

"The iPad is a LEGO set that can only be assembled into what's drawn on the box" - pshc
http://piorkowski.ca/rev/2010/04/apple-ipad/

======
jsz0
The average consumer doesn't understand the current open model of computing
and some are very afraid of it. Let's just accept both models are going to co-
exist and there's nothing wrong with that. When people say devices like the
iPad are the future they are probably just link baiting. Devices like the iPad
are simply adding diversity to the market to reflect the huge influx of new
consumers with different needs. The PC operating systems we use today are all
based on usage assumptions of 20-30 years ago when computers were primarily
expensive scientific & business tools.

------
cromulent
The "won't someone think of the children" argument makes me laugh, a little,
but it also dismays me.

There are children out there who are the next Jon Ives and Steve Jobs - people
who will take the raw materials they have and produce what they consider to be
high art, the best they can make with the technology and materials of the
time.

Nothing has or should stop Apple from producing the absolute best examples of
their vision. Nothing. And making something that is a commercial success is a
part of that expression - one-off technological marvels are not as impressive
as something that works for real people in the real world.

I think it is inspiring for the young programmers and designers and Make-
subscribers out there to look at this thing and see what is possible to
create. It is not necessary that they may take it apart and it is not a
feature. They are not selling a toolbox, nor a platform for development.

If you think that the world is headed towards a computing world where no
toolboxes or platforms are available, I think you need to make a better case.
I see things getting better, not worse.

Apple try to make high art, with technology. To do that in the long term, you
have to do so within constraints - commercial, technological, market, content,
etc. They have been remarkably successful at doing so within those
constraints, with some errors (eg the cube).

I am pleased that Apple made the iPad. It looks beautiful, and I am sure it
functions well. I think it is something for humans to wonder at and be proud
of - that this is the age we live in, and artisans exist who can design and
produce such a device. I can't imagine myself buying one though. It's kind of
like a Ferrari - I appreciate it, but it has nothing to do with me. And I
wouldn't try to tinker with it. And, I'm not worried that all cars will one
day be Ferraris.

If I could meet with DaVinci, and show him one example of our age, I'd show
him an iPad. I think he would like it.

------
adelevie
The iPad has a standards-compliant web browser. You can make whatever site you
want and it will be accessible on the iPad.

~~~
devinj
Hm, does it let you access the touch screen functionality?

~~~
compumike
Yes. For a slightly unusual demo of this functionality, in October 2008, we
released our "DIY iPhone-controlled R/C car" video tutorial:

<http://www.nerdkits.com/videos/rc_car/>

in which we used the iPhone Javascript API to capture touch/drag events, and
sent them (via a laptop, and then a microcontroller) to a little toy car's
transmitter. No SDK use or jailbreaking required at all. However, we had to
rely on proprietary Javascript events, and had to include a laptop on ad-hoc
wifi to relay the messages. Apple's restrictions certainly lead to major
tradeoffs, but we were able to build something pretty neat and accessible
regardless.

As a side note, they've locked down both the dock connector and the Bluetooth
interface very tightly. Just buying the $99 dev license doesn't allow you to
develop for either of those interfaces -- they have a separate "Made for iPod"
program for that. The $99 isn't an insurmountable barrier for hobbyists who
really want to tinker, but the "Made for iPod" certification probably is.
(Some companies are using the audio input/output to hack around this
restriction.)

------
wglb
There are several dubious links in the chain of reasoning here.

First, because many, including Steve Jobs, say that this is a game changer,
that it is going to make the laptop obsolete, it is going to change the future
of computing forever. So it may be.

Second, therefore, because it is a closed platform, and because it is going to
change the future of computing forever, when you buy one for your kid, all
possible learning about how to hack things will instantly die in that child.

Third, who here learned, on their own, by using something in exactly the way
that the manufacturer intended? I don't see all that many hands up.

I think kids or adults learn new ways of doing things by hacking. That is,
they pick up some device and ask "hmm, I wonder what will happen if i connect
these two wires".

So let me ask a semi-rhetorical question: Is there a way a kid can learn from
an iPad by using it in a way that it was not intended? Of course there is. Are
you telling me that there is no 8-year old that will find a way to use the
iPad that will surprise his parents or peers?

Does anyone remember tube radios? I do (at the risk of dating myself), and I
remember the sounds of doom when transistors came out. No user serviceable
parts inside, says the label on the back. So has experimentation in Ham Radio
died out? They build and launch _satellites_ for goodness sake. New modes of
digital communication, like WSJT (by Joe Taylor, Nobel Laureate, discoverer of
a type of pulsar) to bounce signals off of meteor trails, or PSK31, a very
narrow-band keyboard-to-keyboard mode of communication, or Cliff Stoll hooking
up a kit from Ramsay Electronics to his Macintosh to graph the speed of cars
going past a kid-filled street to help petition the city to put speed bumps
there.

Fourth, where new ideas come from is not readily anticipated. And that is the
point. The net of the article is that iPad totally locks down any possible
avenue of learning for kids. I don't think so. If I were raising kids today, I
would be much more concerned about their exposure to television.

------
ErrantX
I think people making these points are forgetting something crucial; nowadays
consumers _vastly_ out number the hackers.

All of those people will never have a jot of interest in how their device
works - they just want it to be slick, look good and "just work".

It stands to reason that platforms for consumers will be bigger and more full
of hype; simply because the market is bigger and the users are less cynical
about the tech.

It _does not_ mean that hackable platforms are going to disappear or become
inaccessible.

~~~
zacharypinter
There are plenty of practical reasons to think that the iPad (or a device like
it) will be a large success. I completely agree that there is a target market
that wants a slick looking device that just works, and Apple is positioning
itself to go after that market. Most of those people don't care in the
slightest if they have to go to Apple to get a battery replaced, they'd
probably want to buy a new device at that point anyways.

I think the concern here is the precedent that Apple's success in this market
would mean. Apple is notoriously hostile towards their development community,
and is providing increasingly locked down platforms which make them the gate
keepers for certain types of innovation (want integrated voice recognition on
the iPad - wait for Apple to do it). If Apple succeeds here, others will feel
they can create the same sort of locked platforms. You can already see this
happening.

There's also a concern] for the future developers. If their homework requires
a word processor and a web browser, then their parents might never see the
need to buy them a general purpose computer.

------
scotty79
> Mac OS X comes with a command-line terminal and a variety of other ways to
> mess with and, yes, break your system.

When I got my hands on mac for the first time I was frustrated by user
interface, but when I finally located terminal I brightened up "Hey. It's
unix. I know this!"

I can't even imagine how terrible would be to have cool device that can do
much but it's sealed from tinkering.

------
pohl
[My response became a blog post]

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1240254>

------
aresant
It takes about 5 minutes to jailbreak an iPhone. I expect similar, and add'l
on the iPad. So enough with these "the future of computing / young
programmers" are at risk because of Apple.

~~~
bmalicoat
I agree completely, maybe because I just don't understand their argument. It
may not be as open but having young people see such an exciting and well-
polished gadget shows them what's possible and that _they_ can help build
something better someday. There will always be people that by their very
nature need to know how things work, even if it takes a long time to figure
out. Seems inspirational to me.

~~~
cedar
I hear what your saying, But if you look at the iPad as the future of
computing it does seem a bit bleak, what you can do with a full featured
laptop is much different then what you can do with an iPad. sure you might be
able to unlock it or mod it in some way but I would see it more as novelty
hacking compared to what you can do with your laptop or desktop computer. an
iPad is just a simplified computer made for a specific kind of interaction,
not nearly as dynamic as the "stove"

~~~
aresant
It's not like Apple is going to win 100% of the market, and the other
competitors are not following suit with a closed system.

We'll always have choice - Google's entire strategy was being the opposite -
open source, open apps, etc. There are dozens, if not hundreds of Android
tablets, and concepts coming in the next 18 months, not to mention Windows 7
mobile etc

~~~
orangecat
_There are dozens, if not hundreds of Android tablets, and concepts coming in
the next 18 months, not to mention Windows 7 mobile etc_

The Windows 7 mobile platform is just as closed as iPhones and iPads, and
Apple is trying to have Android shut down by the courts. If they get their
way, there will be no viable open alternatives for mobile computing.

~~~
derefr
So laptops will magically cease to exist?

~~~
orangecat
They'll increasingly be niche products. Once there's a solution to the limited
screen size of phones, they'll replace laptops in most scenarios.

~~~
derefr
Most of the scenarios I envision for laptops involve typing without a desk
(thus the need for the supporting base of your lap.) I don't think anything is
really replacing them for these.

------
devgeeks
"The iPad is a LEGO set that can only be assembled into the (at the moment)
150,000 pictures drawn on the box (with many more to come)".

Fixed it for you.

------
adelevie
How is the iPad any more "oppressive" to developers than the iPhone?

------
hackermom
Another semi-intellectual with a gripe against Apple hits the whine. Sigh.
When ever will they accept that tablets were never aimed at being devices for
computing, but instead _consoles for linking to computer-driven societal
interests_? Until Apple came along with their tablet, the same bunch had
nothing to say, but now they are all just performing the same complaints, like
sad songs with nothing to say.

~~~
zacharypinter
Regardless of what tablets are being aimed at, or who their target market is,
it's hard to deny that they have an affect on the computing industry.

------
einarvollset
Oh god stop moaning. Please.

