Why The iPad Isn’t The End Of Society As We Know It
With the iPad's announcement, there has been great consternation about the future of computing in the face of a new consumer product that so closely covers the common case for netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices.
I'm not saying that I totally disagree with the points in the links above -- the iPhone has driven consumer acceptance of a mobile Web and has been the golden child of market drivers for ISP's to improve their mobile data networks ( look at AT&T vs. Verizon's 3G coverage spat of late to see evidence! ). By doing this, Apple has built a compelling business model for the Average Joe Consumer to embrace mobile computing, and has taken charge of the universe of software available on that platform for Joe Consumer to consume. The web is seen through the window of Mobile Safari and which App-For-That is available to their customers.
What I think is missing from the arguments above is that without the closed, supremely-convenient, consumer-friendly iPhone, the market would not have been built for more-open, alternative devices, like those running Google's Android. That platform needed the better 3G networks which are being built to support and compete with the iPhone.
A lesson I've been learning lately about technology is that until a real, working example of what is possible is placed in front of the average, non-technical user, the conceptual 'possibilities' are not readily accessible. Once an iPhone is in the hands of Joe Consumer, they say "Hey, now I want it to do...", but before you got it in their hands, they had no idea that they wanted a device to do what the iPhone does. Sure, you *can* get the same thing from an open development system and process, but the business world still does not embrace open / free development for their core strategies, and until someone shows them a working example of a profitable system which was launched on a free development model, they never will.
Sure, it'd be nice if it wasn't a tongue-in-cheek race between Apple updating firmware and the iPhone Dev Team hacking it; it'd be nice if there were official support for truly Free software development for the iDevices. But today, I used Free software to copy music from my Ubuntu distribution to the iPhone, with no iTunes at all, and without jailbreaking my device. And as Android catches up and surpasses the functionality of the iPhone OS for the technically savvy, I'm sure it will be a more compelling choice for me, as long as it remains possible to do a 'vanilla' install on common hardware.
So I agree -- the iPad itself is not a grand example of freedom, and the Orwellian compromise of freedom for convenience is certainly an aspect to the device, but just because it is likely to be ubiquitous does not make it universal. I see great things coming as people who find themselves constrained by Apple reach out to build the compromises which enable the great ideas to become the universal ones.
February 12th, 2010 - 12:23
Wow! I had no idea. I was thinking of buying the ipad, but had not done much reserach into it yet. However now I don’t have to thanks to you.
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