I can't personally, as I can't afford a mac. But I see what you mean.
There are different senses in which the word 'programmable' can be used - you can program a VCR without ever seeing a line of code!
What I assume ekianjo meant was: There is a long standing tradition in the personal computing industry of being able to program on the computer itself without costly extra equipment or software. You look at your BBC Micro, your ZX-81, your TRS-80 they can all be programmed on the device. It was the same with mainframes and servers. Even DOS and Windows had QBASIC. Nowerdays, programming tools can be downloaded over the internet in a few clicks. The PC has always been a device which can not only consume software, but can produce it.
Many people in the hacking community see this as a good thing - as a democratisation of creative power, and for educating the next generation of technologists, engineers, scientists and makers.
The iPad lacks the ability to program on the device itself. It can only consume software, it cannot produce it. It does not belong to the long, revered tradition of self-programmability. It is in that sense that it is not programmable.
Yes, that is exactly what I meant. Especially in the context of a course to learn about interactive computing, I find this very ironic that the prize offered is a non-programmable device. Why not offer a washing machine or an oven, then?
There are different senses in which the word 'programmable' can be used - you can program a VCR without ever seeing a line of code!
What I assume ekianjo meant was: There is a long standing tradition in the personal computing industry of being able to program on the computer itself without costly extra equipment or software. You look at your BBC Micro, your ZX-81, your TRS-80 they can all be programmed on the device. It was the same with mainframes and servers. Even DOS and Windows had QBASIC. Nowerdays, programming tools can be downloaded over the internet in a few clicks. The PC has always been a device which can not only consume software, but can produce it.
Many people in the hacking community see this as a good thing - as a democratisation of creative power, and for educating the next generation of technologists, engineers, scientists and makers.
The iPad lacks the ability to program on the device itself. It can only consume software, it cannot produce it. It does not belong to the long, revered tradition of self-programmability. It is in that sense that it is not programmable.