Doctorow on the iPad

[mores]

Dear Mr. Doctorow.
The iPad is a mobile device, not made for programming, just like a phone or playstation or remote.
You are allowed to share apps and music and stuff with a number of trusted friends - via iTunes.

As for the rest of your rant, please go back to pen and paper, let it rot and inhale deeply. I also suggest you rub yourself with said musty paper.

[Gurvan]

That sounds a bit extreme but you make your point crystal clear !

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by mores

Dear Mr. Doctorow.
The iPad is a mobile device, not made for programming, just like a phone or playstation or remote.
You are allowed to share apps and music and stuff with a number of trusted friends - via iTunes.

As for the rest of your rant, please go back to pen and paper, let it rot and inhale deeply. I also suggest you rub yourself with said musty paper.

but the fact still exists that you can't develop your own software for it without Apple's permission and involvement.

Not true of other non-apple devices.

[Gurvan]

Ah ? You can develop software for the Kindle or the Sony Ereader or whatever else ??

Great news...

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Gurvan

Ah ? You can develop software for the Kindle or the Sony Ereader or whatever else ??

Great news...

Yes. There are screen savers that have been developed for Kindle and the PRS+ software for the Sony and no requirement to "purchase" them through a Kindle or Sony store.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kennyc

but the fact still exists that you can't develop your own software for it without Apple's permission and involvement.

Yes, you can develop what you wish. You just can't sell it.

Not true of other non-apple devices.

It's actually true for numerous dedicated devices - XBox, and Playstation, for example. The iPad is not a general-purpose computer, and it really can't be directly compared with one.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Crowl

As far as the apps and their importance in the grand scheme of things, I think a better car analogy would be, other than having to use fluffy dice that were pre-approved by the car manufacturer what's wrong with it.

No. Apple decides for you what you are allowed to consume and what you are not-- it goes one whole hell of a lot deeper than just fuzzy dice.

http://m.boingboing.net/2009/05/03/a...2#previouspost

http://www.blog.montgomerie.net/whither-eucalyptus

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06...e-apple-reject

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03...-agreement-all

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

No. Apple decides for you what you are allowed to consume and what you are not-- it goes one whole hell of a lot deeper than just fuzzy dice.

But that's also a benefit for the consumer - you know that all applications are going to be "well-behaved" and not mess things up.

The reason I stopped using my PC to play games on several years ago is that I got so fed up with PC applications just deciding they could do whatever the heck they wanted, and messing things up. These days I play my games on an X-Box where I know that everything I buy will have been properly tested for compatibility, and won't mess up other games.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

No. Apple decides for you what you are allowed to consume and what you are not-- it goes one whole hell of a lot deeper than just fuzzy dice.

http://m.boingboing.net/2009/05/03/a...2#previouspost

http://www.blog.montgomerie.net/whither-eucalyptus

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06...e-apple-reject

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03...-agreement-all

If it really, really bothers you and you want an iPhone, you can always jailbreak your iphone/iTouch/iPad and download some of the apps for jailbroken iPhones. That way you get the best of both world. For the most part, Apple has ignored the jailbreak community.

Once again, compare the iPhone development community verse the Android development community. Consumers have voted with their pocket book and have overwhelmingly gone the iPhone route. If you don't want to go that route, it's fine. A robust marketplace gives people all sorts of choices. But insisting that true consumer choice is only possible if everyone makes the same choice as you is rather egocentric.

[volwrath]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

If it really, really bothers you and you want an iPhone, you can always jailbreak your iphone/iTouch/iPad and download some of the apps for jailbroken iPhones. That way you get the best of both world. For the most part, Apple has ignored the jailbreak community.

Once again, compare the iPhone development community verse the Android development community. Consumers have voted with their pocket book and have overwhelmingly gone the iPhone route. If you don't want to go that route, it's fine. A robust marketplace gives people all sorts of choices. But insisting that true consumer choice is only possible if everyone makes the same choice as you is rather egocentric.

Apple has not ignored the jailbreak community. They havent stopped them yet. Also consumers have not voted overwhelmingly for iphone. It just started first. Android being on all 4 US carriers have caused it to quickly catch up with iphone. Withing a year iphone with be on Verizon to help stem the android tide. I hope they fail.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Consumers have voted with their pocket book and have overwhelmingly gone the iPhone route.

http://gizmodo.com/5490299/android-s...one-stalls-out

Not sure they've gone overwhelmingly for any of them. As of Jan 2010 the Blackberry leads in the US at 43%, with iPhone at 25.1% and Windows phones at 15.7%. Android is growing the fastest, though still down at about 7%.

However, I think that Android is more popular outside the US.

Graham

[kennyc]

From the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040400121.html

"....Innovative apps and content optimized for the spacious, high-resolution touchscreen make the iPad a treat to use. Nevertheless, the iPad's other limitations make it hard to recommend as a replacement for (rather than as a complement to) the devices you may be carrying around today. ...."

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Graham

http://gizmodo.com/5490299/android-s...one-stalls-out

Not sure they've gone overwhelmingly for any of them. As of Jan 2010 the Blackberry leads in the US at 43%, with iPhone at 25.1% and Windows phones at 15.7%. Android is growing the fastest, though still down at about 7%.

However, I think that Android is more popular outside the US.

Outside north america the leader is still symbian with something in the 45-50% range followed by blackberry around 20% and apple about 15%

[petermillard]

"Its lack of file-level control means that the iPad can't replace a laptop or netbook for core productivity activities.Nor is it a great candidate to be your primary e-reader."

He seems to be a little confused as to its purpose; as has been said here many, many times, it's not supposed to replace a laptop, and those 'core productivity activities' probably vary quite a bit from one person to the next, wouldn't you say?? I mean, if you need 'file-level control' for your 'core productivity activities' then you'd be a bit of a schmuck to buy an iPad, no?

I loved this:-

"The trouble is, if you buy a book from Amazon, for example, you can read it only in Amazon's Kindle app. So if you start buying books from different sources, you'll soon lose track of which book lives where."

Yeah right - that's all the fault of the hardware manufacturer rather than the app developer/bookstore! And it's just soooooo confusing having books in different places. Lordy, how do you think he manages at home with paper books - all those bookshelves in all those rooms...

[perickson]

Hello, I am new to this forum. Can anyone help me? I feel a bit lost. What I'm looking for is a forum to discuss the Que versus the Apple ipad. Help?