

Various and Assorted Thoughts and Observations Regarding the Just-Announced iPad - blazamos
http://daringfireball.net/2010/01/various_ipad_thoughts

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fogus
"Manual computers, like the Mac and Windows PCs, will slowly shift from the
standard to the niche, something of interest only to experts and enthusiasts
and developers."

It's interesting because I imagine that many of us would likely not be
enthusiasts, experts, and developers had it not been for our "manual
computers".

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bugs
Why is it interesting? It seems like the logical way to go: simplify
technology for the masses.

It isn't like the computer mouse added amazing new technical feets when it was
released but now it is a very powerful accessory for many

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jazzychad
Perhaps the fact that I only prefer to drive manual transmission cars is a
good indicator of why I am not overly thrilled about iPad. I have often
wondered about the ratio of automatic/manual drivers of the HN crowd.

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sp332
Abstraction isn't just a matter of degree. It turns out that abstracting away
the transmission in a car works fairly well. But no car I've ever seen
abstracts away the brakes. In fact, most cars sold today have hydraulically
assisted brakes, to give the user even _more_ control over them. Apple just
seems, IMHO, to be abstracting away a few things I'd like control over.

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JeffJenkins
There are actually cars being built now which will auto-brake in cruise
control when you're behind a car going slower so you match their speed, and
auto-breaking in emergencies when a collision is detected. Along with trying
to nudge you away from leaving your current lane when you haven't signaled,
the cars of the future are actually giving you less to do (though I don't
think they would ever completely remove the manual control, but that's because
it can be life or death).

Don Normal talks about this in his book "The Design of Future Things":
<http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/the_design_of_future_1.html>

