

We don't need general purpose multitasking on the iPad - cloudmike
http://cloud-factory.com/blog/2010/1/28/we-dont-need-general-purpose-multitasking-on-the-ipad.html

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DanielStraight
It doesn't matter how good applications are at remembering state and how well
copy and paste works. There is no way to make context switching as seamless as
it is with multitasking. If I open two applications side by side, to switch
between them, I _move my eyes_. I can be reading something online as I type an
email without even looking at the email window. While I'm typing this post,
I'm watching the progress on a download. There is no way to accomplish this
without true multitasking. Faking it with quick application changes doesn't
work.

~~~
cloudmike
There's a group of hardcore people who will want to read and type while
watching the progress of a download, as you described. But I don't think the
iPad is targeted at these people. It doesn't even have an accessible file
system. Watching the progress of an arbitrary file download doesn't have much
out-of-context meaning in a system where files are only accessible in-context.

Also, as I mentioned in the article, you can always move your eyes from your
iPad to your iPhone if the app you're using doesn't have the social tools you
need integrated into it. I realize the practicality of this is highly
debatable though until we see some real world use.

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dirtbox
True enough... So long as you don't use any persistent apps like Spotify or
Pandora to listen to music or chat programs like IRC, Skype and Google Talk to
name but a tiny slice of the basic necessities of multitasking. It seems
Apple's focus group was based upon the most casual of users.

