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Why So Many Geeks Do Not Get the iPad
- Thread starter NebulaClash
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I use computers all day at work. Moved from development into architecture over the years. Started programming in grade 6 in 1982 on an Apple II+ clone. I still use computers for "real work" but I LOVE my iPad for recreation. It is great for web surfing, playing games. Especially great when travelling. It is nice to be able to interact with apps without the device/OS getting in the way.
That said, I do agree that many geeks just "don't get it". Check out any iPad-related story on DailyTech.com and you will see dozens of hate-filled comments from geeks who don't get it.
That said, I do agree that many geeks just "don't get it". Check out any iPad-related story on DailyTech.com and you will see dozens of hate-filled comments from geeks who don't get it.
So, seeing as how, in your mind Full computer systems are dying out.
How are we supposed to run/enjoy the type of programs that are not suitable for tablets?
Should we just stop using those types of programs or what?
Yes you just did show off your wizardry in a way of self-satisfaction. In addition selecting&switching components of a desktop PC isn't a trivial task for most people as I'm sure a lot of people on this forum can vouch for with their experience as "free IT support" for their families.
Also the level of customization is quickly going down for the new wave of devices. It's inevitable as devices get smaller and more battery-dependent. There'll be a tighter coupling of hardware and software as well as smaller components that simply cannot be serviced by users.
Moreover, I find it very interesting that:
- Kindle users are restricted by what Amazon approves to use. Hardware is none upgradable and very closed.
- XBox360/PS3/Wii gamers are all restricted even more by what's approved by MS/Sony/Nintendo. Hardware is none upgradable and very closed.
You won't find online forums packed with people accusing users of Kindle or XBox to be slave or "kool aid drinker" of Amazon or MS. They accept that these are curated experience tightly controlled by maker of the hardware. Yet in essence, they are just as, if not more so, "closed" as iOS devices.
If you think "but iPad is computing which should be DIFFERENT from ereader or gaming," that's exactly the thinking preventing you from accepting the new concept. Besides it doesn't mean PC will die out all of sudden. It just means they'll more and more be relegated to heavy-duty stuff while other smaller more nimble purpose-specific devices take over.
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I would hardly call Ordering a graphics card, opening a case using 4 screws, pulling out an old card, slotting in a new card and installing new drivers, "Technical Wizardry" 
It's a lot more "green" I'd of thought that selling the whole machine and buying new. Of course large money making corporations don't want you to do that, and want to have another $1000 - $2000 from you.
I don't get the "time" thing.
Without a keyboard, and different controls, not touch screen, some software is just not practical to use on a tablet, even if someone make a tablet with a i7 4Ghz CPU and a Terrabyte of storage.
It's a lot more "green" I'd of thought that selling the whole machine and buying new. Of course large money making corporations don't want you to do that, and want to have another $1000 - $2000 from you.
I don't get the "time" thing.
Without a keyboard, and different controls, not touch screen, some software is just not practical to use on a tablet, even if someone make a tablet with a i7 4Ghz CPU and a Terrabyte of storage.
No problem.
I've actually had to post similar links in a few different threads. People just seem to take things to literally sometimes. Some would call it 'lack of vision'.
Funny thing is, when I was a kid I was amazed at how my mother could type 60 words a minute on a manuel typewriter. She is now amazed at how my wife can type over 100 WPM on a computer keyboard. And I have no doubt that I will be amazed at how my kids will be doing the same thing on a touch screen with no tactical feedback.
Evolution. Can't stop it.
I would hardly call Ordering a graphics card, opening a case using 4 screws, pulling out an old card, slotting in a new card and installing new drivers, "Technical Wizardry"
It's actually amazingly complicated for many. They don't even get to the order part.
- Understanding different DirectX requirements and what PCI slots you have
- Wait, what is DirectX??
- You have to learn AMD and nVidia.
- What? You mean this card 7100 is SLOWER than 6800?
- Spend hours trying to understand the line up numbering
- Puzzled by fill rate and triangles.
- Call your son away in college
- Wait 'till your son comes back for the weekend so he can install it for you
That's usually how it goes. Or they just pay local computer store/Best Buy clerk to pick one and install one for you.
I guess it's easier to go into an Apple store, wave $2000 under their nose and just say "sell me the latest shiny thing please"
I guess it's easier to go into an Apple store, wave $2000 under their nose and just say "sell me the latest shiny thing please"
No they either get a young relative or bring their computers to BestBuy and pay Geeksquad $50 to do it.
However that derailed the thread a bit. The whole point of post-PC is to have task-specific devices that do require that level of tech support.
Keep using those programs for the rest of your life if you want. You will always have full computer systems for sale that you can purchase. No one is going to force you to change.
And I never said computer systems are dying out. I said the Post PC era has begun. What that means is that the energy of the industry is toward these new devices and new ways of computing. PCs are around, but they are a commodity that is well known and not particularly interesting now. Except for PC aficionados. Just as mainframe aficionados still follow mainframe new with great interest, even if you and I don't care about it.
haters gonna hate. Geeks are mostly windows users their whole life and Apple will always be the enemy.
I think I can answer your question, at least from my own personal standpoint. And let me preface this by saying; the biggest difference in this world you can make is that of a consumer. Please, research where your hard earned money goes, support ethical business, even if it means paying a little bit extra.
The reason why so many geeks don't get the iPad is quite simply because there's nothing it can do that my Android (Motorola Atrix) can't do at least as well or better. My Android gets the win because it easily fits into my pocket.
If I'm going to be carrying around a device that requires some sort of bag, I will always choose my notebook (dualbooting windows and linux tyvm). The reason for this is because as nifty as an iPad might be to have, it's simply not practical. Whatever situation an iPad might be useful in, I can just pop out my phone and do the exact same thing, with one hand literally behind my back. When I need quick computing on the go, say internet banking, or entertainment, I can just pull out my android and get it done in a few taps of the finger. When I'm sitting in class taking notes, or on a long flight, or for portable gaming, or TRUE multitasking, the notebook can't be beat.
People like to say that the tablet fills the "third device" niche, but in reality, it's a big smartphone that can't make calls, doesn't fit into your pocket, is awkward to hold, type on, and just use in general, and was endorsed by Steve Jobs. Now, I'm not saying that it doesn't have its place in the world. They are absolutely amazing for grade school, providing a method for interactive lessons, and saving children from having to carry around 30 pound backpacks, which is causing some major problems later in life. They're also a great sales device, I know people who use them to show customers items they might be interested in. But for use in real life? They're just to limitating.
Now let me tell you about customization. You buy an iphone, and you get to change the wallpaper (after months of people begging for it) and download some apps, which automatically appear on your homescreen, and do nothing. Apple get's off on "thinking differently", but aside from the case and memory, you've got the exact same iPhone as the millions of other iPhone users out there, probably with most of the same App's as well. You give them $700 dollars for their latest gadget, and they reluctantly hand it over saying "Well, ok, but we don't really trust that you'll use this the way that WE want you to use it, so we've blocked out most of the functionality. Oh but look, you can still play angry birds!"
You buy an android, and Google says "have at 'er, you paid for it, just don't come crying to us if you brick it". Manufacturers and Carriers have tried to put their own personal locks onto the devices, but no one can keep a determined Geek out of his own device. (Go look up Android on iPhones if you don't believe me)
One of the first thing you'll notice about Android is that YOU HAVE A CHOICE! HTC, Samsung, Motorola, all of these companies and more are competing in a fair market place, offering the same software, but putting their own personal spin on how it is delivered, giving the consumers a choice in what business they would like to give their money to.
These companies have realized that healthy competition is the key to true market growth, which is probably the most American concept one could think of. Google has even stated that one of their intentions behind the acquisition of Android was because they saw that Apple was going to control the marketplace if no one stepped up to the plate, creating another Microsoft circa 1997.
The second thing you notice are widgets. Instead of having a bunch of buttons to push, these widgets allow the program to run, open, in a resizeable window on your home screen. Weather, email, time, calendars, maps, if there is an app for it, there is a widget for it, why would I tap through 8 separate apps, one-by-one, to get all of the information I require, when I can see it all with a single glance at my homescreens.
Beyond widgets, you can install custom launchers, which allow you to download an endless supply of themes, that you can interchange to customize your phone to any extent you want, change your icons, dockbar, colours, screen animations, window behaviour, what different gestures mean, app drawer, anything you want to.
Going deeper, you can install custom ROM's. A rom is essentially the particular brand of Android that comes with your particular manufacturer / carrier, so getting rid of all those useless, carrier based, preinstalled apps that you never use has never been easier.
More and more Androids are getting root access as well, the most fundamental level of access to the coding of the OS, removing absolutely ALL limitations for your phones potential. Not many people will ever really use this, but why shouldn't they be able to if they want to, they've paid for it, and if they want to void the warranty then it's their call.
I have yet to come across two androids that are the same, everyone has their own preferences, and Android truly delivers a way to make your device a work of art that reflects you're personality.
The iPad offers absolutely NO additional functionality, my nephew can't even go on nickelodeon.com because it doesn't run flash, one of the most common things on the internet, despite being 4x the size. Now if you have fat fingers, or have vision problems, then I could see the use for a screen that huge, but I can navigate through my phone with a few taps of my fingers, and I'll take swyping across 2.5 inches over trying to use a keyboard that's 9 inches long (seriously awkward size), has no tactile feedback, and that you can only see while hovering directly over top of it any day.
In terms of power, with the amount of dual-core Androids coming out, there is absolutely no lag, even when multitasking (oh yeah, Androids can do that too), so the argument that the iPad is powerful enough to do things that superphones can't is just bogus.
Now, I know what most of you are probably thinking. "This guys an idiot, who cares if I have root access to my phone/tablet or not, all I use it for is passing the time when I'm bored and texting my friends." I realize this, which is why I realize that Apple products have a place in this world. They are easy to use, they offer no choices, and therefore no confusion to those not interested in learning how technology works, and they come with some pretty cool activities and functions. But that's not what this is about. The battle of Geek versus Apple is ideological, comparable in a way to the Socialist vs. Republican debates that go on across the world.
Now consider this final fact. Apple is essentially the child who never learned to share. They've devoted billions of dollars trying to exclude others from the market, you need only look at adobe flash, iTunes, the hundreds of flagrant lawsuits they are involved in annually, thousands of unused patent applications, and the absolute and utter secrecy with which they conduct business to realize that. If you're a geek then you have heard of open-source, and know what it means on an ideological level. If it were up to Apple, those two words would not exist.
And that sir, is "why so many geeks do not get the iPad".
The reason why so many geeks don't get the iPad is quite simply because there's nothing it can do that my Android (Motorola Atrix) can't do at least as well or better. My Android gets the win because it easily fits into my pocket.
If I'm going to be carrying around a device that requires some sort of bag, I will always choose my notebook (dualbooting windows and linux tyvm). The reason for this is because as nifty as an iPad might be to have, it's simply not practical. Whatever situation an iPad might be useful in, I can just pop out my phone and do the exact same thing, with one hand literally behind my back. When I need quick computing on the go, say internet banking, or entertainment, I can just pull out my android and get it done in a few taps of the finger. When I'm sitting in class taking notes, or on a long flight, or for portable gaming, or TRUE multitasking, the notebook can't be beat.
People like to say that the tablet fills the "third device" niche, but in reality, it's a big smartphone that can't make calls, doesn't fit into your pocket, is awkward to hold, type on, and just use in general, and was endorsed by Steve Jobs. Now, I'm not saying that it doesn't have its place in the world. They are absolutely amazing for grade school, providing a method for interactive lessons, and saving children from having to carry around 30 pound backpacks, which is causing some major problems later in life. They're also a great sales device, I know people who use them to show customers items they might be interested in. But for use in real life? They're just to limitating.
Now let me tell you about customization. You buy an iphone, and you get to change the wallpaper (after months of people begging for it) and download some apps, which automatically appear on your homescreen, and do nothing. Apple get's off on "thinking differently", but aside from the case and memory, you've got the exact same iPhone as the millions of other iPhone users out there, probably with most of the same App's as well. You give them $700 dollars for their latest gadget, and they reluctantly hand it over saying "Well, ok, but we don't really trust that you'll use this the way that WE want you to use it, so we've blocked out most of the functionality. Oh but look, you can still play angry birds!"
You buy an android, and Google says "have at 'er, you paid for it, just don't come crying to us if you brick it". Manufacturers and Carriers have tried to put their own personal locks onto the devices, but no one can keep a determined Geek out of his own device. (Go look up Android on iPhones if you don't believe me)
One of the first thing you'll notice about Android is that YOU HAVE A CHOICE! HTC, Samsung, Motorola, all of these companies and more are competing in a fair market place, offering the same software, but putting their own personal spin on how it is delivered, giving the consumers a choice in what business they would like to give their money to.
These companies have realized that healthy competition is the key to true market growth, which is probably the most American concept one could think of. Google has even stated that one of their intentions behind the acquisition of Android was because they saw that Apple was going to control the marketplace if no one stepped up to the plate, creating another Microsoft circa 1997.
The second thing you notice are widgets. Instead of having a bunch of buttons to push, these widgets allow the program to run, open, in a resizeable window on your home screen. Weather, email, time, calendars, maps, if there is an app for it, there is a widget for it, why would I tap through 8 separate apps, one-by-one, to get all of the information I require, when I can see it all with a single glance at my homescreens.
Beyond widgets, you can install custom launchers, which allow you to download an endless supply of themes, that you can interchange to customize your phone to any extent you want, change your icons, dockbar, colours, screen animations, window behaviour, what different gestures mean, app drawer, anything you want to.
Going deeper, you can install custom ROM's. A rom is essentially the particular brand of Android that comes with your particular manufacturer / carrier, so getting rid of all those useless, carrier based, preinstalled apps that you never use has never been easier.
More and more Androids are getting root access as well, the most fundamental level of access to the coding of the OS, removing absolutely ALL limitations for your phones potential. Not many people will ever really use this, but why shouldn't they be able to if they want to, they've paid for it, and if they want to void the warranty then it's their call.
I have yet to come across two androids that are the same, everyone has their own preferences, and Android truly delivers a way to make your device a work of art that reflects you're personality.
The iPad offers absolutely NO additional functionality, my nephew can't even go on nickelodeon.com because it doesn't run flash, one of the most common things on the internet, despite being 4x the size. Now if you have fat fingers, or have vision problems, then I could see the use for a screen that huge, but I can navigate through my phone with a few taps of my fingers, and I'll take swyping across 2.5 inches over trying to use a keyboard that's 9 inches long (seriously awkward size), has no tactile feedback, and that you can only see while hovering directly over top of it any day.
In terms of power, with the amount of dual-core Androids coming out, there is absolutely no lag, even when multitasking (oh yeah, Androids can do that too), so the argument that the iPad is powerful enough to do things that superphones can't is just bogus.
Now, I know what most of you are probably thinking. "This guys an idiot, who cares if I have root access to my phone/tablet or not, all I use it for is passing the time when I'm bored and texting my friends." I realize this, which is why I realize that Apple products have a place in this world. They are easy to use, they offer no choices, and therefore no confusion to those not interested in learning how technology works, and they come with some pretty cool activities and functions. But that's not what this is about. The battle of Geek versus Apple is ideological, comparable in a way to the Socialist vs. Republican debates that go on across the world.
Now consider this final fact. Apple is essentially the child who never learned to share. They've devoted billions of dollars trying to exclude others from the market, you need only look at adobe flash, iTunes, the hundreds of flagrant lawsuits they are involved in annually, thousands of unused patent applications, and the absolute and utter secrecy with which they conduct business to realize that. If you're a geek then you have heard of open-source, and know what it means on an ideological level. If it were up to Apple, those two words would not exist.
And that sir, is "why so many geeks do not get the iPad".
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Okay seeing how a so called geek just revived an old thread I just have to chime in. For starters a real geek is not going to cry foul about the lack of "true" multi tasking, the only time I have an issue with multi tasking on the iPad is with magazines like The New Yorker that refuse to use the API to download issues in the background.
I can IM with FB, Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo, AOL and even ICQ (#462733 so I'm no newbie), surf the net, do email, ssh into my VPS, edit the source of websites in a syntax highlighted IDE via FTP, support clients via Citrix, participate in WebEx meetings and perform no end of other tasks via multi tasking with the iPad so please quit it already with the false claims surrounding multi tasking.
Did you really try to make an argument as a geek when you use an Atrix? I could see a geek choosing any number of phones running Android but not an Atrix, that right there really hurts your argument.
The real reason some geeks don't get the iPad is just because of their blind hatred of anything Apple and their ignorance of how an iPad can be an invaluable tool to a real geek.
Edit: some geek credentials: I have code committed to the Wordpress core, have been responsible for several kde.org web redesigns & been a webmaster there for several years in the past and have been well known in the Apache Tomcat mailing lists & been responsible for enterprise level adoptions of it in several Fortune 500 companies
I can IM with FB, Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo, AOL and even ICQ (#462733 so I'm no newbie), surf the net, do email, ssh into my VPS, edit the source of websites in a syntax highlighted IDE via FTP, support clients via Citrix, participate in WebEx meetings and perform no end of other tasks via multi tasking with the iPad so please quit it already with the false claims surrounding multi tasking.
Did you really try to make an argument as a geek when you use an Atrix? I could see a geek choosing any number of phones running Android but not an Atrix, that right there really hurts your argument.
The real reason some geeks don't get the iPad is just because of their blind hatred of anything Apple and their ignorance of how an iPad can be an invaluable tool to a real geek.
Edit: some geek credentials: I have code committed to the Wordpress core, have been responsible for several kde.org web redesigns & been a webmaster there for several years in the past and have been well known in the Apache Tomcat mailing lists & been responsible for enterprise level adoptions of it in several Fortune 500 companies
I think the amount of hostility and direct attacks against me as a person in your argument just goes to prove that the average Apple user has significantly more "blind hatred of anything not-Apple, and ignorance of how anyone could possibly not be in love with Apple."
Am I 100% right? Hell no. But I have my own personal reasons for believing what I do, as do the communities I talk to about these matters, some of whom hold the same beliefs as me, some who don't. My beliefs have been formed by my own research, and my own interpretation of that research. It's perfectly fine to disagree with that, I relish it. But don't attack me as a person because I hold a different belief than you.
Actually, aside from them multitasking, your entire post was either insulting me, or stroking your epeen, you didn't really comment on any of what I actually wrote...
I was stating one of many sides of a case, as were you. The difference between us is that I didn't feel the need to try and make others feel ****** about what they believe in.
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Way to edit my quotes to make what I said sound a lot worse than what I originally said. *golf clap*
My only real criticism of you as a geek is that out of all Android phones your phone of choice was an Atrix, far from the mst geek friendly of android phones out there.
My only real criticism of you as a geek is that out of all Android phones your phone of choice was an Atrix, far from the mst geek friendly of android phones out there.
I live in Canada, it takes a lot longer for Android phones to make their way over here, I just got the gingerbread update from my carrier a few days ago. At the time I bought it, the Atrix was the only Dual core phone available in Canada, with no other options on the horizon. I'm doing what I can to help the developers crack it, so that it will be a viable choice for power users. Plus, with Google's recent acquisition of Motorola, I can only assume good things are headed our way. And edit or no edit, I only removed words, I didn't change them, it doesn't change the fact that you implied that I was somehow a "false geek" 5 times.
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Mate just wanted to say that you shouldn't explain yourself to those who attack you on personal level (argumentum ad hominem).
These and similar forums are full of wankers who cannot stand people thinking differently (and so is the world itself)...
To put it simply... F@#$ 'em.
I realize I don't have to, but I have never stood down to a bully. I'd rather rationally deconstruct their argument, with the hope that they might remember me and think before speaking.