluded simple minded people who don't actively engage life's questions.
Further, you're on a board that is dedicated to discussing Apple products and you have analogized people who like Apple products with your picture of the simple minded religious people.
All around, I'm not sure I could image how your post could be more off base and insulting if you tried.
Fascinating to see how my thread has grown. Thank you for expressing your ideas here, both pro and con.
My point might not have been perfectly expressed, and there can be improvements to the way I worded it, but my central core thought remains unchanged: the tech world is undergoing change, and those at the heart of it are the least likely to see what is happening. Too close to the trees to perceive the shape of the forest.
So naturally in a thread about how geeks do not get the iPad, I get geeks complaining about Apple and the iPad. Perfect. They haven't a clue what is happening.
The same thing happened in the early days of the PC era. The mainframe programmers just laughed at those underpowered PCs. They couldn't see what was about to happen. It happened anyway. Now they get it.
I predicted a year ago on this site that this decade could become known as the tablet decade. That in 2020 the default consumer choice would be some sort of tablet. Only specialists would buy a laptop. But the tablets of 2020 would dazzle us if we could see them (and their apps) today.
So keep fighting the future. It won't make the slightest difference, except to you.
My point might not have been perfectly expressed, and there can be improvements to the way I worded it, but my central core thought remains unchanged: the tech world is undergoing change, and those at the heart of it are the least likely to see what is happening. Too close to the trees to perceive the shape of the forest.
So naturally in a thread about how geeks do not get the iPad, I get geeks complaining about Apple and the iPad. Perfect. They haven't a clue what is happening.
The same thing happened in the early days of the PC era. The mainframe programmers just laughed at those underpowered PCs. They couldn't see what was about to happen. It happened anyway. Now they get it.
I predicted a year ago on this site that this decade could become known as the tablet decade. That in 2020 the default consumer choice would be some sort of tablet. Only specialists would buy a laptop. But the tablets of 2020 would dazzle us if we could see them (and their apps) today.
So keep fighting the future. It won't make the slightest difference, except to you.
xoom with iOS using a jailbreak trick ( because this will never be officially allowed) would be a über win