
I won’t buy an iPad: ten years later - virtualritz
https://boingboing.net/2020/01/27/nascent-boulangism.html
======
g051051
I won't buy another iPad, because my perfectly good iPad has essentially died
from being cut off from most of the services it needs to run. Apps have been
"updated" to versions that won't work, and the ability to download older
versions is sketchy at best. Most recently, I discovered that my magazine
access has stopped working, so not only did I stop getting new issues, I can't
download older content that wasn't on my iPad when they killed it.
Discontinuing system software updates was bad enough, but actively killing off
the functions it needs to keep operating at the old level is too much for me.

~~~
reaperducer
I'm in the same boat with my launch day iPad. It still works great for e-mail,
but pretty much every other app is useless now. So I just keep it by the couch
in case I want to look at e-mail.

That said, it's a 10-year-old machine. I don't have any desktop or laptop
computers left that are good for anything other than e-mail, either.

~~~
jcranmer
My main desktop isn't quite 10 years old (I got it in 2013), but it works
quite well for rather more intensive uses such software development and
playing games, despite not upgrading anything other than the hard drives.
Admittedly, it was a high-end system when I bought it.

~~~
dan-robertson
I think it’s a little unfair to compare a 10 year old desktop today with a 10
year old ipad today because the rate of progress for desktops has been much
lower (and many programs are designed to work on less powerful laptops).

Instead consider that a 10 year old laptop in 2010 would be basically useless
and massively heavy, or a 10 year old desktop in eg 2007.

~~~
jcranmer
GP did say that "desktop or laptop computer" didn't last 10 years either. I
agree that desktops are going to age better than any other segment of
computers.

------
vr46
I have met the writer and he is a nice fella but he is so preposterously
missing any kind of substance in this article. A lot of great Apple technology
has the ability to get out of your way and I often feel that people are being
angry on principle. Making things maintainable or serviceable is a design
requirement from the get-go, with all kinds of trade-offs and compromises that
are endlessly speculated about on the web. But some people seem to think these
trade-offs don’t exist. Hypercard? Great at the time. How much did a Mac cost
to run it though? Anyway, this article is poorly thought-out and badly-written
on top, with absolutely nothing to offer that you didn’t already know.

~~~
kick
How is it lacking substance? He points out issues very sanely and very
cleanly, like...

1\. How Apple has gone _out of their way_ to prevent allowing other people
from touching their devices, including _influencing legislation._ (It wouldn't
be nearly as much of a problem if they weren't trying to get guns pointed at
anyone who wanted to fix their device themselves, but the act of lobbying to
make the law bend to fit your desires is bad for just about everyone.)

2\. How the iPad has (nearly) succeeded at ruining the best parts of hobbies
he likes, like comics.

3\. Apple design principles have moved from "Sane, intuitive," to making
software targeting the stereotype of "My mother's a dumb old lady; she'd never
understand this!"

4\. They've made a joke out of non-vendor-locked software distribution.

5\. People coming to their defense have disavowed basic market principles in
doing so.

I don't even mind Apple's "walled garden," but Doctorow makes sound points,
and I think the article is a fantastic read, especially when paired with the
article it's referencing.

------
tptacek
While I don't share the sentiment, I get the refusal to participate in the
Apple App Store ecosystem. It's clear what the ideological issue there is.

But I do not _at all_ understand the enmity some nerds have for non-
replaceable batteries. Over the last 10 years it seems like Apple has run an
experiment on whether batteries work better when they're tightly integrated
and not replaceable, and that the results are demonstrably in. The performance
I get from non-replaceable batteries has been so much better that I would
automatically be suspicious of any device that _had_ replaceable batteries.
Meanwhile, if I really want to carry a spare battery with me, I still can; it
just takes the form of a USB charger.

~~~
wlesieutre
I think they're largely fine with carrying a USB charger, the complaint is
that the built-in battery is known to degrade over time. If your device has a
removable battery, you can get a new one and pop it in. But when everything is
sealed together that becomes a much riskier job.

A lot of people replace their phones on a 2-3 year cycle. If you could get a
new battery for $30 and install it yourself in 30 seconds, would people be
throwing less phones out?

You'll note that Apple's warranty language (and probably everyone else's)
specifically defines batteries as a "consumable part." Given that, it's a bit
of a dick move to make them so difficult to replace.

~~~
j-c-hewitt
The battery is the fastest-degrading component. It is also one of the most
easily replaceable components, speaking in general and not specifically to the
way Apple designs it to be non-removable. The desire to replace the fastest
degrading component to extend the life of the device makes perfect sense from
the consumer's perspective.

~~~
angry_octet
Additionally, most phones have a 2nd and 3rd owner (a child, or exported to
another market). A 3 year old Pixel still has another 3 years of useful life
at least.

Frankly it is ecological cancer to operate the way Apple does.

~~~
snowwrestler
You can pay Apple to put a new battery in an old iPhone.

~~~
erik_seaberg
Only if you have a spare, or you use it so little that you can do without
it—no mobile email, no GPS, no AAA, and no 2FA for up to a week.

~~~
scarface74
Up to a week? They can do it in the store the same day if you make an
appointment.

~~~
erik_seaberg
[https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service/battery-
powe...](https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/service/battery-power) warned
that they'll try.

~~~
scarface74
“In more complex cases, we might need to send it to an Apple Repair Center.”

There are no “complex cases” of battery repair. They are referring to cases
where there is other damage they have to fix first (which they stated).

~~~
wlesieutre
Not everyone lives near an Apple Store either.

Thankfully Apple has recently made genuine iPhone batteries more available to
repair shops, but that was just 4 months ago. They spent _13 years_ not doing
that first.

[https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/29/20838307/apple-iphone-
rep...](https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/29/20838307/apple-iphone-repairs-
parts-independent-shops)

~~~
scarface74
People have been able to go to a shop and get batteries replaced (whether they
were genuine or not) for a decade. It’s only been within the past two or three
years where it made the slightest difference between whether it was genuine or
not.

------
melling
The iPad is a great form factor. I prefer sitting back with it over a
computer.

10 years later I only wish Google or Microsoft had a stronger competitor.
Apple has dragged their feet in making it more useful.

Apple’s Pencil is great but user input could be enhanced with something like
Soli, for example:

[https://atap.google.com/soli/](https://atap.google.com/soli/)

Slide a wireless keyboard and mouse next to a tablet and it should become my
desktop computer.

~~~
reaperducer
Since iPads support Bluetooth HID, it seems like it would be possible to
create a Soli-type device that works with existing iPads.

 _Slide a wireless keyboard and mouse next to a tablet and it should become my
desktop computer._

That's very close to what the iPad is now. I often sit in a coffee shop and
read magazines on my iPad. Then when I'm ready to do some work, I just prop
the iPad up on a table with its cover and turn on an old Bluetooth keyboard I
keep in my bag.

E-mail on the left side of the screen. ssh on the right side with the Prompt
app. Bang, it's 90% of what I use my desktop computer for.

I've heard that iPads support a Bluetooth mouse now, but I don't have any
personal experience with it. I haven't heard anything about trackpads.

~~~
naravara
This is purely personal preference and probably not reflective of the overall
market, but to me the big disadvantage of the iPad is that, as long as it's
only running iOS, I still always feel like I need to own a "real" computer to
do "real" work on.

The Microsoft offering is inferior as a tablet and inferior as a desktop OS
(again subjective opinion), but it lets you have both a tablet and a laptop
form factor without needing to own two units of hardware.

In a lot of ways it feels kind of like when I first switched from Windows to
Mac back in the early 2000s. I knew that for 98% of stuff I do with a
computer, OS9 (and then OSX) was perfectly fine. But the hassle of doing any
of the other 2% kept me locked in. Making the jump from OSX to iOS feels the
same way. The apps all seem to be 90% of what I need without issue, another 8%
okay enough for now, and then 2% just unworkable. (And then there is the
nightmare of trying to use many regular old websites on mobile these days with
all the unresponsive scripts and ad cruft they carry.)

I'd love it if Apple could figure out some kind of bridge for iOS workloads to
meet this, similar to how Parallels or BootCamp can let you get by with those
1 or 2 Windows things you still needed to do after switching. Maybe just let
the iPad remote into my Mac at home if it has internet or have it run some
kind of stripped down, emulated version of OSX.

~~~
reaperducer
_but to me the big disadvantage of the iPad is that, as long as it 's only
running iOS, I still always feel like I need to own a "real" computer to do
"real" work on._

To me that sounds perfectly normal and reasonable. A tablet is not a desktop.
A desktop is not a tablet.

People complain that they cannot use their tablets to do desktop work, but
somehow never complain that their tower doesn't travel well to the coffee
shop.

------
boardwaalk
My only observation is this: Not everything is about that one gadget you
bought.

Yeah, I have an iPad. An iPhone. An Apple Watch. No, I can't mod these things,
take them apart, etc. No, I don't care. I still have a self-built PC running
Linux and a bunch of services. I still have a Macbook I can install whatever I
want, even Windows or Linux if I chose to. I still have all my own networking
hardware that's substantially more hackable.

Going wider, I have a car and I have a bike. One is more hackable than the
other. One of them has a service light you need to go to the dealer to clear
(unless you're in the know and have special tools). Some of that is in my
wheelhouse, some isn't. Sometimes I pick a battle, sometimes I let a tool be a
tool.

I think the world of computing is too wide to bother with puritanical about
the devices I use. It's just not worth the energy when those things that are
heretically 'infantilizing' etc. are just useful and pleasureful to use.

~~~
justwalt
I think I agree with you for the most part. I’ve got a similar setup - linux
at home with an iPhone in my pocket. I’ve broken a linux installation enough
times that I know well enough that I’d eventually do the same to my phone if I
ran android and rooted it. It’s a inevitability for me.

I don’t need everything to be running hyper customized stuff. Sometimes simple
and stable is all I need.

------
hylaride
I get the ideological issues with the iOS software "walled garden", but the
shitshow that is the only alternative (Android) leaves me wanting. It's
malware and advertising infested and Android tablets are a joke and rarely
supported for more than 2 years.

He complained about third party apps and then goes into a couple of nostalgia
trips over the comic book store (I miss it and the music store, too) and
taking apart much simpler electronics as a kid. Like, get your kid a regular
PC case, then? What's there to even hack? The iPad, and almost every cell
phone as well, is essentially a giant system on a chip with a screen and a
battery. There's not much to hack. Also, most people keep thier iPads for more
than two years unless it actually hard-fails. My last one was 5 years before I
finally got a new one (though I also had the misfortune of buying the first
one and the first retina one, which didn't hold up to the march of new models
very well).

I don't need a hackable portable computer. I have a full time job and a
toddler. I want to turn it on at the end of the day and look at stupid cat
videos. Doctorow reminds me of the people that refused to get cell phones and
then complained that their friends stopped contacting them.

Also, what the hell is a "CD-ROM programmer"? Does he just mean software that
was distributed on CD-ROM?

Also, if he theoretically had "a lot" of AOL shares he'd have been "bailed
out" by the merger with Time Warner and would have had "a lot" of shares in
the successor companies (he wouldn't be laughing, but he'd have something),
but the fact that he's still using AOL as a slur is showing just how much he
hasn't moved on with the times, even in 2010.

The _only_ real criticism I have of the ipad is its annoyingly bad background
support. I still IRC and the clients disconnect _very_ quickly if I switch
apps. This makes SSH annoying as well.

~~~
filoleg
> rarely supported for more than 2 years.

Moreso, during those first initial 2 "supported years", you would be extremely
lucky to get OS and security updates without an insane delay (unless you run a
Pixel device or, maybe, a couple of others I am not aware of).

Just ask any current or former Galaxy device owner in the US regarding how
long they have to wait for an update after Pixel devices have already received
it. In my case (Galaxy S8+ a couple of years ago, purchased only a few months
after the release), I had to wait about half a year for the OS update after it
has already arrived on Pixel devices.

------
snowwrestler
Fundamentally I think the big difference between 2010 and now is not the
continued rise of Apple's walled garden--which was the focus in 2010--but the
steady decline of the state of the web.

Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. today dominate the web and exercise at least
the same level of gatekeeping over your visibility to customers as Apple does
with their app store. Back in 2010 you could build a Facebook page for your
business, and post messages that your fans would see. Can't do that anymore;
buy some FB ads please. Google's search results quality continues to decline,
and their ads continue to be harder and harder to distinguish. And if you
anger them, you might just disappear from their service.

2010 was also before Snowden, before general awareness of the data collected
by social apps, before Cambridge Analytica, before a thousand data breaches.
Privacy is more important to people now, and one thing about walled gardens is
that they are more private... that's why the original physical walled gardens
were built.

It's not that walled gardens are ideal; it's that everything has a trade-off,
and those trade-offs look different in 2020 than they did in 2010.

A lot of this is not specifically about the iPad, and in retrospect maybe the
most obvious reaction to this piece is to laugh at the idea that the iPad was
some important place to draw a line. Tablets are still great--and used by a
lot of poeple--but they ended up being kind of a side story. The iPhone was
the real turning point. Not just for Apple, but for many industries.

~~~
fauigerzigerk
_> Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. today dominate the web and exercise at
least the same level of gatekeeping over your visibility to customers as Apple
does with their app store._

That's clearly an exaggeration. Apple's control over the app store is absolute
and in combination with the side-loading ban so is their control over the apps
users can install on their devices. These restrictions go far beyond
protecting users against security or privacy threats if you think of porn for
instance.

Google/Facebook/Twitter's dominance over the Web is not absolute. You can
still publish anything that is legal in your jurisiction. It may not be easy
to get found, but that's still a _lot_ more freedom than asking a gatekeeper
for permission to publish in the first place. Google/Facebook/Twitter is not
the only way to find things on the Web either, and they are not one single
company.

The Chinese regime cannot simply tell Google or anyone else to take Wikipedia
off the Web for showing Taiwan on a map or something. But they can order Apple
to take down all secure VPN apps that users could use to read Wikipedia or
hand over the iCloud keys of Chinese users, and that's what Apple will do.

~~~
snowwrestler
Google Search is not operating in China at all, and when they did, they
censored search results at the request of the Chinese government.

And here in the U.S. the Google story today includes not just the services
they provide for free, both also the personal data they collect and correlate.

My point here is not whether Google or Apple is better, my point is that since
2010, we have collectively learned that the web is not as open or resistant to
surveillance and censorship as it once seemed it would be. Again: there are
trade-offs, and some folks look at those trade-offs differently a decade
later.

~~~
fauigerzigerk
_> my point is that since 2010, we have collectively learned that the web is
not as open or resistant to surveillance and censorship as it once seemed it
would be._

That's undeniably true, but it doesn't mean that anyone exercises "at least
the same level of gatekeeping" on the Web as Apple does on Apple devices.

And Google operating or not operating in China is beside the point. I'm
talking about the structure of the Web, not about Google specifically. That's
why I said "or anyone else". No private company owns the Web like Apple owns
the only iOS distribution channel.

------
wmeredith
There's a lot to be said for making a computer my mother can/wants to use. And
Doctorow's sneering condemnation of people describing their mother's as "not
good with computers" is telling of what he thinks of those not firmly in the
technorati circles he inhabits. Saying "not good with computers" != "a low
opinion of that person". He's projecting.

My wife and mother are largely mystified by computers and have been brought to
literal tears born of frustration when using them. One of these women is a PHD
in English literature and has published over 20 books ranging from short
stories for children to graduate-level textbooks. The other has a Doctorate of
Dental Surgery and is clinical faculty at a respected School of Dentistry.

These women aren't dumb, but they don't give two flying fucks about a computer
they lets them unscrew the casing or comes with the schematics of the
circuitboards included! They're much more interested in exploring the human
condition through language or practicing medicine. Between all of that they do
need to check their email, shop, and keep up with their family on Facebook.

So Cory Doctorow won't buy an iPad. It's not for him/me/us/the nerds. We can
buy raspberry pi's, Android devices, Linux desktops, etc... But there is a
whole market of people who don't care about computers beyond what they can do
for them in the most expeditious way possible. I'm not into toasters, but I
use one almost every day and I don't care _at all_ how/why it works. I've got
bigger fish to fry.

This article is framed as a victory lap, but comes off more like a gear-head
complaining about how shitty the Ford Escape is. Except that Ford doesn't
care, because he wasn't on their radar when they made it. The people buying
Escapes don't care, because they're busy with all the parts of their lives
have literally nothing to do with cars.

I'm sure Doctorow's echo chamber will congratulate on sticking it to Apple
(again!) with this trailblazing though-piece. And in 10 years we'll get
another article about how he's still not buying iPads. It's all very boring to
me.

~~~
UncleMeat
Yep. It has literally never been easier to be a home hacker. Raspberry Pi and
Arduino mean you can hack to your hearts desire on a fifty dollar budget.

------
GlenTheMachine
I'd love to buy a non-locked down tablet. There are a lot of things I kind of
half-ass do on my iPad (which is my primary mobile device), but which due to
iOS restrictions don't work very well. For instance, SSH'ing into a machine
from it, and then having to check a website. The SSH connection gets closed in
30 seconds. Or, you know, running a JIT language right on the machine.

The problem is _nobody makes a tablet that works better than the iPad for the
things I use the iPad for 90% of the time_ \- which is reading, surfing,
checking email, and editing photos.

I tried transitioning to a Linux laptop last year. That experiment lasted 3
months. It just didn't fit into a corporate computing environment that is
really only set up to support Windows machines. The iPad _does_ fit.

Back in the day, when asked about how Apple was going to deal with music
piracy, Steve Jobs said they were going to out-compete it. And they did. And
that's really the only way they could have succeeded. Jobs had it right.
Similarly, if you want FOSS principles to rule in the mobile space, you have
to come out with a product that works as well as or better than the non-open
ones.

------
Unbeliever69
My 1st gen ipad is still alive and ticking but completely worthless. Hardly a
scratch in the case or screen and the battery is fine. I don't use it because
no modern apps work on it.

I bought a 2018 model and what a piece of crap. Warped like a Pringle chip,
screen shattered and cracked if you looked at it wrong.

~~~
alfonsodev
same situation here, I wish there was a hack to update the OS completely, we
are stuck in iOS 5 if I recall correctly.

------
wffurr
I got six years of updates for my iPad Air, and it still works fine, albeit a
little slowly and some apps are crashy now. It's hardly e-waste after 1-2
years.

There's a perfectly adequate online guide for replacing the battery yourself:
[https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPad+Air+Wi-
Fi+Battery+Replacem...](https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPad+Air+Wi-
Fi+Battery+Replacement/25869) Or you can pay Apple or any competent repair
shop to do it for you. I haven't yet needed to replace my battery, even after
six years.

There's plenty of programming environments for the iPad, including a web
browser to run all the awesome web software out there.

Did it come with a BASIC interpreter preinstalled? No, but I'm OK with that.

------
jamesgeck0
> The iPad you buy today will be e-waste in a year or two (less, if you decide
> not to pay to have the battery changed for you). The real issue isn't the
> capabilities of the piece of plastic you unwrap today, but the technical and
> social infrastructure that accompanies it.

The duration stated is nonsense for two reasons:

Hardware support: The battery in an iOS device should last at least four
years. My father's is going on seven years under light usage conditions. If
the battery fails within a single year, it's defective and the included
warranty covers replacement.

Software support: Apple has historically provided software support for old
iPads for 5.5 to 6 years. That's longer than the support duration for many
Android devices, or even some cheap Windows laptops.

------
modzu
i wont buy another one because i locked myself out of my icloud and despite my
ipad working fine i reset it to give to my daughter. except now it wont work
without the icloud account. i went to the apple store with the device itself,
and as much proof as i could muster that the original icloud email i used no
longer exists.. and they kindly offered to recycle my old one (old meaning
less than a year, its 128gb) and sell me a new one.

never again.

------
fellellor
My biggest complaint with any of these mobile devices is that you can’t write
any software for them, using the device itself. This is regressive and I also
think it impedes the growth of technology. Maybe this is what companies like
Apple want. Not a much larger pie but the largest portion of a much smaller
pie.

------
dang
Discussed at the time:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1236722](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1236722)

------
cosmiccatnap
I've seen alot of discontent for his writing style but only a few posts that
actually attempt to rebut the fair criticisms that you are being sold a device
you don't control. It's an interesting hypocracy from a site that hangs on the
every word of librem but condones apple in the same day...

------
buboard
bold to go after apple, but also true. It's not just infantilization of
hardware, but also software, culture and attention. frankly we should be fed
up with the lack of any depth

It wasn't just the ipad, but the damage is already done by phones: entire
generations have grown without knowning the real abilities of a computer. the
internet has become a photo storage drive. people marvel at their babies
knowing how to swipe, and are shocked when they are later baffled by the
complexity of computer systems

------
jdkee
Doctorow histrionically copying the entire Gibson quote is a perfect example
of why he is a poor writer. He has no sense of balance.

~~~
dkarl
Not only that, the Gibson quote has not aged well. Consumers are not gripping
a remote control in voiceless isolated rage; they now hold globally connected
handheld computers that provide access to a dizzying choice of ways to
interact with others. If there's something essential in this unattractive
picture that hasn't changed, this choice of quote doesn't give me confidence
that either Gibson or Doctorow understands it.

~~~
jdkee
I think the quote was appropriate at the time, see parallel ideas espoused by
Stephenson in Interface (1994). It predates the smartphone/social media era.

------
dwnvoted2hell
It's weird to read this article when there are legitimately good programming
environments available on the iPad, like ‎Pythonista 3, which is an app that
lets you run python on your device.

I think the thing that he's "standing by" is that he wants to continue making
waves by sounding controversial when he has in fact become irrelevant. I like
and appreciate the viewpoints of those shared by BoingBoing, but perhaps
something less cringeworthy? I understand folks like to build electronics, and
there are systems people can build on for 30 dollars. The iPad was always
meant to be a computer for someone that didn't care to screw with all of the
guts of hardware or software. But yes, if you really want to use your iPad to
learn about hardware and software, you can certainly do so.

And every company has the right to enforce their rules in replacement of
defective parts, based upon what prior abuse or misuse you put on it. The
average person who "opens" their iPad to fix it deserves to have warranties
and guarantees invalidated, even if Apple is a touch predatory in the rates
they change for repairs.

------
zepto
Some weird stuff for him to uncritically ‘stand by’:

 _If you want to live in the fair world where you get to keep (or give away)
the stuff you buy, the iPad isn 't for you._

Seems like this is garbage.

 _If you want to write code for a platform where the only thing that
determines whether you 're going to succeed with it is whether your audience
loves it, the iPad isn't for you._

This is a weird and naively idealistic statement. On what platform has this
now, or ever been true? It seems like iOS is at least as close to this ideal
if not better than any other platform.

I wish we lived in the world he would like us to live in, but he seems to be
out of touch with reality.

~~~
SllX
Cory Doctorow is one of the most consistently principled men you’ll ever meet.
File him with Bernie Sanders or Richard Stallman where regardless if you agree
with the principles they uphold, there is still a certain admirable quality to
the sheer genuine consistency as to who they are and what they represent.

Reading his piece, it is easy to see that Apple hasn’t yet released an iPad
Doctorow would like to buy, and I wouldn’t blame him for being who he is. He’s
come to market looking for certain qualities in a tablet computer product, and
found every iPad ever released to be lacking them. There’s no reason to spend
money on something you’ll be unhappy with.

~~~
zepto
Principles are genuinely great - I strongly respect being principled.

Principles that are not re-evaluated in context with a changing human society,
are just dogma. I respect that, but I call it what it is.

~~~
filoleg
I like the way you phrased the last paragraph a lot. Thanks for pointing it
out, as I have personally been struggling to articulate why some principles
are not the same as others in this context, but your comment perfectly cleared
it up in my head.

